Longannet Power Station Loop (British Railways)

Introduction

This loop of lines, on the north side of the single track railway at Longannet between Kincardine Junction and Elbowend Junction [2nd] was used to deliver coal to the now closed Longannet Power Station.




Portions of line and locations

This line is divided into a number of portions.


Power Station

Longannet Power Station was to the east of the loop of lines used to deliver coal.

This was a 2,400 megawatt coal fired power station, capable of using other fuels.
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View over the site of Longannet Power Station, now demolished. The power station was to the left by the pier and the rail served coal yard to the ...
Ewan Crawford //
Coal - swallower extraordinaire. Longannet power station looking south towards the Forth in June 2005. Longannet consumes approximately 10,000 tonnes ...
John Furnevel 13/06/2005
2 of 2 images.





Longannet Loop

This loop could be approached from either the east or west and departures could be either east or west.

This junction allowed trains from the west (Alloa and Kincardine Junction direction) to enter the loops which served Longannet Power Station's Longannet Bunkers. Control was from Longannet Signal Box located at Longannet East Departure. The junction was location on a sea wall alongside the Firth of Forth.
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See also
Kincardine and Dunfermline Railway (North British Railway)
A coal train from Hunterston Import Terminal via Alloa, approaching the west arrival sidings at Longannet power station on an overcast May morning in ...
John Furnevel 30/05/2008
Looking south across the Forth as Freightliner 66605 approaches Longannet Power Station with a coal train on 16 November. ...
Bill Roberton 16/11/2009
56104 takes the west spur into Longannet Power Station with the first working of opencast coal, loaded at the former Kincardine Power Station, into ...
Bill Roberton 15/05/1994
DBS 66037 skirts the Forth with empties with the doomed power station in the background.
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Bill Roberton 14/03/2016
4 of 7 images. more


Longannet siding was a loop and sidings at Longannet Point. It was later the site of the eastern arrival for the bunkers for Longannet Power Station.
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See also
Kincardine and Dunfermline Railway (North British Railway)
A coal train arrives at Longannet Power station. The coal stockyard can be seen over to the left. ...
Ewan Crawford //
1 of 1 images.


The unloading point for Longannet Power Station was rail served, trains approaching from the west. In order to facilitate this the loop lines which served the location met the Kincardine and Dunfermline Railway (North British Railway) with a triangular junction at either end.
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The loop serving the bunkers at Longannet Power Station still exist, becoming increasingly overgrown. Longannet Mine was in the foreground with the ...
Ewan Crawford 12/09/2023
1 of 1 images.




Passing Longannet signalbox, view from a DMU railtour in 1992. [Ref query 15535] ...
Bill Roberton //1992
Looking east at Longannet signalbox. ...
Ewan Crawford //
2 of 2 images.





Longannet Mine

Coal was also provided locally, via the complex of underground connected mines which was brought up at Longannet. The mine was not railway served.

This mine was part of a unit consisting of Bogside Colliery (1959 - 1985), Castlehill Mine (1965 - 1990), Solsgirth Colliery (1965 - 1990) and (later) Castlebridge Colliery (1979 - 2002). Coal mined at those locations was brought to the surface here by means of a long underground conveyor. Overground the conveyor continued to Longannet Power Station which was supplemented by ...

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Longannet Mine in January 2008. Surface buildings survived for some time after the closure in 2002 when the workings flooded. ...
Ewan Crawford 04/01/2008
The closed colliery at Longannet on 22 March 2008 - see news article. ...
Bill Roberton 22/03/2008
2 of 2 images.