HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway was the section of railway line between
Glasgow Bridge Street railway station Bridge Street railway station, now disused, was the original Glasgow terminus of the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway; jointly owned by the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway (GP&G), which later merged with the Caledonian Railway, and the ...
and Paisley, in the west of Scotland. It was constructed and operated jointly by two competing railway companies as the stem of their lines to
Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands o ...
and
Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...
respectively, and it opened in 1840. The Joint Committee, which controlled the line, built a branch to
Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ...
and later to Cessnock Dock, and then Prince's Dock. With the passing of the
Railways Act 1921 The Railways Act 1921 (c. 55), also known as the Grouping Act, was an Act of Parliament enacted by the British government and intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, by "grouping" them into four la ...
(Grouping Act) the line, together with the
Caledonian Railway The Caledonian Railway (CR) was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively extended its network and reached Edinburgh an ...
and the
Glasgow and South Western Railway The Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR) was a railway company in Scotland. It served a triangular area of south-west Scotland between Glasgow, Stranraer and Carlisle. It was formed on 28 October 1850 by the merger of two earlier railways, ...
, became part of the
London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally ...
(LMS). The line is still in heavy use today as the eastern end of the
Inverclyde Line The Inverclyde Line is a railway line running from Glasgow Central station through Paisley (Gilmour Street) and a series of stations to the south of the River Clyde and the Firth of Clyde, terminating at Gourock and Wemyss Bay, where it connect ...
and the
Ayrshire Coast Line The Ayrshire Coast Line is one of the lines within the Strathclyde suburban rail network in Scotland. It has 26 stations and connects the Ayrshire coast to Glasgow. There are three branches, to , and , all running into the high level at . ...
.


Formation

In the 1830s promoters in the west of Scotland considered the potential for railway construction, and in the 1837 Parliamentary session, supporters of two schemes presented bills. One scheme was to build from Glasgow to Greenock, and the other from Glasgow to Ayr with a branch to Kilmarnock. Both wished to start from a Glasgow terminus at Bridge Street, and their proposed course as far as Paisley was almost identical. At the time Parliament was hostile to permitting closely parallel construction, and it became clear that the only way forward was to combine to build and use a shared line as far as Paisley. The Acts for the two schemes received the Royal Assent 15 July 1837, and the new companies were called the
Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway The Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway (GP&GR) was an early Scottish railway, opened in 1841, providing train services between Greenock and Glasgow. At the time the River Clyde was not accessible to sea-going ships, and the intention was to ...
(GP&GR) and the
Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway The Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway (GPK&AR) was a railway in Scotland that provided train services between Glasgow, Kilmarnock and Ayr. It opened its first line, between Glasgow and Ayr, in stages from 1839 to 1840. The section be ...
(GPK&AR). The GPK&AR opened a section at its southern end on 19 July 1839 between Irvine and Ayr (Newton-on-Ayr), and it started operation on the Joint Line on 14 July 1840 from a temporary station at Glasgow (Bridge Street) to Paisley. The GP&GR opened in March 1841, having been delayed due to the difficulties in the construction of the tunnel at Bishopton.David Ross, ''The Glasgow and South Western Railway: A History'', Stenlake Publishing Limited, Catrine, 2014, C J A Robertson, ''The Origins of the Scottish Railway System: 1722-1844'', John Donald Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh, 1983, Campbell Highet, ''The Glasgow and South Western Railway'', Oakwood Press, Lingfield, 1965


Status of the joint line

There was never a Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway ''Company''; the Joint Line was managed separately from the other parts of the two owning companies, and managed by a Joint Committee. Some authors have referred to "the Joint Railway" and this has sometimes been taken to imply company status, but that is erroneous.John Thomas, revised Alan 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,


