Gourock railway station is a terminus of the Inverclyde Line,located at Gourock pierhead,Scotland,and serves the town as well as the ferry services it was originally provided for.
The Caledonian Railway found that its service to Greenock Central station,which was an inconvenient walk away from the quay,was losing Clyde steamer trade to the new Glasgow and South Western Railway terminal at Greenock Princes Pier railway station. So the Caledonian extended its line through a new tunnel to the small fishing village of Gourock. The railway ran on the seaward side of Shore Street to the terminal,which opened on 1 June 1889.[2] The headquarters of the Caledonian steamer fleet was subsequently based there. The station was designed by the architect,James Miller,and engineer-in-chief,George Graham.[3] The initial services in 1889 were 26 trains daily from Glasgow to Gourock,with one additional service on Saturdays. The fastest journey time was 40 minutes,and each train could carry 604 passengers;224 in first class and the rest in third class.[2]
Inspector Halliday,from the western district of the Caledonian Railway,was appointed stationmaster,and Mr Anderson,assistant stationmaster at Cathcart Street Station at Greenock,was appointed assistant stationmaster.[4]
The station was built to accommodate large numbers of passengers boarding the steamers. Originally the curving station platform had 17 canopy bays each side over three railway lines,with three bays of full width and the westernmost 19 bays covering the one line which continued on. A central concourse with adjacent offices and stores fronted the pier.
On 16 June 1935,a holiday train overran the platform and collided with the buffers. Three people were hospitalised.[5]
On 12 December 1957,a fire broke out in the station building. The refreshment room and waiting rooms were badly damaged.[6]
Class 318 train at original platform canopies remaining in 2006Class 314 train leaving the pierhead as a ferry sets off for Dunoon
The line from Glasgow was electrified as part of the Inverclyde Line electrification scheme by British Rail. The 25 kV AC system was used,and electric operation commenced in September 1967.
In the 1980s,the westernmost end of the station was cut back by 18 bays,and in the 1990s,the adjacent timber quay was demolished. Subsequently,the remaining glazed canopies over the platforms were taken down,leaving only the cast iron supporting structure,slate roofs and glazed canopies over a section incorporating a ticket office and a waiting room. The adjacent Bay Hotel was also demolished in the 1990s,with its site being grassed over. In 2006,a portable ticket office was installed at the end wall,which had been erected when the station was cut back and the old ticket office was closed.
Approval was given in 1999 for plans by Inverclyde Council,Caledonian MacBrayne and Railtrack,which involved shortening the railway tracks and constructing a new station adjacent to Caledonian MacBrayne's headquarters. That formed part of a major development scheme,with the space formerly occupied by the station,together with the grassed area which had been the site of the Bay Hotel,providing space for two major supermarkets and housing. Alexander George was appointed preferred developer.
Landscaped approach from Shore Street to Gourock railway station,with MV Argyle and MV Coruisk heading to and from the ferry terminal.
However,Network Rail was slow to come to an agreement on relocating the station. The work involved in shortening the tracks would have involved considerable expense and the closure of the station for 18 months. The delay left the station looking rather neglected. Near the end of September 2006,new plans were announced,following intervention by the transport minister Tavish Scott. A considerable saving was to be made by not moving the station so far,so that the work involved was reduced,with the station only closing for four or five weeks. Only one supermarket was now proposed,with 580 houses being constructed in blocks facing out onto the Clyde.[7]
In the interim,the station was renovated,at a predicted cost of £630,000,to provide a new entrance,glass roof and toilets,as well as improved waiting facilities. David Simpson,route director of Network Rail in Scotland,advised that essential work had to be carried out to make the station more comfortable for the 400,000 passengers using it every year,while work would continue to "explore the longer-term options for the station with our industry partners".[8]
The new ticket office in November 2010
A new station building,designed by IDP Architects,[9] was completed in 2010. Work on demolishing the existing canopies and providing new shelters on platforms proceeded through 2011. The new station building was officially opened on 1 August 2012 by Alex Neil MSP and Gourock Councillor Chris McEleny,with all works having cost £8m.[10]
As part of a new one-way system completed in 2016,the station approach was reorganised,with new car parking and a promenade along past Kempock Point.
The station is fully staffed seven days per week throughout the hours of service. Three platforms are in use.
Services
Station buildings seen from platform 1,with a Class 385 train in service.
There is a regular service on weekdays and Saturdays of four trains per hour to and from Glasgow Central via Paisley Gilmour Street. Of these,two operate as limited expresses beyond Greenock Central,whilst the other pair stop at all intermediate stations. In the evening (after 18:30),there are two trains per hour (one semi-fast &one stopper),whilst on Sundays there is an hourly service calling at all intermediate stations.
As of December 2023 on weekdays and weekends there are two regular services per hour stopping at all stations. On a Sunday there is still a regular hourly service stopping st all stations,however there are a few fast trains that operate to Gourock and Glasgow.
The nearby ferry terminal is the headquarters of Caledonian MacBrayne,which runs a passenger ferry to Dunoon from the pier,having taken over from their subsidiary Argyll Ferries in 2019. In June 2019 MVArgyll Flyer was re-branded in CalMac livery,leaving MVAli Cat still in Argyll Ferries' colours. The pier also serves passenger ferries to Kilcreggan.
Argyll and Bute is one of 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod. The administrative centre for the council area is in Lochgilphead at Kilmory Castle,a 19th-century Gothic Revival building and estate. The current council leader is Robin Currie,a councillor for Kintyre and the Islands.
The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles. The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula,which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde,separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran. Within the Firth of Clyde is another major island –the Isle of Bute. Given its strategic location at the entrance to the middle and upper Clyde,Bute played a vital naval military role during World War II.
