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Corrour railway station

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Corrour railway station

Corrour railway station (/kəˈrər/ kər-OUR) is on the West Highland Line, near Loch Ossian on the Corrour Estate, in the Highland council area (formerly Inverness-shire) of Scotland. It is the highest mainline railway station in the United Kingdom at an elevation of 1,340 feet (410 m) above sea level. It is located between Rannoch and Tulloch, and is sited 71 miles 54 chains (115.3 km) from Craigendoran Junction, near Helensburgh. ScotRail manage the station and provide most services, along with Caledonian Sleeper.

Corrour station was built by the West Highland Railway between 1893 and 1894 on its line linking Glasgow with Fort William, and was operated from its opening on 7 August 1894 by the North British Railway. It has a passing loop around an island platform with a siding on the east side. In common with the line's two other remote passing places, Gorton and Glen Douglas, it was built with a tall signalbox and an adjacent low building in which the signalman lived. The adjacent low building (in Corrour's case) was also used as a sub post office from 15 December 1896 and a Post Office telegraph office from 16 August 1898; Corrour even qualified as a post town. Later, the railway constructed a station house for the signalman on the east side of the tracks, and the original building became purely office accommodation for the railway and the post office.

Corrour was originally intended to be merely a passing place on the long section between Rannoch and Tulloch, called Luibruaridh (sic) after the nearest habitation, Luibruairidh, on the old drove road between Rannoch and Spean Bridge, about 1+12 miles (2.4 km) northwest of the passing place. However, from its opening, its small island platform was used as a station, and the name Corrour was also used although Corrour Lodge at that time was where the drove road crossed Coire Odhar, some 5 miles (8.0 km) southeast of the station (marked Corrour Old Lodge on the OS map). However, when the station opened, estate traffic was facilitated by the building of a mile-long (1.6 km) track connecting the station to the old drove road as it passed near the head of Loch Ossian.

In the early days, there was so much estate business that the railway employed an extra clerkess during the grouse season. It was theoretically a private station for the use of the estate, but it was also used by the public from the start, despite its not appearing in public timetables until September 1934.

In 1897, the estate built a new lodge at the foot of Loch Ossian, 4+12 miles (7.2 km) northeast of the station. There was, however, no vehicular access to the lodge from the public road system, so all goods (including vehicles) had to come and go by rail via Corrour station. Until the track along the south shore of Loch Ossian was built, the estate ran a small steamer from the lodge to the head of Loch Ossian (where Loch Ossian youth hostel is now), from which the station was only a little over a mile (1.6 km) away. In 1972, the Forestry Commission built a private macadamized road from the A86 at near Moy Lodge to Corrour Lodge, so for the first time there was vehicular access to the station, via Corrour Lodge and Moy Lodge – a total distance of 15 miles (24 km).

During the construction of the Lochaber hydroelectric scheme in the 1930s, a small halt was located at Fersit, between Corrour and Tulloch, about 2 miles (3.2 km) short of the latter. This operated between 1 August 1931 and 31 December 1934.

Corrour sub post and telegraph office closed on 5 March 1977.

Since November 1985, all passenger trains have used the original "down" platform. The "up" loop remains, and is serviceable, but it is no longer used by passenger trains. There was originally a footbridge at Corrour station, providing an exit to the east side, but it was moved to Rannoch station, following the downgrading of the "up" loop at Corrour. Passengers now cross the line by a barrow crossing.

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