Glasgow extensions and service redirections

In 1840 the Bridge Street terminus on Clyde Place was adequate; it was a temporary station, replaced by the imposing permanent structure on 6 April 1841, handling passengers and goods. However, as traffic grew, although it was enlarged, its shortcomings became obvious, and its location on the south side of the
River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...
was seen as a disadvantage. The GPK&AR had merged with the
Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway The Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway was a railway company in Scotland, which constructed the line from near Cumnock to Gretna Junction, forming the route from Glasgow to Carlisle via Dumfries, in association with other lines. Its promo ...
and become the
Glasgow and South Western Railway The Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR) was a railway company in Scotland. It served a triangular area of south-west Scotland between Glasgow, Stranraer and Carlisle. It was formed on 28 October 1850 by the merger of two earlier railways, ...
(G&SWR) in 1850, and in 1876 it opened a new Glasgow passenger terminus called St Enoch. The site is nowadays largely subsumed in the St Enoch shopping centre. The new terminal was accessed over the City of Glasgow Union Railway, diverging (considered approaching Glasgow) at Shields Junction and crossing the Clyde at the ''Union Railway Bridge''. St Enoch station became the main Glasgow passenger terminal for the G&SWR, although they continued to use Bridge Street for some time. The
Caledonian Railway The Caledonian Railway (CR) was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively extended its network and reached Edinburgh an ...
(CR) became the successor to the Glasgow Paisley and Greenock Railway, and it too wished build a larger passenger terminal on the north side of the Clyde; on 31 July 1879, the CR opened a new terminus called Glasgow Central, fronting Gordon Street; the line was extended across the Clyde from Bridge Street on a four-track bridge built by Sir William Arrol & Co. Bridge Street station was also improved to include two new through platforms leading to Central Station and four bay platforms: two for the CR and two for the G&SWR. With the opening of Dunlop Street station on the
City Union Line The City of Glasgow Union Railway - City Union Line, also known as the ''Tron Line'', was a railway company founded in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1864 to build a line connecting the railway systems north and south of the River Clyde, and to build a ce ...
on 12 December 1870, the G&SWR had a much more convenient central terminal in Glasgow, and the inconvenient station at Bridge Street was no longer an asset. The G&SWR ceased using it on 1 February 1892, and "the Joint Line now started at the bridge over Cook Street and its mileposts had to be reset for the purpose of mileage calculations."Ross, ''G&SWR'', page 131 Central Station was improved and extended in the period 1901 to 1905, and an additional eight-track bridge built over the Clyde. Bridge Street station was closed in 1905 and the site was used as carriage sidings.


Govan branch

A branch was promoted by the Joint Committee to Govan, from Ibrox. It opened to goods traffic on 1 May 1868 and to passengers on 2 December 1868.Casserley As an inner-suburban line, it was vulnerable to tramcar competition, and the passenger service was withdrawn on 9 May 1921.


Princes Dock branch

The Joint committee had obtained Acts of Parliament in 1891 and 1894 to build a line off the Govan branch to the Cessnock Dock then being planned by the Clyde Trustees. In June 1897 an agreement was made with the
North British Railway The North British Railway was a British railway company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1844, with the intention of linking with English railways at Berwick. The line opened in 1846, and from the outset the company followe ...
(NBR) so that they could participate in the construction and operation, and this was finalised in June 1897. The Clyde Navigation Act, 1899, vested the new line in the Joint Committee from 9 August 1899. The line opened in 1903, retitled the Princes Dock Railway; it was heavily used by the NBR.


Renfrew District Railway

The Renfrew District Railway opened on 1 June 1903. It left the Joint Line's Shieldhall branch, crossing the G&SWR Renfrew branch near Renfrew, then running south alongside it to a terminus at Renfrew (Porterfield). At first the passenger service was operated alternately each half year by the CR and the G&SWR, but from 1907 the G&SWR ran all the passenger trains, using St Enoch station in Glasgow. In 1916 a connection was installed near Porterfield joining it with the Renfrew branch.


Quadruple tracks

In the 1880s the main section of the joint line between Bridge Street station and Paisley Gilmour Street station was increased to four tracks.Casserley, page 169 The work involved the opening out of the Arkleston Tunnel, which was reported as being carried out in 1882. 260 trains used the section daily at that time—300 in the peak summer period.David L Smith, ''Tales of the Glasgow and South Western Railway'', Ian Allan Limited, London, undated
British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British ra ...
later reduced the section between Shields and Arkleston Junctions to two tracks again in the mid-1960s, as part of the resignalling and
electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...
of the line towards , and further removed the slow lines between Arkleston Junction and Wallneuk Junction (the point of divergence of the Ayr line and the Gourock line) during the 1980s Ayrshire Coast electrification.


