, symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = File:Upper Tyndrum Railway Station with a train for Mallaig.JPG , caption = Upper Tyndrum station, looking north towards Fort William and Mallaig , borough =

Tyndrum Tyndrum (; gd, Taigh an Droma) is a small village in Scotland. Its Gaelic name translates as "the house on the ridge". It lies in Strathfillan, at the southern edge of Rannoch Moor. Location and facilities Tyndrum is a popular tourist village, ...

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling. It borders Perth ...

, country = Scotland , coordinates = , grid_name =

Grid reference A projected coordinate system, also known as a projected coordinate reference system, a planar coordinate system, or grid reference system, is a type of spatial reference system that represents locations on the Earth using cartesian coordin ...

, grid_position = , manager = ScotRail , platforms = 2 , code = UTY , original =

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 ...

, pregroup = North British Railway , postgroup =

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 ...

, years = 7 August 1894 , events = Station opened as TyndrumButt (1995), page 236 , years1 = 21 September 1956 , events1 = Station renamed as Tyndrum Upper , years2 = 1988 , events2 = Station renamed as Upper Tyndrum , mpassengers = , footnotes = Passenger statistics from the

Office of Rail and Road The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the economic and safety regulation of Britain's railways, and the economic monitoring of National Highways. ORR regulates Network Rail by setting its ...

Upper Tyndrum railway station is one of two

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 prep ...

s serving the small village of

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 ...

. It is on the Fort William route of the scenic

West Highland Line The West Highland Line ( gd, Rathad Iarainn nan Eilean - "Iron Road to the Isles") is a railway line linking the ports of Mallaig and Oban in the Scottish Highlands to Glasgow in Central Scotland. The line was voted the top rail journey in the ...

, between

Crianlarich Crianlarich (; gd, A' Chrìon Làraich) is a village in Stirling council area and in the registration county of Perthshire, Scotland, around north-east of the head of Loch Lomond. The village bills itself as "the gateway to the Highlands". E ...

and

Bridge of Orchy Bridge of Orchy ( gd, Drochaid Urchaidh) is a village in Glen Orchy in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is named after the crossing over the River Orchy, which was constructed by British Army during the pacification of the Highland Clans following ...

, sited from

Craigendoran Craigendoran (Gaelic: ) is a suburb at the eastern end of Helensburgh in Scotland, on the northern shore of the Firth of Clyde. The name is from the Gaelic for "the rock of the otter". It is served by Craigendoran railway station. Craigendoran pi ...

Junction, near

Helensburgh Helensburgh (; gd, Baile Eilidh) is an affluent coastal town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local gove ...

. Services are operated by ScotRail - who manage the station - and

Caledonian Sleeper ''Caledonian Sleeper'' is the collective name for overnight sleeper train services between London and Scotland, in the United Kingdom. It is one of only two currently operating sleeper services on the railway in the United Kingdom, the other b ...

History

Originally named "Tyndrum", this station opened concurrently with the West Highland Railway in 1894, as the second station in the village. In 1956, British Rail added the suffix "Upper" to the station's name, to distinguish it from the station on the Callander and Oban Line which then became known as . The station name was altered to "Upper Tyndrum" upon the introduction of

RETB Radio Electronic Token Block is a system of railway signalling used in the United Kingdom. It is a development of the physical token system for controlling traffic on single lines. The system is slightly similar to North American Direct Traffic ...

(see below), to reduce the risk of it being confused with "Tyndrum Lower" in radio communications.

Signalling

The signal box, which had 15 levers, was situated on the

island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...

. From its opening in 1894, the West Highland Railway was worked throughout by the electric token system. In 1967, the method of working between and was changed to the

Scottish Region The Scottish Region (ScR) was one of the six regions created on British Railways (BR) and consisted of ex- London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and ex- London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) lines in Scotland. It existed from the creatio ...

Tokenless Block system. The Down loop at Tyndrum Upper was signalled for running in either direction and the signal box was able to 'switch out' when not required. In August 1985, the method of working between Crianlarich and Rannoch reverted to the electric token block system. The

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 ...

were removed on 22 December 1985 in preparation for the introduction of

Radio Electronic Token Block Radio Electronic Token Block is a system of railway signalling used in the United Kingdom. It is a development of the physical token system for controlling traffic on single lines. The system is slightly similar to North American Direct Traffic ...

(RETB). The RETB system was commissioned by British Rail between and Upper Tyndrum on 27 March 1988. On 29 May of the same year, the RETB spread north to

Fort William Junction , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Fort William Station.JPG , borough = Fort William, Highland , country = Scotland , coordinates = , grid_name = Grid ...

, resulting in the closure of Upper Tyndrum signal box (amongst others). The RETB is controlled from a purpose-built Signalling Centre at

Banavie railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Banavie Station (geograph 5324117).jpg , caption = The platform at Banavie with Ben Nevis's peak covered in cloud and snow. , borough = B ...

. Upper Tyndrum station is the boundary between the two signalling

interlocking In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junctions or crossings. The signalling appliances and tracks are sometimes collectively re ...

s and the areas of control of the two signalmen. The

Train Protection & Warning System The Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS) is a train protection system used throughout the British passenger main-line railway network, and in Victoria, Australia. The British Rail Safety and Standards Board's definition is: The purpose of TP ...

was installed in 2003.

Facilities

The station only has very basic facilities, being a small car park and some bike racks. The station has no step-free access, the only access being from a subway. As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.

Passenger volume

In 2005/06 it was the least used station on the West Highland Line, probably because of its position up a hill above the village, as opposed to on the Oban branch, which also offers services to and from Crianlarich and destinations to the south (usually at about the same time, as the trains tend to connect at Crianlarich). The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

On weekdays and Saturdays, ScotRail operates three services north to

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 three south to

Glasgow Queen Street , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Queen Street railway station (geograph 6687389).jpg , caption = Main entrance in 2020 , borough = Glasgow , country = Scotland , coordinates = , grid_name = Grid reference , grid_positi ...

. Caledonian Sleeper operates one service each way to Fort William and

London Euston Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city rail ...

(the latter does not run on Saturdays). On Sundays, there are two services northbound to Mallaig, two services southbound to Glasgow Queen Street, and one service to London Euston.eNRT May 2022 Edition, Table 220

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Video footage of Upper Tyndrum Station
{{Railway stations served by Caledonian Sleeper Railway stations in Stirling (council area) Former North British Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1894 Railway stations served by ScotRail Railway stations served by Caledonian Sleeper James Miller railway stations