The Lochearnhead, St Fillans and Comrie Railway company was formed to build a line along the valley of
Strathearn
Strathearn or Strath Earn (, from gd, Srath Èireann) is the strath of the River Earn, in Scotland, extending from Loch Earn in the West to the River Tay in the east.http://www.strathearn.com/st_where.htm Derivation of name Strathearn was one ...
, closing the gap between the
Callander and Oban line of the
Caledonian Railway and
Crieff
Crieff (; gd, Craoibh, meaning "tree") is a Scottish market town in Perth and Kinross on the A85 road between Perth and Crianlarich, and the A822 between Greenloaning and Aberfeldy. The A822 joins the A823 to Dunfermline. Crieff has become ...
. Tourism was on the increase in the area, and there were ambitious ideas that imported goods traffic at
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, th ...
would be routed to the eastern Scotland towns and cities over the line.
The route was opened in stages between 1901 and 1905; raising finance was a serious difficulty, but in the end the Caledonian Railway took over.
The through goods traffic never materialised and the tourist trade never provided enough income for the line to be profitable. It closed in 1951.
History
Before the railway
The large tract of country in the Western Highlands of Scotland was penetrated by the
Callander and Oban Railway
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 ...
which intended to open up the area and regenerate the port of Oban. They found the cost of construction stretched their financial resources much further than they imagined, but the line was opened in stages, reaching a ''Killin'' station at Glenoglehead in 1871, and finally reaching Oban in 1880. As well as the ordinary commercial traffic of the districts served, tourism became a significant seasonal source of income, and the attractive scenery became the focus of great interest.
To the east of Strathearn, Crieff had been reached much earlier by the
Crieff Junction Railway
The Crieff Junction Railway was opened in 1856 to link the town of Crieff to the main line railway network in Scotland, at a junction at the present day station (then called Crieff Junction). In the second half of the twentieth century railway ...
, in 1856, connecting the town, which was the second most populous in Perthshire, in 1856. A second rail connection from Perth via Methven, the
Crieff and Methven Junction Railway
The Crieff and Methven Junction Railway was a Scottish railway, opened in 1866, connecting Crieff with a branch line that ran from Methven to Perth.
As a purely local concern, the line was dependent on local traffic, and when that declined i ...
, opened in 1867. The line was extended a few miles west to
Comrie Comrie may refer to:
Places
*Comrie (crater), a lunar crater
*Comrie, Fife, a village in Fife, Scotland
*Comrie, Perth and Kinross, a village and parish in Strathearn, Scotland
People with the surname
*Aaron Comrie (born 1997), Scottish footballer ...
when the
Crieff and Comrie Railway opened in 1893. This improved the commercial activity of Comrie, and encouraged tourist exploration of Strathearn by road, using Comrie as a railhead. However the remaining gap of 15 miles (22 km) between Comrie and
Lochearnhead
Lochearnhead (Scottish Gaelic: Ceann Loch Èireann) is a village in Perthshire on the A84 Stirling to Crianlarich road at the foot of Glen Ogle, north of the Highland Boundary Fault. It is situated at the western end of Loch Earn where the A85 ...
proved an attraction to those who proposed railways, and a number of ideas that foresaw extraordinary business potential if the Callander and Oban line were connected to Crieff: transatlantic goods traffic would, it was claimed, be landed at Oban and conveyed to the eastern side of Scotland over such a line.
[Bernard Byrom, ''The Railways of Upper Strathearn'', Oakwood Press, Usk, 2004, ]
Authorisation
![Strathearn railways](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Strathearn_railways.gif)
The proposals came to fruition when the ''Lochearnhead, St Fillans and Comrie Railway'' was authorised by Act of Parliament on 6 August 1897. The share capital was £165,000. the
Caledonian Railway
The Caledonian Railway (CR) was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively extended its network and reached Edinburgh an ...
subscribed half the money on the basis that it would later have the option of absorbing the company. The Caledonian was concerned by the possibility of the rival
North British Railway
The North British Railway was a British railway company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1844, with the intention of linking with English railways at Berwick. The line opened in 1846, and from the outset the company followe ...
building a penetrating line into the area, or even taking over the unbuilt St Fillans line, and this motivated their provision of funding. The new company was slow to take action on its new powers, and it was not until February 1899 that a prospectus, inviting investment, was issued. The prospectus emphasised the potential of through traffic from the West Highlands to Perth and other central and eastern destinations; cattle was a particularly dominant traffic to be expected.
