Glenfinnan Viaduct

Glenfinnan Viaduct is a railway viaduct on the West Highland Line in Glenfinnan, Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. It was built between 1897 and 1901. Located in the West Highlands of Scotland, it forms an integral part of the West Highland Line. The 21-arch viaduct was one of the largest engineering undertakings using concrete when it was built by Sir Robert McAlpine. [ [http://www.sir-robert-mcalpine.com/projects/index.html Sir Robert McAlpine Project Archive] ] During construction, according to myth, a cart-horse and driver were killed when they fell into one of the mold shafts while dumping their load, and were buried in the concrete. A plaque memorializing the pair is found on the viaduct.Recent rsearch has shown that whilst the story is true about the horse, the viaduct is that at Loch Nam Uamh, further down the line, near Arisaig [ "Fort William to Mallaig," in "Great Railway Journeys of the World" by Max Wade-Matthews]

The West Highland Line connects Fort William and Mallaig, and was a crucial vein for the local fishing industry and the highlands economy in general, which suffered enormously after the Highland Clearances of the 1800s. Nowadays, the regular service trains that cross are usually diesel multiple units, but in the summer, the heritage Jacobite steam train operates. It is a popular tourist event in the area, and the viaduct is one of the major attractions of the line.

In popular culture

Glenfinnan Viaduct has been used as a location in several films and television series, including "Charlotte Gray", "Monarch of the Glen", and most famously "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" in which a substantial sequence revolves around the Hogwarts Express crossing the viaduct. Its appearances in two subsequent Harry Potter films, "The Prisoner of Azkaban" and "The Goblet of Fire", has cemented the association of the viaduct with the film series.

As of September 2007, Glenfinnan Viaduct is also featured on the back of a £10 note put in circulation by the Bank of Scotland.

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