Stenlake Publishing - The Railways of Upper Strathearn – Crieff-Balquhidder
The Railways of Upper Strathearn - Crieff-Balquhidder
Author : Bernard Byrom ISBN : 9780853616221 Cover : paperback Price : £11.95
In the 21st century, when a journey by motor car along the A85 from Comrie to Crieff occupies a mere 10 minutes, it is difficult to imagine the tremendous enthusiasm with which the people of Comrie welcomed the arrival in 1893 of the branch line from Crieff. Comrie, along with the other villages in Upper Strathearn between Crieff and Lochearnhead, had been steadily increasing in size and prosperity in the second half of the 19th century but still depended on stagecoaches and general carriers for communication with the outside world.
This book tells of the efforts made over the decades to bring the railway to Comrie and to continue it westwards to link with the Callander & Oban line at Lochearnhead. All these efforts came to nothing until, in the end, the single-minded determination of Colonel David Robertson Williamson, Laird of Lawers, above all others achieved that goal.
When the House of Commons passed the Crieff & Comrie Railway Act in 1890 there was cause for much excitement. In 1905 the line was completed westwards to Balquhidder where it joined the Callander & Oban Railway and its promoters had great hopes of Oban being developed as a major transatlantic port. But it was not to be. The line never really prospered in spite of attempts in the 1930s to develop it as a tourist route. The end came in 1951 for the Balquihidder-Comrie section of the line and Comrie lost its rail service completely in 1964 when the remaining section to Crieff and Gleneagles was also closed.
In writing this book the author has not only used original material held in various archives but has also quoted extensively from contemporary newspaper reports. These reports vividly convey the excitement generated in villages whose transport system had been confined to the speed of a stagecoach or a horse-drawn cart and were now entering the modern age of steam transport.
A5 format, 160 pages, 110 illustrations.
The Railways of Upper Strathearn - Crieff-Balquhidder