Glasgow Railway Termini

Moderators: John, Sharon, Fossil, Lucky Poet, crusty_bint, Jazza, dazza

Re: Glasgow Railway Termini

Postby Anorak » Tue Oct 28, 2008 8:23 am

I’ve been having a wee look at the south side railway stations at the time before the bridges across the Clyde leading to Central and St Enoch stations were built.

The two main passenger stations at the time were Bridge Street and South Side. The two main freight terminals were at General Terminus Quay and West Street.

Image

The original Bridge Street Station was developed between 1839 and 1841. It was operated by the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Line.

Compared with today, the map shows a much narrower track crossing the various bridges leading into Bridge Street Station. The massive wide steel bridges needed for the multitude of tracks at the end of the century were yet to come.

The Glasgow Ardrossan and Paisley Canal terminated at Port Eglinton, close to the West Street Goods Station. This was covered over and track laid to become the Paisley Canal Line in 1881.

The remnants of Bridge Street Station, which you can currently see from the trains approaching Central Station, are of a completely different Victorian building, developed around 1889/ 1891. This was situated to the south of the original Bridge Street Station shown on the map. The photograph below shows the frontage of the station between Nelson Street to Kingston Street. This was a through station which closed in 1906 after Central Station had been extended to provide extra platforms.

Image



South Side (or Southside) station was a Caledonian Railway terminus, initially used by the Glasgow Barrhead & Neilston Direct Railway when in opened in 1848. This company was absorbed by the Caledonian Railway in 1851. This station also provided passenger links to Lanarkshire, via Polmadie and Rutherglen, from 1849.

Image

Goods trains used the branch line to General Terminus Quay, allowing access to Glasgow’s harbourside from industrial Lanarkshire.

The photograph below shows the site of Southside station, alongside the ruins of Caledonia Road Church.

Image
Anorak
Second Stripe
Second Stripe
 
Posts: 163
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2007 12:19 am

Re: Glasgow Railway Termini

Postby duck » Wed Oct 29, 2008 12:49 pm

Interesting stuff Anorak. Nice one. I like the way you identify places on your maps ( like the Mount Florida one)
User avatar
duck
Second Stripe
Second Stripe
 
Posts: 314
Joined: Thu Mar 02, 2006 7:45 pm
Location: Normandy

Re: Glasgow Railway Termini

Postby Anorak » Wed Oct 29, 2008 7:24 pm

Cheers, Duck!

The labels do help to keep a grasp of where everything is or was.

What was obvious to the punters 150 years ago can sometimes be hard to decipher.
Photography was in its infancy in the 1850’s, so your not going to get too many pictures of the time.

Gorbals and Kingston, where the two stations were situated, were very built up areas similar to what they are today, although Thomson’s Caledonia Road Church of 1857 hadn’t yet been built when the surveys were carried out for the Gorbals map.

Mount Florida with no streets, railway lines, churches, schools or football grounds really needed to be labelled!
Anorak
Second Stripe
Second Stripe
 
Posts: 163
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2007 12:19 am

Re: Glasgow Railway Termini

Postby Rucola » Wed Oct 29, 2008 10:35 pm

Two questions about the area around the site of South Side station:

Is the old wall that currently borders the east side of Pollokshaws Road around here the wall of the station?

Was the building that is now the Brazen Head ever a station building? I've read people saying this, but I can't figure it out. Was this Gorbals station?
Rucola
Second Stripe
Second Stripe
 
Posts: 164
Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2008 4:16 pm

Re: Glasgow Railway Termini

Postby Anorak » Thu Oct 30, 2008 1:06 pm

Rucola,

Gorbals Station, which replaced South Side in 1877, was situated in Hospital Street on the other side of Cumberland Street from the Brazen Head.
The Barrhead line was extended to terminate at the new St Enoch Station and a new bridge was needed over Cumberland Street.

Image

The Brazen Head is situated in the railway property on the south side of this bridge at the corner of Cathcart Road and Cumberland Street. It was close to, but not a part of Gorbals Station.