Present day: Inverclyde and Ayrshire Coast lines

The joint line remains important today as part of the heavily-trafficked
Inverclyde Inverclyde ( sco, Inerclyde, gd, Inbhir Chluaidh, , "mouth of the Clyde") is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the histo ...
and Ayrshire Coast lines. It was additionally proposed in the mid-2000s that the line would form part of the
Glasgow Airport Rail Link The Glasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL) is a proposed link between Glasgow City Centre and Glasgow Airport. The original plans for an airport rail link were proposed during the 2000s to directly link Glasgow Central station with Glasgow Airport i ...
between Glasgow Central station and
Glasgow Airport gd, Port-adhair Eadar-nàiseanta Ghlaschu , image = Glasgow Airport logo.svg , image-width = 200 , image2 = GlasgowAirportFromAir.jpg , image2-width = 250 , IATA = GLA , ICAO = EGPF , type = Public , owner = AGS Airports , hub = *easy ...
, and plans for the link were approved by the
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of the capital ...
in 2007. These plans included a number of capacity enhancements for the joint line in order to allow for the extra trains that would serve the airport, including the provision of a bi-directional third track in the centre of the existing two tracks between Shields and Arkleston Junctions, the restoration of the four-track layout between Arkleston and Wallneuk Junctions, and extensive replacement of life-expired signalling along the whole line. Although the airport link itself was subsequently cancelled in 2009 as a result of public spending cuts, the joint line works were continued as the Paisley Corridor Improvements Project and completed in 2012.


Accidents


1855 tail end collision

On 22 February 1855 the 6.00 a.m. Dumfries to Glasgow train was brought to a stand on the Joint Line by a derailment due to a broken tyre. One of the passenger coaches had its doors locked, and before the guard could release the occupants, the 9.15 a.m. Greenock to Glasgow train ran into the rear of the train. One person was killed and several were injured. It was stated at the inquiry that the Joint Committee had issued no printed operating instructions. The Dumfries train started braking when it had just passed under the Paisley Road bridge (nowadays the A761 road). When it stopped the guard attempted to unlock the doors of an overturned coach, and a platelayer started back to warn any following train. A "policeman" (i.e. a railway employee stationed to control a level crossing and regulate trains) was on duty at Berryknowes Road level crossing, and he had exhibited a green hand signal, meaning "caution", to the driver of the Greenock train. The driver shut off steam but evidently continued coasting, and following the Dumfries train closely, he saw the platelayer's warning too late, and collided with the Dumfries train. The two trains were scheduled to leave Paisley at a two-minute interval, and the Dumfries train was slower. There were no printed instructions for Joint Line employees about the safe working, and the Secretary to the Railway Department of the Board of Trade wrote:
My Lords f the Board of Tradedirect me to observe that the absence of written or printed instructions, especially with respect to the starting of the trams, and the intervals to be observed between them, is more than ordinarily dangerous upon a line of railway traversed by trains belonging to different Railway Companies.Col W Yolland, ''Report on Accident'', 17 March 1855, and ''letter'', 4 April 1855, Captain D Galton, to the Secretary of the Joint Committee, on line a

