78-473: The River Morar is a river that flows from Loch Morar in the west Highlands of Scotland. It flows from the western end of the loch to the estuary of Morar Bay, an inlet of the Sound of Sleat . It is one of Scotland's shortest rivers, and is known for its white sands beaches where it flows through Morar Bay. The river is crossed by three bridges, and is the site of a hydro-electric power station, built as part of
156-567: A holy well , MacDonald also collected, "a story of a young woman who had lost her hair which grew again after she had bathed her head in the Loch." In common with Loch Ness , occasional reports of large unidentified creatures in the loch's waters are made. The loch monster has been dubbed Mòrag . The island in Loch Morar known as Eilean Bàn was briefly the location of a clandestine Catholic seminary founded by Bishop James Gordon , until
234-444: A basin produced by the overdeepening of the valley by glacial erosion , along an east–west fault line. It is not a sea loch due to isostatic rebound that raised the rock sill at the end of the loch. Based on estimates of erosion of between 2–4 mm ( 3 ⁄ 32 – 5 ⁄ 32 in) per year, the deep basin was created over a period of 67,000 – 150,000 years of glacial action , which occurred intermittently during
312-516: A gorge which was a suitable site for a dam, while there was flat land next to Loch Lomond on which to build a power station. There were no issues with fishing rights, because of the nature of Inveruglas Water, and nearby Clydeside provided a ready market for the power generated. The scheme was less complex than MacColl's 1936 proposal, with no pumped storage and a capacity of 130 MW. When laid before Parliament, two smaller projects were included, at Kyle of Lochalsh and Loch Morar , which demonstrated
390-530: A recent survey of eel populations in Lochaber , suggesting that they prefer the loch to the tributaries surveyed. Catches of salmon and sea trout declined dramatically between the 1970s and 1980s, in common with other catchments on the west coast. Artificial stocking of the River Morar with salmon and sea trout was suspended in 2007 after the hatchery was closed. The main salmonid spawning grounds are
468-411: A significant increase in the volume of water stored, as the loch covers 10.36 square miles (26.83 km). The dam includes a drum gate on the spillway, which operates automatically. A fish ladder was constructed around the dam to ensure that trout and salmon could still reach Loch Morar. The power station is located in a cavern near the falls, with only the doorway and a retaining wall visible. In 2002,
546-459: A solid gravity dam. It is some 1,171 feet (357 m) long and 184 feet (56 m) high, and when completed raised the surface level of Loch Sloy by 155 feet (47 m) when the loch is full. This provides a head of 909 feet (277 m) to the turbines. The main tunnel was driven through Ben Vorlich, and runs for 10,000 feet (3,000 m). It is mainly of horseshoe section, with a maximum diameter of 15 feet 4 inches (4.67 m), and
624-569: A total capacity of 152.5 MW. Prior to work starting, the catchment area for Loch Sloy was around 6.5 square miles (17 km ). When the construction scheme was published, it anticipated that this would be increased to some 28 square miles (73 km ), but in 1948, the Board published the Loch Sloy extension scheme, which was officially Constructional Scheme No.22, and this extended the catchment further to 32.5 square miles (84 km ). This
702-506: A wheel to let water into the turbines. She said, in Gaelic , "Let light and power come to the crofts”. ("Gun tigeadh Solus agus Neart an dealain dhionnsuich gach crout.") A small dam was constructed, which raised the level of Loch Morar by 3 feet (0.9 m), but because of the location of the falls, the head for the Kaplan turbines is 16 feet (4.9 m). The small change in level represents
780-500: Is close to the railway viaduct, and is built of stone. Prior to 1915, the road bridge was a little further downstream, but was replaced at some point. The newer bridge is the normal upstream limit to which tides flow. The third bridge carries the A830 road, and was constructed in 1997 when the road was upgraded. It bypasses the village altogether. Below the road bridge, the river channel is flanked by white sandy beaches at low tide, known as
858-658: Is deepened below the United Kingdom Continental Shelf , and until 1943, when a depth of 324 metres (1,062 ft) was observed in the Inner Sound , it was believed to be the deepest water in the United Kingdom. The surface of the loch is 9 metres (30 ft) above sea level. The water of the loch is clear and oligotrophic , with a minimal intake of nutrients, making it a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The main inflow
