Dunblane, Doune and Callander Railway

[v · d · e]  Dunblane, Doune and Callander Railway
Locale Scotland Dates of operation 16 July 1846 – 29 June 1865 Successor line Caledonian Railway Track gauge Length 10.5 miles (16.9 km)
Legend
- - Callander and Oban Railway Callander (C&OR) Callander (original terminus) Callander & Oban Junction Doune - - Scottish Central Railway Dunblane - - Scottish Central Railway

The Dunblane, Doune and Callander Railway had been incorporated in 1846, but the powers were initially unexercised. Ten years later construction commenced, with Callander being reached in 1858. In 1865 the line was absorbed into Scottish Central Railway and then into the Caledonian Railway.^[1]

This was the only railway in Britain to include all of the stations that it served in its title.

History

The original terminus at Callander was converted into a goods station, complete with 50ft turntable, upon the opening of the larger Callander Dreadnaught station by the Callander and Oban Railway in 1870.

After the opening of the Callander and Oban Railway, a passing loop was constructed at Drumvaich, half way between Doune and Callander. Local passenger services ran between Callander and Stirling/Glasgow, though stations along the line were also served by Glasgow/Edinburgh - Oban trains.

The section between Dunblane and Doune was doubled in 1902 by the Caledonian Railway in anticipation of an increase in business. It remained double track until the 1950s. There had been plans to double the track as far as Callander, but by 1905 these plans had been dropped and the section between Doune and Callander remained single track until closure.

In 1923, the line became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), becoming part of British Railways in 1948.

The line was finally closed as part of the Beeching Cuts on 1 November 1965, and the track was lifted two years later. A short spur survived at the Dunblane end to serve Springbank Mill. This section closed along with the mill in 1971.

Current use

Part of the trackbed south of Doune has been converted into a walk/cyclepath, which has been surfaced with tarmac. There are plans to extend the cyclepath to the outskirts of Dunblane, but these plans have been put on hold while land ownership issues are resolved.^{[citation needed]} About a mile west of Dunblane, the trackbed has been severed by the A9 Dunblane by-pass, while in Dunblane itself most of the line has been obliterated by new housing.

Another short section of trackbed to the south of Callander has also been converted into a walk/cycle path to connect up with the Rob Roy Way.

The impressive station building at Doune was demolished in 1968 (although the former station master's house survives) and the site is now occupied by housing, as is the site of the original station in Callander. Callander engine shed, closed in 1924, was finally demolished in 1974. The former goods yard at Dunblane is now occupied by a car park, a Tescos and some sheltered housing.

Many of the underbridges along the route have been removed and/or demolished. However, the stone bridge over the Keltie Water south of Callender still survives, as do some of the metal bridges south of Doune.

Connections to other lines

• Scottish Central Railway at Dunblane
• Callander and Oban Railway at Callander and Oban Junction

References

Notes

1. ^ Awdry (1990)

Sources

• Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063. 
• Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199. 
• 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. 
• RAILSCOT on Dunblane, Doune and Callander Railway