Black Island Platform railway station

Black Island Platform railway station, Blair Atholl, Perth and Kinross, Scotland, was located at an area known as the Black Island beside the River Garry.[2] The station was used during WWII by forestry workers and was not open for use by the general public. Standing on the old Inverness and Perth Junction Railway route it lay 36 mi 16 chains (58.3 km) from Perth railway station.

Black Island Platform
Location
PlaceBlair Atholl
AreaPerth and Kinross
Coordinates56.7674°N 3.8714°W / 56.7674; -3.8714
Grid referenceNN857655
Operations
Pre-groupingHighland Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Platforms2
History
?opened
11 April 1959 (1959-04-11)[1]Station closed
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain
A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z

History
Blair Atholl station in 1962 looking west towards Black Island

The station's date of opening date has not been ascertained however it is probably pre-1923. The CFC had also worked in Scotland during WWI[3] and on the 1927 OS map, a large number of apparent forestry buildings are shown.[2] No 5 Company of the Canadian Forestry Corps were stationed here in WWII.[3] The RAF photographed the camp and station site in May 1941.[4]

The CFC also had a military role and they were responsible for preparing anti-invasion defensive positions in their, working with the army.[3] The station officially closed in 1959,[1] some fourteen years after the CFC left. One reference gives the closure date as 1951.[5]

Infrastructure

A simple structure of wooden platforms on this double track section of line is most likely given the nature of the camp it served. It is unclear whether or not it was open at the time of the Highland Railway before that company became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. The camp site was accessed via a junction off the A9.[6]

Nothing substantial now remains of the station or the forty or so Nissen and other huts that formed the forestry corps camp.[7][4]

Forestry operations

The foresters worked in two groups, one cutting in the woods and retrieving the timber, the other processing it at the saw mill. On August 31, 1945 the Canadian Forestry Corps was disbanded after the cessation of hostilities and returned home. The Corps at its peak consisted of 220 officers and 6771 other ranks.[3]

References
  1. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 36. ISBN 1-85260-508-1.
  2. Sheet 49 - Grampian Mountains & Blair Atholl Publication date:1927.
  3. Canadian Forestry Corps
  4. Canmore - Blair Atholl, Black Island, Logging Camp
  5. RailScot - Black Island Platform
  6. Perth and Clackmannan Sheet XXI.SW, Surveyed: 1898, Published: 1900.
  7. Banffshire XIII.15 (Boharm; Botriphnie) Publication date: 1905 Revised: 1902
Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Blair Atholl
Line open, station open		   Highland Railway
Inverness and Perth Junction Railway		   Struan
Line open, station closed


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