Lochailort railway station
Encyclopedia
Lochailort railway station is a railway station serving the village of Lochailort
in the Highland
Council area in Scotland
. This station is on the West Highland Line
.
, working to Glenfinnan on one side and Arisaig on the other, until the Up loop was lifted in 1966. The loops were lengthened during the Second World War and a new brick signal box
erected, the foundations of which now can still be seen at the Arisaig end of the single platform now in use. The original station buildings were of a similar design to those at Glenfinnan and Arisaig but fell into disrepair after de-staffing and were demolished during the 1970s.
Lochailort
Lochailort is a hamlet in Scotland that lies at the head of Loch Ailort, a sea loch, on the junction of the Road to the Isles between Fort William and Mallaig with the A861 loop towards Salen and Strontian. It is served by Lochailort railway station on the West Highland Line...
in the Highland
Highland (council area)
Highland is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in both Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole. It shares borders with the council areas of Moray, Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross, and Argyll and Bute. Their councils, and those of Angus and...
Council area in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. This station is on the West Highland Line
West Highland Line
The West Highland Line is considered the most scenic railway line in Britain, linking the ports of Mallaig and Oban on the west coast of Scotland to Glasgow. The line was voted the top rail journey in the world by readers of independent travel magazine Wanderlust in 2009, ahead of the iconic...
.
History
The station was constructed with two platforms and was an electric token block postBlock post
A block post in railway signalling is the signal box at one end of a block section. -German practice:In Germany block posts are known as Blockstellen and are defined as railway facilities on the open line that, as part of a block system, mark the end of a block section. The usually have a home...
, working to Glenfinnan on one side and Arisaig on the other, until the Up loop was lifted in 1966. The loops were lengthened during the Second World War and a new brick signal box
Signal box
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
erected, the foundations of which now can still be seen at the Arisaig end of the single platform now in use. The original station buildings were of a similar design to those at Glenfinnan and Arisaig but fell into disrepair after de-staffing and were demolished during the 1970s.