Glasgow's Disused Railways

[luckymucklebackit]

Series of slide shows currently being uploaded to You Tube and being widely shared on Facebook, some excellent photos with a lot of potential prototype inspiration

 

First Slide Show

 

Jim

[PatB]

Excellent stuff. Odd to think that the 1981 photos are now, themselves, historical documents.

[pH]

From the blurb:

"Where possible, anonymous older black & white views of the stations while still in operation have also been included for added nostalgic atmosphere and enjoyment."

 

I'm sure a well-known photographer of Glasgow and district railways would be rather surprised to be described as 'anonymous'! (If he's still alive, that is.)

 

Edit - found out he's no longer with us.

Edited November 3, 2020 by pH

[Legend]

Brilliant site Jim , thanks for the link to it . The current railways of Glasgow fascinate me but the older system is really fascinating . Love seeing these old railways . Of course, disturbingly , these images are now also 40 years old and there’s been a lot of building since then .  

[luckymucklebackit]

4 hours ago, pH said:

From the blurb:

"Where possible, anonymous older black & white views of the stations while still in operation have also been included for added nostalgic atmosphere and enjoyment."

 

I'm sure a well-known photographer of Glasgow and district railways would be rather surprised to be described as 'anonymous'! (If he's still alive, that is.)

 

Edit - found out he's no longer with us.

 

Having joined a few Facebook groups I get the impression that copyright has been thrown out the window.  I commented on this as some of the views are scanned straight out of books, and not so long ago the Stenlake publishing company in particular were known to robustly defend their copyright.  It is obviously becoming more and more difficult to control and enforce on the likes of Facebook.

 

Jim

[luckymucklebackit]

Another posting today

 

Part two

[Dave John]

I'd agree . I have seen many of the B+W pictures. However it is a very useful record of the remnants of the lineside structures, many of which have now gone forever. 

 

I have walked much of the line, but every time I do so there is less of it left. 

[luckymucklebackit]

Part three

[Anadin Dogwalker]

Jim, This is ASTOUNDING. The last few years I've attended Model Rail Scotland, I've had a hankering to try to follow these and other erased lines on foot. The only bit I managed to achieve due to time and weather was the path along the Rothsay Dock underpass towards Yoker yard. Back when we lived near Aberfoyle, and my parents worked in Glasgow, our dentist was across the road from the Botanic Gardens station and I remember my Dad lifting me up to peer over the parapet to look down at the platforms. Are there any bits that have been opened up as cycle paths like the elevated section west from Scotstoun?  Is there a show covering the Dalmarnock-Carmyle leg of the ex Calley lines? Very very grateful.

Neill Horton

[darrel]

Brilliant videos thoroughly enjoyed them. Would be good to see extra photos taken in 2020 of whats there now. 

[luckymucklebackit]

3 hours ago, Anadin Dogwalker said:

Jim, This is ASTOUNDING. The last few years I've attended Model Rail Scotland, I've had a hankering to try to follow these and other erased lines on foot. The only bit I managed to achieve due to time and weather was the path along the Rothsay Dock underpass towards Yoker yard. Back when we lived near Aberfoyle, and my parents worked in Glasgow, our dentist was across the road from the Botanic Gardens station and I remember my Dad lifting me up to peer over the parapet to look down at the platforms. Are there any bits that have been opened up as cycle paths like the elevated section west from Scotstoun?  Is there a show covering the Dalmarnock-Carmyle leg of the ex Calley lines? Very very grateful.

Neill Horton

 

I believe that there are a further two sets of photographs to come, not sure which routes are covered, just need to wait and see.  There is less and less evidence of the old routes as land is reclaimed for other purposes.  FOr example the site of Psrtick West station, shown as still being discernable in the video has been totally obliterated and the site of the station is now a public park and gardens, try following it in Google Maps and you will see what I mean.  I think the gus that followed these lines taking photos was a very brave man, most of these routes went through fairly rough areas and as you can see from the burnt out cars were frequented by guys you would not really want to meet!

What I found interesting when I researched these old lines was that although the passenger service was withdrawn in 1964 there was still a lot of freight and the lines were closed piecemeal, an example can be seen on the second video, where north of Rutherglen the line from Possil is joined by a stretch of track that went into a scrapyard, this was the old London Road goods depot, and was still rail connected until 1989 or thereabouts, the yard scrapped 13 class 08 shunters and had its own NBL diesel shunter which inevitably was scrapped on site.

Jim

[Legend]

Fascinating . Yes the Possil - Dalmarnock one certainly traverses some "dodgy" areas . Not sure I'd have fancied a stroll there.  But fascinating nevertheless . If i got my geography right then I think the section where it goes under the M8 motorway is now occupied by the M80  and junction with M8. All the times I've travelled that and never realised I was on an old railway 

[luckymucklebackit]

Part 4 - the route out to Clydebank.  Next bit will be Clydebank to Dumbarton

 

Partick to Clydebank

 

Jim

[caradoc]

This is fascinating stuff, thanks for the links luckymucklebackit.

 

Some parts of the Dumbarton/Glasgow route have indeed become part of National Cycle Network Route 7, although (annoyingly, for me anyway !) much of it uses the Forth & Clyde Canal instead. I cycled it in September and it was well worth doing. 

 

[pH]

On 04/11/2020 at 08:36, Legend said:

Fascinating . Yes the Possil - Dalmarnock one certainly traverses some "dodgy" areas . Not sure I'd have fancied a stroll there.

I talked to a British Transport cop in the mid 1960s. Apparently ‘persons’ would grease the rails on that line, then when the train slipped to a stop, break open vans and remove the contents. The BTP set out to do something about it, and sent a dog and handler in a brake van on a train going over the line. The train was stopped on greased rail, the dog was released from the brake van - and they killed the poor animal!

[luckymucklebackit]

Clydebank to Dumbarton

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5meEFX-aR9M

 

But here is a real gem - the same route when trains still ran

 

 

[Hobby]

I lived on Hillhead Street from '80 to '83 and I remember walking into the tunnel to Botanic Gardens station, that must have been the same year as the photos, '81. We thought about walking all the way through to Kelvinbridge Park but didn't have the right footwear (it was very wet) or a decent torch so never got round to it,

[Max Legroom]

This is brilliant. I’ve just started a layout based on the north side of the Clyde and these films are so helpful especially for stuff like stone and brickwork.