[
Considerable attention was given to the environmental impact of the line through high amenity landscape: a Parliamentary committee considered the matter.][John Thomas and David Turnock, ''A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 15: North of Scotland'', David & Charles (Publishers), Newton Abbot, 1989, ]
Construction
The work proceeded to construct the railway from Comrie to St Fillans. By 8 June 1901 it was ready for Colonel von Donop of the Board of Trade to examine the line for approval of opening. This was satisfactory and on 12 September 1901 there was a ceremonial opening of the line. However all the money the company had for construction had been exhausted. There still remained the major part of the line to be built. The Caledonian Railway had advanced a large part of the capital of the company, and independent subscriptions were minimal. The company appealed to the Caledonian to take over the construction, and while this was an unwelcome situation, the Caledonian Railway agreed to do so.[David Ross, ''The Caledonian: Scotland's Imperial Railway: A History'', Stenlake Publishing Limited, Catrine, 2014, ] Meanwhile, the ordinary public train service commenced on 1 October 1901, over two weeks after the opening ceremony. There were three trains daily.[
]
Absorbed by the Caledonian
The deed of agreement to sell the Company to the Caledonian Railway was executed on 7 May 1901, and it took effect (after Parliamentary approval) on 1 August 1902. During the period awaiting the final approval, a contract was let for the extension to Lochearnhead, with Caledonian money. Unfortunately the contractor died suddenly during the construction, throwing the progress of the work into confusion. At length a new contractor was found to resume the works.
Finally on 15 June 1904 an inspection train was run from St Fillans to Lochearnhead, and the line opened for public passenger traffic on 1 July 1904. Goods trains started running on 18 July.[
]
Balquhidder
When the Callander and Oban line had opened in 1870 there was a station named Lochearnhead. It was a considerable distance from the settlement after which it was named; in fact the line passed closer to Lochearnhead but high above it on the hillside, and remote from any public road. On the opening of the St Fillans line, a new Lochearnhead station was provided in the village, and the C&OR station was renamed Balquhidder
Balquhidder (; gd, Both Chuidir or ) is a small village in Perthshire located north-west of Callander. It is administered by the Stirling council area of Scotland and is overlooked by the dramatic mountain terrain of the 'Braes of Balquhidde ...
.
At this stage there was still a gap from the new Lochearnhead to Balquhidder, and work continued in constructing that section of the line. It was announced that the final link would open on 1 May 1905, and an inaugural train from Aberdeen to Oban was planned, reflecting the continuing hope that a new east-west traffic would be generated. In fact the Board of Trade inspection was not able to be carried out until 2 May and the special passenger train could not be run.[Byrom's text is confusing on this point: "The final stretch of line did not open until 1st May 1905, the day before the official Board of Trade inspection... There was no formal opening ceremony and, because the line had not yet been inspected, a planned inaugural excursion train from Aberdeen to Oban ... had to be re-routed via Dunblane and Callander." Thomas and Turnock give 1 May 1905 (on page 315).][
The junction station at Balquhidder was relocated about 170 yards (155 m) west of its former location; it was provided with 800 feet (244 m) long platforms. The branch faced south here; this was considered a disadvantage in the light of the intended Oban traffic. An 1897 plan prepared for the line had shown the line from St Fillans turning north and joining the Oban line nearer Killin Junction station, but this was abandoned.][
]
World War I
In common with numerous stations on the Caledonian Railway system, Lochearnhead station was closed as an economy measure between 1 January 1917 and 1 February 1919.
