Inveruglas was a remote temporary private railway station near the hamlet of
Inveruglas
Inveruglas ( gd, Inbhir Dhubhghlais) is a hamlet on the west shore of Loch Lomond, fairly near the north end of the loch and is within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. It is situated on the A82 trunk road, connecting Glasgow to ...
,
Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
. Opened in 1945 by the LNER, it was built in connection with the construction of the
Sloy Hydro-Electric facility and was located on the
Ardlui side of the Inveruglas Viaduct and recorded to be out of use by around 1948.
History
The station lay on the
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 ...
that opened the line to passengers on 7 August 1894; later operated by the
North British Railway, until in 1923 it became part of the
London and North Eastern Railway. In 1948 the line became part of the
Scottish Region of British Railways following
nationalisation and remains open as a route to
Fort William,
Mallaig
Mallaig (; gd, Malaig derived from Old Norse , meaning sand dune bay) 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 (Fort Willi ...
and
Oban.
Inveruglas had a single platform and was opened by the
LNER LNER may refer to:
* London and North Eastern Railway, a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1923 until 1947
* London North Eastern Railway, a train operating company in the United Kingdom since 2018
* Liquid neutral earthing resistor, a typ ...
in 1945, but it closed around 1948 when construction work had been completed. Records show that it was not opened as a standard railway station for the general public and it was not listed in the 1948 British Railways (Scottish Region) timetable. The
RCAHMS
The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) was an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government that was "sponsored" inanced and with oversightthrough Historic Scotland, an executive ...
refer to the station as being temporary.
On 18 October 1950 the scheme was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth as Queen Consort and although she travelled by car the guests arrived by train to Inveruglas station, leaving Edinburgh Waverley at 10.50 with a dining car, calling at Dumbarton and Helensburgh Upper and returning at 17.22.
Infrastructure
Inveruglas, 23 miles (37 km) from Craigendoran Junction, had a single long straight platform with a sectional 'slab' concrete frontage, as with
Glen Falloch Halt. It was located on the southern or 'loch' side of the line with a signal box located on it, a gravel surface, a passing loop, several sidings and a loading ramp. The station had a typical name board that was later located on the walls of a nearby farm house. A crane stood near the loading dock and a small corrugated iron shelter was provided together with the station name board. A PoW construction camp with several
Nissen huts was located immediately behind the platform. The track at Inveruglas was slightly realigned to accommodate the
penstock
A penstock is a sluice or gate or intake structure that controls water flow, or an enclosed pipe that delivers water to hydro turbines and sewerage systems. The term is inherited from the earlier technology of mill ponds and watermills.
H ...
s carrying the water from
Loch Sloy
''Loch Sloy'' was a Scottish sailing barque that operated between Great Britain and Australia from the late 19th century until 1899. Her name was drawn from Loch Sloy, a freshwater loch which lies to the north of the Burgh of Helensburgh, ...
that down the hill and enter the power station.
Loch Sloy scheme
![West Highland Rly](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/West_Highland_Rly.png)
After World War II many German and Italian ex-prisoners stayed in Scotland, and it is recorded that a number of German and Italian POWs had been involved in the early stages of the construction of the
Sloy/Awe Hydro-Electric facility between
Loch Sloy
''Loch Sloy'' was a Scottish sailing barque that operated between Great Britain and Australia from the late 19th century until 1899. Her name was drawn from Loch Sloy, a freshwater loch which lies to the north of the Burgh of Helensburgh, ...
and
Inveruglas
Inveruglas ( gd, Inbhir Dhubhghlais) is a hamlet on the west shore of Loch Lomond, fairly near the north end of the loch and is within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. It is situated on the A82 trunk road, connecting Glasgow to ...
, on the west bank of Loch Lomond. The POWs and guards arrived by train from
Whistlefield and
Garelochhead
Garelochhead ( sco, Garelochheid,
gd, Ceann a' Gheàr ...
stations, transported in two carriages to the new railway siding at Inveruglas. The POWS were to learn a trade before returning to their homelands. Glen Falloch Halt may have been used by men building the aqueducts and tunnels that collected water from the Glen Falloch burns and carried it to Loch Sloy.
Construction at the Loch Sloy project began in May 1945, under the auspices of the
North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board
The North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board (1943–1990) was founded to design, construct and manage hydroelectricity projects in the Highlands of Scotland. It is regarded as one of the major achievements of Scottish politician Thomas Johnston, w ...
, and it was completed in 1949, dates that coincide with the known use of Inveruglas station and its passing loop.
The prisoners-of-war were carried from
Faslane Platform near Faslane Junction to Inveruglas or the nearby
Glen Falloch Halt.
The West Highland Line
See also
*
Fersit Halt
*
Glen Douglas Siding
*
Glen Falloch Halt
*
Gorton Station
*
Lech-a-Vuie Platform
References
Notes
Sources
*
* McGregor, John (1994).''100 years of the West Highland Railway.'' ScotRail.
* McGregor, John (2014).''The West Highland Railway. 120 Years.'' Amberley Publishing Ltd.
* Ransom, P.J.G. (2004). ''Loch Lomond and the Trossachs in History and Legend''. Edinburgh : John Donald Pub. .
External links
Video of the West Highland Line. Mallaig to Fort William
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inveruglas railway station
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1945
Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1948
Former London and North Eastern Railway stations
Disused railway stations in Argyll and Bute
Former private railway stations