Jacobite Express
I visited the Glenfinnan viaduct a couple of years ago. This was made famous by the Harry Potter films, with the iconic scene of the steam train making the crossing. The one hundred and twenty-three year old bridge spans a thousand feet, a hundred feet in the air. Built between 1897 to 1901, this Victorian feat of engineering is the longest concrete railway bridge in Scotland. This is now a major tourist spot and at peak times there are hundreds of folk occupying the many vantage points around the site, all keen to get a good picture of the train as it speeds by.
Recently I managed to get onboard the train and make the journey on the West Highland Line, from Fort William to Mallaig, via the Glenfinnan viaduct and back again. I travelled in style in first class, enjoying an afternoon tea while admiring the stunning views. There had been technical hitch this year, with a delay in obtaining the exemption for the carriage doors as these do not meet modern regulations. My ticket had been booked end of last year, and I heard that many of the earlier journeys at the start of the season were cancelled. Fortunately, mine went ahead and the weather was absolutely glorious that day which was an added bonus.
The train is known as the Jacobite Express and this was my first time on a steam railway. I had climbed aboard in transport museums, but actually doing the journey for real is on a whole other level. I’m particularly fond of steam, and as readers of this blog may know, I’m still working on a steampunk science fiction fantasy series which I hope one day to finish up and release. Book one has had a structural edit and there is a shedload of work to do, so much so that I’ve been putting it off, but such is the writer’s life.
Crossing the viaduct was such a thrill and I was astonished at the number of people on the hill overlooking the train as it sped by. I have no idea how many, but they were in their hundreds. It’s also nice to see so many folk waving as we passed at various points in the journey. There is something about a steam train that seems to connect us back to an earlier more romantic time, where life, although hard for a great many, was taken at a slower pace, and seems to us now far less complicated than the online twenty-four by seven culture we appear to have adopted. This train brightens up people’s day and everyone seemed delighted to have caught a glimpse as we journeyed by.
I love the sound of the engine and recorded a minute or two as we were travelling. I dabble with electronic sounds, sampling and rhythm machines, and there is something magical about the sound of the engine as it moves along the track. These are often referred to as ‘found sounds’ and I think it will work well in a future piece.
There were all ages on-board, though it was mainly adults in first class and judging by the accents, there were many tourists visiting Scotland. Some had donned scarfs in the Hogwart colours and there was someone kitted out in the full-gear, with cape, glasses and wand. As a writer, I’m thrilled at the impact a book and a scene can have on people. These journeys sell-out. However, I imagine they would still be popular if that scene from the films hadn’t taken place as it’s a great way to see the Scottish scenery.
Mallaig is smaller than Fort William, which is small in itself, so it doesn’t take long to get around. You only get two hours before the return journey so there was no time to take the ferry trips that are run from here. These take you to what is known as the Small Isles or Inner Hebrides, which are Rum, Eigg, Muck and Canna. That is on the list to do in future. There was of course time to have a pint, sitting outside in the sunshine. Yes, that is a thing in Scotland. We can have the four seasons in one day, but this day, the sun was out and only the die-hard Harry Potter fans managed to keep their scarfs on in the heat.
The Fiction Factory 