Pass of Brander Stone Signals

Location type


Name and dates

Pass of Brander Stone Signals (1882-)

Opened on the Callander and Oban Railway.

Description

A series of 17 stone signals over a length of 3.2 miles are controlled by a rock screen uphill from the railway. The hillside above, the lower slope of Ben Cruachan, is sheer and rockfalls are not uncommon. The hillside drops to Loch Awe to the south. The portion of protected railway is on the north bank of loch and includes Falls of Cruachan station and the site of the former Awe Crossing.

The signals are known as 'Anderson's Piano' after John Anderson, the former manager of the Callander and Oban Railway, due to the sound made by the rock screen's wires in high wind.

The signals were first installed in 1882 (a mere two years after opening) and extended several times. Further modification was required when the halt and crossing loop opened. Recent years has seen an overhaul of the signals and they remain in use today.

Should a boulder fall onto the railway it may break the wires of the bounder screen which results in the signals changing to danger to alert train drivers. Several large boulders are wired directly to the system.

Another set of such signals existed elsewhere on the same line - a pair of signals were installed at Craig-na-Cailleach Platform on the now closed Crianlarich Lower to Callander (Dreadnought) section of the line.

For a modern equivalent see Monkton.

Tags

Signals stone signals scenic

Aliases

Anderson^s Piano,Rock Screen




Nearby stations
Falls of Cruachan
Loch Awe
Taynuilt
Dalmally
Ach-na-Cloich
Connel Ferry
North Connel
Barcaldine Halt
Benderloch
Creagan
Oban
Oban Ticket Platform
Appin
Glen Falloch Platform
Bridge of Orchy
Awe Crossing
Falls of Cruachan Viaduct
Cruachan Dam
Crunachy Siding
Awe Viaduct
Tourist/other
Cruachan Power Station Visitor Centre
Meall Cuanail
Ben Cruachan
Stob Dearg
Drochaid Ghlas
Stob Garbh
Stob Diamh
Sron an Isean
Loch Awe [Loch]
Cladich Pier
Location names in dark blue are on the same original line.


Mass concrete


Much use of mass concrete was made in the extension from Dalmally to Oban. In addition to viaducts (such as the [[Falls of Cruachan Viaduct) the line runs on a embankment with a concrete retaining wall for much of its length in the Pass of Brander.


Chronology Dates

27/06/1882Callander and Oban Railway
Large fence built to detect boulders which roll onto the trackbed in the Pass of Brander authorised. Pass of Brander Stone Signals.

Books


A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: The North of Scotland v. 15 (Regional railway history series)

Birth and Death of a Highland Railway: Ballachulish Line

Caledonian Railway

Caledonian Routes 3: Stirling to Crianlarich - DVD - Oakwood Press

Callander & Oban Railway Through Time

Callander and Oban Railway (Library of Railway History)

History of the Railways of the Scottish Highlands: Callander and Oban Railway v. 4

History of the Railways of the Scottish Highlands: Callander and Oban Railway v. 4

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

Oban 1898: Argyllshire Sheet 98.07 (Old Ordnance Survey Maps of Argyllshire)

On West Highland Lines

Railway World Special: West Highland Lines

Scotland’s Lost Branch Lines: Where Beeching Got It Wrong

Scottish Central Railway (Oakwood Library of Railway History)

The Birth and Death of a Highland Railway: Ballachulish Line

The Caledonian, Scotland's Imperial Railway: A History

Trossachs and West Highlands: Exploring the Lost Railways (Local History Series)

Walks from the West Highland Railway (Cicerone Guide)