Ballachulish Branch Line
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Ballachulish Branch Line
The Callander and Oban Railway company was established with the intention of linking the sea port of Oban to the railway network. This involved a long line from Callander through wild and thinly populated terrain, and shortage of money meant that the line was opened in stages from 1866 to 1880. The line improved the economy of Oban, especially for the fishing trade and for tourism, but the winter traffic was limited. The company built a branch to Ballachulish, which included the construction of Connel Bridge, a remarkable bridge at Connel over Loch Etive. The branch opened in 1903, but although it opened up remote areas it was never commercially successful. It closed in 1966. The main line was crossed by the West Highland Line at Crianlarich, where a connecting spur was constructed by the West Highland Line in 1897. The C&OR section between Callander and Crianlarich was closed in September 1965. However, the section between Crianlarich and Oban is still in use today, with trai ...
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Oban
Oban ( ; ' in Scottish Gaelic meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William. During the tourist season, the town can have a temporary population of up to over 24,000 people. Oban occupies a setting in the Firth of Lorn. The bay forms a near perfect horseshoe, protected by the island of Kerrera; and beyond Kerrera, the Isle of Mull. To the north, is the long low island of Lismore and the mountains of Morvern and Ardgour. Pre-history and archaeology Humans have used the site where Oban now stands since at least Mesolithic times, as evidenced by archaeological remains of cave dwellers found in the town. Just outside the town, stands Dunollie Castle, on a site that overlooks the main entrance to the bay and has been fortified since the Bronze Age. Just to the north of Oban, at Dunstaffnage, excavations in 2010, by Argyll Archaeology, in advanc ...
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Edinburgh And Glasgow Railway
The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was authorised by Act of Parliament on 4 July 1838. It was opened to passenger traffic on 21 February 1842, between its Glasgow Queen Street railway station (sometimes referred to at first as Dundas Street) and Haymarket railway station in Edinburgh. Construction cost £1,200,000 for 46 miles (74 km). The intermediate stations were at Corstorphine (later Saughton), Gogar, Ratho, Winchburgh, Linlithgow, Polmont, Falkirk, Castlecary, Croy, North Lanarkshire, Croy, Kirkintilloch (later Lenzie) and Bishopbriggs. There was a ticket platform at Cowlairs. The line was extended eastwards from Haymarket to North Bridge, Edinburgh, North Bridge in 1846, and a joint station for connection with the North British Railway was opened on what is now Edinburgh Waverley railway station in 1847. The quantity of passenger business on the line considerably exceeded estimates, reaching almost double the daily volume, and by 1850 company needed 58 locomotives ...
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West Highland Railway
The West Highland Railway was a railway company that constructed a railway line from Craigendoran (on the River Clyde west of Glasgow, Scotland) to Fort William and Mallaig. The line was built through remote and difficult terrain in two stages: the section from Craigendoran to Fort William opened in 1894, with a short extension to Banavie on the Caledonian Canal opening in 1895. It had originally been intended to extend to Roshven, to give good access to sea-going fishery vessels, but the end point was altered to Mallaig, and this section opened in 1901. The Mallaig Extension was notable for the extensive use of mass concrete in making structures for the line; at the time this was a considerable novelty. The line never made a profit, and relied on Government financial support, which was given (amid much controversy) to improve the depressed economic conditions of the region. It was worked by the North British Railway, which later took the company over. Except for a short stu ...
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Highland Railway
The Highland Railway (HR) was one of the smaller United Kingdom, British railways before the Railways Act 1921, operating north of Perth railway station, Scotland, Perth railway station in Scotland and serving the farthest north of Britain. Based in Inverness, the company was formed by merger in 1865, absorbing over 249 miles (401 km) of line. It continued to expand, reaching Wick, Highland, Wick and Thurso in the north and Kyle of Lochalsh in the west, eventually serving the counties of Caithness, Sutherland, Ross & Cromarty, Inverness, Perth, Nairn, Moray and Banff. Southward it connected with the Caledonian Railway at Stanley Junction, north of Perth, and eastward with the Great North of Scotland Railway at Boat of Garten, Elgin, Keith and Portessie.Conolly 2004. During the First World War the British Navy's base at Scapa Flow, in the Orkney Islands, was serviced from Scrabster Harbour near Thurso. The Highland Railway provided transport, including a daily ''Jellicoe Expr ...
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Stornoway
Stornoway (; gd, Steòrnabhagh; sco, Stornowa) is the main town of the Western Isles and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it by far the largest town in the Outer Hebrides, as well as the third largest island town in Scotland after Kirkwall in Orkney and Lerwick in Shetland. The traditional civil parish of Stornoway, which includes various nearby villages, has a combined population of just over 10,000. The Comhairle nan Eilean Siar measures population in a different area: the ''Stornoway settlement'' area, Laxdale, Sandwick and Newmarket; in 2019, the estimated population for this area was 6,953. Stornoway is an important port and the major town and administrative centre of the Outer Hebrides. It is home to ''Comhairle nan Eilean Siar'' (the Western Isles Council) and a variety of educational, sporting and media establishments. Until relatively recently, observance of the Christian Sabbath (Sunday) has been associate ...
