NH8922 : Highland Main Line at Carrbridge, near Aviemore
taken 2 years ago, near to Ellan, Highland, Scotland
Carrbridge (Scottish Gaelic: Drochaid Chàrr) is a village, about 10 km north of Aviemore in the Cairngorms National Park. Until the bypass was constructed in the 1980s, the A9 road ran straight through the village.
The village is famous for its 18th century packhorse bridge (NH9022 : Old Pack Horse Bridge at Carrbridge ) around which it developed and from which it gets its name. The Old Bridge of Carr had been built in 1717 as a foot bridge and in 1791 a new toll bridge was built for wheeled transport, carrying first the Kinveachy to Dulsie Bridge military road and from 1803, the Perth - Inverness road as well. The 'T' junction at the new bridge was a natural place for a settlement to develop. The first building near the Bridge was an Inn. The 1808 village plan showed small crofts on along the new main road (Inverness Road). It was not until the opening of the Aviemore to Inverness spur of the Highland railway line in 1898 that Carrbridge grew from being a hamlet to becoming a village popular as a tourist destination.; an old holiday guide refers to Carrbridge as, "A quiet holiday village on the fringes of nowhere in particular". By the late 1950s Carrbridge was booming as the first ski-centre in Scotland.
Link Carrbridge Community page
The Highland Main Line is a railway in Scotland, linking the cities of Perth and Inverness. As its name suggests, it passes through the Scottish Highlands.
The route is 118 miles (190 km) long. It includes the highest point on Britain's main line railway network, at Druimuachdar Summit, 1,484 feet above sea level. Much of the line is single track, with passing loops at most of the stations and several other locations. The 23-mile stretch between Blair Atholl and Dalwhinne, over the summit at Druimuachdar, is double track.
Some history of the line can be found on the Highland Main Line Community Rail Partnership's website: Link
The Cairngorms National Park, in the Highlands of Scotland, is the largest of the UK's National Parks. Covering an area of more than 4,500 square kilometres, it comprises a variety of landforms, from mountain peaks to low-lying valleys.
The Cairngorms National Park's website is here: Link with information about the park on this page: Link
Built by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) at its Derby Litchurch Lane Works, the British Rail Class 158 Express Sprinter is a diesel multiple-unit (DMU). They were built between 1989 and 1992 to replace many locomotive-hauled passenger trains on key long distance cross-country routes.
An improvement on previous incarnations of the Sprinter series, the 158 offered luxuries such as air conditioning, an on-board payphone, power-operated interior doors, a toilet in each carriage, and provision for a refreshment trolley service. They also offered a top speed of 90 miles per hour (140 km/h) and a generally more comfortable ride for passengers. They have a range of up to 1,600 miles between refuellings.
Built for British Rail, they are currrently operated in the UK by, Abellio ScotRail, Arriva Trains Wales, East Midlands Trains, Great Western Railway, South Western Railway and Northern.