Glenfinnan railway station

Glenfinnan Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Fhionnainn[1]
Glenfinnan railway station main building June 2017
Location	Glenfinnan, Highland Scotland
Coordinates	56°52′21″N 5°26′58″W / 56.8725°N 5.4495°W / 56.8725; -5.4495Coordinates: 56°52′21″N 5°26′58″W / 56.8725°N 5.4495°W / 56.8725; -5.4495
Grid reference	NM898809
Managed by	Abellio ScotRail
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	GLF
History
Original company	Mallaig Extension Railway of West Highland Railway
Pre-grouping	North British Railway
Post-grouping	LNER
Key dates
1 April 1901	Station opened
Passengers
2016/17	9,122
2017/18	11,620
2018/19	12,486
2019/20	13,864
2020/21	1,876
Listed Building – Category B
Designated	29 May 1985
Reference no.	LB312[2]
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Glenfinnan railway station is a railway station serving the village of Glenfinnan in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is on the West Highland Line. Glenfinnan Viaduct is about 0.7 miles (1 km) to the east of the station.

History[]

Glenfinnan station opened on 1 April 1901.^[3] The station has two platforms, one on either side of a crossing loop. There are sidings on the south side of the station.

The station was host to a LNER camping coach from 1936 to 1939.^[4] A camping coach was also positioned here by the Scottish Region from 1952 to 1962, the coach was replaced in 1963 by a Pullman camping coach which was joined by another Pullman in 1967 until all camping coaches in the region were withdrawn at the end of the 1969 season.^[5]

The station was extensively refurbished in summer 2007.

Signalling[]

From its opening in 1901 the Mallaig Extension Railway was worked throughout by the electric token system. Glenfinnan signal box, which had 15 levers, was at the east end of the Down platform, on the south side of the line.

Glenfinnan signal box

On 13 November 1983, the method of working from Glenfinnan to Mallaig became One Train Working (with train staff). Electric token block was reinstated to Arisaig on 29 April 1984, but One Train Working continued to be used when Arisaig token station was switched out. The Arisaig - Mallaig train staff would then be padlocked to the Glenfinnan - Arisaig key token.

Glenfinnan lost its semaphore signals on 13 April 1986, in preparation for Radio Electronic Token Block (RETB) signalling. RETB was commissioned between Mallaig Junction (now Fort William Junction) and Mallaig on 6 December 1987. This resulted in the closure of Glenfinnan signal box (amongst others). The RETB is controlled from a Signalling Centre at Banavie railway station.

The Train Protection & Warning System was installed in 2003.

Glenfinnan Station Museum[]

The Glenfinnan Station Museum is located in the station building, on the Down platform. The museum's exhibits focus on the construction, impact and operation of the Mallaig Extension Railway in the late 19th century. The restored booking office includes the original tablet instruments and, again since early 2012, various artefacts specific to the local area. There is also a changing exhibition of railway photography and a gift shop. The museum is open seasonally.

During 2011 and early 2012, the entire Museum site underwent extensive refurbishment. This included major work to the Original Signal Box; a new external staircase, repairs to cladding and a reference theatre/teaching space installed. The main station building underwent alterations to meet current access requirements and new weather proofing on the roof.

Ongoing work includes rebuilding the link path between the Station and Glenfinnan Viaduct, site of filming for several Harry Potter films, and expansion of the museum archives.

Services[]

Glenfinnan is visited by The Jacobite steam trains in summer, and regular trains throughout the year. There are four trains per day to Mallaig and three to Glasgow Queen Street plus a fourth to Fort William that connects with the overnight Caledonian Sleeper to London Euston on weekdays. On Sundays there are three trains per day each way in summer, but just one in winter.^[6]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Locheilside		Abellio ScotRail West Highland Line		Lochailort
Fort William		West Coast Railways The Jacobite May–October		Arisaig
	Historical railways
Locheilside Line and Station open		North British Railway Mallaig Extension Railway of West Highland Railway		Lochailort Line and Station open

See also[]

• Lech-a-Vuie Platform railway station

References[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Glenfinnan railway station.

Notes[]

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.
• McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. ISBN 1-870119-48-7.
• McRae, Andrew (1998). British Railways Camping Coach Holidays: A Tour of Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part Two). Foxline. ISBN 1-870119-53-3.

Further reading[]

• 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.

External links[]

• Glenfinnan Station Museum - official site
• RAILSCOT on Mallaig Extension Railway