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#1732797830035936-446: Is preserved a set of green vestments, with red and white intermingled, bearing the date 1745. It still has its original lining; there is also an altar front to match it. These were probably brought over from France by the adherents of Prince Charlie , and must have been part of the furnishings of the chapel on the island, though it is not known how they were saved when the building was ransacked and burned in 1746. The same remarks apply to
1014-587: Is the River Meoble on the southern side, which drains from Loch Beoraid , although there are three other major inflows at the eastern end of the loch and a stream draining a complex of lochans to the north-west of Loch Morar. The outflow is the River Morar at the western end, which at a few hundred metres long is one of the shortest rivers in the British Isles. At the shallower western end of
1092-525: Is the fifth-largest loch by surface area in Scotland, at 26.7 km (10.3 sq mi), and the deepest freshwater body in the British Isles with a maximum depth of 310 m (1,017 ft). The loch was created by glacial action around 10,000 years ago, and has a surface elevation of 9 metres (30 ft) above sea level. It separates the traditional district of North Morar (which contains
1170-521: The Jacobite rising of 1715 forced its closure and eventual reopening at Scalan in Glenlivet . Even long afterwards, Eilean Bàn remained a secret chapel and library for Bishop Gordon's successors. According to historian John Watts, Eilean Bàn was traditionally used by the local population as grazing for their cattle herds and was, until trees began being planted in the 19th-century, completely bare of
1248-596: The Renewables Obligation (Scotland) legislation was introduced. It was conceived as a way to promote the development of small-scale hydro-electric, wave power, tidal power, photovoltaics, wind power and biomas schemes, but by the time it came into force, the definition of small scale had been increased from 5 MW to 10 MW and then 20 MW, and existing hydro-electric stations that had been refurbished to improve efficiency could be included. Morar at 0.75 MW thus qualified, and between 2005 and 2007
1326-554: The West Highland Line and is a Category B listed building. The main arch spanning the river is 90 feet (27 m), a second smaller arch carries the railway over the road on the north side of the river, and there are arches at both ends which are smaller still. The second bridge carries the B8008 road which runs through the village of Morar. It was formerly part of the main road from Fort William to Mallaig. The present bridge
1404-684: The "dense, barely penetrable growth of timber", that covers the island today. After the Battle of Culloden , a combined force of Royal Navy sailors under the command of Captain John Fergussone of HMS Furnace and Captain Duff of HMS Terror and troops from the Campbell of Argyll Militia portaged over nine miles of uncharted, rough, and previously thought to be impassable terrain. They were seeking to capture Bishop Hugh MacDonald ,
1482-457: The Board's commitment to supplying remote areas where it would normally be uneconomic to do so. £4.1 million of the total cost of £4.6 million was allocated for the Loch Sloy scheme. The Board had hoped that the passage of the scheme through Parliament would be reasonably smooth, but most of the objections that had been used to stop hydro-electric development in the 1930s were raised again. There were formal objections from Dumbarton County Council,
1560-484: The Board's commitment to supplying remote areas. These were at Morar and Kyle of Lochalsh . The estimated cost of the two smaller schemes was £0.5 million, compared to £4.1 million for the Sloy development. Although there were no objections to the two smaller schemes, implementation was delayed, because there was vigorous opposition to the Sloy scheme, and a public inquiry was held to consider this. John Cameron KC decided that
1638-665: The Clyde Valley Regional Planning Advisory Committee, the Joint County Council of Perth and Kinross, Perth County Council, Inverness County Council and some private individuals. The Secretary of State decided that a public enquiry was necessary, and this was held in Edinburgh at the end of 1944, with John Cameron KC acting as chairman. It took six days, and the Board's case was not helped by the fact that they had moved
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#17327978300351716-508: The Isle, and in full view of the rebels thereon; who, concluding themselves quite free from danger, fired on our people, at the same time calling them by insulting and opprobrious names, being near enough to be heard. This exultation, however, was quickly at an end; for the King's ships having sailed round to that part of the coast where their boats had little more than a mile to be carried overland to
