Rannoch railway station
Rannoch | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Other names | Raineach |
| Location | Perth and Kinross |
| Managed by | First ScotRail |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Station code | RAN |
Rannoch railway station, on the West Highland Line, serves the area of Rannoch in Perth and Kinross. Its remote location on Rannoch Moor is picturesque and makes it attractive to walkers. The station boasts a tea room, gift shop and visitor centre.
Although the railway links the station with Glasgow and Fort William on the West Highland Line, the station area is otherwise more closely linked, by road, with central Highland towns and villages on or near the A9 road. The B846 road meets the A9 between Pitlochry and Blair Atholl, about 55 kilometres (34 mi) east of the station.
History
When the West Highland Line was built across Rannoch Moor, its builders had to float the tracks on a mattress of tree roots, brushwood and thousands of tons of earth and ashes.
Rannoch station opened to passengers on 7 August 1894.
The station was laid out with a crossing loop and an island platform. There were sidings on both sides, and a turntable on the east side of the line. The siding on the east side has been removed.
On 25 January 1987, the crossing loop was altered to right-hand running. The original Down platform has thus become the Up platform, and vice versa. The change was made in order to simplify shunting at this station, by removing the need to hand-pump the train-operated loop points to access the sidings.
Signalling
The signal box, which had 17 levers, was situated on the island platform. From the time of its opening in 1894, the West Highland Railway was worked throughout by the electric token system.
In 1967, the method of working between Crianlarich and Rannoch was changed to the Scottish Region Tokenless Block system.
In August 1985, the method of working between Crianlarich and Rannoch reverted to the electric token block system. The semaphore signals were removed on 3 November 1985 in preparation for the introduction of Radio Electronic Token Block (RETB).
The RETB system was commissioned between Upper Tyndrum and Fort William Junction on 29 May 1988. This resulted in the closure of Rannoch signal box and others on that part of the line. The RETB is controlled from a Signalling Centre at Banavie railway station.
The Train Protection & Warning System was installed in 2003.
Gallery
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The overnight sleeper from Euston has arrived on the right, while a few passengers board a southbound service to Glasgow -
Sign close to the station entrance -
In the woods on the right is evidence of a more extensive railway infrastructure, including the site of a turntable -
A Mallaig - Glasgow train arrives at Rannoch
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External links
- Train times and station information for Rannoch railway station from National Rail
