Oban railway station

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Oban
An t-Oban
A Class 156 "Super-Sprinter" at Oban station on 25th June 2005
Location
Place	Oban
Local authority	Argyll and Bute
Operations
Station code	OBN
Managed by	First ScotRail
Platforms in use	2
Live departures and station information from National Rail
Annual Rail Passenger Usage
2004/05 *	113,830
2005/06 *	110,000
History
Key dates	Opened 1 July 1880
National Rail - UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Oban from Office of Rail Regulation statistics.
UK Railways Portal

Oban railway station is a railway station serving Oban in Scotland. It is the terminus of one branch of the highly scenic West Highland Line 163 km (101½ miles) north of Glasgow Queen Street. Services are operated by First ScotRail.

Contents 1 History 2 Signalling 3 Services 3.1 Summer 2007 3.2 Winter 2007/08 4 External links

[edit] History

Oban station opened on 1 July 1880. A ticket platform (long since disused but still in situ) was located on the west side of the single line, about half a mile to the south. Just south of there, a short branch line diverged to the east, towards a goods yard and engine shed.

Two additional platforms were constructed on the west side of the station in 1904, following the opening of the branch from Connel Ferry to Ballachulish.

Following closure of the goods yard and engine shed, a rail-connected oil storage depot occupied part of the site for a number of years, although this has itself since closed.

Since 1982, only the 1904-built platforms remain in use (still numbered as Platforms 3 and 4). The present small station building was officially opened on 3 January 1986, the occasion being marked by the naming of two Class 37 locomotives. Despite it being a listed building, the original station building was subsequently demolished.

[edit] Signalling

Since its opening on 1 July 1880, the single line between Dalmally and Oban was worked by the electric token system, this being the first ever application of that system in everyday service.

Oban originally had two signal boxes, namely Oban Station signal box (the larger of the two), and Oban Goods Junction signal box. The latter was situated about a quarter mile further south, where the line to the goods yard and engine shed diverged from the single line. The original signal boxes contained 21 and 5 levers, respectively. The single line between the two boxes was doubled in 1881.

In connection with the station's enlargement, Oban Station Signal Box was replaced (on the opposite side of the line and slightly nearer the station) in 1904. The new box contained a frame of 64 levers, subsequently shortened to 48. Oban Goods Junction S.B. was replaced in 1929.

Oban Goods Junction S.B. closed on 4 May 1969. Oban Station S.B. closed on 5 December 1982, when a 'no signalman' system of electric token working was introduced on the section from Taynuilt signal box. The last remaining semaphore signals were removed at that time, including the signal gantry.

The Radio Electronic Token Block system was introduced in 1988 and the Train Protection & Warning System was installed in 2003.

[edit] Services

[edit] Summer 2007

In Summer 2007, there were four trains a day to and from Glasgow Queen Street along the West Highland Line.

[edit] Winter 2007/08

During winter 2007/08, there are three trains a day to and from Glasgow Queen Street along the West Highland Line.

[edit] External links

• Train times and station information for Oban railway station from National Rail

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Connel Ferry		First ScotRail West Highland Line		Terminus
Historical Railways
Connel Ferry Line and Station open		Callander and Oban Railway		Terminus