From the maps, I can’t say much about the boundary wall between South Side Station and Pollokshaws Road.
Anorak
Second Stripe
Second Stripe
 
Posts: 163
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2007 12:19 am

Re: Glasgow Railway Termini

Postby Anorak » Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:55 am

Image

A close up view of Port Eglinton, where the canal terminated. Apparently the towpath was wide enough for double-harnessed horses to pull the barges along the water, so there was plenty of room for a double track once the canal had been filled in. The Paisley Canal Line operated out of St Enoch Station rather than Bridge Street/ Central Station, and it formed the basis of the south-western approaches to St Enoch Station.

Image

60 years later, just before the 1914-1918 war, the line to St Enoch Station can be seen at the Glasgow & South Western Railway’s Eglinton Street Station. This was later renamed Cumberland Street as the Caledonian Railway had a station to the south of this one which was also named Eglinton Street.

The Barrhead line which previously terminated at South Side station was carried by a bridge towards Gorbals station, the last stop before the St Enoch Terminus.
You can see a bridge behind the Caledonia Road Church in the photograph of the site of South Side station posted earlier.

Some remnants of Eglinton Street / Cumberland Street Station can still be seen, including the derelict bridge to the east of the station.

Image

Image
Anorak
Second Stripe
Second Stripe
 
Posts: 163
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2007 12:19 am

Re: Glasgow Railway Termini

Postby duck » Fri Oct 31, 2008 9:54 am

I'm really enjoying these posts, Anorak, but a question! I'm getting a bit confused about Eglinton Street Station/ Cumberland Street. If you wouldn't mind, have a look at Schiehallion's great picture of the station ( past present Vol 2, 27 August 2007) Is this the same station and in which direction are we looking. I can't seem to get my bearings! Was there a staion frontage on Eglinton Street? I've looked for photographs but without success.
User avatar
duck
Second Stripe
Second Stripe
 
Posts: 314
Joined: Thu Mar 02, 2006 7:45 pm
Location: Normandy

Re: Glasgow Railway Termini

Postby Anorak » Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:11 pm

My fault entirely for the confusion, Duck, I’ve replaced the picture with a view from the corner of Eglinton Street and Cumberland Street, showing the bridge over Eglinton Street, rather than the derelict bridge over Cumberland Street.

I think the travelling public were even more confused at the time, with 2 completely different stations having the same name!

Image

The original Eglinton Street Station fronted Cumberland Street and, according to the DSA entry, there was also an entrance from Eglinton Street. This station was operated by the Glasgow & South Western Railway and was in use from 1900 to 1966, when passenger services to St Enoch Station ended. I can’t find anything about when the name change to Cumberland Street Station took place. This station replaced the adjacent Main Street Station, which had operated from 1872.

The other Eglinton Street Station was used by the Caledonian Railway for services to Central Station from 1909 until 1965.
I’m showing my age because I can remember the Cathcart Circle trains passing through it when I was a boy.
Quite why it was given the same name as the existing station, I can’t imagine.

Schiehallion's picture is of this station, looking south towards Eglinton Toll.
All you can now see from the street is some plain brickwork in the equally plain stone wall, which was the entrance to the station.
Anorak
Second Stripe
Second Stripe
 
Posts: 163
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2007 12:19 am

Re: Glasgow Railway Termini

Postby Charlie Endell » Sat Nov 01, 2008 7:08 pm

Brilliant stuff! I've been looking for maps like this. I have been trying to work out how the line from St Enoch made its way to Strathbungo - was it called Strathbungo Junction or Larkfield Junction? Did the line pass under Eglinton Street? Has anyone followed the old line (where it runs alongside Pollokshaws Rd.) until it peters out?
User avatar
Charlie Endell
First Stripe
First Stripe
 
Posts: 66
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2008 3:27 pm
Location: Cathcart (exiled from Soho)

Re: Glasgow Railway Termini

Postby John » Sat Nov 01, 2008 7:22 pm

I tip my hat to you Anorak. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed reading a thread so much.
'It's a sad day for capitalism when a man can't fly a midget on a kite over Central Park'
John
-
-
 
Posts: 5152
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 9:15 pm

Re: Glasgow Railway Termini

Postby Anorak » Sun Nov 02, 2008 7:58 pm

Cheers guys, much appreciated.

