The bridge that’s no longer a bridge.

Callander railway station opened 1870, it was part of what became the Callander to Oban railway. There were many branches off the main line, many wee places connected. Closure came on 1 November 1965 when the Beeching axe swung, decimating rural railways. This was opportunity squandered by the Tory government; the initial 1960 report contained the premise that “the nationalised railways should be run as a profitable business.” A real “know the cost of everything, value of nothing” attitude. Scotrail is now nationalised by Scottish Government, but Network Rail is a commercial company operating track etc, reporting to Westminster. A consequence of Beeching is that large areas of Scotland I’m familiar with were cut off. At Callander the tracks and station building were destroyed during 1967-73 and the former railway area is now a large car park. The cast iron road bridge to the east of the station (in the photo) was refurbished in 2012 and infilled underneath. The route of the former railway to Oban was through the hills behind it. We often walk part of the route, now the Rob Roy Way, a Scottish long distance footpath (and Route 7 of the national cycle rework). It’s a favourite walk of ours; but not today. The clegs were terrible, we turned back. I’m a sweet person much favoured by the biting insects of Scotland. Clegs today, midges at other times.