Lochearnhead, St Fillans and Comrie Railway

[v · d · e]       Lochearnhead, St Fillans and Comrie Railway
Locale Scotland Dates of operation 6 August 1897 – 31 July 1902 Successor line Caledonian Railway Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Legend
Crieff and Comrie Railway Comrie St Fillans Lochearnhead    Callander and Oban Railway Balquhidder    Callander and Oban Railway

The Lochearnhead, St Fillans and Comrie Railway company was formed to fill the gap between the railways that had arrived in Crieff area from the south and east, and the Callander and Oban Railway where it came out of Strathyre and entered Glen Ogle at Lochearnhead.

History

The C&O station originally called Lochearnhead was two miles south of the village of that name, and shortly before Lochearnhead station was opened, the C&O station was moved slightly to the south and renamed 'Balquhidder'.

The line to St Fillans was authorised in 1897 and finally opened on 1 October 1901. Following the take-over by the Caledonian Railway on 1 August 1902, the line was completed to the renamed Balquhidder station on 1 May 1905.

The line became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) in 1923. Despite attempts by both the CR and the LMS to promote the line as a tourist route, the railway was never profitable.

Closure and current use

The line was officially closed on 1 October 1951; however, the track remained in situ until 1959 as the line was used sporadically throughout the 1950s to transport materials to the Hydro Electric construction sites in the area.

A short section of the line between Balquhidder station and Lochearnhead has been converted into part of the Rob Roy Way; a cycle path that runs between Drymen and Pitlochry, (using much of the old Callander and Oban Railway trackbed along its route). In 2001, the Kendrum viaduct was refurbished in connection with improvements to the cycle path, including the replacement of a missing steel span over the river.

Most of the stations along the route have now been converted into caravan parks, with the exception of Lochearnhead station, which has been restored by Hertfordshire Scouts.^[1]

References

Notes

1. ^ Sanders & Hodgins(1998), page 32

Sources

• Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063. 
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0086-1. OCLC 22311137. 
• Sanders, Keith; Hodgins, Douglas (1998). British Railways Past and Present No 31 - North West Scotland (1st Edition ed.). Great Addington, Kettering, Northants: Past & Present. ISBN 1-8589-5090-2. OCLC 41019274. 
• Sanders, Keith; Hodgins, Douglas (2001). British Railways Past and Present No 31 - North West Scotland (Revised edition ed.). Great Addington, Kettering, Northants: Past & Present. ISBN 1-8589-5090-2. OCLC 54022071. 

• RAILSCOT on the Lochearnhead, St Fillans and Comrie Railway