Paisley Canal Line
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The Paisley Canal Railway line was originally a Glasgow and South Western Railway branch line running from Glasgow, Scotland, through three stations in Paisley, to North Johnstone. After leaving Paisley West station, near Ferguslie, the line continued to Elderslie junction where it met and crossed under the main Glasgow and South Western Railway line running from Paisley Gilmour Street station to Johnstone, and beyond. After Elderslie the line terminated at North Johnstone; however another junction allowed services from the Paisley Canal line (also part of the Glasgow and South Western Railway Company) to continue onto the Bridge of Weir Railway and Greenock and Ayrshire Railway to the latter's terminus at Greenock Princes Pier.
The line is electrified as far as Corkerhill (from Glasgow Central), the rest is not.
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[edit] Formation
The majority of the route from Glasgow to Paisley (actually, Port Eglinton to Ferguslie) ran along the bed of the former Glasgow, Paisley and Johnstone Canal. The canal had been purchased, in 1869, by the Glasgow and South Western Railway Company (G&SWR) and an Act of Parliament was used to close the canal in 1881. The railway line, which opened in 1885, still uses the River Cart Aqueduct (which it crosses at a skewed angle). This makes the former aqueduct the world's oldest railway bridge that is still in active use.
[edit] The original route
As part of the G&SWR, the Paisley Canal line's original Glasgow terminus was at St Enoch Station. The line ran from St Enoch Station to three stations in Paisley: Paisley Hawkhead Road, Paisley Canal Station, and Paisley West; with intermediate passenger stations at: Shields, Bellahouston and Crookston and a terminus at North Johnstone.[1]
Between Paisley West and Elderslie, the line of the railway deviated slightly from the original line of the Glasgow, Paisley and Johnstone canal; a former loop in the canal was used to hold cooling water for the cotton thread mills at Ferguslie.
At Elderslie junction it ran along side the Glasgow and South Western Railway line running from Paisley Gilmour Street station to Johnstone, and beyond, before crossing it via a dive-under crossing. The line terminated at a station at North Johnstone; however another junction near Elderslie provided access onto the Bridge of Weir Railway. This is not the G&SWR Johnstone North railway station on the Kilbarchan Loop Line, but an earlier station of the same name at a slightly different location.[2] [1] [3]
The main difference between the original and current routes into Glasgow after 1966 was the alteration of Shields Junction to head to Glasgow Central instead of St Enoch, which was closed in 1966 and is now the St Enoch Centre.
[edit] Connections to other lines
- Shields Junction with Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway (now known as the Ayrshire Coast Line and the Inverclyde Line); the City Union Line which it utilised to reach St Enoch railway station; the Polloc and Govan Railway; and the General Terminus and Glasgow Harbour Railway.
- Corsebar and Porterhill Junctions with the Barrhead Branch of the Glasgow and South Western Railway
- Canal Junction (Elderslie) with the Ayrshire Coast Line; however, originally the Paisley Canal line continued to Johnstone, providing access to the Kilbarchan Loop Line and the Bridge of Weir Railway without needing to cross the Ayrshire Coast Line.
[edit] Closure
St Enoch station was also closed by the Beeching Axe, together with the section of track to Shields Junction. Elderslie station closed in 1966 and was demolished;[2] Hawkhead and Paisley West also closed at the same time.[2]
Passenger services continued on the Paisley Canal Line, until its closure; now running from Glasgow Central Station, via the Paisley Canal Line, to Kilmacolm using diesel multiple units. The line between Eldersile and Kilmacolm closed completely to passengers in January 1983.[2]. The Paisley Canal Line closed progressively between 1983 and 1986. Scheduled passenger services ceased on 10 January 1983.[2] The tracks between Shields Junction and Elderslie Junction were used for another two or three years to enable heavy coal and iron ore traffic from Hunterston Ore Terminal, on the Ayrshire Coast Line, to bypass the main line between Elderslie Junction, Paisley Gilmour Street Station and Glasgow Shields Junction. There were also occasional passenger train diversions away from Paisley Gilmour Street due to works associated with the AyrLine electrification project. However, even this traffic was diverted onto the line through Paisley Gilmour Street and the Paisley Canal Railway line was closed completely to all traffic, partly as a result of the resignalling scheme associated with the AyrLine electrification project resulting in the severing of the line at Elderslie.
The rails between Elderslie and Paisley Canal Station were uplifted in 1986. The land around Paisley Canal Railway Station, including the line and the goods yard, was developed for housing;[2] the station became a steak house;[2] and the former passenger over-bridge between the two platforms was demolished and the gap between the two platforms in filled.
Much of the abandoned rail line beyond the original Paisley Canal Station has now been developed into a cycle and walkway operated by Sustrans.[2]
[edit] Reopening to Paisley Canal Station
On 27 July 1990[2] part of the line was reopened by Strathclyde Passenger Transport; and passenger services resumed on the section from Glasgow Central Station to a new Paisley Canal railway station built just to the east of railway overbridge carrying Causeyside Street. Houses had been built on the bed of the railway line west of the Causeyside Street overbridge and the Paisley Canal Railway station building had been converted to a Steakhouse. A new, single platform, station had to be built at Paisley Canal, on the old trackbed.
The intermediate stations at at the time of closure seven years earlier Corkerhill, Mosspark and Crookston were re-opened at the same time, with only one platform being brought back into use. Subsequently, new stations at Hawkhead (one platform) and Dumbreck (two platforms) were opened.
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- (N A), (N D). Sheet 30: Reprint of the first edition of the one-inch Ordnance Survey of Scotland: Glasgow & Greenock. (Revised to 1896). Ellon: Caledonian Books. ISBN 1-85349-030-X.
- Thomas, John (1971). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain. Volume 6 Scotland: The Lowlands and the Borders. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-5408-6.
- Wham, Alasdair (2000). Lost Railway Lines South of Glasgow. Wigtown: C.G. Book Publishers. ISBN 1-872350-08-9.
[edit] External links
- The Glasgow & South Western Railway Association
- http://www.spt.co.uk/
- http://www.networkrail.co.uk/Stations/stations/glasgowcentral/Default.aspx
| Major constituent railway companies of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway: |
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Caledonian | Furness | Lancashire & Yorkshire | Glasgow & South Western | London and North Western | Midland | North Staffordshire |
