Old Glasgow Trains to Gourock

less than a mile from glasgow center the river clyde beautifully displays its transition from an industrial artery to an environmental success story the stomp cross crane was the largest on the clyde and a poignant reminder of the days when shipping was the lifeblood of glasgow's commercial heart and prosperity with local shipyards providing the means to export its products from sewing machines to ships glasgow's industry supplied the world an industry that was founded on the driving power of steam locomotives were exported from glasgow to many parts of the world but time was running out for steam traction as the early years of the 1960s unfolded steam operation was in rapid decline 120 years after the arrival of glasgow's first public railway viewed as an outdated form of traction by british railways steam was rapidly being displaced by the diesel engine and rows of condemned steam locomotives became a common sight once busy turntables lay idle with their depots abandoned as the ever encroaching modernization program swept over glasgow's rail system the arrival of overhead electrification signaled the end of an era but also heralded the dawn of the glasgow rail system's resurgence this period of dramatic change is captured in this the tenth of the city rail series featuring scotland's railway past glasgow part two glasgow boasted an impressive suburban rail network including an underground system and provided intensive services to and from its four major terminal the first line to be featured is the route linking glasgow to guruk 26 miles west of the city following the south bank of the clyde the line was unusual in that it progressed directly from steam to electric traction a fascinating film taken in the summer of 1966 records the last year of steam traction covering the entire route from guruk to glasgow guruk became established in the 19th century as a popular seaside and residential destination with the caledonian railway recognizing goruck's potential and opening a new station and pier in 1889 viewed from tower hill the bay hotel built in the 1930s dominates the guruk waterfront in this 1966 scene apart from the change of ownership the station facade and entrance had remained virtually unaltered since its opening and belied the size and scale of the station [Music] filming again from tower hill a train is seen leaving fort matilda station and skirting guruk bay on the final mile of its journey from glasgow before entering the gorok terminus [Music] a ferry from danune prepares to dock at guruk pier with the ferry passengers facing an undemanding short walk into the station gorox run down platforms appeared particularly untidy as work progressed on installing catenary supports for the forthcoming electrification of the route to glasgow the station and its facilities possessed one of the most attractive locations in scotland with the coach sidings and locomotive turntable looking over the west bank of guruk bay in the last years of steam operation tank engines together with lms and standard class fives handled most of the services although some ex-lms tank locos were employed br built versions predominated with greener glady burn and glasgow's corker hill depots supplying the motive power okay foreign thank it was the practice to turn even the tank locomotives but despite its intensive use guruk's turntable remained hand operated until the end of steam uh oh servicing completed the locomotive returns to the station ready for the journey back to glasgow however it's the sister engine number 80122 of corker hill depot that continues the story as it backs onto its rake of suburban stock in july 1966. now operated by caledonian mcbrain the ferry service disgorges its passengers including american sailors from the naval base at holy loch on the north side of the clyde estuary the train fills quickly and with a whistle and a wave of the green flag gets underway at the start of its 66 minute journey to glasgow central station to the east of guruk bay is the 400 foot high lyle hill which offered a superb vantage point to view the train's departure [Music] the track curve sharply around the bay graphically illustrated in the second view from the heights of lyle hill as the line enters the western suburbs of greenwich four minutes after leaving guruk the train slows for fort matilda station named after a nearby wartime army barracks [Music] from fort matilda the line enters greenock west after passing through scotland's longest tunnel with a length of one mile 340 yards [Music] from the beginning of the 19th century greeneck gained increasing importance as a shipbuilding center in addition to being the birthplace of james watt the discoverer of steam power the line exits greenock west through a deep cutting and a short tunnel before entering greenick's principal station greenock central [Music] [Music] [Music] the delicate removal of a packing case allows station staff and the passenger to load two prams a task that would prove difficult on some modern coaching stock given the right-of-way 801.2 passes the semaphore starting signal which like the steam engine will be swept away upon full electrification of the route occupying the bay platform are parcels vans another long vanished part of the railway scene [Music] so cardstike is the next station after which the line passes the almost deserted greenwich ladyburn depot destined to close in december 1966. during 1940 and 41 glasgow was subjected to bombing raids and ladyburn shed was virtually destroyed in may 1941 with normal operation not resuming until the 1950s wow passing boxton station dockyard installations line the riverbank including the greenock dry dock that was used to overhaul the cunard queens stone-built tenements lined the approaches to port glasgow station six miles and 20 minutes after leaving guruk this was also the junction for the line to invoke and weems bay in the heart of the shipbuilding belt the town gained its name by being the port that served the city of glasgow before the upper reaches of the clyde were dredged and deepened [Music] the world's first sea going paddle steamer the comet was launched here in 1812 establishing the town's shipbuilding reputation leaving the station the line passed through the rapidly contracting industrial heartland of port glasgow the earthworks