Fort William railway station

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Fort William

Scottish Gaelic: An Gearasdan[1]
National Rail
Fort William Station.JPG
LocationFort William, Highland
Scotland
Coordinates56°49′15″N 5°06′17″W / 56.8207°N 5.1047°W / 56.8207; -5.1047Coordinates: 56°49′15″N 5°06′17″W / 56.8207°N 5.1047°W / 56.8207; -5.1047
Grid referenceNN105741
Managed byAbellio ScotRail
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeFTW
History
Original companyBritish Rail
Key dates
7 August 1894first station opened
9 June 1975first station closed
13 June 1975Present station opened[2][page needed]
Passengers
2016/17Decrease 0.138 million
2017/18Increase 0.156 million
2018/19Increase 0.160 million
2019/20Decrease 0.140 million
 Interchange  377
2020/21Decrease 22,316
 Interchange Decrease 39
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Fort William railway station is a railway station serving the town of Fort William in the Highland region of Scotland.

History[]

The original station in 1957
The original station alongside the loch

The first station was constructed by the West Highland Railway which was later absorbed by the North British Railway. They chose a site for the station alongside the town shipping pier, which required the purchase of a strip of the foreshore. The railway company bought this for £25 (equivalent to £2,800 in 2020)[3] an acre.[4] Purchase of this land displaced some people from their houses and the railway company was obliged to provide replacement housing. Other residents realised too late that the railway line cut the town off from the shore and the company responded by providing some wicket gate crossings.

It was opened by the Marchioness of Tweedale, Candida Louisa Bartolucci, wife of the chairman of the North British Railway, William Hay, 10th Marquess of Tweeddale[5] on 7 August 1894. They had departed by special train comprising two locomotives and eleven carriages from Glasgow at 8.15am, and arrived in Fort William at 1.30pm. It was sited further west of the present station on what is now the A82 town by-pass alongside Loch Linnhe at Station Square, at the time in close proximity to then location of the former Caledonian MacBrayne bus station. The old station was a stone built construction featuring a turret and a double arched entranceway and had three platforms. Two of the platforms terminated under the platform canopy, but the third continued past the station, crossing the MacBrayne pier and terminated at the jetty just beyond.[6]

In 1970 the British Railways Board put forward proposals to re-site the station 700 yards (640 m) north of its location to allow the improvements to the A82 to be implemented.[7] The last train from the old station departed on 7 June 1975[8] and the station closed on 9 June. It was demolished immediately afterwards to permit construction of the bypass.[9]

The present Fort William station of grey concrete construction was opened on 13 June 1975.[9] The current station lies in the shadow of Ben Nevis. During high winds in February 1980 a brick wall at the station collapsed onto the track and blocked a platform.[10]

The station is on the West Highland Line and the starting point for The Jacobite, a steam locomotive hauled passenger service to Mallaig.

Refurbishment of the facilities at Fort William railway station was completed in 2007 thanks to a £750,000 investment.[11] The refurbishment includes new shower facilities and refurbished toilets. The shower facilities include two showers for ladies, two for gentlemen and one unisex shower facility for disabled people.

Stationmasters[]

  • James Blackwood 1894 - 1898[12] (afterwards station master at Alva, Clackmannanshire)
  • David Archibald 1898 - ???? (formerly station master at Spean Bridge)
  • J. Millar 1902 - 1905[13] (formerly station master at Largo, afterwards station master at Gorgie)
  • William Gray 1905 - 1910[14] (afterwards station master at Kintilloch)
  • Alex Wilson 1910 - 1916[15] (afterwards station master at Dunbar)
  • Robert Whytock from 1916 (formerly station master at Reston)
  • William Compton from 1920[16] (formerly station master at Kirkliston)
  • Mr Davidson from 1929[17] (formerly station master at Newington and Blackford Hill)
  • Henry Wilson from 1934[18] (formerly stationmaster at Newburgh)
  • W. Hogg 1950[19] - 1956 (formerly station master at Langholm, afterwards station master at High Wycombe)
  • G. Paterson from 1956[20] (formerly station master at St Boswells)

Services[]