After I started researching into Duck’s latest post, I stumbled across references to Main Street Station, Gorbals, which I didn’t know much about .

Image

Main Street was the last station on the line from Paisley to the temporary terminus at Dunlop Street from 1872 until 1876, which was used while St Enoch was being developed. It remained in use until 1900 when Eglinton Street/ Cumberland Street Station replaced it. The site of Main Street station can still be seen on Gorbals Street.

Image

Gorbals Station was used for the Barrhead Line from 1877, when South Side Station closed, until 1928. Strathbungo was the next station from Gorbals on this line.
This is a view of the site of the station in Hospital Street.

Image


Charlie, here's a map showing part of the Barrhead Line from Strathbungo to St Enoch, which ran under Victoria Road near Eglinton Toll, and then followed the line of Pollokshaws Road towards Gorbals Station.

Image

The railway companies rented out pubs close to the stations as extra sources of income. Passengers using the Gorbals Stations had the Granite City, now the Brazen Head, and those using Eglinton Street / Cumberland Street had the Kiloran Bar. The bridge behind the Brazen Head was used by the Barrhead Line.

Image
Anorak
Second Stripe
Second Stripe
 
Posts: 163
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2007 12:19 am

Re: Glasgow Railway Termini

Postby Charlie Endell » Sun Nov 02, 2008 9:06 pm

Thanks Anorak - more topnotch stuff and case finally closed for me (I think!). Interesting stuff about the Granite City and the Kiloran to boot.
User avatar
Charlie Endell
First Stripe
First Stripe
 
Posts: 66
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2008 3:27 pm
Location: Cathcart (exiled from Soho)

Re: Glasgow Railway Termini

Postby duck » Mon Nov 03, 2008 9:28 am

Thanks Anorak. It's all a lot clearer now. Fascinating stuff - keep it rolling!
I'd never realised there were so many remnants of all that history still in existence.
Yet another question though. I've seen reference ( Ewan Scot's Railscot site - City of Glasgow Union railway ) to Gorbals Junction station as distinct from Gorbals Station. Any ideas on this?
User avatar
duck
Second Stripe
Second Stripe
 
Posts: 314
Joined: Thu Mar 02, 2006 7:45 pm
Location: Normandy

Re: Glasgow Railway Termini

Postby Sir Roger DeLodgerley » Mon Nov 03, 2008 8:13 pm

Some dates which may aid understanding:

Main Street station was opened by the City of Glasgow Union railway on 1/1/1872, following completion of the Shields Road to Bellgrove section of the CGU on 1/6/1871. It closed on 30/9/1900 to allow for the doubling of lines into St. Enoch and was replaced by Eglinton Street station from 1/10/1900.

Gorbals station was opened by the Glasgow Barrhead & Neilston Direct Railway on 1/9/1877. It closed on 1/6/1928 by which time it had come under the ownership of the Glasgow & South Western Railway.

The Eglinton Street station on the approaches to St. Enoch was opened by the G&SW and its name was changed on 2/6/1924 to Cumberland Street to avoid confusion with the similarly named Caley station. The LMS took control of both companies under the grouping on 1/1/1923 and changed the names of a number of duplicate stations throughout its network around the same time. Cumberland Street was closed on 14/2/1966.

South Side station opened on 27/9/1848 and closed on 1/9/1877. I can't find any trace of a Gorbals Junction station I'm afraid.
There is no opinion, however absurd, which men will not readily embrace as soon as they can be brought to the conviction that it is generally adopted.
User avatar
Sir Roger DeLodgerley
Third Stripe
Third Stripe
 
Posts: 423
Joined: Fri Oct 08, 2004 10:05 am
Location: Bedside Manor, Wilts.