1794-563: The Loch, "for three days and nights". They eventually, as Capt. Fergussone had expected, succeeded in capturing Lord Lovat, who was hiding inside a cave in nearby Glen Meoble . In his naval history of the Jacobite rising and its aftermath, historian John S. Gibson commented about the capture of Lord Lovat at Loch Morar, " London , which, with the events of the past year, had come to abhor highlanders, could scarcely have been more elated had Charles Edward himself been caught. A small mythology
1872-525: The North of Scotland." Private consumers would be offered a supply of cheap electricity, and their connection to that supply would not reflect the actual cost of its provision in remote and sparsely-populated areas. Lord Airlie , who had initially been critical of the 1943 Act because its scope was too limited, was the first chairman of the new Board. Edward MacColl , an engineer with wide experience of hydro-electric projects and electrical distribution networks,
1950-751: The Prince and his entourage, and was evacuated from what is now the Prince's Cairn at Loch nan Uamh on 19 September 1746. During the period of the Highland Clearances , many residents emigrated to Canada . Boats left in 1790, 1802, and 1826, carrying people to Quebec , Glengarry in Ontario , and the Strait of Canso in Nova Scotia respectively. Swordland Lodge, on the northern shore of
2028-633: The River Meoble and the smaller burns that feed into the loch. The hydroelectric power station, which contain one of only two fish counters in Lochaber, is shut down during the smolt run, following a study on smolt mortality in 1992. The catchment is managed by the Morar District Salmon Fishery Sub-board, which employs a full-time fisheries manager. Poaching in the form of netting has been known to occur at
2106-569: The Silver Sands of Morar. The River Morar forms the boundary between the parishes of Glenelg, to the north, and Arisaig and Moidart, to the south. As the River Morar crosses over the rock bar at the end of the loch it forms a series of waterfalls known as the Falls of Morar. A 750 kW hydroelectric power station with a hydraulic head of 16 feet (4.9 m) was built on the River Morar in 1948. The North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board
2184-512: The architect for the Morar station, but Shearer states that it was another of the Panel of Architectural Advisors, Reginald Fairlie , who designed Morar. It too was built of stone, and both stations were officially opened on 21 December 1948, becoming the first stations built by the Board to become operational. At Morar a local crofter called Mrs Catherine MacKenzie inaugurated the station, by operating
2262-400: The architectural work at Lochalsh, noticed that all local buildings were made of local stone, in a style he called cottage architecture, and asked MacColl whether stone could be used for the power station, despite its extra cost and the fact that working with stone was a dying art. MacColl readily agreed, and this formed a policy for most of the Board's projects. Wood states that Shearer was also
2340-401: The area were too optimistic and speculative to be realistic, and that the Board's contention that the scheme was in the public interest was correct. Accordingly, the scheme was authorised on 28 March 1945. The scheme was expected to be operational by 1947, but it soon became apparent that this was not achievable. Margaret Johnston, the wife of Tom Johnston , the architect of the 1943 Act, "cut
2418-411: The cold and wet weather, and the fact that guests had to wait around for a long time, MacColl had ensured they were not cold by installing an electric light bulb underneath every seat, despite many arguing against the idea. Historic Scotland has designated the modernist power-station building and the dam as listed buildings of categories A and B respectively. Twenty-one men lost their lives during
River Morar - Misplaced Pages Continue
2496-410: The distribution network for an area which would reach from Mallaig to the north down to Loch Ailort in the south. Both Tom Johnston and Edward MacColl were present, with Lady Hermione Cameron of Locheil assisting with the ceremony. The original plans for both sites were brick structures, but James Shearer , one of three members of the Panel of Architectural Advisors to the Board, who was tasked with
2574-470: The first constructional scheme promoted by the newly-formed North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board , to demonstrate its commitment to supplying the remote areas of Scotland with electricity. It was commissioned in 1948. The course of the River Morar is about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) long from Loch Morar to below the bridge carrying the A830 trunk road , and is one of the shortest rivers in Scotland. However, when
2652-442: The first generator set at Sloy at 3:15 pm. Residents of Tarbet, further south on Loch Lomond, and at Arrochar on Loch Long, had been supplied with electricity from the temporary diesel generating station since April 1948, when Miss Mary MacFarlane, the oldest resident of the village, aged 96, had switched on the new supply. The official opening ceremony took place on 18 October 1950 and was performed by Queen Elizabeth . Despite