in the foreground were part of the massive reconstruction of the a8 trunk road which swept away much of the area's derelict land rail siding since removed were also used in this road reconstruction program to bring in heavy bridge components particularly when viewed from the railway the design of these flats in the eastern suburbs of port glasgow leaves a great deal to be desired a second view of the train leaving port glasgow features the now demolished guruk rope works building as a backdrop as the standard 4 tank accelerates towards glasgow [Music] for a short distance after passing wood hall the line was sandwiched between the a8 and the riverbank before it re-crossed the a8 on the approaches to lang bank the village of langbank boasted only a small wayside station but the station master still cut an impressive figure as 80122 coasts to a halt [Music] as the glasgow barn train leaves a westbound excursion roars past this was one of the fastest stretches on the line and in the 1970s mainline class 82s were tested on the route and reportedly reached 100 miles per hour through langbank looking to the north bank of the clyde dumbarton rock and castle are prominent before the railway crosses the a8 once more a series of boys in the center of the river indicate the navigable channel which required constant dredging and through which ocean-going ships have to pass the appearance of bishop and tunnel signal box indicated the approximate halfway point on the journey and shortly after the line enters the damp confines of bishopton tunnel 12 miles from glasgow the line reaches bishopton a typical caledonian railway building with its stepped gable although largely rural a nearby royal ordnance factory was the main employer in the area after bishopton the line passed the perimeter of glasgow airport nine miles from the city centre coasting down the slight gradient of bog head the next major station to be reached is paisley's gilmore street where the coastal route from air and strand ra joins the guruk line a large industrial town paisley's fortunes were based originally on textiles the most famous company being coats the thread manufacturer a pile of mailbags on the platform awaits the train another reminder of an everyday occurrence that has disappeared from the railway scene with the mailbag safely aboard gilmore street is left behind as the train accelerates towards arkelston junction [Music] the junction served the renfrew wharf to glasgow centenary passenger service which ceased in 1967 with freight traffic lingering on for several years afterwards before complete closure of the branch in 1972 passing hillington west the line crosses the industrial estate access road before reaching hillington east station the industrial estate had grown rapidly in the 1950s and 60s with both stations being opened by british railways to serve the estate and adjacent residential areas after passing hillington east a high-speed run follows through cardone station and the ibrox area of glasgow home to glasgow rangers fc with a brief signal check bringing the run to a temporary halt passing glasgow central power box the elevated line overlooks commerce street on its approach to central station where blue electric units green rail cars and steam locomotives rub shoulders viewed from the george v bridge 801.2 crosses the river clyde on the 700 foot long clyde bridge as it approaches glasgow central station and journey's end one hour and eight minutes after leaving guruk the glasgow and southwestern railway had reached greenock princess pier using a parallel route to the goroklin but running via paisley canal and kill mccomb services on the steeply graded route out of greenwich declined after nationalization but special workings continued to operate until the line was cut back to kill mccomb in september 1966 a solitary gas lamp overlooks the former track bed and the remnants of kilmer comb station which were incorporated into a public house in 1993 the first public house in a village that had been dry for over 70 years closed in 1997 the new building's fate has mirrored that of the station it replaced monday the 10th of january 1983 and crowds fill kill mccombs platform on the final day of service as they await the last daylight departure to glasgow 17 miles to the east the route had already been singled and the remaining track was quickly lifted after closure and later converted into a cycleway bridge of weir was the next station on the route to glasgow but in common with the third and last station on the branch houston and crossley few people turned out to watch the trains passing it's hard to grasp that in 1983 with road congestion growing a passenger branch line only a few miles from one of britain's largest cities could be allowed to close closure also befell paisley canal station on the same day the fine stone building subsequently converted into a restaurant realization of the era in closing the route through canal station came several years later when the line was expensively reopened to within yards of canal station further extensions were made impossible as the track bed was now occupied by housing the closure notice on canal station presents a grim site with a steady drizzle compounding the gloom on the last day of the station's operation as a well patronized diesel multiple unit arrives from glasgow central witnessed by a handful of enthusiasts the dmu passes the goods yard at the start of its 25-minute journey to kill mccomb ironically on the same day engineering works at paisley's gilmore street station caused services to be routed through canal station with a class 27 passing at the head of a service to air passing the class 27 a three-car dmu arrives from kill mccomb pauses briefly and then heads towards glasgow as another page in glasgow's railway history is closed approaching the city in 1961 reveals centinock station in a period when trams still glided along glasgow streets the glasgow underground soot encrusted station at centenock square was dwarfed by the glasgow and southwestern railways terminus filmed in 1931 engine movements within centinock station show a wide variety of pre-grouping locomotives from the former deadly rivals of the gsw and caledonian railways now united at least in name under the lms banner it was the gsw local fleet that would suffer in the name of progress