Glasgow and South Western Railway

Glasgow and South Western Railway
Locale	Scotland
Dates of operation	1850–1923
Predecessor	Glasgow, Paisley Kilmarnock and Ayr and Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railways
Successor	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)
Length	1,128 miles (1,815 km)
Headquarters	Glasgow

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. It assumed its title following an amalgamation in 1850^[1] and became a constituent of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway at the 1923 grouping of the railways.

Contents 1 Extent 2 History 3 Other lines 4 Closures 5 The G&SWR today 6 See also 7 References 7.1 Notes 7.2 Sources 8 External links

Extent

The main line ran from Glasgow along the west coast and to Gretna. The railway also served Paisley, Greenock, Ardrossan, Troon and the ports on the west coast, between which it had regular steamer services. It also owned the harbours at Troon and Ayr. The headquarters were at St Enoch Station, Glasgow and the main locomotive works at Kilmarnock. In 1921 the railway comprised 1,128 miles of line and the company’s capital was about £19 million.^[1]

The G&SWR, in association with the Midland Railway, provided a third Anglo-Scottish route, intermediate between the West Coast and East Coast routes. It was as a result of the Midland connection that Glasgow St Enoch station was designed in a style heavily influenced by London St Pancras.

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.^[2]
  • 4 April 1843 - Dalry - Kilmarnock.
  • ? May 1848 - Irvine - Crosshouse
  • 8 August 1848 - Kilmarnock - Muirkirk.
  • 9 August 1848 - Kilmarnock - Galston.
  • 23 August 1848 - Dumfries - Gretna Junction.
  • 20 May 1850 - Auchinleck - New Cumnock.
  • 28 October 1850 - New Cumnock - Closeburn.
• Proposed Railway/Tramway from Seamill to Fairlie via Portencross and Hunterston in 1899 ^[3]

On that latter date the GPK&AR amalgamated with the Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway (GD&CR), to form what became the Glasgow and South Western Railway. Services could now operate between Glasgow, Bridge Street railway station, and Carlisle.

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 linked Glasgow and Paisley only as far as Johnstone.^[4] 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 August 1840 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.
• Paisley Canal Line: 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.
• Renfrew: in 1847 the 4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm) gauge Paisley and Renfrew Railway was bought by the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway and was regauged to standard gauge. It was then linked to the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway at Arkleston Junction; but ownership was retained by the Glasgow and South Western Railway.
• The Dalry and North Johnstone Line was built to provide additional capacity between Elderslie and Dalry.
• 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, consisting of two lines, the Bridge of Weir Railway and the Greenock and Ayrshire Railway was opened in 1869, to meet demand for connections to Clyde steamers. The G&SWR built their lines, 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.^[5]
• Direct railway via Kilmarnock: the Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway, opened on 26 June 1873, and operated as a joint line with the Caledonian Railway (CR); it had been the Glasgow, Barrhead and Neilson Direct Railway, with a Kilmarnock "extension".^[2]
• Glasgow St Enoch Station was opened by the City of Glasgow Union Railway in 1876.^[2] On 29 June 1883 it was taken over by the G&SWR; St Enoch Station became the headquarters of the G&SWR.^[2] 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 March 1905: the Cairn Valley Light Railway to Moniaive railway station. 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 Bridge of Weir Railway and the Greenock and Ayrshire Railway to Greenock Princes Pier was closed between Princes Pier and Kilmacolm in 1966. However, in 1971 the Princes 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 January 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.^[6]

The G&SWR Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway closed in June 1965, as did the joint G&SWR/Caledonian Railway owned line between Castle Douglas and Challoch Junction (between Dunragit and Glenluce). The Dalry Junction to Kilmarnock portion of the Carlisle main line lost its local passenger service in 1966 and was closed completely in October 1973 (following the completion of WCML electrification work), all services to Glasgow henceforth running over the Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway via Stewarton.

The G&SWR today

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.

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.

See also

• Locomotives of the Glasgow and South Western Railway
• G&SWR 'Austrian Goods' 2-6-0

References

Notes

Sources

• Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063. 
• Robertson, C.J.A. (1983). The Origins of the Scottish Railway System: 1722-1844 (1st ed.). Edinburgh: John Donald Publishers Ltd. ISBN 0-8597-6088-X. 

• The Railway Year Book: 1912. London: Railway Publishing Company. OCLC 12305143. 

• Hammerton, John Alexander (1920). Harmsworth's universal encyclopedia (1st Edition ed.). London: Educational Book Co. OCLC 52464434. 
• Hammerton, John Alexander (1925). Harmsworth's universal encyclopedia (Revised Edition ed.). London: Educational Book Co. OCLC 219858827. 

• Thomas, John (1971). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain. Volume VI Scotland: The Lowlands and the Borders (1st ed.). Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-5408-6. OCLC 16198685. 
• Thomas, John; Paterson, Rev A.J.S. (1984). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain. Volume VI Scotland: The Lowlands and the Borders (2nd ed.). Newton Abbott, Devon: David & Charles. ISBN 0-9465-3712-7. OCLC 12521072. 
• The Glasgow & South Western Railway Association
• RAILSCOT on Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway: map and historical notes
• RAILSCOT on Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway: map and historical notes
• RAILSCOT on Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway: map and historical notes
• History of Paisley section of the Paisley Canal line
• History of Paisley to Barrhead branch

