Glasgow and South Western Railway
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The Glasgow and South Western Railway, (G&SWR), one of the pre-grouping railway companies, served a triangular area of south-west Scotland, between Glasgow, Stranraer and Carlisle. The G&SWR became a constituent of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway at the 1923 grouping of the railways.
History
- The first railway in Scotland authorised by Act of Parliament (27 May 1808), which was to become part of the G&SWR, was the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway, opened in 6 July 1812, built to carry coal; it was not taken over by the G&SWR until July 1899.
- The main line between Glasgow and Carlisle was opened in stages:
- * 12 August 1840 - Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway (GPK&AR) opened between Glasgow and Ayr, with a branch to Kilmarnock. The eastern end, the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway, was jointly owned with the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway.
- * 4 April 1843 - Dalry - Kilmarnock.
- * 9 August 1848 - Kilmarnock - Galston and Kilmarnock - Muirkirk.
- * 23 August 1848 - Dumfries - Gretna Junction.
- * 20 May 1850 - Auchinleck - New Cumnock.
- * 28 October 1850 - New Cumnock - Closeburn.
Other lines
- Ardrossan: The Ardrossan Railway was built by the Glasgow, Paisley and Ardrossan Canal company. The canal, opened in 1810, was intended to connect Glasgow to Ardrossan by canal, but reached only as far as Johnstone. The final link was to be made by the canal-owned Ardrossan to Johnstone Railway, incorporated on 14 June 1827. Work started at Ardrossan but it reached only Kilwinning, in 1831, when the company ran out of money. In 1840 the railway was separated from canal company ownership and on 20 August1840 it reopened as a standard gauge, double-track, line connected to the GPK&AR at Kilwinning. Ardrossan henceforth developed as a shipping port; later the line was extended to Largs. The Glasgow, Paisley and Johnstone canal was bought in 1869 by the G&SWR. In 1881 an Act of Parliament closed the canal and much of the route was used to construct the Paisley Canal Line.
- The Ayr main line was extended southwards as follows:
- * 1857 - to Maybole
- * 1860 - to Girvan
- * 1887 - to Dunragit (Challoch Junction). From here to Stranraer the line was operated as the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway.
- The Firth of Clyde line was opened in 1869, to meet demand for connections to Clyde steamers, the G&SWR built their line, via Kilmacolm, to Greenock (Princes Pier); where they built a large and imposing terminus. Later this quay was extended, providing a landing-stage nearly 1,400 ft (420 m) long.
- Direct railway via Kilmarnock: the Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway, opened on 26 June1873, and operated as a joint line with the Caledonian Railway (CR); it had been the Glasgow, Barrhead & Neilson Direct Railway, with a Kilmarnock "extension".
- Glasgow, St Enoch Station was opened by the City of Glasgow Union Railway in 1876. On 29 June 1883 it was taken over by the G&SWR; St Enoch Station became the headquarters of the G&SWR. The St Enoch Hotel was opened in 1879.
- Later lines opened:
- * 1902: Paisley - Barrhead
- * 1903: the Catrine branch
- * 1903: the Glasgow & Renfrew District Railway: nominally owned by the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway.
- * 1 March1905: the Cairn Valley Light Railway to Moniaive. Closed to passenger traffic on 3 May 1943.
- * 1906: the Maidens and Dunure Light Railway, via Turnberry. The golf links and the G&SWR hotel were also opened. The line closed to passenger traffic on 1 December 1930.
Closures
St Enoch Station no longer exists, it closed in 1966 and it became a car park; the roof was demolished in 1975. In the mid 1980s, the site was redeveloped as the St Enoch Centre, opening in May 1989.The Paisley Canal Line to Greenock Prince's Pier was closed between Prince's Pier and Kilmacolm in 1966. However, in 1971 the Prince's Pier stub was connected to the Inverclyde Line, at Cartsburn junction, in order to serve the Clyde Port Authority container terminal. The Paisley Canal line closed completely in 1983, and the original Paisley Canal station, on the east side of Causeyside Street, became a steak house. In the 1980s / 1990s the course of the line beyond Paisley was made into a footpath and cycle path. This connects Lady Octavia Park in Greenock, through upper Port Glasgow, Kilmacolm, past Quarrier's Village, and on to Paisley. It forms a section of the Sustrans scheduled National Cycle Route from Edinburgh to Gourock.
The G&SWR Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway closed, as did the joint G&SWR / Caledonian Railway owned line between Castle Douglas and Gleluce.
The G&SWR today
In 1990 the Paisley Canal Line reopened from Glasgow Central station as far as a new Paisley Canal railway station on the west side of Causeyside Street.The various lines of the G&SWR still operate today out of the former Caledonian Railway's Glasgow Central station. They are the Paisley Canal Line (now truncated at Paisley Canal railway station) and the Ayrshire Coast Lines of the SPT network; the Glasgow South Western Line to Dumfries and Carlisle; and to Stranraer.
See also
References
- Railway Year Book 1912, Railway Publishing Company, London - for historical notes
External links
| Major constituent railway companies of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway: |
Caledonian | Furness | Lancashire & Yorkshire | Glasgow & South Western | London and North Western | Midland | North Staffordshire (Full list of constituents) |
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