Highland questions

[Reinder]

Hello fellow moddellers

 

I am slowly moving onwards to a new plan for my modest hobbyroom. Now i am really getting into highland stuff. Maby because i used to visit Scotland before covid. 

 

So now i have a few questions that you maby have the answer for. 

 

1. What was the average patform size for the small stations on the west highland railway. I do wanna remodel Rannoch and crianlarich. But it's difficult to find a good photo for it. 

 

2, could you recommend any good books on the west highland route. I do have the oban to Callander railway but the pictures/photo's are not really that good. 

 

3. Would you u see any dmu's in the 1960/70s?

 

4.what kind of rolling stock would you see? On most photo's you see outdated mk1's but surely there would be more? 

 

For the people how are also interested in my trackplan. 

 

 

For now this is my current stage. The red station is Oban like. The black will be crianlarich with the junction and i was thinking of building Rannoch more a bit above right in the center track. On the bottom left will be a double helix for the tracks to reach crianlarich. The station wil be about 14cm above Oban at 0 cm. So when everything is build i have 4 levels on the layout. 1 sea level, 1, level for Oban and its track. 1 level for rannoch and 1 for crianlarich 

 

Behind the Greenline there will be a modest fiddleyard with a return loop so trains can head towards Oban again. But the line from Fort William is connected to the line from queenstreet so i can always have a train run around while i manage the next train at Oban. 

 

Ideas and suggestions are always welcome

[Robert Shrives]

Hi 

West Highland lines  - loads limited by gradients so 6 - 8 the max single loco platforms much the same but the like of Shandon  4 only - Having a train hang over the platform makes the train look longer as a subterfuge if space a problem.   

DMUs - summer only on Oban excursions - class 120 or 101 at a guess.   

As line was a rural idyll MK1s were indeed the stock of the day in the 1970s.  Even home to some of the last Maroon stock.

Check out Strathwood titles for suitable volumes.  I just dug out "BR Diesel Traction in Scotland" -  nigh on 700 pics but of course the WHR has at best 25, a grand book and good for near lineside details.  It is by George C O`Hara and even at £25 worth it as a good base resource.  It however shows the problem that many books are Scotland wide and WHR only gets a bit of a look in.  Flikr offers an online goldmine/ rabbit hole full of images.        

https://www.flickr.com/photos/152343870@N07/albums/72157668096752049

worth a look. 

hope that helps a bit 

Robert

 

[Ian Kirk]

Hi,

Looks an interesting project.  THe Library of Scotland has a good digital collection of old maps and the 25 inches to one mile  ones have sufficient detail to give the track plans which did not change much pre 1960. There is a gap in the collection over the open countryside and Rannoch is not included there is a satellite view of the present and it has a measuring feature. THe platform would seem to be 440 ft long  If you have the Callander and Oban book you will realise that prior to 1965 the trains to Oban ran underneath the West Highland at Crianlarich ( Crianlarich lower station) the junction being rarely used and the through West Highland trains were on their way to Fort William. 

In the 1960s Mark 1s were still fairly new and some west highland trains included a few ex LNER types. The only DMU I can recall in that period was on a Railtour called something like "the five Lochs tour" .

 

best wishes,

 

Ian

[Ben Alder]

Plenty of images of the two lines here....Click on the pics to open the albums.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 27, 2021 by Ben Alder

[Reinder]

26 minutes ago, Ian Kirk said:

Hi,

Looks an interesting project.  THe Library of Scotland has a good digital collection of old maps and the 25 inches to one mile  ones have sufficient detail to give the track plans which did not change much pre 1960. There is a gap in the collection over the open countryside and Rannoch is not included there is a satellite view of the present and it has a measuring feature. THe platform would seem to be 440 ft long  If you have the Callander and Oban book you will realise that prior to 1965 the trains to Oban ran underneath the West Highland at Crianlarich ( Crianlarich lower station) the junction being rarely used and the through West Highland trains were on their way to Fort William. 

In the 1960s Mark 1s were still fairly new and some west highland trains included a few ex LNER types. The only DMU I can recall in that period was on a Railtour called something like "the five Lochs tour" .

 

best wishes,

 

Ian

 

Hi Ian

 

I see what you mean with crianlarich, thah would be a interesting plan. But i do think it would be become to big for my layout. 

 

But if i am correct you mean to say that there were no trains from queen street towards Oban in the 60/70s?

 

 

 

@Ben Alder

 

Thanks for the links! 

 

[Reinder]

1 hour ago, Robert Shrives said:

Hi 

West Highland lines  - loads limited by gradients so 6 - 8 the max single loco platforms much the same but the like of Shandon  4 only - Having a train hang over the platform makes the train look longer as a subterfuge if space a problem.   

DMUs - summer only on Oban excursions - class 120 or 101 at a guess.   

As line was a rural idyll MK1s were indeed the stock of the day in the 1970s.  Even home to some of the last Maroon stock.

Check out Strathwood titles for suitable volumes.  I just dug out "BR Diesel Traction in Scotland" -  nigh on 700 pics but of course the WHR has at best 25, a grand book and good for near lineside details.  It is by George C O`Hara and even at £25 worth it as a good base resource.  It however shows the problem that many books are Scotland wide and WHR only gets a bit of a look in.  Flikr offers an online goldmine/ rabbit hole full of images.        

https://www.flickr.com/photos/152343870@N07/albums/72157668096752049

worth a look. 

hope that helps a bit 

Robert

 

@Robert Shrives

 

Thanks for the information. 

 

The thing with the platforms is i don't want them to big. But like 4 really max 5 so the layout is not filled with platform. Leaving enough room to build scenery and just trains running. 

 

I was just curious if it would be a bit prototypical. I know Oban had room for 8 coaches. And i choose Oban as the main centerpiece. The other stations must blend in with the landscape. Having my 8 coach train, maby double headed if that was the case toward Oban and for the rest just short trains, just like i see in allot of pictures 

[Jeremy Cumberland]

56 minutes ago, Reinder said:

 

But if i am correct you mean to say that there were no trains from queen street towards Oban in the 60/70s?

 

Not until September 1965. I recall mention of a period when the the Callendar and Oban line was closed before 1965 and Oban trains used the West Highland, but I cannot remember the details. Oban trains from Glasgow used Buchanan Street and went via Stirling. Some trains only started from Stirling.

 

If you want passenger timetables, the excellent https://timetableworld.com/ site has some from your period. Callandar and Oban is Table 33 and the West Highland line is Table 34 in the Scottish Region timetable.