Glasgow City and District Railway

Last updated

Contents

Glasgow City and District Railway
BSicon STRc2.svg
BSicon CONTg@G.svg
BSicon CONT3.svg
Bellgrove Junction
BSicon ABZg+1.svg
BSicon STRc4.svg
BSicon exKHSTa.svg
Bridgeton Central
Bellgrove
BSicon HST.svg
BSicon exTUNNEL1.svg
High Street East Junction
BSicon exSTRc2.svg
BSicon STRc2.svg
BSicon exSTR3+l.svg
BSicon ABZg3.svg
BSicon exSTRr.svg
BSicon exHST.svg
Gallowgate Central
(CB)
High Street Goods
BSicon STRc2.svg
BSicon exKDST1.svg
BSicon exSTRc4.svg
BSicon ABZ1+3xf.svg
BSicon exSTRc2.svg
BSicon STRc4.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon exABZg3.svg
(CB)
College
BSicon STR+1.svg
BSicon STRc4.svg
BSicon exKHSTe.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon exSTRc2.svg
BSicon extSTR3+1a@g.svg
BSicon exSTRc4.svg
BSicon exSTR3.svg
BSicon extSTRc2.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon extSTR3+l.svg
BSicon extSTRr+1.svg
BSicon extSTRc4.svg
BSicon eABZg+1.svg
BSicon exSTRc4.svg
BSicon extSTR2+1e.R.svg
BSicon dSTR.svg
BSicon extcSTRc4.svg
BSicon CONTf.svg
High Street West Junction
BSicon exSTRc1.svg
BSicon eABZg+4.svg
High Street
BSicon PORTALf.svg
BSicon BHF.svg
Queen Street (low level)
BSicon tBHF.svg
Charing Cross
BSicon tBHFea.svg
Finnieston
BSicon exlHST.svg
BSicon PORTALg.svg
BSicon CSTRe@f.svg
BSicon extCONTgq.svg
BSicon lKRZo+L.svg
BSicon lKRZo+R.svg
BSicon eKRZo.svg
BSicon xtdABZq3.svg
BSicon lBHF-Rq.svg
BSicon PORTALlr.svg
BSicon BHFq.svg
BSicon tSHI4g+rq.svg
BSicon tdCONTfq.svg
BSicon tSHI4c2.svg
BSicon extSTRc2.svg
BSicon eKRZ3+1t.svg
BSicon tSTR3h+1.svg
BSicon kSTRc2.svg
BSicon lBHF-Lq.svg
BSicon PORTALl.svg
BSicon kBHF3+l.svg
BSicon tSHI4lq.svg
Stobcross
(GCR)
Finnieston West Junction
BSicon extSTR+1.svg
BSicon tdSHI2le.svg
BSicon dSTR2.svg
BSicon d-STR2+4.svg
BSicon kSTR+1.svg
BSicon STRc3.svg
Partick Central
BSicon PORTALg.svg
BSicon exHST2@f.svg
BSicon exSTRc3.svg
BSicon cdSTRc1.svg
BSicon dABZg+4.svg
Kelvinhaugh Junction
BSicon exSTRc1.svg
BSicon exSTRl+4.svg
BSicon edKRZo.svg
BSicon STR~R.svg
BSicon exdSTRq.svg
BSicon exLLSTR2+r.svg
BSicon exLLSTRc3.svg
(SR)
Partickhill
BSicon HST.svg
BSicon exLLSTRc1.svg
BSicon exLLSTR+4.svg
(SR)
Hyndland
BSicon exKHSTaq.svg
BSicon eABZgr.svg
BSicon exkLLSTR3.svg
BSicon PORTALl.svg
BSicon exCONTg@Gq.svg
BSicon ABZg2.svg
BSicon extSTRq.svg
BSicon STRc3.svg
BSicon PORTALr.svg
BSicon exkSTRr+1.svg
BSicon exkSTRc4.svg
BSicon STR+c1.svg
BSicon HST2+4.svg
BSicon STRc3.svg
Jordanhill
(WR)
Whiteinch North Junction
BSicon 3ABZg+1.svg
BSicon STRc1.svg
BSicon 3STRq-.svg
BSicon STR+4.svg
BSicon 3STR+4.svg
Whiteinch West Junction
(SR)
Anniesland
BSicon HST.svg
BSicon CONTf.svg
Maryhill Park Junction
BSicon dSTRc2.svg
BSicon ABZg3.svg
BSicon POINTERf@f.svg
Knightswood North Junction
BSicon dCONTgq.svg
BSicon ABZq1.svg
BSicon STRq.svg
BSicon STRc4.svg
BSicon tSTRa@g.svg
BSicon SHI4g+rq.svg
BSicon ldHST.svg
BSicon CONTf@Fq.svg
BSicon tSTRle.svg
BSicon SHI4lq.svg
BSicon POINTERg@g.svg
Westerton
Railways
CB
Coatbridge Branch (NBR)
CoGUR
City of Glasgow Union Railway (NBR)
GCR
Glasgow Central Railway (CR)
GD&HR
Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway (NBR)
L&DR
Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire Railway (CR)
NBR
North British Railway
SR
Stobcross Railway (NBR)
WR
Whiteinch Railway (NBR)