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Falls Of Cruachan Derailment
The Falls of Cruachan derailment occurred on 6 June 2010 on the West Highland Line in Scotland, when a passenger train travelling between Glasgow and Oban hit boulders on the line and derailed near Falls of Cruachan railway station, after a landslide. There was a small fire (which was soon put out with fire extinguishers) and one carriage was left in a precarious position on the embankment. Sixty passengers were evacuated, some with minor injuries; eight of those were hospitalised as a precaution. However, no people were killed. In addition to blocking the line, the incident also caused the closure of the A85 road below the rail line. Both road and rail were closed for a week. Location The derailment occurred near station, on the branch of the West Highland Line which departs from the main route at Crianlarich station, running west to a terminus at Oban station on the coast. Accident The accident occurred on the 18:20 passenger train from station to Oban which hit boulders ...
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Pass Of Brander Stone Signals
The Pass of Brander stone signals, also known as Anderson's Piano, are a series of railway signals situated in the Pass of Brander, between and stations on the Oban branch of the West Highland Line in Scotland. A screen of wires, linked to semaphore signals, are erected on the mountainside alongside the railway. In the event of one or more wires being broken, signals in each direction are automatically placed at 'danger'. They are part of a warning system that advises train drivers to exercise caution in the event of a rock-fall, and cover a section of track that is just over in length. Function A screen of wires is erected on the mountainside alongside the railway, and linked to semaphore signals. The wires are what holds the signals in the "clear" position. In the event of one or more wires being broken, signals in each direction will automatically fall to the 'danger' position, thus providing advance warning to train crews about possible rocks on the track ahead and/or ot ...
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McCaig's Tower
McCaig's Tower, also known as McCaig's Folly, is a prominent tower on Battery Hill overlooking the town of Oban in Argyll, Scotland. It is built of Bonawe granite taken from the quarries across Airds Bay, on Loch Etive, from Muckairn, with a circumference of about with two-tiers of 94 lancet arches (44 on the bottom and 50 on top). It is a Grade B Listed historic monument. The structure was commissioned, at a cost of £5,000 sterling (£500,000 at 2006 prices using GDP deflator), by the wealthy, philanthropic banker (North of Scotland Bank), John Stuart McCaig. John Stuart McCaig was his own architect. The tower was erected between 1897 and his death, aged 78 from cardiac arrest, on 29 June 1902 at John Square House in Oban. McCaig's intention was to provide a lasting monument to his family, and provide work for the local stonemasons during the winter months. McCaig was an admirer of Roman and Greek architecture, and had planned for an elaborate structure, based on the ...
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John Stuart McCaig
John Stuart McCaig (sometimes styled as John Stuart McCaig of Muckairn and Soroba) was the second son of Malcom McCaig (a farmer) and Margaret Stewart and was born at Clachan, Lismore">Clachan, Isle of Lismore, Argyll, Scotland on 11 July 1823 and baptised at St Moluag's Cathedral, Lismore">Lismore, Scotland">Lismore, Argyll, Scotland on 11 July 1823 and baptised at St Moluag's Cathedral, Lismore. He died aged 78 from Angina Pectoris, on 29 June 1902 at John Square House, Oban, Argyll. He is principally known for commissioning McCaig's Tower in Oban for which he was also the architect. He had extensive dealings within the Oban surroundings including being the Gas Works Director and owning the Pier. From the hustings for the 1885 Election. ARGYLLSHIRE. Mr John Stewart McCaig, one of the candidates for the representation of the county, addressed a crowded meeting of the electors in the Argyll Hall, Tarbert, on Monday afternoon. Mr John McLeod, ironmonger, was moved to the chai ...
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London And North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the London, Midland and Scottish (LMS) railway, and, in 1948, the London Midland Region of British Railways: the LNWR is effectively an ancestor of today's West Coast Main Line. History The company was formed on 16 July 1846 by the amalgamation of the Grand Junction Railway, London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway. This move was prompted, in part, by the Great Western Railway's plans for a railway north from Oxford to Birmingham. The company initially had a network of approximately , connecting London with Birmingham, Crewe, Chester, Liverpool and Manchester. The headquarters were at Euston railway station. As traffic increased, it was greatly expanded with the opening in 1849 of the Great Hall, designed by P ...
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The Glasgow Herald
''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in 1992. Following the closure of the ''Sunday Herald'', the ''Herald on Sunday'' was launched as a Sunday edition on 9 September 2018. History Founding The newspaper was founded by an Edinburgh-born printer called John Mennons in January 1783 as a weekly publication called the ''Glasgow Advertiser''. Mennons' first edition had a global scoop: news of the treaties of Versailles reached Mennons via the Lord Provost of Glasgow just as he was putting the paper together. War had ended with the American colonies, he revealed. ''The Herald'', therefore, is as old as the United States of America, give or take an hour or two. The story was, however, only carried on the back page. Mennons, using the larger of two fonts available to him, put it in th ...
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London, Midland And Scottish Railway
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally used in historical circles. The LMS occasionally also used the initials LM&SR. For consistency, this article uses the initials LMS.) was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railways into four. The companies merged into the LMS included the London and North Western Railway, Midland Railway, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (which had previously merged with the London and North Western Railway on 1 January 1922), several Scottish railway companies (including the Caledonian Railway), and numerous other, smaller ventures. Besides being the world's largest transport organisation, the company was also the largest commercial enterprise ...
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