2730-409: The first sod" on 11 June 1945 using an 18-ton bulldozer, rather than the traditional polished spade, but activity soon stopped, due to an inability to find a workforce in the immediate post-war period. German prisoners-of-war were allocated to the job, and by the end of the year, there were 45 British men and 398 prisoners-of-war working on the scheme. They built access roads across the hills, camps for
2808-565: The lake... the rebels immediately lost all courage..." Although the Bishop and the Jacobite leaders managed to quickly row from Eilean Bàn to the loch shore and "escaped into the mountains", according the same report for the Duke of Newcastle , when the government soldiers and sailors arrived upon Eilean Bàn, "They found the before-named Popish bishop's house and chapel; which the sailors quickly gutted and demolished , merrily adorning themselves with
2886-475: The last million years of the Quaternary glaciation . An outwash fan made up of sand and gravels at the western end of the loch marks the limit of the re-advance in the Morar valley. Subsequently, colonised by vegetation and known as Mointeach Mhòr (the mossy plain), these deposits blocked the outflow of the loch to the south, so that it drained from the north-west corner instead. The catchment area of
2964-671: The loch is 168 square kilometres (65 sq mi), and the geology is base-poor . A site to the north of the loch was selected in 2011 as a SSSI for its characteristic rock exposures of the Moine group by the Geological Conservation Review , replacing the area around Mallaig harbour, which had been previously regarded as the most representative site. The loch is surrounded by a mix of natural woodland, open hillside, sheep and cattle pasture and planted mixed coniferous and broadleaf woodlands. Only around 0.7% of
3042-423: The loch, there are a number of sizeable forested islands. At the western end of the loch is the village of Morar , which is between Arisaig and Mallaig on the coastal A830 road . The settlements of Bracorina and Bracara are located along the northern shore of the loch, but there is no road along the southern shore. Tarbet , on the shore of Loch Nevis , is a short distance from Loch Morar. According to
3120-744: The loch, was used as training school STS 23b by the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War . A 750 kW hydroelectric power station with a hydraulic head of 5.5 metres (18 ft) was built on the River Morar and commissioned in 1948. Loch Morar is located entirely within the Morar Group of sediments, which were deposited in the latter part of the Cambrian , and subsequently subjected to many phases of deformation. The loch occupies
3198-677: The loch. Its flow has been supplemented by a dam on Allt Uaine, which feeds into a pipeline to reach Allt a' Chnoic. Allt Uaine flows into Loch Fyne via Kinglas Water. Tributaries of the River Fyne are captured by two dams on the Garbh-allt Beag and two more on the Garbh-allt Mor. A pipeline runs to a dam on a tributary of the Eas Riachain and a second dam on the main Eas Riachain, where there is an intake. A tunnel runs to
River Morar - Misplaced Pages Continue
3276-483: The mouth of the River Morar. Loch Sloy Hydro-Electric Scheme The Loch Sloy Hydro-Electric Scheme is a hydro-electric facility situated between Loch Sloy and Inveruglas on the west bank of Loch Lomond in Scotland. It is also within the Arrochar Alps . Loch Sloy is a relatively small loch located to the west of Loch Lomond and around 800 feet (240 m) above it. The engineer Edward MacColl
3354-408: The new Board. With both MacColl and Williamson having a good knowledge of the potential of Loch Sloy, this became the Board's first constructional scheme. It had many advantages for a first scheme. Rainfall was high, at around 120 inches (3,000 mm) per year, and the catchment did not contain any houses or agricultural land. Inveruglas Water, which ran from Loch Sloy to Loch Lomond, passed through
3432-453: The night, and use the water to generate electricity at times when the demand was highest. He envisaged eight turbines, with a total capacity of 360 MW . The site was visited by the Board's Technical Development Committee in 1937, and a revised scheme was devised, using dams and aqueducts to increase the catchment of the loch, by collecting water from neighbouring catchments. The new power station would then only need four pumps, but even this
3510-635: The north east to reach the Eas an Tuirc, where there is a dam and another on a tributary. The tunnel continues to the east to empty into the Allt a' Chnoic. The rest of the system captures water that would otherwise flow into Loch Lomond, either directly or via the River Falloch. A tunnel runs from an unnamed stream that flows into Loch Lomond near the hamlet of Ardlui . The tunnel heads northwards to Srath Dubh-Uisge, where six dams and an aqueduct are shown on