The Glasgow City and District Railway was a sub-surface railway line in Glasgow, Scotland, built to connect suburban routes east and west of the city, and to relieve congestion at the Queen Street terminus.

Construction of the cut-and-cover route, only the fourth such in Great Britain, was formidably complex, but the line opened in 1886. It was steam operated, leading to complaints about smoky conditions. It had a four-platform low level station at Queen Street, and was heavily used.

The line was electrified in 1960 and today forms the central part of the North Clyde electric railway network.

History

Earlier railways

The first railways in the west of Scotland were the coal railways, intended primarily to bring coal to the city for consumption, and to canals and ports for onward water-borne transport. The Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway opened in 1831 and had a terminus at Townhead, on the north-eastern margin of the city.

In 1840 more general-purpose railways were seen: the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway opened in 1840, followed by the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway in 1841, and the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, providing an intercity service, in 1842. It had a passenger and goods station at Queen Street in Glasgow. It was not until 1848 that the first long-distance line reached the city: the Caledonian Railway opened to Glasgow.

There were now four passenger terminals in Glasgow, at Bridge Street, at South Side, at Buchanan Street and at Queen Street. Some short lines to small towns with an industrial base were opened, and these encouraged residential development: the beginning of daily travel to work by train; but there was no suburban network.

West and east of Glasgow

System map of the Glasgow City and District Railway GC&DR.gif
System map of the Glasgow City and District Railway

For many years passenger and goods trade between Glasgow and communities and industries west of Glasgow was carried on by boat. The north bank of the Clyde was relatively unpopulated as far as Bowling, where the basin of the Forth and Clyde Canal entered the river; beyond that Dumbarton was a centre of industry; and beyond Dumbarton lay the towns of the Firth of Clyde.

In 1858 the Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway (GD&HR) was opened, connecting the city to a purely local railway that connected Bowling and Balloch, on Loch Lomond. Now at last the north bank of the Clyde had a through railway connection. However the built-up area of Glasgow prevented the GD&HR from building directly west from the city, and its line made a large circuit round the north of Glasgow. There was still no attempt at a suburban service: the first station from Glasgow was Maryhill, then an isolated village, and then Dalmuir.

The GD&HR joined with the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway at Cowlairs, and was absorbed by that company in 1862; the E&GR was itself absorbed by the North British Railway in 1865.

On the east side, the Monklands area around Airdrie and Coatbridge had become the centre of the iron industries; it had extensive seams of good quality coal and of blackband ironstone. The wealthy industrial district was in the area served by the Caledonian Railway and the North British Railway sought to build a direct line to Coatbridge from Glasgow, to participate in the available business. It opened its Coatbridge branch in 1871. The Glasgow terminus was called College, at a site vacated for the purpose by the University of Glasgow; it was not convenient for the city centre. The NBR had collaborated with the Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR) in the construction of the City of Glasgow Union Railway, which also opened to College in 1871, crossing the River Clyde and linking the G&SWR network with the NBR line.

