Loch Awe railway station

Loch Awe
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*
2011/12	2,544
2012/13	2,726
2013/14	3,034
2014/15	4,752
2015/16	4,804
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 and 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

References

• 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. 
• Fryer, Charles (1989). The Callander and Oban Railway. Oxford: Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-8536-1377-X. OCLC 21870958. 

• 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. 

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

External links

• Video footage of Loch Awe Railway Station

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Loch Awe railway station.