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Eğirdir


History

Eğirdir was the terminal station of the ORC main line from Izmir. ORC long term plan was to extend the line up to Konya and Eğirdir was not meant to remain a dead end. Eğirdir city, or more like a village? is quite small with little activity and the local economy could never generate any significant traffic of any kind.

When TCDD built the line Karakuyu to Ayon, Eğirdir became the terminal station of a branch from Karakuyu. Traffic on this branch did not pick up and the last leg from Bozanönü to Eğirdir was closed to traffic in 2003.

The station was built in 1912, about 2,5 km away from the village center. Presumably, engineers selected the last piece of flat land encountered into the direction of the village. The village itself is squeezed between the mountain and the lake, at a point were a small an very scenic peninsula protrudes into the lake. The station was 400m from a very nice beach which became an attraction. The whole area is now quite developed and the station area no longer have this feel of isolation it use to have.

Eğirdir had a minimal track plan with a main track and a passing loop. The passenger building is a sturdy construction, quite sizeable, and the passengers are graced with wooden trainshed which survived until the end. A single track engine shed was provided as well, but located downhill from the station. It could only be reached by a long switchback on the mainline. Given the very low level of traffic, this surely was not an operational constraint. A small freight yard was next to the engine shed, but the two tracks were mostly used to stable the passenger cars.

As of 2006, the building was abandoned and empty.

Track layout

This is the track plan of the station towards the ends of service, in the 1980s. I was finally given photographic evidence of an 18m turntable. There is even a video of the turntable with a locomotive being turned, loco and tender divided and turned separately.

This track plan does not render the different elevation between the passenger building, to the south, and the yard to the north which is significantly downhill to the main track.

track-egirdir

Pictures

Eğirdir station

44018 at Eğirdir 9 March 1977. Photo Robin Lush.

44080 on Egirdir turntable, 1983, Photo B. Lennox

44080 on Egirdir turntable with the lake in the background, 1983, Photo B. Lennox

Eğirdir station

Eğirdir station. 20 July 2006. Photo Bastug Emin Basli

Eğirdir station

Eğirdir station. 20 July 2006. Photo Bastug Emin Basli

Eğirdir station

Eğirdir station. 20 July 2006. Photo Bastug Emin Basli

Eğirdir station

Eğirdir station, track towards the exit. 20 July 2006. Photo Bastug Emin Basli

Eğirdir station

Eğirdir station: exit point overgrown by grass. 20 July 2006. Photo Bastug Emin Basli

Eğirdir station

Eğirdir station. 20 July 2006. Photo Bastug Emin Basli

Eğirdir station

Eğirdir station: inside the shed. 20 July 2006. Photo Bastug Emin Basli

Eğirdir station

Eğirdir station. 20 July 2006. Photo Bastug Emin Basli

Eğirdir station

Eğirdir station: station name plate. 20 July 2006. Photo Bastug Emin Basli

Eğirdir station

Eğirdir station. 20 July 2006. Photo Bastug Emin Basli

Eğirdir station

Eğirdir station. 20 July 2006. Photo Bastug Emin Basli

Eğirdir station

Eğirdir station: street side of the building. 20 July 2006. Photo Bastug Emin Basli

Eğirdir station

Eğirdir station: street side of the building. 20 July 2006. Photo Bastug Emin Basli