Loch nan Uamh Viaduct

Location type

Bridge

Name and dates

Loch nan Uamh Viaduct (1901-)

Opened on the Mallaig Extension (West Highland Railway).

Description

This is an eight 50ft arch single track mass concrete viaduct between Arnabol Viaduct (to the east) and Loch nan Uamh No 116 Tunnel to the immediate north of the viaduct. The viaduct is at the east end of Loch nan Uamh (loch of the caves). It is also known as Gleann Mama Viaduct, for the glen to the east.

The viaduct has two sets of arches with a 'king' pillar in the middle - about the size of one of the arches. Counting from the north end, the viaduct crosses the A830 with the first arch, over the Allt a Mhanna and the beach with the third arch and over a dirt road with the fifth arch.

The line very much threads through the landscape here. Just to the east it is on the south bank of Loch Dubh, then crosses Arnabol Viaduct, runs along the side of a hill, crosses a spit of land, crosses the Loch nan Uamh Viaduct, plunges into a tunnel, then another tunnel and goes on clinging onto a hillside while it curves round the head of the loch.

Local

Princes Charles Edward Stuart left Scotland from the shore of Loch nan Uamh in 1746 after the unsuccessful Jacobite uprising. The The Prince's Cairn was built in 1956 by the 1745 Association. It is two thirds of a mile to the west of the viaduct. See also Glenfinnan Monument.

Tags

Viaduct

Aliases

Loch nan Umbh Viaduct Gleann Mama Viaduct

Facilities

Listing: B


Nearby stations
Beasdale
Lochailort
Arisaig
Morar
Lech-a-vuie Platform
Mallaig
Glenfinnan
Locheilside
Loch Eil Outward Bound
Corpach
Kentallen
Fort William [1st]
Duror
Fort William
Banavie
Loch nan Uamh No 116 Tunnel
Loch nan Uamh No 117 Tunnel
Arnabol Viaduct
Beasdale No 118 Tunnel
Polnish House
Beasdale No 119 Tunnel
Beasdale Bridge
Polnish No 107 Tunnel
Polnish No 106 Tunnel
Borrodale Tunnel
Camas Driseach Depot
Borrodale Viaduct
Tourist/other
The Prince^s Cairn
Polnish Chapel
Loch Ailort
Location names in dark blue are on the same original line.


An unfortunate horse


In 2001 radar scanning of the hollow, but rubble filled, 'king' pillar revealed the remains of a horse and cart which fell inside during construction. For many years their loss was associated with the Glenfinnan Viaduct but a survey by Professor Roland Paxton found no evidence at Glenfinnan but remains in the Loch nan Uamh Viaduct. Plaques commemorating the successful survey were erected at the viaduct and Glenfinnan station.


News items

29/01/2021Scot recreates iconic locations across country in incredible miniature 3D sets [Daily Record]
29/12/2020In pictures: Lost photos shine new light on construction of world-famous West Highland Line railway [Inverness Courier]

Books


A Mallaig Boyhood (Flashbacks)
All Stations to Mallaig!: West Highland Line Since Nationalisation
Captains and Commanders: Memoirs of a Scottish West Coast Fisherman

Chapels of the Rough Bounds

Highland Steam: A Scrapbook of Images from the 'Kyle, Mallaig and Highland Lines

History of the Railways of the Scottish Highlands: West Highland Railway v. 1

History of the Railways of the Scottish Highlands: West Highland Railway v. 1

Iron Road to the Isles: A Travellers and Tourist Guide to the West Highland Lines

Iron Roads to the Isles: A Travellers and Tourists Souvenir Guide to the West Highland Lines

Landranger (40) Mallaig & Glenfinnan, Loch Shiel (OS Landranger Map)

Mallaig Line: An Illustrated History and Guide

Old Mallaig, Morar and Arisaig

On West Highland Lines

Railway World Special: Fort William and Mallaig

Railway World Special: West Highland Lines

Rannan Rathad Iarainn nan Eilean =: The West Highland Line
Steam to Mallaig
The Mallaig Railway
The Mallaig Railway: The West Highland Extension 1897-1901 (RCAHMS Broadsheet)
The Story of the West Highland

The Story of the West Highland: The 1940s LNER Guide to the Line

The West Highland Mallaig Extension in B.R.Days

The West Highland Railway

The West Highland Railway (Railways of the Scottish Highlands)

The West Highland Railway 120 Years

Walks from the West Highland Railway (Cicerone Guide)

West Highland Extension: Great Railway Journeys Through Time

West Highland Railway
West Highland Railway (History of the Railways of the Scottish Highlands v. 1): West Highland Railway v. 1