Fort William to Inverness

[MidnightFlyer]

Wasn't the line up to Fort Augustus later labelled as 'the line that should never had been built'?

 

[lancastrian]

www.abebooks.co.uk

Cheapest copy of "An Historical Geography of the British Isles" by Ernest Carter available from Minstergates bookshop, York...£20

Just FYI, Abe Books (USA) (http://www.abebooks.com has about six copies of "An Historical Geography of the Railways of the British Isles" (after I bought one!).

I got mine for the equivalent of £18 ($29.00) - with free shipping.
(The rest were higher and had shipping). And all from US booksellers.

Hope you can find similar in the UK as caliwag has shown above.

I am glad that others have found this excellent book too. I constantly use it as a referance aid, especially when trying to find out about obscure railway lines.

 

[dalmahoyhill]

Hmm not sure if it is the book i read. I did read a really old library one on the victorian line proposals for highland lines and for the life of me I cannot remember what it was called. Lots of other interesting lines that did not get built and i am sure would have been as viable as the fort augustus line!!!
The original plan was to take the west highland up from aberfoyle, along loch katrine with a tunnel through to glen falloch. Then a large viaduct directly across the valley where the horseshoe curve is at bridge of orchy and lastly taking the line down Glen Coe. All were abandoned during early route optioneering due to cost. a line down glen coe would have been spectacular.

there was plans to build a line to Ullapool. it would have been a steep descent past the corriashalloch gorge.

lastly the most barking idea of the lot was a cross highland line. which involved taking the line from aberdeen to ballater, extending it past braemar and through the high pass into glen tilt, down to Blaer atholl, use the existing drumochter line then across from Dalwhinnie to roybridge and joining up with the west highland line. i dont know what traffic they thought would use it.

 

[lancastrian]

Hmm not sure if it is the book i read. I did read a really old library one on the victorian line proposals for highland lines and for the life of me I cannot remember what it was called. Lots of other interesting lines that did not get built and i am sure would have been as viable as the fort augustus line!!!
The original plan was to take the west highland up from aberfoyle, along loch katrine with a tunnel through to glen falloch. Then a large viaduct directly across the valley where the horseshoe curve is at bridge of orchy and lastly taking the line down Glen Coe. All were abandoned during early route optioneering due to cost. a line down glen coe would have been spectacular.

there was plans to build a line to Ullapool. it would have been a steep descent past the corriashalloch gorge.

lastly the most barking idea of the lot was a cross highland line. which involved taking the line from aberdeen to ballater, extending it past braemar and through the high pass into glen tilt, down to Blaer atholl, use the existing drumochter line then across from Dalwhinnie to roybridge and joining up with the west highland line. i dont know what traffic they thought would use it.

With regards to the proposed line to Ullapool, I read both the History of the Highland Railway as well as the Great North of Scotland Railway, both published by david & Charles. The GNSR costantly tried to get lines promoted and built to places the other side of Inverness, all of which required them to have running powers through Inverness, which was the main, if not only reason that the GNSR promoted these lines.

 

[Buttsy]

As others have said, the books by H A Vallance (updated by John Thomas in most circumstances) detail very well the history of the West Highland, Far North, Highland main line and the old GNOS. All these I have found available on Amazon.