Glasgow City and District Railway
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The Glasgow City and District Railway was a sub-surface railway line in
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, Scotland, built to connect suburban routes east and west of the city, and to relieve congestion at the Queen Street terminus. Construction of the cut-and-cover route, only the fourth such in Great Britain, was formidably complex, but the line opened in 1886. It was steam operated, leading to complaints about smoky conditions. It had a four-platform low level station at Queen Street, and was heavily used. The line was electrified in 1960 and today forms the central part of the North Clyde electric railway network.


History


Earlier railways

The first railways in the west of Scotland were the ''coal railways'', intended primarily to bring coal to the city for consumption, and to canals and ports for onward water-borne transport. The
Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway The Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway was an early railway built primarily to carry coal to Glasgow and other markets from the Monkland coalfields, shortening the journey and bypassing the monopolistic charges of the Monkland Canal; passenger traffi ...
opened in 1831 and had a terminus at Townhead, on the north-eastern margin of the city. In 1840 more general-purpose railways were seen: 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 b ...
opened in 1840, followed by 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 c ...
in 1841, and the
Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was authorised by Act of Parliament on 4 July 1838. It was opened to passenger traffic on 21 February 1842, between its Glasgow Queen Street railway station (sometimes referred to at first as Dundas Street) and ...
, providing an intercity service, in 1842. It had a passenger and goods station at Queen Street in Glasgow. It was not until 1848 that the first long-distance line reached the city: 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 ...
opened to Glasgow. There were now four passenger terminals in Glasgow, at Bridge Street, at South Side, at Buchanan Street and at Queen Street. Some short lines to small towns with an industrial base were opened, and these encouraged residential development: the beginning of daily travel to work by train; but there was no suburban network.


West and east of Glasgow

For many years passenger and goods trade between Glasgow and communities and industries west of Glasgow was carried on by boat. The north bank of the Clyde was relatively unpopulated as far as Bowling, where the basin of the
Forth and Clyde Canal The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal opened in 1790, crossing central Scotland; it provided a route for the seagoing vessels of the day between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. This allo ...
entered the river; beyond that Dumbarton was a centre of industry; and beyond Dumbarton lay the towns of the Firth of Clyde. In 1858 the
Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway The Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway was independently sponsored to build along the north of the River Clyde. It opened in 1858, joining with an earlier local line serving Balloch. Both were taken over by the powerful North British ...
(GD&HR) was opened, connecting the city to a purely local railway that connected Bowling and Balloch, on
Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Ce ...
. Now at last the north bank of the Clyde had a through railway connection. However the built-up area of Glasgow prevented the GD&HR from building directly west from the city, and its line made a large circuit round the north of Glasgow. There was still no attempt at a suburban service: the first station from Glasgow was Maryhill, then an isolated village, and then Dalmuir. The GD&HR joined with the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway at Cowlairs, and was absorbed by that company in 1862; the E&GR was itself absorbed by 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 ...
in 1865. On the east side, the Monklands area around Airdrie and
Coatbridge Coatbridge ( sco, Cotbrig or Coatbrig, gd, Drochaid a' Chòta) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, Coatbridge forms the area known as ...
had become the centre of the iron industries; it had extensive seams of good quality coal and of blackband ironstone. The wealthy industrial district was in the area served by 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 North British Railway sought to build a direct line to Coatbridge from Glasgow, to participate in the available business. It opened its Coatbridge branch in 1871. The Glasgow terminus was called College, at a site vacated for the purpose by the University of Glasgow; it was not convenient for the city centre. The NBR had collaborated with 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 railway ...
(G&SWR) in the construction of the
City of Glasgow Union Railway 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 c ...
, which also opened to College in 1871, crossing 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 ...
and linking the G&SWR network with the NBR line. At last the separate radiating railways around Glasgow were becoming linked, and a suburban passenger railway, and the exchange of goods traffic, could be thought of. The NBR network now developed west of the city, driven chiefly by the expansion westwards of heavy industry and of docking facilities for steamers. The
Stobcross Railway The Stobcross Railway was a railway line in Glasgow, Scotland, built by the North British Railway to connect from Maryhill to the new dock being built at Stobcross; the dock became the Queen's Dock, opened in 1877. The line was opened first, in ...
opened in 1874 to serve the new Queen's Dock at Stobcross, but this line too made a large circuit of the city to reach the dock. The
Glasgow, Yoker and Clydebank Railway The Glasgow, Yoker and Clydebank Railway was a railway company that opened in 1882, giving a rail connection to shipyards and other industry that developed in what became Clydebank. At first it was a purely local line, connecting only at Stobcro ...
was opened in 1882 to serve a shipyard and other industrial sites that were relocating. The passenger service on the Yoker line was not connected to the rest of the railway network.


