The Hamiltonhill Branch was constructed 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 ...

in 1894 with the intention to provide a large goods yard at Hamiltonhill on 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 allowe ...

. There was also a branch to the Saracen Foundry but this had to be closed as it was in breach of an agreement with the North British Railway.

History

The Hamiltonhill yard closed at an early date, however the section of the line was extended by the

Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway The Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire Railway was a railway company in Scotland. It was promoted independently but supported by the Caledonian Railway, and it was designed to connect Balloch (on Loch Lomond) and Dumbarton with central Glasgow, l ...

to Dumbarton and gave the Caledonian Railway access to Balloch, linking through to 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 ...

to the east. Part of the route between Eastfield and Possil was built along the course of an old waggonway which had run from pits at Eastfield to the Forth and Clyde Canal at Ruchill. Much of the former trackbed is still visible to this day.

Current operations

The line is now closed.

Connections to other lines

at Possil Junction *

at Balornock Junction * The Caledonian Railway Switchback at Balornock Junction

References

* *

External links

Google Maps
Closed railway lines in Scotland Caledonian Railway {{Scotland-rail-transport-stub