Spean Bridge
Location type
StationName and dates
Spean Bridge (1894-)Station code: SBR National Rail ScotRail
Where: Highland, Scotland
Opened on the Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway.
Opened on the West Highland Railway.
Open on the West Highland Line.
Description
This is a two platform station with a passing loop. The main station building on the eastbound platform (for the south), altered at the road side, remains standing. There is a disused signal box ('C' listed) dating from 1949.
A goods yard, now in use for permanent way purposes, remains. This is at the east end of the station, north of the line and serves a goods bank. It is reached by reversal.
The station was originally a two platform station but a bay platform was added on the west side with the opening of the Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway in 1903. The part of the branch closest to the station was double track and a complicated double track junction was installed leading to the bay platform (and its loop) and the west end of the mainline station loop. In addition Spean Bridge Shed was opened for the branch trains. To control the complicated junction a signal box, 'Spean Bridge Junction', was added in 1901 (two years before opening to enable the construction). The existing station signal box was also replaced to which the junction box was subservient. The two lines ran west almost together for a short distance before the branch turned north west.
The junction was later greatly simplified in 1921 and the box closed. The station box took over the junction.
The branch closed to passengers in 1933. It remained open for goods until 1946, when closed by the London and North Eastern Railway. With this came a further re-signalling. A temporary box was used until the permanent box was ready in 1949. It is this which still stands.
A portion of the southern end of the branch was retained for many years. This ran nearly as far as the Spean Viaduct [IFA], terminating close to the A82, and was used to store wagons. The A82 was realigned but the remains of its former bridge over the branch can be found.
The signal box closed in 1986. Spean Bridge Shed was in use as a works building in the 1990s but has been demolished.
The edge of the bay platform can still be traced. The station building for the branch company, a timber building on the west side of the road overbridge, existed until the late 1980s.
The main station building is now a restaurant. Old Station Restaurant Spean Bridge
Tags
Station junctionExternal links
Canmore site recordNLS Collection OS map of 1892-1914
NLS Collection OS map of 1944-67
Facilities
Gaelic name: Drochaid an Aonachain
| Nearby stations Gairlochy Roy Bridge Invergloy Platform Banavie Pier Banavie Corpach Tulloch Fort William Fersit Halt Fort William [1st] Loch Eil Outward Bound Invergarry Corrour Locheilside Aberchalder | Spean Bridge Shed Spean Viaduct [IFA] Spean Viaduct Bridge 18 Allt Dublin Bridge 19 Bridge 17 Bridge 21 Allt Briste Central Loop Bridge 16 Allt a^ Bhalbhain Bridge 31 Allt nan Slat Adit 5 tip Tourist/other Commando Memorial High Bridge Kerreays Level Crossing Millens Level Crossing |
| Location names in dark blue are on the same original line. | |
CommandosRailhead for the Achnacarry House training ground for Commandos in the Second World War. Those arriving would detrain here and cross over, by today's Commando Memorial to Gairlochy and the house. |
Chronology Dates
| 29/01/1889 | West Highland Railway Charles Forman (of engineers Forman & McCall), James Bulloch (Forman's chief engineer), J.E. Harrison (assistant engineer), Robert McAlpine (contractor), John Bett (factor of the Breadalbane Estates), Major Martin (factor of the Poltalloch estates) and N.B. MacKenzie (solicitor, local agent for the railway company) meet at a hotel in Spean Bridge to conduct a survey of the proposed route of the line over Rannoch Moor. |
| 30/01/1889 | West Highland Railway The party are taken by coach from Spean Bridge to Inverlair Lodge. The party set out to walk from Inverlair Lodge to the north end of Loch Treig. The party are rowed from the north end of Loch Treig to the south end and stay overnight at William Frederick Scarlett's (Lord Abinger) Craig-uaine-ach Lodge. |
| 31/07/1894 | West Highland Railway Helensburgh Upper, Shandon, Garelochhead, Glen Douglas, Arrochar and Tarbet, Ardlui, Crianlarich, Tyndrum [WHR], Bridge of Orchy, Gorton, Rannoch, Corrour, Inverlair, Roy Bridge, Spean Bridge signal boxes opened. |
| 07/08/1894 | West 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]. |
| / /1901 | West Highland Railway Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway Original signal box at Spean Bridge closed and replaced along with the opening of a junction signal box, a subsidiary to the main box. |
| 20/09/1921 | West Highland Railway Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway Spean Bridge junction signal box closed, junction rationalised. |
| 01/12/1933 | Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway Fort Augustus to Spean Bridge closed to passengers. Gairlochy, Invergarry, Invergloy Platform, Aberchalder, Fort Augustus closed. Line closed to all but a weekly coal train. (Also given as 31/12/1933). |
| 14/04/1946 | West Highland Railway Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway Spean Bridge signal box closed and temporary box opened. |
| 01/01/1947 | Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway Fort Augustus to Spean Bridge (excluded) closed to freight. |
| 28/08/1949 | West Highland Railway New Spean Bridge signal box replaces temporary box. |
| /03/1950 | Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway Last section of the line dismantled, except for a short length retained as a siding at Spean Bridge. |
| 02/03/1986 | West Highland Railway Spean Bridge signal box closed. |
| 08/05/1988 | West Highland Railway Spean Bridge block post can be switched out. |
| 29/05/1988 | West Highland Railway Tyndrum Upper, Bridge of Orchy, Rannoch, Corrour, Tulloch, Spean Bridge block posts eliminated by RETB. |
| /04/2010 | West Highland Railway Historic Scotland issues a formal notice to stop the demolition of Spean Bridge signal box. |
