Kentallen Station Water Tower, Cameron Brae

A railway water tower with cast-iron tank, constructed in 1903 at Kentallen Station (to the rear of Station Cottage) by the Callander and Oban Railway Company as part of the Connell Bridge to Ballachulish branch line extension (operational 1903–1966).

The water tower has a rectangular base of red brick with paired round-arch openings on either side. The base is topped with a concrete slab supporting a cast-iron water tank by the Anderston Foundry, Glasgow. The tank has rounded corners and a curved lip, and a repeating geometric pattern to all four sides. The capacity is 2500 gallons.

Adjoining the north elevation is a small maintenance store with a textured render and a lean-to roof. The store has a stove flue pipe that rises through the roof, above the height of the tank.

Historical development

The Callander and Oban Railway Company / Caledonian Railway began construction of the 27.5-mile Ballachulish branch line in 1898. Completed in 1903 with eight station stops, it was one of the last branch lines to be built in the UK, making extensive use of concrete in its construction.

The 1903 water tower at Kentallen Station is shown in historic photographs dating from around 1920 (Canmore).

The branch line was not as commercially successful as hoped, due to cheaper imports, the impact of two world wars and the rapid increase in road-based haulage. The Ballachulish slate quarries closed in 1955. The water tower remained operational when the branch line closed in 1966 and survives largely intact (2024).