Ardlui: BRCW Type 2 no 5359 southbound at Ardlui in the summer of 1971.
John Furnevel 29/06/1971

Ardlui

Location type

Station

Name and dates

Ardlui (1894-)

Station code: AUI National Rail ScotRail
Where: Argyll and Bute, Scotland
Opened on the West Highland Railway.
Open on the West Highland Line.

Description

This is an island platform station, typical of the West Highland line. The station is near the north end of Loch Lomond. The station building was demolished due to subsidence but was of the 'Swiss chalet' style typical of the line. Before demolition the building had developed a distinct lean to the east. Access is via a subway from the east (road) side. The signal box (closed 1986) remains in use as a waiting shelter.

The box opened with the station and was located to the north of the now removed station building

There is a goods yard, now used for permanent way, on the east side of the station, served from the south.

The stationmaster's house, typical of the line and a railwayman's cottage just north of the goods yard still exist. Both are now private houses.

Local

Ardui is a small settlement. Much of it is to the immediate north of the station. Ardlui Pier is just to the east on Loch Lomond.

By walking north to Inverarnan, or perhaps taking a ferry from Ardlui Pier, the West Highland Way can be reached. This may be followed north to Crianlarich or south via Loch Lomond's east bank.

Ardlui Hotel

Drovers Inn

Tags

Station

External links

Canmore site record
NLS Collection OS map of 1892-1914
NLS Collection OS map of 1944-67

Facilities

Gaelic name: Àird Laoigh
Listing: B




Chronology Dates

31/07/1894West Highland Railway
Helensburgh Upper, Shandon, Garelochhead, Glen Douglas, Arrochar and Tarbet, Ardlui, Crianlarich, Tyndrum [WHR], Bridge of Orchy, Gorton, Rannoch, Corrour, Inverlair, Roy Bridge, Spean Bridge signal boxes opened.
07/08/1894West Highland Railway
Public opening from Fort William to Craigendoran. Stations opened at Craigendoran Upper, Helensburgh Upper, Row, Shandon, Garelochhead, Arrochar and Tarbet, Ardlui, Crianlarich, Tyndrum [WHR], Bridge of Orchy, Gortan (private), Rannoch, Corrour (private), Inverlair, Roy Bridge, Spean Bridge and Fort William [1st].
12/01/1986West Highland Railway
Ardlui signal box closed.
27/03/1988West Highland Railway
Garelochhead, Glen Douglas, Arrochar and Tarbet, Ardlui, Crianlarich block posts eliminated by RETB.

News items

23/11/2023Rush hour trains to and from Glasgow facing delays after tree found blocking line [STV]
23/11/2023ScotRail train punctured by fallen tree on railway line [BBC News]
13/11/2023Major rail line in Argyll closed due to flooding as Storm Debi brings heavy rain to Scotland [STV]
27/09/2023Helensburgh train disruptions planned for this weekend [Helensburgh Advertiser]
20/02/2022Fallen tree blocks ScotRail route from Oban and Mallaig to Glasgow [Press and Journal]
22/01/2021Rail services disrupted after lorry hits bridge near Ardlui in West Highlands [The Scotsman]
08/08/2019Flood-damaged rail route from Ardlui to Crianlarich to stay closed [BBC News]

Books

All Stations to Mallaig!: West Highland Line Since Nationalisation
Argyll and the Highlands Last Days of Steam

Argyll and the Highlands' Lost Railways

Ben Nevis and Fort William, The Mamores and The Grey Corries, Kinlochleven and Spean Bridge (OS Explorer Map)

History of the Railways of the Scottish Highlands: West Highland Railway v. 1

History of the Railways of the Scottish Highlands: West Highland Railway v. 1

Iron Road to the Isles: A Travellers and Tourist Guide to the West Highland Lines

Iron Roads to the Isles: A Travellers and Tourists Souvenir Guide to the West Highland Lines

Mountain Moor and Loch on the Route of the West Highland Railway

On West Highland Lines

Railway World Special: West Highland Lines

Rannan Rathad Iarainn nan Eilean =: The West Highland Line

Road To The Isles Dvd: Part One The West Highland Line Between Crianlarich to Fort William, From the Drivers Cab Of A Class 37, With The Caledonian Sleeper
The Mallaig Railway: The West Highland Extension 1897-1901 (RCAHMS Broadsheet)
The New Railway: The Earliest Years of the West Highland Line

The Story of the West Highland

The Story of the West Highland: The 1940s LNER Guide to the Line

The West Highland Railway

The West Highland Railway (Railways of the Scottish Highlands)

The West Highland Railway 120 Years

Trossachs and West Highlands: Exploring the Lost Railways (Local History Series)

Victorian Travel on the West Highland Line: By Mountain, Moor and Loch in 1894

Walks from the West Highland Railway (Cicerone Guide)

West Highland Line: Great Railway Journeys Through Time

West Highland Railway
West Highland Railway (History of the Railways of the Scottish Highlands v. 1): West Highland Railway v. 1
West Highland Railway: Plans, Poltics and People