Glenfinnan Station Museum and West Highland Railway Centre,
Inverness Shire, Scotland. Glenfinnan Station Museum is situated in the
famous and beautiful village of Glenfinnan on the Road to the Isles between
Fort William and Mallaig.
Email Glenfinnan Railway Car enquiries & reservations: bookscotland@madbookings.com
Other places to stay in Glenfinnan
Glenfinnan Station Museum Sleeping Car
Located at Glenfinnan Railway Station the Sleeping Car provides an ideal base for reaching a number of tourist attractions by public transport and forms a superb centre for the mountains and glens of Lochaber, the Rough Bounds, Moidart and Ardgour.
The Sleeping Car also retraces a part of our railway heritage when it was possible to see many Camping Coaches at wayside stations throughout the country.
The coach is part of the heritage rolling stock collection at Glenfinnan
Station Museum. It was built in 1958 and retains many of its original
features but now has been converted into unique and comfortable accommodation
for up to 10 people.
Coach Facilities
· A total of 10 bed spaces (3 compartments with 2 bunks, 1 family
compartment with a double bed + 2 bunks
· WC with washing area and double shower
· Spacious kitchen with microwave, toaster, electric cooker and
washing machine
· Dining Lounge area with TV
· Drying Cabinet
Glenfinnan Station Museum and West Highland Railway
Centre
The Glenfinnan Experience not only includes the Station Museum but also has the added attractions of the Monument to Bonnie Prince Charlie at the head of Loch Shiel, the adjacent National Trust Visitor Centre and the Loch Shiel Eagle Watch Cruises. Towering above and behind, set in the mountain backdrop, stands the Glenfinnan Railway Viaduct, initially famous as the largest concrete viaduct in this country but now internationally acclaimed as a key location in the Harry Potter Films.
The Museum provides the visitor with a journey into the past of rail travel in the West Highlands whilst remaining an operational Railway Station with 4 trains each way, as well as the Jacobite Steam Train during the summer months to remind you of a previous age of romantic travel.
At the Museum it is possible to relax and enjoy the Glenfinnan Experience
as there are many things to do whilst you are there such as...
· Visit the restored Dining Car
· See the Museum Exhibition
· Stay in the Sleeping Car overnight
· Visit the Gift Shop
· Enjoy the Woodland, Viaduct and Village Walks
· Cycle Hire from the Museum
Come and visit us for a nostalgic interlude during your visit to the West
Highlands. We are waiting to extend a warm welcome to you.
The History of Glenfinnan Station and The Museum
The history of the Station Museum cannot be told without recognition of
the hard work of the Friends of Glenfinnan Station who support the charitable
Trust which is the backbone and driving force behind what you see today
at Glenfinnan. Without them the inevitable march of progress would have
swept away part of our Railway Heritage.
Following the arrival of the West Highland Railway into Fort William in 1894 a movement to further develop the area and in particular to establish an important fishing harbour at Mallaig resulted in the Mallaig Extension being opened in 1901.
Glenfinnan Station formally opened to the public in April 1901 and continues to this day to serve the community as well as the large numbers of tourists who now visit the area each year.
Initially the Station provided both passenger and freight traffic and the lines to the loading bank remain today as part of this history, although freight facilities no longer exist.
Following the decline of rail travel in the 1960s and the inevitable rise of the motor car the whole line was threatened with closure under the Beeching Proposals. Fortunately the reprieve was swift but the downstream effect of cost savings led to mass redundancies and the potential dereliction of stations.
To save the buildings, Glenfinnan Station Museum was therefore set up in 1991 and now stands as a tribute to those far sighted people who made this possible. The Museum seeks to tell the story of the West Highland Railway and its construction and development over the past 100 years.
