Rhu: The disused twin platforms at Rhu looking west in April 1991. Opened in 1894 as Row the name change occurred in 1927. Closed between January 1956 and April 1960, final closure came in June 1964.
Ewan Crawford /04/1991

Rhu

Location type

Station

Names and dates

Row (1894-1927)
Rhu (1927-1956)
Rhu (1960-1964)

Opened on the West Highland Railway.

Description

This was a two platform station, more typical of the stations on the northern section of the line. The main station building was on the west/northbound platform. To its west was the footbridge connecting to the eastbound platform with the taller than usual signal box.

There was a goods yard so the south of the line, approached from the west.

The loop here had a chequered history, it opened with the line and the box closed in 1921. A new loop extended further west opened during the Second World War, in 1941, but the new box closed in 1950. The station closed in 1956 but re-opened between 1960 and 1964 as a single platform station.

The surviving platforms are in concrete. Station buildings have not survived and the track has been slewed for a straighter alignment which serves neither platform. The station agent's house still stands at the east end of the station, south side of the line, much extended.

Tags

Station

External links

Canmore site record
NLS Collection OS map of 1892-1914
NLS Collection OS map of 1944-67
11/10/2021

Facilities

Gaelic name: An Rubha




Nearby stations
Faslane Platform
Helensburgh Upper
Helensburgh Central
Helensburgh Ticket Platform
Shandon
Craigendoran Pier
Craigendoran
Craigendoran Upper
Faslane Port
Fort Matilda
Gourock
Garelochhead
Greenock Princes Pier [2nd]
Greenock Princes Pier [1st]
Greenock West
Rosneath Shipbuilding Yard
Faslane Junction
Rosneath Boatyard
Tourist/other
Glenarn Gardens
Henry Bell^s Grave
Ardencaple Level Crossing
Rhu Marina
Blairvadach House
Dalmore House
Rhu Lighthouse
Ardencaple Castle
Rosneath Pier
Woodend Level Crossing
Castle Point Lighthouse
Rosneath House
Location names in dark blue are on the same original line.


Chronology Dates

07/08/1894West Highland Railway
Public opening from Fort William to Craigendoran. Stations opened at Craigendoran Upper, Helensburgh Upper, Row, Shandon, Garelochhead, Arrochar and Tarbet, Ardlui, Crianlarich, Tyndrum [WHR], Bridge of Orchy, Gortan (private), Rannoch, Corrour (private), Inverlair, Roy Bridge, Spean Bridge and Fort William [1st].
01/06/1924West Highland Railway
Row renamed Rhu.
06/07/1931West Highland Railway
A loop added at Rhu.
04/06/1950West Highland Railway
Rhu signal box closed.
09/01/1956West Highland Railway
Rhu closed.
04/04/1960West Highland Railway
Rhu re-opened.
14/06/1964West Highland Railway
Craigendoran (West Highland, high level), Rhu, Shandon, Whistlefield and Glen Douglas closed as the local service from Craigendoran to Arrochar and Tarbet is withdrawn.

News items

01/05/2007Helensburgh area Customer Forum

Books

All Stations to Mallaig!: West Highland Line Since Nationalisation
Argyll and the Highlands Last Days of Steam

Argyll and the Highlands' Lost Railways

Ben Nevis and Fort William, The Mamores and The Grey Corries, Kinlochleven and Spean Bridge (OS Explorer Map)

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

Mountain Moor and Loch on the Route of the West Highland Railway

On West Highland Lines

Railway World Special: West Highland Lines

Rannan Rathad Iarainn nan Eilean =: The West Highland Line

Road To The Isles Dvd: Part One The West Highland Line Between Crianlarich to Fort William, From the Drivers Cab Of A Class 37, With The Caledonian Sleeper
The Mallaig Railway: The West Highland Extension 1897-1901 (RCAHMS Broadsheet)
The New Railway: The Earliest Years of the West Highland Line

The Story of the West Highland

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

The West Highland Railway

The West Highland Railway (Railways of the Scottish Highlands)

The West Highland Railway 120 Years

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

Victorian Travel on the West Highland Line: By Mountain, Moor and Loch in 1894

Walks from the West Highland Railway (Cicerone Guide)

West Highland Line: 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
West Highland Railway: Plans, Poltics and People