Gourock is a town in the Inverclyde council area and formerly a burgh of the County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It was a seaside resort on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde. Its main function today is as a residential area,extending contiguously from Greenock,with a railway terminus and ferry services across the Clyde.
Caledonian MacBrayne,usually shortened to CalMac,is the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries,and ferry services,between the mainland of Scotland and 22 of the major islands on Scotland's west coast. Since 2006,the company's official name has been CalMac Ferries Ltd,although it still operates as Caledonian MacBrayne. In 2006,it became a subsidiary of holding company David MacBrayne,which is owned by the Scottish Government.
The Inverclyde Line is a railway line running from Glasgow Central station through Paisley and a series of stations to the south of the River Clyde and the Firth of Clyde,terminating at Gourock and Wemyss Bay,where it connects to Caledonian MacBrayne ferry services. The line has been in operation since the 1840s between Glasgow and Greenock and was the first passenger service to follow the River Clyde to the coast. The line was electrified in 1967.
The transport system in Scotland is generally well-developed. The Scottish Parliament has control over most elements of transport policy within Scotland,with the Cabinet Secretary for Transport,Net Zero and Just Transition holding portfolio responsibility within the Scottish Government. Transport Scotland is the Executive Agency responsible for the Scottish transport network.
Greenock West railway station is a station in Greenock,Scotland,located on the Inverclyde Line which runs from Gourock to Glasgow Central. The route is currently operated by ScotRail under the auspices of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport. Each service to and from Glasgow on the Inverclyde Line stops at this station.
Greenock Central station is one of eight railway stations serving the town of Greenock in western Scotland,and is the nearest to the town centre. This station,which is staffed,is on the Inverclyde Line,37 km (23 mi) west of Glasgow Central towards Gourock. It has three platforms,two of which are in use,with one disused bay platform. This disused platform is still connected to the main line.
Port Glasgow railway station is on the Inverclyde Line,serving the town of Port Glasgow,Scotland. It is located in the town centre with the main entrance at the junction of Princes Street and John Wood Street.
Paisley Gilmour Street railway station is the largest of the four stations serving the town of Paisley,Renfrewshire,Scotland,and acts as the town's principal railway station. The station is managed by ScotRail and serves the Ayrshire Coast Line and Inverclyde Line,7+1⁄4 miles (11.7 km) west of Glasgow Central. The station is protected as a category B listed building.
Wemyss Bay railway station serves the village of Wemyss Bay,Inverclyde,Scotland. The station is a terminus on the Inverclyde Line,about 26 miles (42 km) west of Glasgow Central. The station incorporates the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry terminal connecting mainland Scotland to Rothesay on the Isle of Bute. The station is managed by ScotRail.
The Caledonian Steam Packet Company provided a scheduled shipping service,carrying freight and passengers,on the west coast of Scotland. Formed in 1889 to complement the services of the Caledonian Railway,the company expanded by taking over rival ferry companies. In 1973,they were merged with MacBraynes as Caledonian MacBrayne.
The Greenock and Ayrshire Railway ran from Greenock,Scotland to Bridge of Weir,connecting there to the Glasgow and South Western Railway and making a through connection between Glasgow and Greenock. It closed progressively between 1959 and 1983.
The Glasgow,Paisley and Greenock Railway (GP&GR) was an early Scottish railway,opened in 1841,providing train services between Greenock and Glasgow. At the time the River Clyde was not accessible to sea-going ships,and the intention was to compete with river boats that brought goods to and from the city. In fact passenger traffic proved surprisingly buoyant,and connecting steamer services to island resorts in the Firth of Clyde provided a very great source of business.
The Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway was a railway owned by the Caledonian Railway,providing services between Greenock and Wemyss Bay.
MV Argyle is a ferry operated by Caledonian MacBrayne on the route between Wemyss Bay on the Scottish mainland and Rothesay on the Isle of Bute. She is the seventh Clyde ship to have the name Argyle.
MV Ali Cat is a motor catamaran passenger ferry owned by Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited and operated by Caledonian MacBrayne,which along with MV Argyll Flyer provides a service from Dunoon to Gourock across the Firth of Clyde.
David MacBrayne is a limited company owned by the Scottish Government. Formed in 1851 as the private shipping company David Hutcheson &Co. with three partners,David Hutcheson,Alexander Hutcheson and David MacBrayne,it passed in 1878 to David MacBrayne.
Argyll Ferries Ltd was a ferry company formed in January 2011 by the Scottish Governments department of Transport Scotland via the parent company David MacBrayne Ltd to tender for the Dunoon-to-Gourock public service route. Argyll Ferries were announced as the preferred bidder at the end of May 2011,contracts were exchanged on 7 June 2011 for the service,the service then commenced 23 days later on 30 June 2011.
MV Argyll Flyer is a passenger ferry in the Caledonian MacBrayne fleet,which along with MV Ali Cat provides a service in Scotland,across the Firth of Clyde from Dunoon to Gourock pierhead and railway station.
References
↑ Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. "Gaelic/English Station Index". Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6thed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN978-0-9549866-9-8.
↑ "James Miller". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Historic Scotland. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
↑ "Railway Appointments at Gourock". Greenock Telegraph and Clyde Shipping Gazette. England. 4 May 1889. Retrieved 25 March 2019– via British Newspaper Archive.
↑ "Buffer Crash at Gourock". Aberdeen Press and Journal. England. 17 June 1935. Retrieved 25 March 2019– via British Newspaper Archive.
↑ "Blaze at Rail Station". Coventry Evening Telegraph. England. 12 December 1957. Retrieved 25 March 2019– via British Newspaper Archive.
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