3588-541: The objectors had failed to convince him that the scheme was not in the public interest, and the three schemes were authorised on 28 March 1945. To mark the start of the smaller projects, pole raising ceremonies were held in May 1946 at Morar and at Nostie Bridge, where the Lochalsh station would be built. The Morar scheme would be built beside the Falls of Morar, and a token electricity pole was raised, which would become part of
3666-419: The old chalice, which bears the inscription, Ad usum Pr Fr Vincenti Mariani, Missri Scot. Ord. Praedic. Anno 1658 . This chalice, which is of silver, is very small indeed; it has its paten to match. Unfortunately, we have no further information regarding this early missioner. In the list of priests for 1668 it is stated that there were three Dominicans on this mission. Father Vincent was apparently one of these;
3744-408: The others being Father George Fanning - long in the Isle of Barra and Father Primrose - who died in prison in 1671." Following the action, however, Capt. John Fergussone suspected "that Lord Lovat 's lameness must have rendered it utterly impracticable for him to travel in so rugged a country", and the crew of HMS Furnace accordingly continued meticulously searching inside the caves surrounding
3822-400: The peat bogs on the route from Loch Lomond to Loch Long, and had to be abandoned. A workforce of 200 was required over the two year contract, and because of the high turnover of men, 1,285 men were employed during that time. Despite the difficulties, the contract for the power lines was completed on time. On 18 February 1950, Sir Edward MacColl, who had only recently been knighted, switched on
3900-553: The posthumously published dictionary of the Scottish Gaelic language collected by Fr. Allan MacDonald (1859–1905), "Loch Morar is said to be blessed by St. Columba and is called ( Scottish Gaelic : Tobar Chaluim Chille ), 'St. Columba's Well'. It is safe to drink its water though in the greatest heat and perspiration. It does not freeze. The only ice seen about it is at the foot of the mountain streams flowing into it." In relation to Loch Morar's traditional veneration as
3978-412: The press, although one event did. In January 1951, a total of 278 feet (85 m) of tunnel was completed which had been driven in seven days by tunnellers working three eight-hour shifts per day, and this set a new British record for the distance driven in a week from a single heading. This was exceeded on 10 June 1951, when tunnellers excavated 427 feet (130 m) of tunnel in a week. Starting from
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#17327978300354056-451: The quantities needed. An aerial cableway was constructed over the dam site, to allow concrete to be deposited anywhere it was needed, and a 3.6 MW diesel power station was built to provide power for the project. Shortages of materials continued into 1948, and the whole project was slowed down by appalling weather. The dam was a massive butress dam, designed by Williamson, and had the advantage that it used around 20 per cent less concrete than
4134-428: The right bank, which provide moorings for boats using the loch. The river heads south, and then turns to the west. A weir and sluice control the flow to the hydroelectric station on the left bank. The river then tumbles down a rocky section, known as the Falls of Morar, although the flow down the falls is considerably less than it was before the hydroelectric plant was built. The power station discharges its water back into
4212-488: The river below the main part of the falls, and a fish ladder allows salmon and trout to negotiate the rise to reach Loch Morar. The river is crossed by three bridges, the upper most of which is a railway viaduct built by the West Highland Railway which opened its route from Banavie to Mallaig in 1901. The viaduct consists of four arches, is made of massed concrete, and was completed in 1897. It now carries
4290-573: The scheme was progressed by Tarbolton, but he died in July 1947, and his architectural practice managed the construction subsequently. The building was constructed by Hugh Leggat, who were faced with incessant rain during 1947 and 1948, and a mass exodus of workers in 1947, who were not happy with working conditions or the quality of the food in the camps. The turbines were supplied by English Electric , and transport to site presented many problems. The spiral casings weighed 42 tons and were much larger than
4368-626: The site for the power station after publishing the original plans, and had failed to secure agreement from the Ministry of War Transport over the need to reroute the Loch Lomond trunk road around the site of the power station. Three of the County Councils withdrew their objection while the hearing was taking place, but Dumbarton pursued their cause relentlessly. However, Cameron eventually decided that their plans for future development in
