Oban is an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

administered by the

rural municipality A rural municipality is a classification of municipality, a type of local government, found in several countries. These include: * Rural municipality (Canada), Rural municipalities in Canada, a Lists of municipalities in Canada, type of municipa ...

of Biggar No. 347, in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. Oban is located on

Saskatchewan Highway 14 Highway 14 is a highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It runs from the Alberta border where it becomes Highway 13 to intersection of Circle Drive and 22nd Street in Saskatoon. It is approximately long. Prior to 1976, Highway 14 ran ...

in western Saskatchewan. The closest town is Biggar to the southeast. Biggar railway station is a divisional point for the Canadian National Railway (CNR). Oban had the last provincial

interlocking In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junction (rail), junctions or crossings. The signalling appliances and Track (rail transpor ...

tower at the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

and

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

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 ...

, which was constructed in 1910 and closed in 1990.

History

The name Oban is from the community

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 ...

in Argyll, Scotland.

Economy

The community had a

grain elevator A grain elevator is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the grain trade, the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lower level and deposits ...

and

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

till the 1960s. The Oban Salt Company opened in 1937.

Law and government

The Reeve and council of

Biggar No. 347, Saskatchewan The Rural Municipality of Biggar No. 347 ( 2016 population: ) is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within Census Division No. 12 and Division No. 6. History The RM of Biggar No. 347 incorporated as a rural ...

RM provide the rural area with government and infrastructure maintenance. Oban is within the provincial constituency of Biggar and elects a Member of the Legislative Assembly (M.L.A.) Oban is represented by a

member of Parliament (MP) A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members often ...

representing the

federal electoral district Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar (formerly known as Saskatoon—Rosetown) was a federal electoral district in Saskatchewan, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2015. Geography The district consisted of the sou ...

Demographics

The population is enumerated as a part of the RM of

. These statistics are for the RM. :::N/A = Data Not Available

Education

Historically Oban School District #4733 was located at Township 37, Range 16 West of the 3rd Meridian.

Transportation

In 1925 Oban was located on the Minnedosa–Saskatoon–Edmonton

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...

branch line between Castlewood, and Naseby. The CPR was intersected by the CNR GTP West. Oban was located on the CNR between Biggar and Palo. Oban was also a part of the Porter Subdivision, CNR between Lett and Biggar.

Infrastructure

Oban had the last provincial

tower at the

and

which was constructed in 1910 and closed in 1990. The tower has been moved to the

Saskatchewan Railway Museum The Saskatchewan Railway Museum is a railway museum located west of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan at the intersection of the Pike Lake Highway (Hwy 60) and the Canadian National Railway tracks (on "Hawker" siding). It is operated by the Saskatchewan R ...

. Oban tower was a requirement for the

Grand Trunk Pacific Railway The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway running from Fort William, Ontario (now Thunder Bay) to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, a Pacific coast port. East of Winnipeg the line continued as the National Tra ...

when it wanted to cross the existing

rail tracks. (The

Canadian Northern Railway The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway. At its 1923 merger into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton. Mani ...

was amalgamated with the

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; french: Grand Tronc) was a railway system that operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The rai ...

by the

Dominion Government The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-in-C ...

to form the

Canadian National Railways The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...

in 1919.) Oban tower consisted of a 16-frame interlocking machine. There were levers attached to pipes and cranks which controlled

semaphore signals Railway semaphore signal is one of the earliest forms of fixed railway signals. This semaphore system involves signals that display their different indications to train drivers by changing the angle of inclination of a pivoted 'arm'. Semaphore ...

and train

derail A derail or derailer is a device used to prevent fouling (blocking or compromising) of a rail track (or collision with anything present on the track, such as a person, or a train) by unauthorized movements of trains or unattended rolling stock. ...

s. If an approaching train did not react to the signals at the crossing, the derails were utilized, causing a minor accident and averting a major collision. The signals would be operated and along the railway track. At the derail would be set if the train could not stop before the intersection. There have been railway track in the province of

. Rail companies were intersected 58 times at level crossings. Some of these were railway lines crossing municipal street car rail lines. There were 36 Saskatchewan crossings which were controlled by mechanical interlocking machines between the early 1900s and 1990.

Photo gallery

Image:Lever frame Oban Tower SRM.jpg,

Lever frame Mechanical railway signalling installations rely on lever frames for their operation to interlock the signals, track locks and points to allow the safe operation of trains in the area the signals control. Usually located in the signal box, the ...

Image:ObanTowerLeverFrame.jpg,

Image:Oban-InterlockingTower-SRM.jpg,

Interlocking tower On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetabl ...