[West Highland Line] / [Scottish Railway Line Glasgow to Mallaig] / [Rathad Iarainn nan Eilean – “Iron Road to the Isles”]

Massive Photographic Documentation of The Western Highland Line [Glasgow to Mallaig] in 900 [ninehundred] vintage Photographs, taken over a period of 30 Years by a Railway and Nature-Explorer and placed in four massive XXL Folders with extensive, beautiful and detaild annotations and explanations. The photographs range from smaller formats (10 cm wide x 15.2 cm high) to a huge amount of Extra-Large Vintage Photographs (39.2 cm wide x 29.4 cm high) and many even measure 40 cm x33 cm, filling entire leaves. Many of the photographs are impeccably applied inside these High-End-Archival-Folders with often numerous captions in the handwriting of the Photographer / Highland Explorer. An inexplicably stunning and absolutely unique documentation of the scottish landscape along the West Highland Line between the years 1974 – 2002. The images document Scottish rivers, Lochs and Roads, Mountains and Hills alongside the Railway-Lines but landscapes are also often shown without the Railway present. Besides the nature we also find photographs of architectural features like overpasses or industrial buildings and railway-track-imagery masterfully photographe, bordering on the abilities of a New Objectivity – photographer like Albert Renger-Patzsch. An important, maybe even singular photographic Impact-study of Railway to the Scottish Highlands. The anonymous photographer has injected himself occasionally in the images, beautifully showing his pitched tent and motorcycle in order let the viewer understand the dedication his travels have cost him. The masterful photographer also showcases his love for detail and artistry by ever so often partially and sparsely coloring Railway-Waggons or Locomotives within his black-and-white-photography, highlighting the technology in the vulnerable landscape, giving the whole collection an artistic and critical component of focusing the viewer on the object of his desire, yet contrasting how lost even a magnificent Locomotive and its carriages seems when vanishing in front of the majestic scottish landscape. The documentation is meticulous, often allowing for multiple vintage photographs on one page showing the same location during different times, exhausting all questions of functionality of the Railway opposed to the landscape with or without Railway in the shots. For the conservation-movement of the Scottish Highlands this collection is an unbelievable chance to preserve the memory of this landmark Railway-Line, connecting the extreme remote with the urban. For those who research the scottish landscape this is a unique opportunity to acquire the life’s work of one man’s obsession with “Railway and Landscape” in the Scottish Highland.

Scotland, 1974-2002. Oblong-Folio (44 cm wide x 36 cm high). Hardcover / Original Full-Leather Folders with stong, black cardboards and original tissue-guards. Excellent condition with only minor signs of wear. With hundreds of manuscript annotations on the photography, the photography-technique, film used and with extensive elaborations on each photograph in these albums. More images on request !

Album 1: Covers the years 1974, 1977 and 1978. The West Highland Line is walked from Arrochar, a 1977 driving and camping holiday and a 1978 seventeen day touring holiday with many nights sleeping in a car fill the leaves with c. 200 b/w original photographs.

Album 2: Covers the years 1991 and 1992. It is noted that ‘1990 is the fourth year that returning locomotives from the Mallaig line will work south over the West Highland main line’. Images of Corrour Summit, Glasgow to Fort William trains and many many more, bridges, viaducts, tunnels, stations and signalling equipment fill the leaves. c.182 b/w original photographs.

Album 3: Covers 1993. More colour photographs now fill the leaves and annotations cease to second half of album. c 270 b/w, colour and tinted original photographs.

Album 4: Covers 1999 and 2002. Many images from The Highlands Rail Festival in Sept 1999. c.250 b/w and colour original photographs.

An extraordinary photographic record and passion project presented in 4 huge, well-bound albums containing over 900 fine photographs taken, curated and annotated by an unidentified railway enthusiast and talented photographer.

The albums span 4 decades recording trips to some of the most scenic and famous rail locations in the UK.

The West Highland Line is returned to again and again over the decades and our photographer captures Scotland’s most dramatic landscapes and railways as the route passes on its way from Glasgow to Mallaig through sections including Corrour and Rannoch Moor.

Albums and contents in fine condition. A tissue guard between every leaf protects the photographs within. A single photograph of a middle aged man among every other photograph which records a detail of the railway is the only clue to the albums’ previous ownership and perhaps authorship.

[Partial description by our colleague, Dr.Christian White from Christian White Rare Books in Ilkley, UK].

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The West Highland Line (Scottish Gaelic: Rathad Iarainn nan Eilean – “Iron Road to the Isles”) is a railway line linking the ports of Mallaig and Oban in the Scottish Highlands to Glasgow in Central Scotland. The line was voted the top rail journey in the world by readers of independent travel magazine Wanderlust in 2009, ahead of the notable Trans-Siberian line in Russia and the Cuzco to Machu Picchu line in Peru. The ScotRail website has since reported that the line has been voted the most scenic railway line in the world for the second year running.

The West Highland Line is one of two railway lines that access the remote and mountainous west coast of Scotland, the other being the Kyle of Lochalsh Line which connects Inverness with Kyle of Lochalsh. The line is the westernmost railway line in Great Britain.

At least in part, the West Highland Line is the same railway line as that referred to as the West Highland Railway.

History:

The route was built in several sections:

Glasgow Queen Street to Cowlairs Junction – Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway
Cowlairs Junction to Bowling – Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway (later absorbed into the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway)
Bowling to Dumbarton Central – Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire Railway, operated by the Caledonian Railway
Dumbarton Central to Dalreoch – Caledonian and Dumbartonshire Junction Railway
Dalreoch to Craigendoran – Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway
Craigendoran to Fort William (opened 11 August 1894) – West Highland Railway sponsored by the North British Railway
Crianlarich to Oban – Callander and Oban Railway, operated by the Caledonian Railway.

There is an additional section from Fort William (or a junction near Fort William) to Mallaig, built as the Mallaig Extension Railway.
The West Highland Railway approved the construction of the line at their annual meeting in January 1895.

The line faced potential closure as part of the Beeching cuts in 1963 and again in 1995 due to reduced revenues.

Route description:

Shortly after leaving Glasgow Queen Street station, and beyond Queen Street Tunnel, the line diverges from the main trunk route to Edinburgh Waverley and Perth at Cowlairs and follows a northwesterly course through the suburbs of Maryhill and Kelvindale. Between Westerton and Dumbarton, the route is shared with the North Clyde Line to Helensburgh Central before branching northward at Craigendoran Junction towards Garelochhead, the section where the West Highland Line itself is generally accepted to begin. It gives high-level views of the Gare Loch and Loch Long before emerging alongside the northwesterly shores of Loch Lomond, then climbs Glen Falloch to Crianlarich.

The branch to Oban diverges at Crianlarich, an important Highland junction of both road and rail, and runs through Glen Lochy to Dalmally and through the Pass of Brander to reach salt water at Taynuilt and Connel Ferry before a final climb over a hill to Oban. About three miles (five kilometres) from Crianlarich, the Mallaig and Oban routes both pass through the village of Tyndrum, but they are served by separate stations, making it an unusually small settlement to be served by more than one railway station.

After Bridge of Orchy, the line to Mallaig climbs onto Rannoch Moor, past the former crossing point at Gorton Crossing to Rannoch station. In winter, the moor is often covered with snow, and deer may be seen running from the approaching train. The station at Corrour on the moor is one of the most remote stations in Britain and is not accessible by any public road. This is the summit of the line at 1347 ft (410 m) above sea level. Carrying on northwards, the line descends above the shores of Loch Treig and through the narrow Monessie Gorge. The final stop before Fort William is Spean Bridge. The section between Fort William and Mallaig passes over the Glenfinnan Viaduct, through Arisaig with its views of the Small Isles of Rùm, Eigg, Muck and Canna, and the white sands of Morar before coming to Mallaig itself.

With the exception of the route between Glasgow Queen Street and Helensburgh Upper, and the short section between Fort William Junction and Fort William station, the railway is signalled using the Radio Electronic Token Block, controlled from the signal box at Banavie station.

Notable railway-related features
Glenfinnan Viaduct

The Horse Shoe Curve, between Upper Tyndrum and Bridge of Orchy
The Cruach Rock snowshed, between Rannoch and Corrour
Glenfinnan Viaduct, between Locheilside and Glenfinnan
The Pass of Brander stone signals, between Dalmally and Taynuilt
Arisaig is the most westerly railway station in Great Britain

West Highland Line in film:

Train crossing bridge at Banavie
The summit of the line just north of Corrour

Glenfinnan Viaduct, on the line between Fort William and Mallaig, is a filming location for the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter series of films.
Eddie McConnell’s poetic documentary A Line for All Seasons (1970) showcases the line and its history set against the scenery of the western highlands as it changes through the seasons.
Corrour features in Trainspotting (1996), directed by Danny Boyle.

(Source: Wikipedia)

• Keywords: Autograph – Rare · British Railway · Catalogue No.6 – Photography · Conservation Movement – Rare · Conservation of Landscape (Scotland) · Impact of Railway to Landscape (Scotland) · Manuscript / Autograph – Rare · Manuscript Annotations · Neue Sachlichkeit · New Objectivity · Photographic Documentation of Landscape (Scotland) · Photography · Photography – Rare · Photography of Scottish Landscape · Railway – Rare · Railway and Landscape · Railway and Landscape (Scotland) · Rathad Iarainn nan Eilean – “Iron Road to the Isles” · Scotland · Scottish Highlands · Scottish History Rare · Scottish Landscape · Scottish Railway · Scottish Railway History · Travel & Expedition – Rare · Travel Scotland – Rare · West Highland Line (Railway in Scotland)
• Language: English
• Inventory Number: 32483AB

EUR 12.800,--