Loch Awe railway station

Loch Awe National Rail
Scottish Gaelic: Loch Obha

An Oban to Glasgow train approaching Loch Awe station
Location
Place Loch Awe
Local authority Argyll and Bute
Coordinates 56°24′08″N 5°02′28″W / 56.4021°N 5.0412°W / 56.4021; -5.0412Coordinates: 56°24′08″N 5°02′28″W / 56.4021°N 5.0412°W / 56.4021; -5.0412
Grid reference NN124274
Operations
Station code LHA
Managed by Abellio ScotRail
Number of platforms 1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05   2,446
2005/06 Increase 2,775
2006/07 Decrease 2,168
2007/08 Increase 2,321
2008/09 Increase 2,594
2009/10 Increase 2,926
2010/11 Increase 3,160
2011/12 Decrease 2,544
2012/13 Increase 2,726
2013/14 Increase 3,034
History
Original company Callander and Oban Railway
Pre-grouping Callander and Oban Railway operated by Caledonian Railway
1 July 1880 Opened
5 May 1902 Second platform brought into use
1 November 1965 Closed
10 May 1985 Re-opened (using the newer platform)
29 May 1988 SC4494 delivered to be a tea room
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Loch Awe from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Loch Awe railway station is a railway station serving the village of Lochawe, on the northern bank of Loch Awe, in western Scotland. This station is on the Oban branch of the West Highland Line, originally part of the Callander and Oban Railway.

The privately owned locomotive that worked the Ben Cruachan Quarry Branch had authority to run over the main Callander and Oban Line between Loch Awe station and the branch junction, just over half a mile to the east.

History

This station opened on 1 July 1880 with just one platform. There was a loop, and sidings on both sides of the line. On 8 August 1897, the station building was destroyed by fire. A second platform, on the north side of the loop, was brought into use on 5 May 1902.

The station closed on 1 November 1965 but reopened on 10 May 1985 using only the more recent platform. The original platform remains in situ, but disused.

Signalling

Loch Awe signal box, which replaced the original box on 5 May 1902, was situated at the west end of the Down platform. It contained 24 levers. The signal box closed on 2 October 1966 when the crossing loop was removed.

Services

There are six departures in each direction Mondays to Saturdays, eastbound to Glasgow Queen Street and westbound to Oban. On weekdays only, an additional service in each direction between Dalmally & Oban calls here in the late afternoon. On Sundays, there are three departures each way throughout the year, plus a fourth in the summer months only. The additional service runs through from and to Edinburgh Waverley rather than Glasgow.[1]

Tea Train

The 'Tea Train'

An old Mark 1 carriage (which was formerly painted in green and cream "West Highland Line" livery and carried the number SC4494) sits on an isolated length of track immediately to the west of the station, on the south side. Having been brought to Loch Awe by a ballast train on 29 May 1988, it was until 2008 used as a tea room. The main single line had to be temporarily severed and slewed so that the carriage could be shunted onto its own track without the use of a crane.

Notes

  1. ↑ Table 227 National Rail timetable, May 2016

References

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Dalmally   Abellio ScotRail
West Highland Line		   Falls of Cruachan
Historical railways
Dalmally
Line and Station open		   Callander and Oban Railway
Operated by Caledonian Railway
   Falls of Cruachan
Line and Station open
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