GENSHEET Photo Gallery 8: Closed Lines

GENSHEET Gallery 8 : Closed lines

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Maldon Branch
Yarmouth Beach M&GN
Stainmore Line
Skye & Raasay
Callander & Oban line
Ballachulish and Fort Augustus branches
Far north, Dornoch, Lybster, Struie

The Post Office Railway
		The Post Office railway ran under London linking the main sorting offices with main line stations. These images are of unloading a train at Mount Pleasant platform and old car #5 in the works. Mount Pleasant opened as a tourist attraction, with rides, in 2018 as part of the Postal Museum
Tilbury Riverside
		This station closed in 1993, although the site has become a freight terminal. It had been used as a liner terminal (with boat trains from St Pancras) but latterly served a passenger ferry to Gravesend
Maldon and Tollesbury Branches
View from former level crossing in 2016	View across former goods yard area in 2016	View along the platform face towards former level crossing in 2018, showing the bypass following the former rail route to Witham	View across former goods yard area in 2018
Restored Ulting and Langford platform in 2017	Restored Ulting and Langford platform in 2017	The line from Witham closed in 1964, with the East station site used as a timber yard from 1971 - 2016. The approaches were made into a road in the 1980's while the rest of the route to Witham is now followed by the 'Blackwater Trail'. The station site was turned into a retail park, opening in late 2018.
Tollesbury Pier station site in 2020	Tollesbury Pier site in 2020, at high tide all that is visible is the WW2 bunker	The line from Kelvedon closed in 1962, but passenger trains had ceased in 1961 to Tollesbury, and as early as 1921 to Tollesbury Pier. The site was used in WW2 for gunnery and minefield control, so had more trains after it closed than when open !. A YouTube video of walking to the pier
Yarmouth Beach
		This station closed in 1959, although the site remained almost intact, apart from track and trains, as a bus terminal until 1986. All original buildings have now gone and it is simply a car park. The new housing at the north end is named with railway links. See more at 'Yarmouth Beach' on Berney Arms website and Geograph images taken in 1951
Stainmore line
The Stainmore line followed todays A66 and was used mainly for mineral traffic. It was also known for severe winters and signigicant engineering works including a huge viaduct at Belah. A66 has taken over the trackbed to bypass Bowes, where some station remains can be seen in winter, the westbound A66 at the summit, and also west of Appleby. There are two small preserved railways using the trackbed, Eden Valley at Warcop and Stainmore Railway at Kirkby Stephen East.
Replica Stainmore summit sign	Stainmore looking west. The line was the foreground farm track and (nearer) westbound carriageway of the A66. The eastbound carriageway of the A66 uses the earlier road alignment and still rises and kinks around where the railway cottages were sited.	Barras station house.	Gap at Belah viaduct, Belah signalbox still standing beyond the far abutment	More images
The 'other' Appleby station, East, just uphill of the Settle & Carlisle line station. Link to Disused Stations page
Level crossing	Station building	Line connecting to Appleby East from the Settle & Carlisle line station.
Railways on Skye & Raasay
Winding wheel at the top of the quarry incline	Line heading for Broadford Pier	Processing plant and loading platform	The Marble line ran from quarries above Kilbride to the pier at Broadford. It was the closest to a conventional railway on Skye
		One active railway remains on Skye, the access to Bearreraig (Storr lochs) hydro power station is by this rope incline down the cliff face
		The island of Raasay has extensive remains of the iron mine railway, a rope worked system, that ran from two mines to the processing plant adjoining Suishnish pier aerial images. This was the pier used by the ferry until 2011 See all 11 shots of the Raasay Railway
Railway track to Loch Cuithir, where the diatomite was mined	Diatomite processing plant on the shore	Another mineral line ran from a diatomite deposit inland at Loch Cuithir to the processing plant by the shore near Valtos. The line is clearly seen on aerial images
Rails in the pier at Carbost on Loch Harport	Railway back to Talisker distillery, Carbost	Talisker Distillery at Carbost had a short railway to Carbost pier
Callander & Oban Line
Glen Ogle The site at Glenoglehead was initially the station for Killin village, opening in 1870. It was even a temporary terminus as the line was built in stages as funds allowed. Although renamed Glenoglehead when the Killin branch opened in 1886, it offically closed in 1889. It remained as a crossing loop right through to line closure in 1965 and was used unoffically by staff and locals. The walk or cycle up Glenogle can be attacked 3 ways. From the top at Glenoglehead, the bottom at Balquhidder (both on the main cycleway) or walking u from Lochearnhead (steep !). It is also not pleasant or that safe to walk or cycle on the main A85 road.