4446-456: The south, a dam was constructed on Allt a' Bhalachain, which flows into Loch Long . A pipeline runs to another dam on Allt Sugach, which again flows into Loch Long via Loin Water. A tunnel then carries the water to the north-west, where it is joined by another tunnel which captures the headwaters of a tributary of Croe Water, which would otherwise empty into Loch Long. This then links to two dams on
4524-482: The southern slopes of the valley, connecting to six tributaries. The aqueduct discharges into an open channel that flows into the northern end of Loch Sloy. From the outlet, another pipeline runs along the northern slopes of the valley, collecting water from another six tributaries. A tunnel running northwards connects it to three intakes on tributaries of the Allt Arnan, and continues northwards to Gleann nan Caorann,
4602-570: The spoils of the chapel. In the scramble, a great many books and papers were tossed about and destroyed." Some of the chapel and seminary foundation stones are still visibly upon Eilean Bàn. Watts has termed the 8 June 1746 book burning and the destruction of most of Bishop MacDonald personal papers, "an irreplaceable loss both for the eighteenth-century Church and the scholar of today." At least some items, though, are believed to have been removed from Eilean Bàn in time. In 1917, Dom Odo Blundell of Fort Augustus Abbey wrote, "At Morar chapel-house
4680-479: The station qualified for 6,833 Renewable Obligation Certificates, generating a subsidy for SSE of over £332,000. In 2007 the station operated at an average load factor of 48.7 percent. [REDACTED] Media related to River Morar at Wikimedia Commons Loch Morar Loch Morar ( Scottish Gaelic : Loch Mòrair ) is a freshwater loch in the Rough Bounds of Lochaber , Highland , Scotland . It
4758-424: The surface of the loch can be colonised by plants. Loch Morar's fish population is believed to be limited to Atlantic Salmon , brown trout and sea trout , Arctic char , eel , stickleback , and minnow . Trout average around 340 g ( 3 ⁄ 4 lb) in size, but ferox trout of up to 7 kg (15 lb) have been caught. The loch is also known to contain eels , although none were caught in
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#17327978300354836-527: The tide is out, it flows in a single channel across the sands of Morar Bay, for another 1.5 miles (2.4 km), and this section is labelled River Morar by the Ordnance Survey. The surface level of Loch Morar is 46 feet (14 m) above Ordnance datum (AOD), and the river descends through this height to reach the sea at the Sound of Sleet. At the top end of the river, there are a series of jetties on
4914-504: The underground Roman Catholic Vicar General of the Highland District, and high-ranking local Jacobite Army veterans, mainly from Clan Donald , who were correctly suspected of meeting together at the library, former seminary, and Catholic chapel on Eilean Bàn in Loch Morar on 8 June 1746. According to a later report for the Duke of Newcastle , "Upon their arrival at the lake, they immediately spread themselves opposite to
4992-493: The upper reaches of Allt Coiregrogan and its tributaries, capturing water that would have flowed into Loch Lomond via Inveruglas Water. The tunnel empties into Loch Sloy. To the east of Loch Sloy, the Allt Ardvorlich flows into Loch Lomond, and much of its flow has been captured by an intake, from where it joins the main tunnel just above the valve house. To the west of Loch Sloy, the Allt a' Chnoic naturally flows into
5070-482: The valley of Dubh Eas. There are a large number of intakes on the southern slopes of the valley, a pipeline running northwards to a dam on the Dubh Eas, and further intakes and a dam on the north side of the valley. While all this was going on, another team of men were erecting pylons to carry the 132 kV lines from the switching station at Inveruglas to Windyhill, on the outskirts of Glasgow. Machinery sank into
5148-532: The valve house, four pipes run down to the power station. The internal diameter of the pipes gradually decreases, from 7 feet (2.1 m) to just over 6 feet (1.8 m) where they enter the power station. They were erected by Sir William Arrol & Co. , who fabricated the welded pipes in Glasgow. The sections were 24 feet (7.3 m) long and were delivered by rail. They were moved up the hillside by an electric inclined railway, and rivetted together. The contract
5226-507: The village of Morar ), from Arisaig and Moidart . Loch Morar is 18.8 kilometres (11.7 mi) long, has a surface area of 26.7 km (10.3 sq mi), and is the deepest freshwater body in the British Isles with a maximum depth of 310 m (1,017 ft). In 1910, John Murray and Laurence Pullar found it to have a mean depth of 87 metres (284 ft) and a total volume of 2.3073 cubic kilometres (81,482,000,000 cu ft) during their survey of Scottish lochs. The bottom
