6 September 1965; Arisaig; Morar; Mallaig. The ruling gradient of the section from Craigendoran to Fort William is 1 in 50, but the line to Mallaig has a ruling gradient of 1 in 40. Seventeen sea wall sections were required between Corpach and Kinlocheil, as Loch Linnhe can be very rough in bad weather. There are eleven tunnels on this section, although originally only two were planned; the longest tunnel is 350 yards long, at Borrodale. There is a swing bridge at Banavie over the Caledonian Canal, and at Glenfinnan the concrete viaduct is 416 yards long on a 12-chain curve; there are 21 arch spans. There were 350 viaducts and underbridges and 50 overbridges on the Fort William section. The longest viaduct is on Rannoch Moor at 684 feet in nine spans of 70 feet 6 inches, partly on a 12 chain radius curve. On the Banavie branch the viaduct over the river Lochy, consisting of four 80 feet spans, required cast iron cylinders to be sunk for the founding of the piers. The Cruach snow shed, at 205 yards long, had a corrugated iron roof in three sections; in summer the centre section was removed; in 1944 it was said to be the only snow shed on a British railway. There was a level crossing with remotely operated gates about 150 yards from Fort William station. Originally it was manually operated but from 1927 it was electrically worked and controlled from Fort William signal box, a novelty at that time. The summit of the line is at Corrour, 1,347 feet above sea level. Current status Apart from the last section of the Banavie Branch, and several of the southern stations, the line is still open, being operated by ScotRail as part of the West Highland Line services (which also encompasses services to Oban and Mallaig). Notes References Further reading John McGregor, 100 years of the West Highland Line. 1994. ScotRail. John McGregor, The West Highland Railway 120 Years, Amberley Publishing, Stroud, 2014, John McGregor, West Highland Line, Amberley Publishing, Stroud, 2013, 978 144 5613369 John McGregor, The New Railway: The Earliest Years of the West Highland Line, Amberley Publishing,Stroud, 2015, North British Railway Company, Mountain Moor and Loch: On the Route of the West Highland Railway, David and Charles, Newton Abbot, 1895 facsimile reprint 1972, 978-0715354223 John Thomas, The North British Railway: volume 2, David and Charles, Newton