Balloch Central railway station was the main

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

serving the town of Balloch in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It was opened on 15 July 1850Butt (1995), page 24 by the

Caledonian and Dumbartonshire Junction Railway The Caledonian and Dumbartonshire Junction Railway (C&DJR) was a Scottish railway opened in 1850 between Bowling and Balloch via Dumbarton. The company had intended to build to Glasgow but it could not raise the money. Other railways later rea ...

.Casserley (1968) It was renamed Balloch Central on 30 June 1952.

Operations

For most of its passenger services, it was the terminal station. A few services, connecting with the steamer services to Tarbet and

Inversnaid Inversnaid (Scottish Gaelic: ''Inbhir Snàthaid'') is a small rural community on the east bank of Loch Lomond in Scotland, near the north end of the loch. It has a pier and a hotel, and the West Highland Way passes through the area. A small pas ...

, continued to . This pattern of service continued after

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...

of the line in the 1960s. Between 1856 and 1934, it was served also by trains to/from

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

over the

Forth and Clyde Junction Railway The Forth and Clyde Junction Railway was a railway line in Scotland which ran from Stirling to Balloch. It was built with the expectation of conveying coal from the Fife coalfields to a quay at Bowling on the Clyde for onward transport, but th ...

. The main line from just north of Dalreoch Junction was singled in 1986 and thereafter all trains used the former southbound platform up until closure.

Closure

The station was closed on 23 April 1988 and was replaced by Balloch station, situated immediately south of the

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, overpass ...

. This relocation allowed the level crossing to be closed.News & Notes: Balloch rebuilt ''

The Railway Magazine ''The Railway Magazine'' is a monthly British railway magazine, aimed at the railway enthusiast market, that has been published in London since July 1897. it was, for three years running, the railway magazine with the largest circulation in t ...

'' issue 1049 September 1988 page 556 Today the station building has been converted into a tourist information centre. A section of platform survives behind the building. Balloch tourist information centre

References

Notes

Sources

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External links

{{Commons category-inline Disused railway stations in West Dunbartonshire Former Dumbarton and Balloch Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1850 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1988 Vale of Leven