Re: Glasgow Railway Termini

Postby duck » Tue Nov 04, 2008 9:15 am

Thanks Sir Roger. Anorak's excellent posts reminded me that I had a copy of the Irwell Press Illustrated History of Glasgow's railways and I found quite a bit on the subject in there. For those not fortunate enough to have this book I have selected pictures relevant to Anorak's subject and included the book descriptions for each one.

Image
Shields Road and Gallowgate were the only intermediate stops along the City Union at first, but on 1st January 1872 trains began to call at Main Street Gorbals Station which had been built on the viaduct near South Side. As a prelude to quadrupling it was replaced by Eglinton Street immediately to the west on 1st October 1900 and these new facilities were designed on a lavish scale to compete with the nearby Caledonian premises of the same name. Heavy side walls supporting the overall roof rose almost as high as the adjoining four storey tenements and the main entrance block in Cumberland Street had Art Nouveau and Renaissance details in red sandstone. To avoid confusion the LMS renamed the station Cumberland Street in June 1924 at a time when it was the favourite gateway to the Clyde Coast for South Side residents. On 8th September 1955 McIntosh 0-40-T no 55225 called with the 5.36 pm Renfrew Fulbar Street – Glasgow St Enoch as the 6.5 pm St Enoch – Largs passed through. By then the opulence was rather faded and most of the roof had been removed leaving sturdy iron columns as supports for nothing more than telegraph wires and a waiting room with absurdly grand chimneys. The little piles on the platform were the result of enthusiastic weeding rather than burrowing creatures! Few trains called towards the end and access was by an apologetic entrance next to a pub in Eglinton Street. The doors finally closed on 14th February 1966 and most of the station was demolished when the line reverted to two tracks during the 1970s.

Image

The City Union acquired powers for a line between Gorbals, Cathcart, Stewarton and Kilmarnock in 1865 but it was never built. Instead, the Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint was formed and a short connection from Gorbals Junction on the CGU to the GB and K just beyond South Side opened on 1st May 1876. Gorbals Station next to the junction appeared in the timetable from 1st September 1877 as the replacement for South Side. It only survived until 1st June 1928, but the cut-back platforms were still there on 1st September 1964 as Black 5 No 45012 in charge of the 5.30 pm Glasgow St Enoch to Carlisle temporarily deprived Gorbals of sunshine. The four track section was a favourite racing ground for simultaneous departures from st Enoch and on this occasion it was more or less a dead heat with the 5.30 pm diesel railcar to Ayr seen veering away towards Cumberland Street.

Image

On 13th August 1965 Black 5 No 44707 in charge of the 17.33 from St Enoch to Kilmarnock via Dalry easily outpaced Standard 2-26-4T No 80120 on the 17.33 to East Kilbride as the trains diverged at Gorbals Junction. As was clear from the figures leaning out of their respective cab windows, footplate crews clearly relished these unofficial races out of St Enoch. No doubt quite a few passengers enjoyed the excitement as well! Similar contests took place between St Enoch and Central trains on the four track Paisley Joint line.

Image

Eglinton Street station was provided with long and spacious platforms in anticipation of brisk suburban business, but road transport ensured that it never got anywhere near its full potential. In the brief moment when Polmadie Pacific No 46231 Duchess of Atholl rolled under Kilbirnie Street bridge with the London Euston- Glasgow Central ‘Royal Scot’ on 19th May 1955 there were no less than three trams and one bus in Eglinton Street itself to the left. The station closed on 1st February 1965 just before its equally moribund ex-G & SW neighbour and virtually all traces of it were subsequently removed. Even the buses have few customers in Eglinton Street nowadays, for the tenements have been demolished as well.
User avatar
duck
Second Stripe
Second Stripe
 
Posts: 314
Joined: Thu Mar 02, 2006 7:45 pm
Location: Normandy

PreviousNext

Return to Glasgow Chat (Coffee Lounge)

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 38 guests