Crianlarich

Scottish Gaelic: A' Chrìon-Làraich[1]
National Rail
Looking north towards Tyndrum
General information
LocationCrianlarich, Stirling
Scotland
Coordinates56°23′25″N 4°37′07″W / 56.3903°N 4.6185°W / 56.3903; -4.6185
Grid referenceNN384251
Managed byScotRail
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeCNR[2]
History
Original companyWest Highland Railway
Pre-groupingNorth British Railway
Post-groupingLNER
Key dates
7 August 1894Opened
1953Suffix "Upper" added to station name.
After 1965Suffix "Upper" removed from station name.
Passengers
2018/19Decrease 16,960
 Interchange Increase 11,085
2019/20Decrease 14,250
 Interchange Increase 37,641
2020/21Decrease 2,428
 Interchange Decrease 7,388
2021/22Increase 11,030
 Interchange Increase 27,662
2022/23Increase 13,370
 Interchange Increase 64,981
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Crianlarich railway station is a railway station serving the village of Crianlarich in Scotland. It is located on the West Highland Line, sited 41 miles 25 chains (66.5 km) from Craigendoran Junction, near Helensburgh, with Ardlui to the south, and Tyndrum Lower and Upper Tyndrum to the north west, on the routes to Oban and Mallaig respectively, which diverge immediately north of the station.[3] ScotRail, who manage the station, operate most services (along with Caledonian Sleeper).

History

Crianlarich (Upper) station in 1957
The station buildings from the south

Crianlarich station opened concurrently with the West Highland Railway on 7 August 1894,[4][5] doubling the number of railway stations in the village. The lines and station were eventually built by the state under compulsory purchase arrangements sought after the persistent rejection by the landowners the Place family of Loch Dochart House and Skelton Grange, Yorkshire, who even turned down the offer of having all the proceeds from the two station tea-rooms in perpetuity. The Places felt that the project would spoil their shooting grounds; the family sold their house and estate shortly after their defeat and retreated to Yorkshire.

The station was laid out with a crossing loop around an island platform and sidings on both sides. On the east side there was an engine shed and a turntable. Three years after opening, in 1897, a junction and link line down to the Callander and Oban Railway, which passed below the West Highland route, was added. Originally, the junction incorporated a scissors crossover, allowing simultaneous moves through the junction. However until 1931 the link line was only used to exchange goods wagons between the two lines. From 1931 onwards, it was also used for excursion traffic from Glasgow and the surrounding areas to the Oban line. Since closure of the Callander and Oban Line east of Crianlarich in 1965, all trains to Oban have been routed up the West Highland Line.

The station was host to a LNER camping coach from 1937 to 1939.[6]

In 1951, British Rail added the suffix "Upper" to the station's name, in order to distinguish it from the nearby station (only about 330-yard (300 m) walk along the north east access road) on the Callander and Oban Line which then became known as Crianlarich Lower.[4] Crianlarich Lower station closed on 28 September 1965, and on 1 November 1965 the Upper station's name reverted to "Crianlarich".[4]

The late 19th century 13-bay brick engine shed still stands and Historic Scotland have designated it as a category C listed building.[7]

Freight facilities

Timber wagons being loaded at Crianlarich (19 July 2006)

The area around the station is forested. The sidings on the west side of the station were used for loading timber until December 2008 when the carriage of Scottish timber by rail ceased in connection with the recession. As of June 2015, there is still no sign of the service being reinstated. Timber trains leaving the sidings at Crianlarich often paused at Arrochar and Tarbet to attach further wagons, the sidings at both stations are now used by the Area Civil Engineer for the storage of materials.

Facilities

The station is equipped with a tea room, a waiting room, benches, an accessible toilet and bike racks. Access to the platform is via a flight of stairs from a subway that runs underneath the tracks, from two car parks.[8] As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.

Passenger volume

Passenger Volume at Crianlarich[9]
2002–03 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23
Entries and exits 9,812 10,576 10,464 10,587 11,163 10,700 11,820 13,544 16,666 15,276 13,040 16,752 16,726 16,672 17,586 16,960 14,250 2,428 11,030 13,370
Interchanges –[nb 1] 76,886 925 3,781 10,942 1,630 2,567 2,149 1,319 1,347 20,491 1,619 1,466 1,775 3,666 11,085 37,641 7,388 27,662 64,981

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

Northbound, Crianlarich is where the combined trains for Oban and Mallaig divide, with each of the services leaving roughly five minutes apart. Southbound, when each train arrives from Oban or Mallaig, it joins with the other and they go down as one train from Crianlarich.

On weekdays and Saturdays, there are a total of seven southbound ScotRail trains to Glasgow Queen Street. Northbound, there are three trains which divide, with portions to go to Oban and Mallaig, as well as three trains which only go to Oban. On Sundays, there are three services to Oban and two to Mallaig, and there are three trains to Glasgow Queen Street. On Summer Sundays, an extra train from Edinburgh to Oban and back runs, which does not go via Glasgow.[10][11]

The Caledonian Sleeper runs southbound to London Euston on Sunday and weekday nights, and northbound to Fort William on weekday and Saturday mornings. The Sleeper conveys seats to carry regular passengers as far as Edinburgh.[12]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Ardlui   ScotRail
West Highland Line		   Tyndrum Lower
    Upper Tyndrum
Ardlui   Caledonian Sleeper
Highland Caledonian Sleeper		   Upper Tyndrum
  Historical railways  
Ardlui
Line open; Station open		   West Highland Railway
North British Railway
   Tyndrum
Line open; Station open
Southern end
of link line		   Callander and Oban Railway
Crianlarich Link Line
Operated by Caledonian Railway
   Tyndrum Lower
Line open; Station open

Notes

  1. ↑ No data available.

References

  1. ↑ Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. "Gaelic/English Station Index". Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
  2. ↑ Deaves, Phil. "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  3. ↑ Bridge, Mike, ed. (2017). TRACKatlas of Mainland Britain: A Comprehensive Geographic Atlas Showing the Rail Network of Great Britain (3rd ed.). Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing Ltd. pp. .page. ISBN 978 1909431 26 3.
  4. 1 2 3 Quick, Michael (2022) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (PDF). version 5.04. Railway & Canal Historical Society. p. 147. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 November 2022.
  5. ↑ "The West Highland Railway". The Times. London. 7 August 1894. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ↑ McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. p. 11. ISBN 1-870119-48-7.
  7. ↑ "CRIANLARICH, CRIANLARICH STATION, ENGINE SHED". Historic Scotland. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  8. ↑ "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  9. ↑ "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  10. ↑ eNRT May 2022 Edition, Table 218
  11. ↑ eNRT December 2021 Edition, Table 218
  12. ↑ eNRT May 2022 Edition, Table 220

Bibliography

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