A bit of history for Scottish friends

I came across this photo, credited to a J. P. Wilson, in a very old copy of 'The Railway Magazine', from the February 1956 edition. I thought it would interest various friends and blippers, including Helena, whose mother used to use this railway line in the 1950s and 1960s. I was also prompted to blip it as today Maurice1948 has blipped a contemporary train leaving the current Oban station. The service to Ballachulish is no longer possible, since the line was closed in the 1960s and the iconic bridge over the Falls of Lora on Loch Etive at Connel Ferry is now used for cars and pedestrians only.

This old picture shows a steam engine leaving Oban station pulling a regular service on the Ballachulish branch line which runs northwards along the coast of Argyll. I first came to Oban in 1980 on a train which had connected with the overnight sleeper service from Euston station in London. I was on my way to meet friends who lived on the Isle of Mull and at that time the station had not been renovated/destroyed.