Glenfinnan railway station

Glenfinnan National Rail
Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Fhionnainn[1]
Glenfinnan railway station main building June 2017
Location
Place Glenfinnan
Local authority Highland
Coordinates 56°52′21″N 5°26′58″W / 56.8725°N 5.4495°W / 56.8725; -5.4495Coordinates: 56°52′21″N 5°26′58″W / 56.8725°N 5.4495°W / 56.8725; -5.4495
Grid reference NM898809
Operations
Station code GLF
Managed by Abellio ScotRail
Number of platforms 2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2012/13 Increase 8,246
2013/14 Decrease 7,736
2014/15 Increase 8,778
2015/16 Increase 9,418
2016/17 Decrease 9,122
History
Original company Mallaig Extension Railway of West Highland Railway
Pre-grouping North British Railway
Post-grouping LNER
1 April 1901 Station opened[2]
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Glenfinnan from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Glenfinnan railway station is a railway station serving the village of Glenfinnan in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is on the West Highland Line. Glenfinnan Viaduct is about two-thirds of a mile (1.1 km) to the east of the station.

History

Glenfinnan station opened on 1 April 1901. The station has two platforms, one on either side of a crossing loop. There are sidings on the south side of the station.

The station was extensively refurbished in summer 2007.

Services

Glenfinnan is visited by "The Jacobite" steam trains in summer, and regular trains throughout the year. There are four trains per day to Mallaig and three to Glasgow Queen Street (High Level) plus a fourth to Fort William that connects with the overnight Caledonian Sleeper to London Euston on weekdays. On Sundays there are three trains per day each way in summer, but just one in winter.[3]

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Locheilside   Abellio ScotRail
West Highland Line		   Lochailort
Fort William   West Coast Railway Company
The Jacobite
May–October		   Arisaig
  Historical railways  
Locheilside
Line and Station open		   North British Railway
Mallaig Extension Railway of West Highland Railway
   Lochailort
Line and Station open

Signalling

Glenfinnan signal box

From its opening in 1901 the Mallaig Extension Railway was worked throughout by the electric token system. Glenfinnan signal box, which had 15 levers, was at the east end of the Down platform, on the south side of the line.

On 13 November 1983, the method of working from Glenfinnan to Mallaig became One Train Working (with train staff). Electric token block was reinstated to Arisaig on 29 April 1984, but One Train Working continued to be used when Arisaig token station was switched out. The Arisaig - Mallaig train staff would then be padlocked to the Glenfinnan - Arisaig key token.

Glenfinnan lost its semaphore signals on 13 April 1986, in preparation for Radio Electronic Token Block (RETB) signalling. RETB was commissioned between Mallaig Junction (now 'Fort William Junction') and Mallaig on 6 December 1987. This resulted in the closure of Glenfinnan signal box (amongst others). The RETB is controlled from a Signalling Centre at Banavie railway station.

The Train Protection & Warning System was installed in 2003.

Glenfinnan Station Museum

The Glenfinnan Station Museum is located in the station building, on the Down platform. The museum's exhibits focus on the construction, impact and operation of the Mallaig Extension Railway in the late 19th century. The restored booking office includes the original tablet instruments and, again since early 2012, various artefacts specific to the local area. There is also a changing exhibition of railway photography and a gift shop. The museum is open seasonally.

During 2011 and early 2012, the entire Museum site underwent extensive refurbishment. This included major work to the Original Signal Box; a new external staircase, repairs to cladding and a reference theatre/teaching space installed. The main station building underwent alterations to meet current access requirements and new weather proofing on the roof.

Ongoing work includes rebuilding the link path between the Station and Glenfinnan Viaduct, site of filming for several Harry Potter films, and expansion of the museum archives.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
  2. ↑ Butt (1995), page 104
  3. ↑ GB eNRT 2015-16 Edition, Table 227 (Network Rail)

Sources

  • Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
  • Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
  • Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
  • Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
  • RAILSCOT on Mallaig Extension Railway
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