Greenock Princes Pier was a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

serving

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, originally as part of the

Greenock and Ayrshire Railway The Greenock and Ayrshire Railway ran from Greenock, Scotland to Bridge of Weir, connecting there to the Glasgow and South Western Railway and making a through connection between Glasgow and Greenock. It closed progressively between 1959 and ...

. It was approached by a tunnel sloping downhill under Greenock's west end, with railway sidings before the line crossed Brougham Street bridge over the main road to Gourock. The station was set on an embankment on the approach to Prince's Pier, with a line curving down to serve Albert Harbour. The area of the station, pier and the infilled Albert Harbour is now occupied by Greenock Ocean Terminal

container port A container port or container terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between container ships and land vehicles, for example train ...

and

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

passenger terminal.

History

The station opened on 23 December 1869, as Greenock Albert Harbour. The station was set on an embankment, with an open path leading down to Prince's Pier. North British Railway through trains were advertised as running every week-day "between Edinburgh (Waverley and Haymarket Stations) and Greenock (Albert Harbour), carrying Passengers to and from Prince's Pier, Greenock, without change of Carriage, and thus placing them alongside the Clyde Steamers without walking through the streets." The station was renamed as Greenock Princes Pier on 1 May 1875. In 1877 the Glasgow and South Western Railway advertised that "Passengers are landed at the Prince's Pier Station, from whence there is a Covered Way to the Pier where the Steamers call, and Passengers Luggage is conveyed, ''free of charge'', between the Stations and the Steamers." On 25 May 1894 the original station was closed and replaced by a new station extended 90 m to the north. On 2 February 1959, stopping passenger services from Glasgow and Paisley ceased running beyond Kilmacolm; however, the

boat train A boat train is a passenger train operating to a port for the specific purpose of making connection with a passenger ship, such as a ferry, ocean liner, or cruise ship. Through ticketing is normally available. __NOTOC__ Notable named boat tr ...

s continued running, without stopping until 30 November 1965.Thomas (1971)

References

Notes

Sources

* * * * * {{Wham-SouthGlasgow
Greenock Princes Pier on navigable OS map
Disused railway stations in Greenock Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1869 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1965 Former Glasgow and South Western Railway stations Beeching closures in Scotland 1869 establishments in Scotland James Miller railway stations