At last the separate radiating railways around Glasgow were becoming linked, and a suburban passenger railway, and the exchange of goods traffic, could be thought of.

The NBR network now developed west of the city, driven chiefly by the expansion westwards of heavy industry and of docking facilities for steamers. The Stobcross Railway opened in 1874 to serve the new Queen's Dock at Stobcross, but this line too made a large circuit of the city to reach the dock. The Glasgow, Yoker and Clydebank Railway was opened in 1882 to serve a shipyard and other industrial sites that were relocating. The passenger service on the Yoker line was not connected to the rest of the railway network. [1] [ page needed ]

A line through the centre of the city

This fractured set of lines frustrated the development of the areas served by the NBR. Moreover, Queen Street station, which was considered cramped from the outset, was now impossibly congested with terminating trains and a goods station, and there was no possibility of increasing line capacity on the Cowlairs incline. [2] [ page needed ] The NBR set about the task of connecting the lines east and west of the city.

The Glasgow City and District Railway, an independent company sponsored by the NBR, was authorised on 10 August 1882 to make a line from the College station to Stobcross, a distance of 3 miles (5 km). The capital was to be £550,000. [3] [ page needed ] A connection at Knightswood enabling through running from Stobcross towards Dalmuir was included in the authorisation. [4] [ page needed ]

The main section of the GC&DR was to be sub-surface, constructed by cut and cover. At its peak the construction had 22 tunnelling faces active. [2] [ page needed ] A four-platform station was to be provided at Queen Street, partly under the existing main line station. A new through station was to be provided at College, replacing the existing terminus. The Stobcross line at the west end was a goods-only dead end and this was to be transformed into a through line, with a station nearby at Finnieston.

The construction was challenging in engineering terms: it was only the fourth underground line in the country. [1] [ page needed ]

Opening

The GC&DR line opened on 15 March 1886, and the company was amalgamated with the North British Railway. The passenger services that had previously run to Queen Street high level terminus were diverted to run through the new line, providing immediate relief at Queen Street. On the same day the NBR opened the short Hyndland branch from Partick Junction, providing a western terminus for some trains. [note 1] On 1 August 1886 the Knightswood spur opened, and Queen Street goods depot was closed and the goods traffic transferred temporarily to the G&SWR goods station at College. [1] [ page needed ] Goods trains were not allowed to use the underground section, to minimise problems with the smoky atmosphere.

Soon 90 trains daily were being handled in the underground section. At first the carriages were unlit, but following protests an incandescent lighting system was provided, powered from a conductor fixed to the tunnel walls. [2] [ page needed ] The system was patented by H S P Carswell; it was removed in November 1901. [4] [ page needed ]

The smoky atmosphere in the tunnel sections was immediately a cause for serious complaint. Proposed solutions to vent the tunnels proved to be unacceptable to local residents, and for some years the issue remained contentious. Eventually the roof of Charing Cross station was removed. [2] [ page needed ]

The four platforms at Queen Street low level station were lettered, A, B, C and D.

Bridgeton extension

In association with the GC&DR line, the NBR opened a short branch from College to Bridgeton Cross on 1 July 1892 with an intermediate station at Gallowgate, and the G&SWR provided a spur to that line from the City of Glasgow Union line, opening on 1 April 1893. However that service was unsuccessful, and was withdrawn on 1 February 1913; the spur connection was closed.

Bridgeton station area was used for stabling and carriage cleaning, but the station was closed on 4 November 1979 when the Argyle Line opened; the branch continued to be used for carriage servicing for some years.

Electrification

Under a modernisation scheme of 1955, the GC&DR route was to be electrified as part of a proposed enhancement of the whole of the former NBR North Clyde lines. The four platforms at Queen Street Low Level were closed from 10 to 13 August 1959 for remodelling to a simple two-platform station as a prelude to electrification. Full electrification was inaugurated on 7 November 1960 but a series of transformer explosions in the new electric units resulted in restoration of the steam service, which continued from 19 December until 1 October 1961, when the full electric service was reinstated after modifications to the electrical system of the units. [6] [ page needed ]

The present day

The original GC&DR line through the city is open, carrying a busy suburban passenger service operated by ScotRail.

