Garelochhead railway station

Garelochhead railway station (Scottish Gaelic: Ceann a' Gheàrrloch) is a railway station serving the village of Garelochhead, on the Gare Loch, in Scotland. This station is on the West Highland Line and is a boundary station for SPT.

Garelochhead
Scottish Gaelic: Ceann a' Gheàrrloch[1]
View north towards Arrochar & Tarbet
Location
PlaceGarelochhead
Local authorityArgyll and Bute
Coordinates56.0801°N 4.8254°W / 56.0801; -4.8254
Grid referenceNS242910
Operations
Station codeGCH
Managed byAbellio ScotRail
Number of platforms2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15 6,920
2015/16 7,806
2016/17 8,556
2017/18 9,796
2018/19 8,818
Passenger Transport Executive
PTESPT
History
Original companyWest Highland Railway
Pre-groupingNorth British Railway
Post-groupingLNER
7 August 1894Opened
Listed status
Listing gradeCategory B
Entry numberLB19490[2]
Added to list08 July 1988
National Rail – UK railway stations
  • Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Garelochhead from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

History

This station opened to passengers on 7 August 1894.[3]

The station was laid out with a crossing loop and an island platform. There were sidings on both sides, and a turntable on the west side of the line.[4]

The station was host to a LNER camping coach from 1935 to 1939.[5] A camping coach was also positioned here by the Scottish Region from 1964 to 1967.[6]

Until the 1960s, the station was served by a local shuttle service between Craigendoran and Arrochar & Tarbet in addition to main line trains to Fort William and Mallaig. Latterly operated by a Wickham diesel railbus, it fell victim to the Beeching Axe in June 1964.[7]

The siding on the east side was removed in 1983. On 15 February 1987, the crossing loop was altered to right-hand running. The original Down platform has thus become the Up platform, and vice versa. The change was made to simplify shunting at this station, by removing the need to hand-pump the train-operated loop points to access the siding.

Signalling

From the time of its opening in 1894, the West Highland Railway was worked throughout by the electric token system. Garelochhead signal box, which had 18 levers, was situated on the island platform.

The semaphore signals were removed on 2 February 1986 in preparation for the introduction of Radio Electronic Token Block (RETB) by British Rail. The RETB, which is controlled from a Signalling Centre at Banavie railway station, was commissioned between Helensburgh Upper and Upper Tyndrum on 27 March 1988.

The Train Protection & Warning System was installed in 2003.

Services
Preceding station National Rail Following station
Helensburgh Upper   Abellio ScotRail
West Highland Line		   Arrochar & Tarbet
Helensburgh Upper   Caledonian Sleeper
Highland Caledonian Sleeper		   Arrochar & Tarbet
  Historical railways  
Shandon
Line open; Station closed		   West Highland Railway
North British Railway
   Whistlefield Halt
Line open; Station closed

2011

Mondays to Saturdays, there are three services to Oban and Mallaig and one service to Fort William (Highland Caledonian Sleeper) northbound. Southbound, there are four services to Glasgow Queen Street (three on Saturdays) and one service to London Euston (Highland Caledonian Sleeper does not run on Saturday). On Sundays, there is just one train northbound to Oban and Mallaig and two trains southbound to Glasgow Queen Street and London Euston.

2019

Mondays to Saturdays, there are six trains to Oban and three to Mallaig each day northbound (three of the Oban services run combined with those to Mallaig, splitting at Crianlarich), plus the Highland Sleeper to Fort William. Southbound, there are six trains to Glasgow Queen Street High Level plus the sleeper to Edinburgh Waverley and London Euston (this calls at Queen Street Low Level to set down only and does not run on Saturday evenings). On Sundays there are three trains to Oban all year and two to Mallaig in summer and one in the winter northbound and three trains to Glasgow southbound, along with the London sleeper.[8]

References

Notes
  1. Brailsford (2017), Gaelic/English Station Index.
  2. Historic Environment Scotland. "GARELOCHHEAD STATION INCLUDING SIGNAL BOX, SUBWAY, GATES AND RAILINGS (LB19490)". Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  3. Butt (1995), p. 101.
  4. "Garelochhead station on OS 25inch map Dumbartonshire nIX.12 (Rhu; Rosneath)". National Library of Scotland. 1918. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  5. McRae (1997), p. 11.
  6. McRae (1998), p. 28.
  7. "The 'Wee Arrochar'". Helensburgh Heritage Trust. Archived from the original on 16 April 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  8. GB eNRT May 2019 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • 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.
  • McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. ISBN 1-870119-48-7.
  • McRae, Andrew (1998). British Railways Camping Coach Holidays: A Tour of Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part Two). Foxline. ISBN 1-870119-53-3.

Further reading
  • 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.
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