Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway

Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway

Stations (from east to west) Stations in bold are open Spean Bridge Gairlochy Invergloy Platform Invergarry Aberchalder Fort Augustus Fort Augustus Pier

The Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway was a branch-line railway built in Scotland, and served by the North British Railway, the Caledonian Railway and later the London & North Eastern Railway.

Beginnings

The Invergarry line was originally set out to bridge the gap between a stretch of land known as "The Three Lochs" (As Loch Lomond, Loch Ness and Loch Lochy form this gap). Either side was served by a railway, but there was no rail service in this void.

A group of local entrepeneurs and landowners later met to help form the mould for the railway. Each expressed a desire to use the line to transport goods, shorter journeys to hunting lodges and soforth. Although they had little money to run the line themselves, it was decided to construct the line and then sell it to the highest bidder.

Construction and Opening

The line was constructed from Invergarry to Spean Bridge via Fort Augustus and several Scottish villages en route. After an inspection by General Pringle in 1901/2, the line was opened and sold to the North British Railway. The Highland Railway and the Caledonian Railway would later have turns to operate the line.

The railway turned out to be a financial disaster. The villages it served were sparsely inhabited, and the only forms of revenue were on Market Day and the use of the line by monks attending a Seminary nearby. Most people who remember the line claim it should never have been built.

Closure

After the First World War, the North British Railway was amalgamated into the London & North Eastern Railway, who used it largely for freight purposes rather than passenger traffic. By 1933, the railway was closed and torn up, even though its scrap value was half that of the price sold to the North British Railway.

Today

Most of the line today has been built over by roads and holiday parks. Video 125 made a straight-to-video documentary about the line, using the sub-heading: The Line that should never had been built, echoing the sentiments of the people who used it.