On track to tell the community’s stories of a Highland railway station

A group of people wearing cold weather gear stand on the platform of a rural train station holding a sign

Members of the Friends of Blair Atholl station.

National Lottery Grants for Heritage – £10,000 to £250,000

Date awarded

28/11/2023

Location

Highland

Local Authority

Perth and Kinross

Applicant

Blair Atholl and Struan Initiative

Award Given

£24294

Blair Atholl station opened in 1863, as the development of rail travel opened up the Highlands to visitors and created new opportunities for local people.

It is still a working station, with ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper trains stopping there, although passenger numbers are low. The Friends of Blair Atholl Station have ambitious plans to give it another role at the centre of village life.

With National Lottery funding the group is collecting and sharing oral histories from older people in the community. Carolyn Ferguson shared her memories of catching the train to school from Blair Atholl station in the 1950s.

Mike Shanto’s story of growing up at the station has been made into an animated film and storybook, which are being used in a workshop on animation and railway history with local primary school pupils. The work of the project is being shared with the village through an interactive exhibition in August 2024.

A Victorian railway station building in winter — The stationhouse building at Blair Atholl is a substantial, category B listed building.

Dr Viviene Cree, Chair of Friends of Blair Atholl Station, said: “We formed Friends of Blair Atholl station as we came out of the pandemic and started by working with ScotRail to adopt the station – tidying up the planters and community noticeboard. We’ve set up a YouTube channel to tell people about our wonderful little station.

“Our long-term goal is to bring the stationhouse back into use as a community hub, and this Heritage Fund support is a first big step towards that.”

Caroline Clark, Director for Scotland at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “This is a wonderful example of a community creatively exploring its past – this project will bring people together across generations and get them talking about, and celebrating, their local heritage.”