Topography

Locations on the line were:

Connections to other lines

Notes

  1. Thomas explains on page 142 that the NBR decided unilaterally that the Hyndland branch would be made as part of the GC&DR construction. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Clyde Line</span> Railway line in Glasgow City, Scotland, UK

The North Clyde Line is a suburban railway in West Central Scotland. The route is operated by ScotRail. As a result of the incorporation of the Airdrie–Bathgate rail link and the Edinburgh–Bathgate line, this route has become the fourth rail link between Glasgow and Edinburgh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argyle Line</span> Suburban railway line running East-West through Glasgow

The Argyle Line is a suburban railway located in West Central Scotland. The line serves the commercial and shopping districts of Glasgow's central area, and connects towns from West Dunbartonshire to South Lanarkshire. Named for Glasgow's Argyle Street, the line uses the earlier cut-and-cover tunnel running beneath that thoroughfare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North British Railway</span> British pre-grouping railway company (1844–1922)

The North British Railway was a British railway company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1844, with the intention of linking with English railways at Berwick. The line opened in 1846, and from the outset the company followed a policy of expanding its geographical area, and competing with the Caledonian Railway in particular. In doing so it committed huge sums of money, and incurred shareholder disapproval that resulted in two chairmen leaving the company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryhill Line</span> Railway line in Glasgow, Scotland, UK

The Maryhill Line is a suburban railway line linking central Glasgow and Anniesland via Maryhill in Scotland. It is part of the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport network. The line between Glasgow and Maryhill forms a part of the West Highland Line and was reopened to stopping passenger services in 1993. The line was reopened by British Rail and Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive. Local services over the route had previously ended in the early 1960s, though it remained open thereafter for Fort William/Mallaig & Oban trains and freight traffic. In 2005 it was extended to Anniesland via a new station at Kelvindale in the north west of the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryhill railway station</span> Railway station in Glasgow, Scotland

Maryhill railway station is a railway station serving the Maryhill area of Glasgow, Scotland. It is located on the Maryhill Line, 4+34 miles (7.6 km) northwest of Glasgow Queen Street, a short distance east of Maryhill Viaduct and Maryhill Park Junction. It has two side platforms. Services are provided by ScotRail on behalf of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelvindale railway station</span> Railway station in Glasgow, Scotland

Kelvindale railway station is a railway station that serves the Kelvindale suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. It was opened on 26 September 2005 by Bill Butler, the then Member of Parliament in the Scottish Parliament and Councillor Alistair Watson. A bronze plaque records the event. The station is 5+12 miles (8.9 km) north of Glasgow Queen Street on the Maryhill Line.

The Glasgow, Yoker and Clydebank Railway was a railway company that opened in 1882, giving a rail connection to shipyards and other industry that developed in what became Clydebank. At first it was a purely local line, connecting only at Stobcross with the North British Railway, but as industry developed in the area it served it became increasingly important.

The Stobcross Railway was a railway line in Glasgow, Scotland, built by the North British Railway to connect from Maryhill to the new dock being built at Stobcross; the dock became the Queen's Dock, opened in 1877. The line was opened first, in 1874, and gave the North British company access to the north bank of the River Clyde; there was a goods depot at Partick.

The Whiteinch Railway was a railway line opened in 1874 in Scotland to connect industrial premises that had developed in the area with the Stobcross Railway, giving access to the main line network. It was opened for goods and mineral traffic, and was extended by the Whiteinch Tramway which fed directly into the factories and works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bellgrove railway station</span> Railway station in Glasgow

Bellgrove Railway Station is in the East End of Glasgow, Scotland, serving the city's Calton, Gallowgate and south Dennistoun neighbourhoods. The station is approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) to the east of Glasgow Queen Street, and is managed by ScotRail.

The City of Glasgow Union Railway - City Union Line, also known as the Tron Line, was a railway company founded in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1864 to build a line connecting the railway systems north and south of the River Clyde, and to build a central passenger terminus and a general goods depot for the city. The through line, running from south-west to north-east across the city, opened in 1870–71, and the passenger terminal was St Enoch railway station, opened in 1876. The railway bridge across the Clyde was the first in the city.