External links

• Proposed G&SWR Railway at Hunterston

The "Big Four" pre-nationalisation British railway companies      Great Western      London Midland & Scottish      London & North Eastern      Southern GWR constituents Great Western Railway Cambrian Railways Taff Vale Railway Barry Railway Rhymney Railway Full list LNER constituents Great Central Great Eastern Great Northern Great North of Scotland Hull & Barnsley North British North Eastern Full list LMS constituents Caledonian Furness Glasgow & South Western Highland Lancashire & Yorkshire London and North Western Midland North Staffordshire Full list SR constituents London and South Western Railway London, Brighton and South Coast Railway South Eastern and Chatham Railway South Eastern Railway London, Chatham and Dover Railway Full list See also History of rail transport in Great Britain 1923–1947 List of companies involved in the grouping

Constituent railway companies of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Constituent companies Caledonian Railway Furness Railway Glasgow and South Western Railway Highland Railway Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway London and North Western Railway Midland Railway North Staffordshire Railway Subsidiary companies Arbroath and Forfar Railway Brechin and Edzell District Railway Callander and Oban Railway Cathcart District Railway Charnwood Forest Railway Cleator and Workington Junction Railway Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway Dearne Valley Railway Dornoch Light Railway Dundee and Newtyle Railway Harborne Railway Killin Railway Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway Knott End Railway Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway Maryport and Carlisle Railway Mold and Denbigh Junction Railway North and South Western Junction Railway North London Railway Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company Solway Junction Railway Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway Tottenham and Forest Gate Railway Wick and Lybster Light Railway Wirral Railway Yorkshire Dales Railway Former joint railways Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway Citadel Station Joint Committee Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway Furness and Midland Joint Railway Goods Traffic Committee Lancashire Union Railway North Union Railway Preston and Longridge Railway Preston and Wyre Joint Railway Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway (Full list of constituents)

Historical Scottish railway companies Primary companies Caledonian Railway Glasgow and South Western Railway Great North of Scotland Railway Highland Railway North British Railway Caledonian Railway Aberdeen Railway Alloa Railway Alyth Arbroath and Forfar Busby Railway Cathcart District Clydesdale Junction Crieff Junction Crieff and Comrie Crieff and Methven Junction Dumfries, Lochmaben and Lockerbie Dunblane, Doune and Callander Dundee and Perth Dundee and Perth and Aberdeen Forfar and Brechin General Terminus and Glasgow Harbour Glasgow and Garnkirk Glasgow Central Railway Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Greenock and Wemyss Bay Hamilton and Strathaven Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Leadhills and Wanlockhead Lochearnhead, St Fillans and Comrie Paisley and Barrhead District Perth, Almond Valley and Methven Polloc and Govan Rutherglen and Coatbridge Scottish Central Scottish Midland Junction Scottish North Eastern Solway Junction Symington, Biggar and Broughton Talla Railway Wishaw and Coltness Lines built by the Caledonian Railway CR Cleland and Midcalder CR Main Line CR Douglas Branch CR Hamilton Branch CR Hamiltonhill Branch CR The Switchback Independent lines worked by the Caledonian Railway Callander and Oban Killin Railway Glasgow and South Western Railway Ardrossan Railway Ardrossan and Johnstone Ayr and Dalmellington Ayr and Maybole Junction Ayr to Mauchline Ayrshire and Wigtownshire Barrhead Branch Bridge of Weir Railway Cairn Valley Caledonian and Dunbartonshire Junction Castle Douglas and Dumfries Dalry and North Johnstone Darvel Branch Girvan and Portpatrick Junction Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Greenock and Ayrshire Kilmarnock and Troon Largs Branch Maidens and Dunure Maybole and Girvan Paisley and Renfrew Paisley Canal Line Great North of Scotland Railway Aberdeen and Turriff Aboyne and Braemar Alford Valley Banff, Macduff and Turriff Junction Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla Boddam Branch Deeside Railway Denburn Valley Formartine and Buchan Inverury and Old Meldrum Junction Keith and Dufftown Moray Coast Morayshire Railway St Combs Light Railway Strathspey Railway Highland Railway Buckie and Portessie Branch Dingwall and Skye Duke of Sutherland Findhorn Railway Fortrose Branch Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Inverness and Aviemore Direct Inverness and Nairn Inverness and Perth Junction Inverness and Ross-shire Kyle of Lochalsh Extension Perth and Dunkeld Sutherland and Caithness Sutherland Railway Independent lines worked by the Highland Railway Dornoch Light Railway Wick and Lybster Light Railway North British Railway Aberlady, Gullane and North Berwick Ballochney Bathgate and Coatbridge Blane Valley Border Counties Railway Border Union Railway Campsie Branch Carlisle and Silloth Bay Railway and Dock Company Coatbridge Branch Dunfermline and Queensferry Edinburgh and Bathgate Edinburgh and Dalkeith Edinburgh and Glasgow Edinburgh and Hawick Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway Edinburgh, Loanhead and Roslin Railway Edinburgh and Northern Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Forth and Clyde Junction Glasgow, Bothwell, Hamilton and Coatbridge Glasgow City and District Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Glasgow and Milngavie Junction Glasgow, Yoker and Clydebank Kelvin Valley Railway Kirkcaldy and District Railway Kincardine Line Leadburn, Linton and Dolphinton Monkland and Kirkintilloch Monkland Railways Mallaig Extension NBR North Berwick Branch North British, Arbroath and Montrose Stirling and Dunfermline Strathendrick and Aberfoyle Slamannan Slamannan and Borrowstounness West Highland Railway Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness Joint lines Caledonian and Dunbartonshire Junction City Union Dundee and Arbroath Darvel and Strathaven Glasgow and Paisley Joint Glasgow and Renfrew District Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Kilsyth and Bonnybridge Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Other lines Brechin and Edzell District Campbeltown and Machrihanish Light Railway Cromarty and Dingwall Light Railway Denburn Valley Line Dundee and Arbroath Invergarry and Fort Augustus Lochaber Narrow Gauge Perth, Almond Valley and Methven Tranent to Cockenzie Waggonway