St Enoch Station (Not Subway)

[escotregen]

The clock story is still ticking away

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/news/5047913.html

[Socceroo]

The next time you are parking your car in St Enoch's Car Park or walking in the area think of this episode in the history of Glasgow and it's apparently frequent Railway accidents which occurred around one hundred years ago.

Some of the reporting is a bit gruesome in the last paragraphs, but you have to remember that this was the days before TV and indeed Radio?...


From The Scotsman – Tuesday 28th July 1903

TERRIBLE RAILWAY DISASTER IN GLASGOW
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EXCURSION TRAIN WRECKED

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FIFTEEN PERSONS KILLED – FIFTY INJURED

The Glasgow Fair holidays of 1903 have been darkened by the memory of a terrible disaster. Through some cause, as to which so far, there is no official explanation, an excursion train laden with passengers returning to the city from the Isle of Man dashed at a high rate of speed into No. 8 platform of the Glasgow and South – Western Railway Company’s station at St Enoch’s Glasgow, yesterday morning, about 8a.m. The force of the impact was so great that the front portion of the train was completely telescoped, and thirteen persons were killed instantaneously, while two deaths took place later in the Royal Infirmary. In addition, over fifty persons were injured – a number seriously. Of these eighteen are in the Royal Infirmary.

The scene of yesterday’s disaster, St Enoch’s Station is the northern terminus of the Glasgow and South Western Railway. Recently it was considerably widened, and as a result of the widening several additional platforms were constructed to the south. These are largely used for the dispatching and discharging of trains to and from the coast of Renfrewshire and Ayrshire. Platform 8 – one of these platforms – was the scene of yesterday’s accident. It is a lye which is frequently brought into action in times of heavy traffic, and recently owing to the Glasgow Fair holidays, it has been exceedingly busy. One of the first trains arranged to come into No.8 yesterday was the special excursion train leaving Adrossan at 6.50a.m. in connection with the Isle of Man steamer Tynwald, which was due to arrive at Adrossan about that hour. There are few places mores popular with the Glasgow Fair holidaymaker who goes afield than the Isle of Man, and steamer and train were heavily loaded.

Glasgow, according to the schedule, was to be reached about quarter to eight, the only stopping places on the way being Paisley and Eglinton Street, tickets being collected at the latter station. In anticipation of the return of relatives or friends a number of people were waiting for the train. Early as it was, the station was pulsing with life. On all sides trains were arriving with contingents of holiday – makers. A few minutes after eight the Adrossan excursion train was signalled. Presently it came in sight, crossing the bridge over the Clyde. It should at this point have shown signs of slackening speed, the more so as it approached one of the farthest out lyes of the station. But to the horror of those who saw it, it came dashing on, and without any lessening of speed, crashed into the terminal buffers at the end of the lye. The buffers were new and strong, and withstood the shock sufficiently to arrest the onward progress of the engine. In doing so however, they perhaps contributed to the magnitude of the disaster. Suddenly and terribly impeded the two front carriages of the train telescoped and rose in a huge mass. The second carriage, forced both from before and from behind, was crushed into matchwood.

All this happened with appalling suddenness, and it was some time before those who saw realised the horror of what had happened. As their imaginations were stirred with a sense of the heart – rending affair which had just enacted before their eyes, they awoke to the necessities of the scene also. The police and ambulance were summoned, telephone and telegraph messages were dispatched to various medical men and all the staff available were gathered together in order that the work of the rescue might begin. It was soon seen that the attention of the rescuers required to be directed to the first and second carriages only. With the exception of more or less severe shock, which shivered the glass of the windows, and threw the occupants of the carriages against each other and against the sides of the compartments, the remainder of the train seemed to have escaped without injury. But a glance served to show that if the field of the extricators labour was narrow, they were to reap a heavy harvest of death. Pinned among the woodwork mangled, helpless, and in some cases evidently already beyond human aid, lay the bodies of men, women and children, from some whom groans of the most piteous character rose upon the air. Among the dead who could be seen, but who were still beyond reach, were a girl apparently of six or seven and a boy her brother, some three years younger. Another of the dead, a man had both his feet cut off. In its sickening horror, indeed, the scene is without a parallel I the annals of the city’s railway disasters.

The work of the extrication was accompanied by some difficulties, the woodwork having to be sawn asunder before the dead and the sufferers could be reached. The latter were attended to first. What could be done immediately was done by the doctors who were in attendance. Those who required further treatment were removed to the Royal Infirmary in the ambulance van. After the injured had been dealt with came the removing of dead, which were reverently placed on stretchers, covered, and borne in silence to No. 1 waiting room. The following is a list of the dead and injured……..

Sleep well folks

[Simba]

Nice!

In all seriousness, very interesting article. Thanks for that.

[Chris]

Sorry to bring up an old topic, but my father used to be a porter in the St Enoch Hotel. He told me that in the basement there were the remains of monks cells as there used to be a monastery there. Anyone know anything about this?

[brickwall]

Sorry to bring up an old topic, but my father used to be a porter in the St Enoch Hotel. He told me that in the basement there were the remains of monks cells as there used to be a monastery there. Anyone know anything about this?

I think there were two churchs further up. There is an old map on this board of Grahamston but I can't seem to find it. The old village was demolished to make way for Glasgow expanding Westwards.

[crusty_bint]

No-one should ever apologise for bringing up an old thread

I think your da was probably winding you up. There was a church in St Enoch's Sq but was demolished to ease traffic management (like so much of this city) but I doubt it was ever related to any monastery. Whats more probable is that he was talking about the substantial vaulted undercroft on which St Enoch's station and hotel sat. You can see this in the pictures on pages 1 and 2, in particular this pic from page 2



and this model i havent finished

[glasgowken]

Interesting illustration that.

The photos on page 2, posts 3 & 4, of this thread are also available on the RCAHMS website. A good bit bigger, and without the watermark.

Sorry to bang on about that site, but it's a mine of fantastic photos.

[james73]

James H

[crusty_bint]

James... you're a star!

[james73]

James H

[crusty_bint]

Id never noticed before starting this model but the original barrel vault was really quite spectacular!

[HollowHorn]

Stunning, Crusty, suspended lamps or plumb bobs?

[McShad]

Was the roof not one of the largest arched roofs in the world in its time?

[Targer]

Without doubt a remarkable piece of Iron/Steel work. Its unfortunate it had to go. What replaced it is not fit for purpose and its certainly not a benifit to the area. What was once (in the 50's) an excellent Square is not any longer. Its a loss.

[james73]

Was the roof not one of the largest arched roofs in the world in its time?

Dunno aboout the world, but I think only St Pancras (which it was modeled on)
was bigger in the UK.



James H