The Jacobite (Steam Train)
Encyclopedia
The Jacobite is a steam locomotive
hauled tourist train service that operates over part of the West Highland Railway Line
in Scotland
. It has been operating under various names and with different operators every summer since 1984. It has played an important role in sustaining a scenic but otherwise remote and unprofitable route.
of the West Highland Railway
opened in 1901 and was operated by the North British Railway
. It was intended to help open up this rural and remote part of the Scottish Atlantic coast, and the building of the line was heavily subsidised by the British Government. It became part of the London and North Eastern Railway
at the Grouping
in 1923, and British Railways at Nationalisation in 1948.
Regular steam services over the West Highland Line were withdrawn in 1967, in line with the British Rail Modernisation Plan which outlined the replacement of all steam locomotives with more efficient and reliable diesel locomotive
s.
In 1984, British Rail
re-introduced a steam-hauled service over part of the line, in an effort to encourage tourism
and boost income on the heavily subsidised line. Called the "West Highlander", it proved so successful that it was continued for subsequent years. It was later renamed "The Lochaber".
In 1995 following the privatisation of British Rail
, the operating licence for the West Highlander trains was granted to the West Coast Railway Company
, and they began operating the service that summer under the new name of "The Jacobite" (after the historic Jacobite political movement
which has many local connections).
The daily service departs Fort William at 10.18am and arrives at Mallaig at 12.29pm. The Return from Mallaig departs at 2.10pm arriving back into Fort William at 4.02pm. The service crosses the additional afternoon train at Glenfinnan on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and this is the only regular crossing of two steam services passing each other on the national network.
In 2011, for the first, time train operator West Coast Railway Company added a second daily Jacobite service from Fort William to Mallaig due to demand, using Ian Riley's Black 5 44871 and a spare set of coaches that were formerly used for "The Cambrian". The additional service departs Fort William at 2.45pm with an arrival time back in Fort William of 8.24pm and runs from 1 June until 26 August on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
and Mallaig
, passing through an area of great scenic beauty including alongside Loch Eil
, Glenfinnan Viaduct
and Arisaig
. Trains cross with regular service trains at station.
The route is also the same shown in the Harry Potter
films. The company running the Jacobite service provided Warner Brothers with the train used as the Hogwarts Express in all of the movies and allowed them use of the Jacobite's route for filming.
For 2011, the locomotives for the main service are either LMS Black 5 45231 or LNER K4 61994 "The Great Marquess" until the end of August when the locomotives change to LMS Black 5s 44871 and 45407 for the remainder of the season. From 1 June, 44871 is operating the additional afternoon service until 26 August.
type, initially owned by British Rail and painted blue and grey, but now owned by WCRC and painted in an approximation of British Rail Maroon with vacuum brakes. For the additional service in 2011 an air braked set of British Railways Mark 2 carriages are also based in Fort William for use with Black 5 44871.
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
hauled tourist train service that operates over part of the West Highland Railway 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...
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...
. It has been operating under various names and with different operators every summer since 1984. It has played an important role in sustaining a scenic but otherwise remote and unprofitable route.
History
The Mallaig ExtensionMallaig Extension Railway
The Mallaig Extension Railway is a railway line in Highland, Scotland. It runs from Banavie Junction on the Banavie Pier branch of the West Highland Railway to Mallaig. The previous "Banavie Junction" closer to Fort William was renamed "Mallaig Junction" upon opening of the Mallaig Extension Railway...
of the West Highland Railway
West Highland Railway
The West Highland Railway was one of the last main lines to be built in Scotland. It is one of the most scenic railway lines in Britain, linking Fort William on the west coast to Glasgow. It was originally operated by the North British Railway.- History :...
opened in 1901 and was operated by the North British Railway
North British Railway
The North British Railway was a Scottish railway company that was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923.-History:...
. It was intended to help open up this rural and remote part of the Scottish Atlantic coast, and the building of the line was heavily subsidised by the British Government. It became part of the London and North Eastern Railway
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
at the Grouping
Railways Act 1921
The Railways Act 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to retain some of the benefits which...
in 1923, and British Railways at Nationalisation in 1948.
Regular steam services over the West Highland Line were withdrawn in 1967, in line with the British Rail Modernisation Plan which outlined the replacement of all steam locomotives with more efficient and reliable diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
s.
In 1984, British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
re-introduced a steam-hauled service over part of the line, in an effort to encourage tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
and boost income on the heavily subsidised line. Called the "West Highlander", it proved so successful that it was continued for subsequent years. It was later renamed "The Lochaber".
In 1995 following the privatisation of British Rail
Privatisation of British Rail
The privatisation of British Rail was set in motion when the Conservative government enacted, on 19 January 1993, the British Coal and British Rail Act 1993 . This enabled the relevant Secretary of State to issue directions to the relevant Board...