/ref>


1882 collision

A signalman's error led to a collision at Penilee, at the west end of the present Hillington West station, on the afternoon of 9 September 1880, not long after the commissioning of the four-track layout.
A mineral train from Hurlford to Glasgow was plodding along the Up Goods Line. It was a heavy train, with a lot of pig iron. The engine was no. 139, an 0-4-2 of Patrick Stirling's design ... Two Hurlford men were in charge, driver James Lauderdale and fireman Andrew Gilchrist ... They got to Penilee and were held at the starter, for a ballast was working in the section to Cardonald. After about twelve minutes, the Penilee signalman waved them back, intending to put them on to the Up Passenger Line, to resume their journey on that. The man was tired at the end of a long shift, probably rather strange to the new set-up. By some incredible error he opened not one crossover, but ''two'', and the train propelled back on to the Up Passenger and then on to the Down Passenger! The signalman then restored his levers and pulled off for the 4 o'clock Caley express Glasgow to Greenock.
Jimmy Lauderdale, on 139, was a bit puzzled by all this. But they were all new to the four-track, and he supposed it was all right. Then the signalman gave them a green flag from the box, so Lauderdale started pulling forward to see what he wanted. But the guard had spotted the down signals all off; thoroughly alarmed, he began running forward and shouting, and presently Lauderdale heard him and stopped. But it was too late then to do anything. The express was 200 yards away, coming 40 miles an hour. No. 139's crew cleared out and went over the wall, and the express went head on into 139. It was quite a bad smash. The guard and two passengers were killed. The fireman and another passenger died later. The driver escaped with severe bruising. There was very nearly another collision immediately after, for a Caley mineral from Lesmahagow was coming on the Down Goods line. Its driver saw the crash occur and managed to pull up just in time.Smith, ''Tales'', pages 50 and 51


Post nationalisation accidents

There was an accident to the west side of Shields Junction on 30 August 1973 when an Inverclyde Line service from Wemyss Bay to Glasgow Central crashed into the rear of an Ayrshire Coast Line service from Ayr which was just starting away from a signal. The western end of the line was the scene of a Paisley Gilmour Street rail accident, railway accident, on 16 April 1979, when an Inverclyde Line service from Glasgow Central to Wemyss Bay crossed from the Down Fast Line to the Down Gourock Line at Wallneuk Junction, immediately to the east of Paisley Gilmour Street railway station.Hall, Chapter 6 It collided head-on with an Ayrshire Coast Line special service from Ayr, which had left Platform 2 against a red signal.


Connections to other lines

*At Shields Junction to City of Glasgow Union Railway *At Shields Junction to General Terminus and Glasgow Harbour Railway *At Shields Junction to G&SWR Paisley Canal Branch *At Shields Junction to
Polloc and Govan Railway The Polloc and Govan Railway was an early mineral railway near Glasgow in Scotland, constructed to bring coal and iron from William Dixon's collieries and ironworks to the River Clyde for onward transportation. When the Clydesdale Junction Railwa ...
*At Ibrox to the Govan Branch of Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway *At Ibrox to the Princes Dock Joint Railway *At
Cardonald Cardonald ( sco, Cardonal, gd, Cair Dhòmhnaill
) is ...
to Glasgow and Renfrew District Railway *At Paisley Gilmour Street to
Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway The Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway (GP&GR) was an early Scottish railway, opened in 1841, providing train services between Greenock and Glasgow. At the time the River Clyde was not accessible to sea-going ships, and the intention was to ...
*At Paisley Gilmour Street to
Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway The Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway (GPK&AR) was a railway in Scotland that provided train services between Glasgow, Kilmarnock and Ayr. It opened its first line, between Glasgow and Ayr, in stages from 1839 to 1840. The section be ...


See also

*
Ayrshire Coast Line The Ayrshire Coast Line is one of the lines within the Strathclyde suburban rail network in Scotland. It has 26 stations and connects the Ayrshire coast to Glasgow. There are three branches, to , and , all running into the high level at . ...
*
Glasgow Airport Rail Link The Glasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL) is a proposed link between Glasgow City Centre and Glasgow Airport. The original plans for an airport rail link were proposed during the 2000s to directly link Glasgow Central station with Glasgow Airport i ...
*
Inverclyde Line The Inverclyde Line is a railway line running from Glasgow Central station through Paisley (Gilmour Street) and a series of stations to the south of the River Clyde and the Firth of Clyde, terminating at Gourock and Wemyss Bay, where it connect ...


References


Sources

* * * * * Hall, Stanley (1999). ''Hidden Dangers: Railway Safety in the Era of Privatisation''. Shepperton: Ian Allan. . * * *


External links


Railscot on Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway
{{LMSconstituents British joint railway companies Early Scottish railway companies London, Midland and Scottish Railway constituents Pre-grouping British railway companies Transport in Glasgow Railway companies established in 1837 Railway lines opened in 1840 Railway companies disestablished in 1921 1837 establishments in Scotland 1840 establishments in Scotland History of Glasgow British companies established in 1837