History

Dava railway station was opened in 1864, on the Inverness and Perth Junction Railway

Inverness and Perth Junction Railway

The Inverness and Perth Junction Railway was built to link the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway at Forres and Perth and Dunkeld Railway, ultimately absorbing the latter.- History :...

, one year after the route was opened.

Station layout

The station layout was double platform (including 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...

).

There was a standard Highland Railway overbridge connecting the platforms, at the north end of the platforms.

Station location

At 985 feet above sea-level, Dava was the third highest station on the Highland Railway

Highland Railway

The Highland Railway was one of the smaller British railways before the Railways Act 1921; it operated north of Perth railway station in Scotland and served the farthest north of Britain...

 network. The summit that followed south of the station (Dava Summit) reaches 1,052 feet.

The station was located in sparsely populated moorland, along a dirt track near the junction of the A939 and A940. The purpose of a station at this location was to provide 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...

 with water columns, (15 miles from and 16 miles to the first junction at ) although the station did provide some facilities for the area, such as a post office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

.

The surrounding area is wild moorland (The Dava muir).

Closure

Good services at Dava were first to end; the date of closure was 27 January 1964. A passenger service continued until 11 October 1965, when the station closed completely.

Remains

The station building, stationmaster's house and platforms still remain.

The standard overbridge no longer exists.

Bustitution

No replacement bus services exist to Dava. This remote area has not been served by public transport since the railway closed.

Sources

"The Highland Railway" - H.A Vallance