, the operating licence for the West Highlander trains was granted to the West Coast Railway Company
West Coast Railway Company
West Coast Railways, also known as West Coast Railway Company, is a railway spot-hire company and charter train operator, based at Carnforth in Lancashire, on the site of the old Steamtown heritage depot...
, and they began operating the service that summer under the new name of "The Jacobite" (after the historic Jacobite political movement
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
which has many local connections).
The daily service departs Fort William at 10.18am and arrives at Mallaig at 12.29pm. The Return from Mallaig departs at 2.10pm arriving back into Fort William at 4.02pm. The service crosses the additional afternoon train at Glenfinnan on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and this is the only regular crossing of two steam services passing each other on the national network.
In 2011, for the first, time train operator West Coast Railway Company added a second daily Jacobite service from Fort William to Mallaig due to demand, using Ian Riley's Black 5 44871 and a spare set of coaches that were formerly used for "The Cambrian". The additional service departs Fort William at 2.45pm with an arrival time back in Fort William of 8.24pm and runs from 1 June until 26 August on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Route
The Jacobite runs a distance of 41 miles between Fort WilliamFort William, Scotland
Fort William is the second largest settlement in the highlands of Scotland and the largest town: only the city of Inverness is larger.Fort William is a major tourist centre with Glen Coe just to the south, Aonach Mòr to the north and Glenfinnan to the west, on the Road to the Isles...
and Mallaig
Mallaig
Mallaig ; is a port in Lochaber, on the west coast of the Highlands of Scotland. The local railway station, Mallaig, is the terminus of the West Highland railway line , completed in 1901, and the town is linked to Fort William by the A830 road – the "Road to the Isles".The village of Mallaig...
, passing through an area of great scenic beauty including alongside Loch Eil
Loch Eil
Loch Eil is a sea loch in Lochaber, Scotland that opens into Loch Linnhe near the town of Fort William.Loch Eil Outward Bound railway station and Locheilside railway station are both situated on the northern shore of the loch....
, Glenfinnan Viaduct
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...
and Arisaig
Arisaig
Arisaig is a village in Lochaber, Invernessshire, on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands.-History:On 20 September 1746 Bonnie Prince Charlie left Scotland for France from a place near the village following the failure of the Jacobite Rising. The site of his departure is marked by the Prince's...
. Trains cross with regular service trains at station.
The route is also the same shown in the Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
films. The company running the Jacobite service provided Warner Brothers with the train used as the Hogwarts Express in all of the movies and allowed them use of the Jacobite's route for filming.
Steam locomotives
Various steam locomotives have been used to haul the service over the years, mostly of types that would have been used on the route in pre-1967 steam days, including:- LNER Gresley Class K4 2-6-0LNER Class K4The London and North Eastern Railway Class K4 is a class of 2-6-0 steam locomotives designed by Nigel Gresley for the steep grades of the West Highland Line.- West Highland Line challenge :...
; designed specially for the route in the 1930s.
- LNER Peppercorn Class K1 2-6-0LNER Thompson/Peppercorn Class K1The London and North Eastern Railway Class K1 is a type of 2-6-0 steam locomotive designed by Edward Thompson. Thompson preferred a simple two-cylinder design instead of Gresley's three cylinder one...
; a 1940s development of the K4 design.
- LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0The London Midland and Scottish Railway's Class 5 4-6-0, almost universally known as the Black Five, is a class of steam locomotive. It was introduced by William Stanier in 1934 and 842 were built between then and 1951...
; known as the "Black Fives".
For 2011, the locomotives for the main service are either LMS Black 5 45231 or LNER K4 61994 "The Great Marquess" until the end of August when the locomotives change to LMS Black 5s 44871 and 45407 for the remainder of the season. From 1 June, 44871 is operating the additional afternoon service until 26 August.
Carriages
The carriages have all been of the British Railways Mark 1British Railways Mark 1
British Railways Mark 1 was the family designation for the first standardised designs of railway carriages built by British Railways. Following nationalisation in 1948, BR had continued to build carriages to the designs of the "Big Four" companies , and the Mark 1 was intended to be the...
type, initially owned by British Rail and painted blue and grey, but now owned by WCRC and painted in an approximation of British Rail Maroon with vacuum brakes. For the additional service in 2011 an air braked set of British Railways Mark 2 carriages are also based in Fort William for use with Black 5 44871.
Sources
- http://www.scot-rail.co.uk/page/The+Jacobite
- http://www.westcoastrailways.co.uk/jacobite/Jacobite_Details.html#
- http://guide.visitscotland.com/vs/guide/5,en,SCH1/objectId,SIG48292Svs,curr,GBP,season,at1,selectedEntry,home/home.html
- http://www.railbrit.co.uk/Mallaig_Extension_Railway/frame.htm