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The Kyle of Lochalsh Line was opened in 1870 to connect the ferry terminus at Stromeferry on Scotland's west coast with Dingwall and Inverness on the east coast. It had been intended to reach Kyle of Lochalsh but the company ran out of money, and the Highland Railway would open an extension to the Kyle in 1897 to improve transport links for the fishing industry. At the time, the extension was mile for mile the most expensive railway ever built in Britain. The line passes through some of the most dramatic and beautiful scenery in Britain and although it was marked for closure by Doctor Beeching, its importance to the isolated communities it serves led to a reprieve and in 1980 it was featured by Michael Palin in Great Railway Journeys of the World. In this book, Ewan Crawford uses a mixture of contemporary and period images to bring the history of the line and its landscape to life.

The Mallaig Extension was approved in 1894 to provide a continuation of the West Highland route for the benefit of the fishing industry on Scotland's west coast. It revived, more ambitiously, the Fort William to Roshven line lost in 1889. With controversial state aid in place, construction began in 1897 and the Extension was opened in 1901. Steam was reintroduced on the line in 1984 and the Jacobite service to Mallaig is now a major tourist attraction. Crossing the famous Glenfinnan viaduct, the line touches Loch Eilt, Loch Ailort, Loch-nan-Uamh, Arisaig and Morar, giving wonderful views of the coastline and the Small Isles. In this book, a companion to his volume on the West Highland Line, Dr John McGregor uses a wide selection of period and modern photographs to bring the history and dramatic landscape of the Mallaig Extension to life for the reader.

This fascinating selection of photographs gives an insight into the history and landscapes of the West Highland Line.