The main 12 span viaduct along Glenogle, A couple of railway telephone poles remain on the right	View north up Glenogle	Cutting and overbridge just south of the summit	Modern, if rather appropriate, warning signs
Signal remains. As many of the signals were on lattice iron posts, these were often simply cut down, so leaving remains such as these.	Widened trackbed of the loop approaching Glenoglehead	Glenoglehead station houses
Killin Junction To walk to Killin Junction from Glenoglehead takes about 2 hours round trip, walking along the former Callander & Oban line. Glenoglehead has easier parking than accessing from Lix Toll up the Killin branch itself, and there is also the cycleway down GlenOgle towards Balquhidder from that point.
Platform remains at Glenoglehead looking north	Glenoglehead station houses, the station building was to the left	Loch Tay view	Island Platform at Killin Junction, in the foregraound ran the through lines	Lines diverge at Killin Junction, left for Killin right for Callander
See all 12 images of Killin Junction
Killin & Loch Tay The line in Killin and on to Loch Tay is a footpath, accessible by the falls and at the station site (parking and road depot). This includes crossing the two viaducts over the rivers Dochart and Lochay The line towards Acharn is also a footpath from west of the falls, or can be used to access Glenoglehead on the cycleway.
The Killin branch line, now a footpath, heading west from near Killin falls	Killin Dochart Viaduct	Viaduct over the Lochay	Viaduct over the Lochay, east of Killin station	Loch Tay station / shed site. The station building is in the trees right. View when open
Crianlarich Lower Crianlarich Lower station site was used for timber loading in the 1970's but is now a mix of housing and a car park. To the west a small section of the Callander line remains as a siding
Crianlarich lower station looking east into the station site, the double track notable at the bridge over the stream	Crianlarich lower station looking west under the West Highland line	Crianlarich Junction, where the line from Upper station joins the Callander route View when open
Ballachulish Branch
Creran Viaduct now converted into a road, but using the original central support
Creran Viaduct on the closed line	Creran Viaduct on the closed line, a footpath on the left for the foolhardy as it had rusted through	Works to convert the viaduct into the A828 road, cutting off the loop around Loch Creran
Appin A short shoreside walk. Best approached from the parking north of Lettershuna and the visitor centre or as a longer walk from Tynribbie passing the station site. Little sensible parking in Appin village on the station access road Google street view of Appin station site
Castle Stalker viewed from the line	Line looking north	Overbridge built in concrete	Loch Linnhe	View from visitor centre of Castle Stalker Line visible in treesby the shore
Ballachulish Ferry before and after the cyclepath
Ballachulish Ferry Station View towards Ballachulish	Ballachulish Ferry Station View towards Kentallen	Ballachulish Ferry Station View towards Ballachulish	Ballachulish Ferry Station View towards Kentallen	Rail path bears off from the A82, previously the station and line was invisible despite being only a few yards into the side
Fort Augustus The main interest here is the very short lived, and very expensive, pier line. This crossed the Caledonian Canal just by the top lock and then swept around the north of the town and down to Loch Ness. The station building is now private, but can be viewed from the Foyers Road. The town station is now a council works and school, but the platform survives and a little can be seen under the fence by the top lock. All signs of the swing bridge have gone, but some parts did survive until the 1980's.
Location of the railway remains in Fort Augustus	Fort Augustus Pier Station	The site of Fort Augustus swing bridge over the Caledonian Canal. The line can be seen opposite continuing to Pier station	The bridge supports of the Pier branch crossing the river Oich	Remnant of Fort Augustus Town Station
Struie monorail This was a peat digging monorail which closed in the early 1980's, situated beside the Struie hill road at Aultnamain above Edderton, once A836 now B9176. The main site is now acess to a windfarm
Location of the railway	Peat monorail 'station'	Peat monorail 'train'
Dornoch Branch
Mound Station seen from the old road alignment	Site of Cambusavie level crossing	Skelbo Station	See all 10 images of the Dornoch branch
Lybster Branch
	Lybster Station buildings survive as the golf course club house, many of the remains of this light railway have faded away
Speyside & Dava Lines
Grantown East on the Boat of Garten - Craigellachie line Now restored as a tourist attraction linked to the nearby Revack estate.		Dava summit on the original Perth - Inverness route via Grantown