A line through the centre of the city

This fractured set of lines frustrated the development of the areas served by the NBR. Moreover, Queen Street station, which was considered cramped from the outset, was now impossibly congested with terminating trains and a goods station, and there was no possibility of increasing line capacity on the Cowlairs incline. The NBR set about the task of connecting the lines east and west of the city. The ''Glasgow City and District Railway'', an independent company sponsored by the NBR, was authorised on 10 August 1882 to make a line from the College station to Stobcross, a distance of 3 miles (5 km). The capital was to be £550,000. A connection at Knightswood enabling through running from Stobcross towards Dalmuir was included in the authorisation. The main section of the GC&DR was to be sub-surface, constructed by cut and cover. At its peak the construction had 22 tunnelling faces active. A four-platform station was to be provided at Queen Street, partly under the existing main line station. A new through station was to be provided at College, replacing the existing terminus. The Stobcross line at the west end was a goods-only dead end and this was to be transformed into a through line, with a station nearby at Finnieston. The construction was challenging in engineering terms: it was only the fourth underground line in the country.


Opening

The GC&DR line opened on 15 March 1886, and the company was amalgamated with the North British Railway. The passenger services that had previously run to Queen Street high level terminus were diverted to run through the new line, providing immediate relief at Queen Street. On the same day the NBR opened the short Hyndland branch from Partick Junction, providing a western terminus for some trains. On 1 August 1886 the Knightswood spur opened, and Queen Street goods depot was closed and the goods traffic transferred temporarily to the G&SWR goods station at College. Goods trains were not allowed to use the underground section, to minimise problems with the smoky atmosphere. Soon 90 trains daily were being handled in the underground section. At first the carriages were unlit, but following protests an incandescent lighting system was provided, powered from a conductor fixed to the tunnel walls. The system was patented by H S P Carswell; it was removed in November 1901. The smoky atmosphere in the tunnel sections was immediately a cause for serious complaint. Proposed solutions to vent the tunnels proved to be unacceptable to local residents, and for some years the issue remained contentious. Eventually the roof of Charing Cross station was removed. The four platforms at Queen Street low level station were lettered, A, B, C and D.


Bridgeton extension

In association with the GC&DR line, the NBR opened a short branch from College to Bridgeton Cross on 1 July 1892 with an intermediate station at Gallowgate, and the G&SWR provided a spur to that line from the City of Glasgow Union line, opening on 1 April 1893. However that service was unsuccessful, and was withdrawn on 1 February 1913; the spur connection was closed. Bridgeton station area was used for stabling and carriage cleaning, but the station was closed on 4 November 1979 when the
Argyle Line The Argyle Line is a suburban railway located in West Central Scotland. The line serves the commercial and shopping districts of Glasgow's central area, and connects towns from West Dunbartonshire to South Lanarkshire. Named for Glasgow's Argyl ...
opened; the branch continued to be used for carriage servicing for some years.


Electrification

Under a modernisation scheme of 1955, the GC&DR route was to be electrified as part of a proposed enhancement of the whole of the former NBR North Clyde lines. The four platforms at Queen Street Low Level were closed from 10 to 13 August 1959 for remodelling to a simple two-platform station as a prelude to electrification. Full electrification was inaugurated on 7 November 1960 but a series of transformer explosions in the new electric units resulted in restoration of the steam service, which continued from 19 December until 1 October 1961, when the full electric service was reinstated after modifications to the electrical system of the units.


The present day

The original GC&DR line through the city is open, carrying a busy suburban passenger service operated by
ScotRail ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail ( gd, Rèile na h-Alba), is a Scottish train operating company that is publicly owned by Scottish Rail Holdings on behalf of the Scottish Government. It has been operating the ScotRail franchise a ...
.


Topography

Locations on the line were: * ''Kelvinhaugh Junction''; divergence from the Stobcross line and the Glasgow Central Railway; * Finnieston; opened 15 March 1886; closed 1 January 1917; a Finnieston station was opened on the Argyle Line on 5 November 1979; it was renamed Exhibition Centre 1986; * Charing Cross; opened 15 March 1886; * Glasgow Queen Street; * College; new station 15 March 1886 replacing terminus at higher level; renamed Glasgow High Street 1914; * ''High Street East Junction''; convergence with City of Glasgow Union Line and College Goods.


Connections to other lines

* NBR Coatbridge Branch at High Street East Junction *
City of Glasgow Union Railway 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 c ...
at High Street East Junction and Gallowgate *
Stobcross Railway The Stobcross Railway was a railway line in Glasgow, Scotland, built by the North British Railway to connect from Maryhill to the new dock being built at Stobcross; the dock became the Queen's Dock, opened in 1877. The line was opened first, in ...
at Kelvinhaugh Junction *
Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway The Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway was independently sponsored to build along the north of the River Clyde. It opened in 1858, joining with an earlier local line serving Balloch. Both were taken over by the powerful North British ...
at Knightswood North Junction


Notes


References


Sources

* * {{Historical Scottish railway companies Pre-grouping British railway companies Early Scottish railway companies Transport in Glasgow Railway companies established in 1882 Railway lines opened in 1886