The Caledonian Sleeper (left) and a First ScotRail Glasgow to Mallaig service

As of the summer 2019 timetable, Fort William has three daytime trains per day in each direction on Mondays to Saturdays, running between Glasgow Queen Street and Mallaig. There is also a daily early morning service to Mallaig that starts at Fort William, with a similar return service in the evening (this connects into/out of the Caledonian Sleeper). The Caledonian Sleeper operates six nights per week (not Saturdays) from London Euston, starting/terminating at Fort William. The sleeper also carries seated coaches and can thus be used as a regular service train to/from Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh Waverley.[21]

The regular Sunday service consists of two train per day each way between Glasgow and Mallaig, with the schedule in the peak season supplemented by one service between Fort William and Mallaig.[22]

The Jacobite operates between Fort William and Mallaig, only stopping at Glenfinnan. This runs through the summer until late October, with a maximum of two trains per day Monday to Saturday and one on Sunday in the high season. A reduced Jacobite timetable is operated later in the summer.[22]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Spean Bridge   Abellio ScotRail
West Highland Line 		  Banavie
Terminus    
Spean Bridge   Caledonian Sleeper
Highland Caledonian Sleeper 		  Terminus
Glenfinnan   West Coast Railways
The Jacobite
May–October 		  Terminus
  Historical railways  
Spean Bridge
Line and station open 		  North British Railway
West Highland Railway
   Banavie Pier
Line mostly open; station closed
Terminus   North British Railway
West Highland Railway
  
Banavie
Line and station open 		  North British Railway
Mallaig Extension Railway of West Highland Railway
   Terminus

Signalling[]

Since its opening in 1975, the present Fort William station has been equipped with colour light signals. The signalling is controlled from an 'NX' (entrance-exit) panel in Fort William Junction signal box. The single line between the junction and the station is worked by the Track Circuit Block system, so no tokens are needed for that part of the route.

See also[]

References[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
  2. ^ Butt 1995.
  3. ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  4. ^ Thomas, John (1965). The West Highland Railway. David St John Thomas. p. 60. ISBN 0946537143.
  5. ^ "West Highland Railway". DundeeAdvertiser. Scotland. 13 August 1894. Retrieved 7 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ Thomas, John (1965). The West Highland Railway. David St John Thomas. p. 85. ISBN 0946537143.
  7. ^ "British Railways Board. Re-siting of Fort William Railway Station". Aberdeen Press and Journal. Scotland. 5 March 1970. Retrieved 7 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "Last train given big send off at Fort-William". Aberdeen Press and Journal. Scotland. 9 June 1975. Retrieved 7 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ a b Fort William re-sited The Railway Magazine issue 892 August 1975 page 377
  10. ^ "Winds". Aberdeen Press and Journal. Scotland. 5 February 1980. Retrieved 7 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ "Full steam ahead for new transport hub". Lochaber News. 20 October 2007. Archived from the original on 16 April 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  12. ^ "Change of Stationmaster". Inverness Courier. Scotland. 2 September 1898. Retrieved 7 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. ^ "Presentation". Inverness Courier. Scotland. 17 March 1905. Retrieved 7 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. ^ "New Station Agent". Northern Chronicle and General Advertiser for the North of Scotland. Scotland. 22 June 1910. Retrieved 7 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. ^ "Reston". Berwickshire News and General Advertiser. Scotland. 25 July 1916. Retrieved 7 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  16. ^ "Kirkliston". Midlothian Advertiser. Scotland. 17 December 1920. Retrieved 7 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  17. ^ "Appointment of L.N.E.R. Stationmasters". Dundee Courier. Scotland. 25 July 1929. Retrieved 7 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  18. ^ "Mr Henry Wilson". Perthshire Advertiser. Scotland. 15 December 1934. Retrieved 7 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  19. ^ "Personal Pars". Hawick Express. Scotland. 19 April 1950. Retrieved 7 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  20. ^ "Stationmaster's New Appointment". Berwickshire News and General Advertiser. Scotland. 11 September 1956. Retrieved 7 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  21. ^ Table 227 National Rail timetable, May 2016
  22. ^ a b "West Highland timetable" (PDF). ScotRail. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 August 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.

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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
  • "West Highland Railway". RAILSCOT. 2 April 2012.
  • "Mallaig Extension Railway". RAILSCOT. 24 March 2012.
  • "schotland 2006". treintjes.info (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 5 February 2012.

External links[]

Media related to Fort William railway station at Wikimedia Commons

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