History
Before suburban railways
The trunk railways of central Scotland developed from 1850 onwards; theCathcart lines proposed
So from 1 August 1879 both large railway companies had commodious new stations serving their south side network. On 15 November 1879 three suburban railways to the Cathcart area were announced in the press; they were all independent, and all assumed a connection to the new terminal stations; they sought running powers for the purpose. They all planned to leave the Barrhead line at Strathbungo, turning south-east. Two proposed a loop, returning to near the starting point; the third was a simple branch line. In fact the G&SWR rebuffed the approach of one of the contenders, and this was made known to the others, who reconsidered the St Enoch part of their schemes. The most ambitious proposal was the ''Cathcart District Railway'' (CDR) and this was favoured by the Caledonian, which offered (in March 1880) to work the line at cost if it were connected only to their lines. As the Glasgow Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway, managed independently, was objecting to the running powers application over their line. Accordingly, the CDR withdrew the proposal for those running powers, and their Parliamentary Bill was unopposed as a result. On 7 September 1880, the Cathcart District Railway Act was passed. The share capital was to be £175,000.E F Carter, ''An Historical Geography of the Railways of the British Isles'', Cassell, London, 1959David Ross, ''The Caledonian: Scotland's Imperial Railway: A History'', Stenlake Publishing Limited, Catrine, 2014, The route was substantially the present-day Cathcart Circle, leaving the connecting line between Central station and the GB&KJR line at a proposed Cathcart Junction, near Albert Road (later Albert Drive), running in a loop via Cathcart and returning to a junction near Strathbungo station.Raising capital and constructing the line
Prior to this the Caledonian Railway had intended to apply for powers to subscribe for shares in the CDR and to work it, but a difference of opinion about the connection to the G&SWR lines resulted in the Caledonian withdrawing for the time being. In the 1881 session, however the Caledonian relented and the Caledonian Railway (Additional Powers) Act empowered it to subscribe 50% of the share issue, and to manage and work the line. Only now, on 7 December 1881, did the company issue a prospectus inviting public subscription. The Caledonian would work and maintain the line for 45% of gross receipts. Share subscription proceeded satisfactorily, but on 22 November 1882 the company asked the Caledonian to agree to a proposal to construct only the eastern arm of the circle, "due to a lack of support in the district". This meant building only the section from Cathcart Junction via Queens Park and Mount Florida to Cathcart. The Caledonian agreed to this.From Kernahan, page 16; it seems a remarkably casual way to cancel half the "circle" route. Only the village of Pollokshaws lay on the proposed route. See also the offer from the Pollok Estate later. Tenders for construction were quickly obtained, and Alex Coghill & Co were awarded the contract in the sum of £76,571 on 10 January 1883; Coghill had no railway construction experience and his tender was substantially cheaper than the others. In fact Coghill was unable to progress the work properly, and left certain buildings alongside railway cutting earthworks in a dangerous situation. A major disagreement over payments arose and on 14 November 1883 Coghill discontinued work on the line. Amid demands for compensation from Coghill, the Company relet the contract to Morrison and Mason in the sum of £76,407. The Company had lost a considerable sum in employing Coghill, and his own company went into liquidation. In April 1885 the Pollok Estates asked if the Company would wish to extend the line to the west of Cathcart, if offered the land at agricultural values. This appears to reinstate the originally intended circle route, and was provisionally accepted by the CDR. Major General Hutchinson inspected the line on 11 February 1886 and approved it for opening as far as Mount Florida subject to some minor detail work. A special train for civic dignitaries ran on 27 February and the public opening was on Monday 1 March 1886, worked by the Caledonian. of railway had been constructed. It was double as far as Crosshill, and single to Mount Florida.John Thomas revised J S Paterson, ''A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 6, Scotland, the Lowlands and the Borders'', David and Charles, Newton Abbot, 1984,First operations and extensions
The line proved remarkably popular; thirty-two trains ran each way six days a week. On 20 May Major General Hutchinson inspected the extension to Cathcart; the whole line was now all double track. Trains started running on 25 May 1886, in the face of reservations from the Caledonian about the passenger facilities at Cathcart station. (The CDR already expected to extend the line and the station was therefore only temporary.) The stations on the line were * Pollokshields East * Queens Park * Crosshill * Mount Florida * Cathcart. Goods and mineral traffic started in August 1887 to Mount Florida and Cathcart; there were no facilities at the other stations. In January 1887 new sets of coaches were provided for the line, consisting of nine four-wheel coaches with gas lighting and steam heating. Football traffic from Hampden Park and also from theCompleting the circle
In early 1887 it was decided to complete the circle as originally planned; Caledonian approval was obtained for this and a Bill presented in the 1887 Parliamentary session.The original powers must have been cancelled. The connection at Strathbungo, actually at Muirhouse South Junction, was to the Caledonian line (originally the General Terminus route) and did not touch the GB&KJR line. The G&SWR opposed the Bill, but the Royal Assent was obtained on 19 July 1887, capital £145,000. The route did not involve the difficult earthworks of the eastern section of the loop and was to be cheaper to build; cheap land was to be gifted by the Pollok Estate. Although the first section was heavily used, shareholder dividends had been considerably lower than promised and it proved difficult to generate subscriptions; after a time the Caledonian agreed to make the necessary subscription to let the line proceed. In fact the Caledonian exercised gradually increasing minority control of the CDR. An Act of 1889 had empowered it to invest £100,000 in the CDR and to guarantee the interest on the CDR's debenture stock. On 9 October 1890 a contract was awarded for the construction of the line, at £81,095; this was over