Dalmally railway station is a railway station serving the village of Dalmally

Dalmally

Dalmally is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located near the A85 road and is served by Dalmally railway station....

, near Loch Awe

Loch Awe

Loch Awe is a large body of water in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It has also given its name to a village on its banks, variously known as Loch Awe, or Lochawe. There are islands within the loch such as Innis Chonnell and Inishail.- The loch :It is the third largest freshwater loch in Scotland with...

 in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. This station is on the Oban

Oban

Oban Oban Oban ( is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. It has a total resident population of 8,120. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William and during the tourist season the town can be crowded by up to 25,000 people. Oban...

 branch of the West Highland Line

West Highland Line

The West Highland Line is considered the most scenic railway line in Britain, linking the ports of Mallaig and Oban on the west coast of Scotland to Glasgow. The line was voted the top rail journey in the world by readers of independent travel magazine Wanderlust in 2009, ahead of the iconic...

, originally part of the Callander and Oban Railway

Callander and Oban Railway

The Callander and Oban Railway company was formed in 1864 with the objective of linking Callander, Scotland to the west coast port of Oban over challenging terrain, particularly at Glen Ogle and the Pass of Brander at Loch Awe. Callander had been reached in 1858 by the Dunblane, Doune and Callander...

.

History

This station opened on 1 April 1877. For a while, it was the western extremity of the Callander and Oban Railway, until the line finally reached its ultimate destination, Oban, on 1 July 1880.

The station was laid out with two platforms, one on either side of a passing loop

Passing loop

A passing loop is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at a station, where trains or trams in opposing directions can pass each other. Trains/trams in the same direction can also overtake, providing that the signalling arrangement allows it...

. It once boasted a small engine shed and a turntable

Turntable (railroad)

A railway turntable is a device for turning railroad rolling stock. When steam locomotives were still in wide use, many railroads needed a way to turn the locomotives around for return trips as their controls were often not configured for extended periods of running in reverse and in many...

 on the south side.

The station building was destroyed by fire on 16 November 1898.

Signalling

Railway signalling

Railway signalling is a system used to control railway traffic safely, essentially to prevent trains from colliding. Being guided by fixed rails, trains are uniquely susceptible to collision; furthermore, trains cannot stop quickly, and frequently operate at speeds that do not enable them to stop...

 

Dalmally signal box

Signal box

On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...

, which replaced the original box on 17 June 1896, was located on the Up platform. It contained 24 levers

Lever frame

Mechanical railway signalling installations rely on lever frames for their operation to interlock the signals and points to allow the safe operation of trains in the area the signals control...

.

Dalmally lost all its semaphore signals

Railway semaphore signal

One of the earliest forms of fixed railway signal is the semaphore. These signals display their different indications to train drivers by changing the angle of inclination of a pivoted 'arm'. Semaphore signals were patented in the early 1840s by Joseph James Stevens, and soon became the most...

 on 9 February 1986, in preparation for Radio Electronic Token Block

Radio Electronic Token Block

Radio Electronic Token Block is a system of railway signalling used in the United Kingdom. It is a development of the physical token system for controlling traffic on single lines.- How it works :...

 (RETB) signalling. RETB was commissioned on 27 March 1988, resulting in the closure of Dalmally signal box, amongst others. Dalmally is an RETB token exchange point, but with 'long section tokens' being available between Tyndrum Lower and Taynuilt, it is not necessary for every train to exchange tokens there.

The Train Protection & Warning System was installed in 2003.