bridge became the world's longest concrete span at 127 feet, and Glenfinnan Viaduct was a huge structure in concrete at 416 yards long with 21 arches. The Mallaig line continued from the existing Banavie branch; the junction (formerly Banavie Junction) near Fort William for the branch was renamed Mallaig Junction, and the point of divergence of the new line from the final section of the Banavie branch was named Banavie Junction. The original Banavie station was renamed Banavie Pier, and there was a new Banavie station on the through line. Operating from Mallaig The first trains ran to and from Mallaig on 1 April 1901. In the first timetable there was a through carriage and a sleeper to and from Kings Cross, but this was not continued in subsequent years. Fish traffic was very important but it never reached the volumes hoped for; the harbour was difficult in certain conditions (which also limited the reliability of the Hebrides ferry service). The Mallaig site on land was also very restricted and gave rise to complaints from the fish merchants, and delays to punctual running because of difficulty loading trains. In addition, the fish traffic tended to arise in spurts, requiring extra trains and empty return workings. The area was a stronghold of conventional religious belief and the observance of the Sabbath was strictly enforced, also occasionally leading to difficulty in handling a perishable merchandise like fish. All in all the line was a serious loss-maker and never reached even the low expectations of it: in the thirteen years from 1901-2 to 1913-4 the line made a trading loss of £72,672 and the Treasury contributed £36,672. By 1914 private motoring had reduced railway income from the well-to-do estates, and bus services became real competitors in the 1920s. Absorbed by the North British Railway As time went on, the independence of the West Highland Railway was increasingly seen as a sham; its line was worked by the North British Railway, and its losses as well as any remaining capital works were funded by the NBR. Competing railways — the Highland and the Caledonian — could clearly see that the NBR was in control. In 1902 matters were brought to a head when the North British Railway (General Powers) Act abolished West Highland Railway stock and substituted 3% North British Railway stock. Six years later the North British Railway Confirmation Act, 1908, gave the