The Glasgow Central Railway was a railway line built in Glasgow, Scotland by the Caledonian Railway, running in tunnel east to west through the city centre. It was opened in stages from 1894 and opened up new journey opportunities for passengers and enabled the Caledonian Railway to access docks and industrial locations on the north bank of the River Clyde. An intensive and popular train service was operated, but the long tunnel sections with frequent steam trains were smoky and heartily disliked.

The Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire Railway was a railway company in Scotland. It was promoted independently but supported by the Caledonian Railway, and it was designed to connect Balloch and Dumbarton with central Glasgow, linking in heavy industry on the north bank of the River Clyde. From Dumbarton to Balloch the line would have closely duplicated an existing railway, and negotiation led to the latter being made jointly operated, and the L&DR terminated immediately east of Dumbarton, trains continuing on the joint section.

The Caledonian and Dumbartonshire Junction Railway (C&DJR) was a Scottish railway opened in 1850 between Bowling and Balloch via Dumbarton. The company had intended to build to Glasgow but it could not raise the money.

The Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway was independently sponsored to build along the north of the River Clyde. It opened in 1858, joining with an earlier local line serving Balloch. Both were taken over by the powerful North British Railway in 1865, and for some time the line was the main route in the area. As industry developed other lines were opened to serve it, and the line formed the core of a network in the area.

The Rutherglen and Coatbridge Railway was a railway line in Scotland built by the Caledonian Railway to shorten the route from the Coatbridge area to Glasgow. It opened in 1865. It was later extended to Airdrie in 1886, competing with the rival North British Railway. Soon after a further extension was built from Airdrie to Calderbank and Newhouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coatbridge Branch (NBR)</span>

The Coatbridge Branch of the North British Railway was a railway built to connect the important coal and iron industrial districts of Coatbridge and Airdrie directly to Glasgow for the North British Railway.

The Kelvin Valley Railway was an independent railway designed to connect Kilsyth, an important mining town in central Scotland, with the railway network. It connected Kilsyth to Kirkintilloch and thence over other railways to the ironworks of Coatbridge, and to Maryhill, connecting onwards to the Queen's Dock at Stobcross.

The Kilsyth and Bonnybridge Railway was a railway line in central Scotland, built to exploit the mineral extractive industries in the area; it opened in 1888. A passenger service was run, but bus competition overwhelmed it after 1920 and the passenger service closed in 1935. The goods and mineral traffic continued, but it was dependent on the industries it served, and when they declined so did the business on the railway; it closed in 1964 and none of it is now in railway use.

The Caledonian Railway branches in North Lanarkshire built on the Caledonian Railway main line, which opened in 1848. In the following years the considerable increase of iron production and coal extraction in North Lanarkshire led to a progressive expansion of branch lines in the area between the eastern margin of Glasgow and Bellside in the east, and between Coatbridge, Airdrie and Motherwell. Mineral traffic was dominant and for some years passenger operation followed the construction of some of the mineral connections. In 1861 the Rutherglen and Coatbridge line was opened, extended later to Airdrie, rivalling the established Monkland Railways route. In 1869 the connection from Cleland to Midcalder was opened, connecting mineral sites but also forming a new passenger route to Edinburgh.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Paterson, J.S. (1984). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 6, Scotland, the Lowlands and the Borders. John Thomas revised. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. ISBN   0-946537-12-7.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Thomas, John (1975). The North British Railway, volume 2. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN   0-7153-6699-8.
  3. Carter, E.F. (1959). An Historical Geography of the Railways of the British Isles. London: Cassell.
  4. 1 2 Ross, David (2014). The North British Railway: A History. Catrine: Stenlake Publishing Limited. ISBN   978-1-84033-647-4.
  5. Thomas 1975, p. 142.
  6. Smith, W.A.C.; Anderson, Paul (1993). An Illustrated History of Glasgow's Railways. Caernarfon: Irwell Press. ISBN   1-871608-33-3.
  7. Quick, M.E. (2002). Railway Passenger Stations in England Scotland and Wales—A Chronology. The Railway and Canal Historical Society.

Sources