West Highland Line

  • West Highland Line closed for track and bridge work

    West Highland Line closed for track and bridge work

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    OCTOBER 5-13 saw the West Highland Line closed for essential repairs to track and structures between Crianlarich and Fort William.  During the week-long line closure, engineers worked around-the-clock to refurbish and repaint bridges near Spean Bridge and Corrour, and renew drainage systems between Tyndrum Upper and Bridge of Orchy.  The well-known Auch Viaduct, on the…

  • ScotRail Class 153 cycle conversions underway

    ScotRail Class 153 cycle conversions underway

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    WORK on the first of five Class 153 units to be converted for use by ScotRail on the West Highland line has begun at Brodies in Kilmarnock.  Under ScotRail’s plan, these designated carriages, with space for cycles and large sporting equipment, as well as additional seating, will be used with the Class 156 units that…

  • Practice & Performance: A West Highland celebration

    Practice & Performance: A West Highland celebration

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    Marking the 125th anniversary of the West Highland line, Keith Farr concludes his performance summary of different traction types by looking at the diesel classes that replaced steam. In the August issue I took advantage of the 125th anniversary of the West Highland line to discuss steam performance between Glasgow and Fort William. Supporting the…

  • Mayflower in the Highlands

    Mayflower in the Highlands

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    ‘B1’ No. 61306 Mayflower crosses the Beauly Firth at Invershin while working a day tour from Inverness to Dunrobin Castle during Steam Dreams’ mammoth ‘Highlands and Islands’ tour of Scotland on May 9-17.  The previous day, the Thompson 4-6-0 worked with No. 60103 Flying Scotsman over the Highland Main Line from Edinburgh.  ‘Scotsman’ worked north from King’s…

  • They just wave flags and blow whistles, don’t they?

    They just wave flags and blow whistles, don’t they?

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    Train guards have a vitally important role to play on any railway – real or imagined – but what exactly do they do? Ian Lamb discovers that it’s an awful lot more than many of us might imagine. An essential part of any model railway layout featuring a station is the provision of suitable train…

  • Options revealed for ScotRail Class 153 conversion

    Options revealed for ScotRail Class 153 conversion

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    SCOTRAIL is moving forward with its proposal to increase capacity on its West Highland Line (WHL) services during the summer months. One of the problems faced by the services to Oban, Fort William and Mallaig (and intermediate stations) which use Class 156 units, is the lack of space for luggage and cycles, and the re-use…

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