three years from the Royal Assent for the work. The work did not progress rapidly and a Parliamentary Act was required to extend the permitted time for completion; the line opened on 2 April 1894. There was a new Cathcart through station (actually opened on 19 March 1894); the earlier Cathcart became a goods station. The stations on the new section were: * Cathcart * Langside * Pollokshaws East; a goods depot was provided here; * Shawlands * Maxwell Park; a goods depot was provided south of the station; * Pollokshields West. Pollokshaws East station had the specifier "East" from the outset. There was already a Pollokshaws station on the joint line, which became Pollokshaws West.Quick says the CDR station was simply Pollokshaws until 1952, but this is not supported by the 1922 and 1938 ''Bradshaw'' which use Pollokshaws East.''Bradshaw's General Railway and Steam Navigation Guide'', 7th mo, (July) 1922, reprinted by Guild Publishing, London, 1985''Bradshaws July 1938 Railway Guide'', David & Charles Publishers, Newton Abbot, 1969, Passengers were allowed to travel to and from Glasgow by either arm of the circle; attention was drawn to the anomaly that someone could travel the long way round passing a station where a higher fare to or from Glasgow applied. A special train was run on 31 March 1894 for the press and directors, and the line opened for ordinary traffic on 2 April. Although the line was in heavy use the company was not profitable, and small dividends, or none at all, were the norm. In fact after the first full year of operation of the full circle the line had earnt less than the former half circle in its final year. The anticipated residential development took some time to be started, and street running tramways with cheap fares had developed progressively from 1875. The CDR reduced fares in 1895.The Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway
The Caledonian Railway carried a heavy mineral traffic from coalfields in South Lanarkshire to Ardrossan Harbour for export. This traffic ran via Langside Junction in south Glasgow, and the heavy and slow trains caused congestion; their onward route was over theThe twentieth century
By the beginning of the twentieth century the residential development hoped for was at last proceeding. Trains on the circle were running at ten-minute intervals, the highest frequency outside London, and despite the electrification of the street tramways, business was booming. There was pressure for more trains, but the limitation was the limited accommodation at Glasgow Central. Fares were lowered and for a time revenues suffered, recovering somewhat from 1907. Incidentally there were no trains on Sunday on the lines (until 1962). At this period, in fact from 1899, electrification of the line was considered. At this early date there was little experience of railway operation by electricity, and it was decided to wait and observe the results of experimentation on railways elsewhere. In 1908 it was definitely decided not to proceed with electrification. The Railways Act 1921 brought about the grouping of the railways of Great Britain. The Caledonian Railway and the Cathcart District Railway were to be incorporated in the newTopography
The route
The line diverges from the line between and the Barrhead at Muirhouse North JunctionOriginally named Cathcart Junction; the controlling signalbox was renamed Pollokshields East Junction from 1 July 1903. station is immediately after the junction, and the line turns east passing under the line from Larkfield Junction. Running between retaining walls the line reaches Queens Park station and then Crosshill, turning sharply south still below natural ground level to Mount Florida. Now on an elevated section the line runs to Cathcart North Junction, where the grade-separated divergence to Kings Park leaves. The line now curves sharply west to Cathcart station and Cathcart West Junction where the alternate route from Kings Park converges, and the Neilston line diverges. The line turns north west still on an elevated section and runs through Langside and Pollokshaws East. There is a short climb of 1 in 68 followed by a sharp descent to Shawlands, after which the line crosses the Glasgow to Barrhead line and curves north and then east to Maxwell Park station. The line then enters a cutting to meet Pollokshields West station, rejoining the Barrhead line at Muirhouse Central Junction. The line is 5 miles 19 chains (8.43 km) long. The line falls briefly from Muirhouse North Junction, but climbs at a ruling gradient of 1 in 70 to Mount Florida. The climb moderates but continues to a summit at Cathcart West Junction, and then falls moderately, and then briefly at 1 in 100, to Pollokshaws East. A short climb at 1 in 65 follows, then a longer descent at a ruling gradient of 1 in 67 to Maxwell Park; from there the line continues on very gentle gradients. The general permitted speed on the line is 40 mph (64 km).Network Rail, ''Scotland Route Sectional Appendix'', 2015 All the stations on the route had island platforms, "a successful innovation which reduced staff costs and gave effective control of passenger flow".Colin Johnston and John R Hume, ''Glasgow Stations'', David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1979, Pollokshields East was closed from 1 January 1917 to 1 March 1919 and Crosshill station was closed from 1 January 1917 to 1 June 1919 as a wartime economy.According to Kernahan and Butt; Quick says Pollokshields East and Crosshill reopened on 1 April 1919. Mount Florida station was relocated to the south in May 1982.M E Quick, ''Railway Passenger Stations in England Scotland and Wales—A Chronology'', The Railway and Canal Historical Society, 2002 All the original passenger stations (except the first Cathcart, relocated later) are still in use.See also
*References
Notes
Further reading
Captain R W Campbell, ''Snooker Tam of the Cathcart Railway'', Chambers, Edinburgh, 1919: fictional tales of the exploits of junior station staff during World War I.Sources
* * * Cunnison, J. and Gilfillan, J.B.S., (1958). ''The Third Statistical Account of Scotland: Glasgow''. Glasgow: William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. * * * Little, M., (1979). ''Greater Glasgow's Railway Network''. In: ''Scottish Transport'', 33, Scottish Tramway Museum Society. ISSN 0048-9808. * * {{LMSconstituents Caledonian Railway British joint railway companies Early Scottish railway companies Pre-grouping British railway companies Transport in Glasgow Railway companies established in 1880 Railway lines opened in 1894 Railway companies disestablished in 1923 London, Midland and Scottish Railway constituents 1880 establishments in the United Kingdom Pollokshields