5304-605: The workers, and railway facilities, including a bridge over the main pipelines for the West Highland Railway . Aggregate for the construction of the dam at the southern end of Loch Sloy was obtained from a quarry opened at Coiregrogain, and moved to the dam by a 1.75-mile (2.8 km) conveyor system. Sand was obtained from Balloch at the southern end of Loch Lomond, and was moved along the loch using two tugs, each pulling three dumb barges loaded with 50 tons of sand, to an unloading point at Inveruglas Bay. Obtaining Portland cement also proved difficult, as no local suppliers could handle
5382-520: Was asked to look at the possibility of using it for a hydro-electric sceme in 1936, while working for the Central Electricity Board . However, rather than a conventional arrangement, he considered that it was suitable for a huge pumped-storage scheme, which would have been much larger than any of the existing schemes in Scotland. He called it a "reversible hydraulic station", which would pump water from Loch Lomond to Loch Sloy during
5460-541: Was based on a report that he had previously submitted to the Hilleary Committee in the late 1930s. For the original report, he had worked with J Henderson to catalogue the water resources of the Highlands, and with James Williamson to work out how the electricity could be generated and distributed. Williamson subsequently became one of the five consulting engineers who formed a Panel of Technical Advisers for
5538-419: Was completed late, due to a chronic shortage of steel and very wet weather, but by 1950 Arrol had joined the power station to the valve house, some 1,500 feet (460 m) away. The power station building was designed by the Edinburgh architects Tarbolton & Ochterlony. Harold Tarbolton was an architectural advisor for the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board. Following Matthew Ochterlony 's death in 1946,
5616-564: Was created as a result of the Hydro-electric Development (Scotland) Act 1943, an Act championed by the politician Tom Johnston during his time as Secretary of State for Scotland. Johnston's vision was for a public body that could build hydro-electric stations throughout the Highlands. Profits made by selling bulk electricity to the Scottish lowlands would be used to fund "the economic development and social improvement of
5694-588: Was deputy chairman and chief executive. It soon became clear that MacColl intended to push ahead with the aspirations of the Act at breakneck speeds. He produced a list of 102 potential sites in just three months, and in June 1944, the first constructional scheme was published. This was for the Loch Sloy scheme , which had a ready market for bulk supplies to nearby Clydeside, but it included two smaller schemes, to demonstrate
5772-423: Was driven from four faces. At the Loch Lomond end, it splits into two steel lined tunnels, of 10 feet (3.0 m) diameter, and then as it emerges from the mountain, splits again into four 7-foot (2.1 m) diameter pipes, which enter the valve house. The tunnel was constructed by Edmund Nuttall, who also constructed a large surge shaft inside the mountain, some 1,000 feet (300 m) from the tunnel exit. From
5850-497: Was normally permitted on roads. The rotors for the alternators weighed 85 tons, and railway vehicles had to be specially adapted to carry them. When they arrived at the power station, there were no cranes big enough to unload them, and jacks had to be used. All four turbines had been installed by 1950, and they were at the time the largest generator sets installed in Britain. Three are rated at 40 MW and one at 32.5 MW, giving
5928-476: Was quick to grow up about the circumstances of his capture, as in the contemporary print of Fergussone and the soldiers of Guise's bursting in on the aged peer disguised as an old woman." Following his escape into the mountains, Bishop MacDonald remained in hiding locally until he managed to escape to France, during the sixth attempt by the French Royal Navy and French privateers to find and rescue
6006-532: Was still deemed to be uneconomic, and the idea was abandoned. The North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board was created by the Hydro-Electric Development (Scotland) Act of 1943. Its first chairman was Lord Airlie, while MacColl became his deputy. Their first duty was to produce a list of potential sites where water power could be implemented, and MacColl's list showed 102 possible schemes, from quite small schemes to enormous ones. Much of this
6084-475: Was to be achieved by the construction of a network of pipes and open aqueducts, totalling around 10 miles (16 km) and a further 12 miles (19 km) of small diameter tunnels. Nuttall had completed the main tunnel by early 1949, and teams of men spread out over the uplands to construct these structures. Balfour Beatty assisted with the aqueducts to join up the tunnels. Unlike the high-profile dam, main tunnel and power station, this attracted little attention in
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