yoker brian wrote:tobester wrote:Can i ask about the Girnin Gates in Garscadden...
Is part of it still visible from the railway line? I noticed yesterday an old building at the lineside between Scotstounhill and Garscadden, but not sure what it is as ive never seen it before, just caught a glimpse of it as the train sped thru on the way to Dalmuir.
I think I know which building your referring to Tobester, although if it's the one I'm thinking of, it would be on your left hand side as you travel between Yoker and Garscadden Station, just before the Hawick Street overbridge at the west end of Yoker Train Depot.
It's a small pump house I found the info
here online, and I'm sure I have more info and possibly a photo somewhere on my old PC which I'll look out sometime soon
It may well have been connected with the Old Yoker Distillery which stood on the land now occupied by the Scottish Power Depot, it's not as far as I know linked to the Yoker Burn which is buried below the railway about 50/ 60 yards to the west of the building your mention in your post.
Cheers
Brian
Was browsing the net for stuff on the Yoker Burn (don't ask... work related!) when I came across this site and subject. Thought I'd sign up so I could comment further...
The building being referred to isn't a sewerage pumphouse (the Historic Scotland listed building report is accurate other than in regard to that point). It is sewerage related though - the building is called Yoker Castle and it is sited on the trunk sewer (Western Outfall Sewer - approx 2.1m diameter at this point if my memory serves me correct) between Partick Pumping Station (on the south side of Dumbarton Road, on the west bank of the River Kelvin - a hundred yards or so east of Partick Cross) and Dalmuir WwTW (sewage treatment works in Clydebank). It was built around 1902 and, like the sewer, is now owned by Scottish Water. I'm not doing it justice by saying this but the building is effectively a huge above-ground manhole chamber... you go into the building, up a flight of stairs (these are within the "turret" on the south-east corner of the building) and onto a sort of gantry that overlooks the channel of the sewer (which is open-topped within the building) - there is also access to an overflow arrangement that allows sewage flows to be spilled to the Yoker Burn culvert on the rare occasions when the sewer becomes surcharged during periods of prolonged intense rainfall. I've been in the building a couple of times over the years - it's quite impressive despite my rather unflattering "manhole chamber" description.
Anyone who has noticed the building might have also noticed there is an earth bund between the railway line and the houses to the north. The bund had to be built over the trunk sewer to protect it because the crown (top) of the sewer was above the surrounding ground levels at this point. The sewer is very flat in gradient along it's full length and while at some sections it is very deep underground (e.g. approx 14m at the junction of Crow Road and Clarence Drive), it is very shallow through Yoker and Clydebank.
I have some fantastic old drawings of the building and sewer layout at work - I'll try to scan them and post them up if anyone is interested.
Regards,
Steven