Closure and current use
The thinly populated area brought little traffic to the railway and tourist traffic declined also in the middle decades of the twentieth century. The rise of motor buses accelerated the loss of passenger business, and on 1 October 1951 the line closed between Balquhidder and Comrie. However the track remained in situ until 1959 as the line was used sporadically throughout the 1950s to transport materials to the Glen Lednock hydro-electric schemes under construction in the area.
A short section of the line between Balquhidder station and Lochearnhead has been converted into a cycle path, forming part of National Cycle Route 7
Route
For mapping purposes, the route is split at Glasgow into Lochs and Glens (south)
and (north)
Sunderland to Carlisle
This route follows the Sea to Sea (C2C) cycle route for much of its length before the C2C departs to Whitehaven and N ...
and the Rob Roy Way
The Rob Roy Way is a Scottish long distance footpath that runs from Drymen in Stirling to Pitlochry in Perth and Kinross. The path was created in 2002, and takes its name from Rob Roy MacGregor, a Scottish folk hero and outlaw of the early 18th ...
; both use much of the old Callander and Oban Railway trackbed along their routes between Drymen
Drymen (; from gd, Druiminn ) is a village in the Stirling district of central Scotland. Once a popular stopping place for cattle drovers, it is now popular with visiting tourists given its location near Loch Lomond. The village is centred arou ...
and Pitlochry
Pitlochry (; gd, Baile Chloichridh or ) is a town in the Perth and Kinross council area of Scotland, lying on the River Tummel. It is historically in the county of Perthshire, and has a population of 2,776, according to the 2011 census.Scotla ...
. In 2001, the Kendrum viaduct was refurbished in connection with improvements to the cycle path, including the replacement of a missing steel span over the river.
As part of th
Loch Earn Railway Path project
the section between Dalchonzie Halt and St Fillans now forms a section of a cycle route, with the reopening of a tunnel to the west of the village taking place in 2017. Further phases are planned to create a cycle path between St Fillans and Lochearnhead by using much of trackbed between the two villages.
Most of the stations along the route have now been converted into caravan parks, with the exception of Lochearnhead station, which has been restored by Hertfordshire Scouts.[Sanders & Hodgins, page 32]
Topography
The line was constructed with the expectation of handling heavy through traffic and the structures were designed accordingly. Some of the shorter and moderate span bridges were constructed with in-situ concrete, then popular as a building material in the remoter areas.
The line climbed steadily from Comrie to St Fillans with a stiff section of 1 in 60 approaching that place. After St Fillans the route was undulating, but with equally severe ruling gradients, and the final section from Lochearnhead to Balquhidder also had a section of continuous 1 in 60 rising.
The line opened from Comrie to St Fillans on 1 October 1901, and from St Fillans to Lochearnhead on 1 July 1904; finally from Lochearnhead to Balquhidder on 1 May 1905. The line closed on 1 October 1951 except for the subsequent intermittent use for the Glen Lednock catchment scheme.
The stations were:
* Comrie; opened by the Crieff and Comrie Railway on 1 June 1893, and closed 6 July 1964;
* Dalchonzie Platform; opened 1 September 1903, later renamed Dalchonzie Halt;
* St Fillans;
* Lochearnhead; closed 1 January 1917; reopened 6 January 1919;
* Balquhidder; station on the Callander and Oban section, originally named Lochearnhead and opened on 1 June 1870; renamed Balquhidder in 1904; relocated and extended station was opened on 1 May 1905; remained open after closure of the St Fillans line and finally closed 28 September 1965.[M E Quick, ''Railway Passenger Stations in England Scotland and Wales—A Chronology'', The Railway and Canal Historical Society, 2002]
References
Notes
Sources
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{{Historical Scottish railway companies
Pre-grouping British railway companies
Caledonian Railway
Closed railway lines in Scotland
Early Scottish railway companies
Railway companies established in 1897
Railway lines opened in 1901
Railway companies disestablished in 1902