and by the end of the decade all but a few of its locos would have been withdrawn in common with the loco fleet the gsw signal box was also due for early replacement the class 336s were nicknamed greenock bogeys having been introduced in 1890 primarily for use on the steeply graded greenock princess pier route designed by james manson the southwestern's chief mechanical engineer between 1890 and 1911 all 25 of this class would be withdrawn by november 1932. an ex-caledonian 440 passes under saint enoch's signal gantry followed by one of the gsw's ill-fated baltic tanks then only nine years old 35 years later in june 1966 only changes in the locomotives and stock plus the introduction of color light signaling have altered the scene significantly at centinoc even the signaling system dated from 1933 and the station was clearly suffering from years of neglect by british railways and although still standing the engine shed had closed in 1935 as the class 4 pulls the royal mail stock forward there's a brief glimpse of the station's magnificent glazed canopy which bore comparison with london's saint pancras station [Music] this was the last month of passenger operations from saint enoch with standard class 4 tank locos from corker hill depot covering most of the remaining steam duties until the station's official closure on the 27th of june 1966 it still handled an impressive 250 trains and 23 000 passengers on weekdays parcels traffic continued for another year and afterwards the platform area was used as a car park until 1975 when the station and its hotel were swept away and the site redeveloped a corker hill class 5 reverses from the station and heads for corker hill depot having arrived from kilmarnock [Music] [Music] leaving santinock for kilmarnock behind a clayton diesel we get an excellent view of the station approaches before crossing the clyde on the city union bridge the diesel failed at ibrox station giving an opportunity to film a service from east kilbride headed by a class 4 tank loco sister locos at corker hill depot on the 29th of march 1964 await their next turn of duty in the company of a recently overhauled black five one of the last to be overhauled at st rollick's works the lms installed mechanical calling and ash disposal plants at corker hill the only x southwestern shed to be modernized in this way reflecting the depot's importance however by the early 1960s many of his team locos were awaiting disposal for scrap with corker hills start of x lms jubilee and royal scots classes being early casualties these locos had originally been allocated to work the centene octus and pancras services as far as leads but from 1961 we're displaced with the introduction of type 4 peak diesels other locos of a more obsolete design also languished at corker hill which was now standardizing on br locos as the rundown of steam accelerated a symbol of the 60s the vespa was the cameraman's transport as he filmed the derelict corker hill railway village built by the gswr in the 1890s to house depot staff and their families conversion of the depot to dmu and ultimately emu maintenance commenced at the early 1960s servicing of the depot's dwindling stud of locos continued and although afterwards steam locos arrived occasionally from carlisle the depot effectively closed to steam on the 28th of april 1967. the program now moves northwards to the picturesque lower section of the west highland line between araka and dumbarton the first sequence filmed in 1959 features a steam-operated push-pull service as it travels from araka to gerloch head powered by an ex-north british class c-15 the push-pull service was originally introduced between araka and craig and doran in 1940 with the first of three class c-15s being equipped with push-pull equipment heading south in the cab of 67474 araka is left behind as the line climbs steadily to glen douglas halt which closed in 1964 from glenn douglas the line falls as it approaches whistle field on the eastern edge of loch long whistlefield was unique on the west highland line in having no passing loop and although surviving into the diesel era it closed along with glenn douglas in 1964. eleven miles from araka the line reaches gerloch head at which point the push pull is left to continue its journey to craig and doran april 1960 saw the two surviving c-15s withdrawn and the push-pull service replaced by a diesel rail bus gear lock was host to an american submarine base at faz lane with construction work at the base visible in the foreground continuing southwards arden capel crossing is passed and after a further five miles the line reaches craig and doran junction with the waverly moored at craig and olympia the signal is set against the west highland line to allow the passage from craig and doran of an electric blue train only a year in service when this film was taken after craig and our injunction the now electrified line follows the north bank of the clyde estuary for a further seven miles before entering the royal borough of dumbarton [Music] situated at the confluence of the rivers leavin and clyde the town's fortunes were based on shipbuilding and its associated [Music] industries 240 foot high dumbarton rock is one of the most prominent features of the clyde estuary with the remnants of the rocks medieval castle looking down on the former denny shipyard shipbuilding formed the single largest industry on the clyde and no feature on the clyde would be complete without a brief look at its shipbuilding history starting with film of what was arguably its most famous product the queen elizabeth [Music] the liners arrival at greenwich dry dock in 1965 caused congestion as crowds gathered to watch the 84 000 ton ship maneuver into her birth quinoa and liner was built at the clyde bank yard of john brown and launched in 1938 finally leaving the clyde in the spring of 1940 she was used throughout the war as a troop carrier between the uk north america and australia but in 1946 reverted to the role of a luxury transatlantic carrier in order to combat growing competition from air travel she had returned to the clyde for a major overhaul including redecoration and the installation of an open-air swimming pool by early 1966 the refit was complete and she left the clyde to re-enter service however the liner became uneconomic to operate and despite the refit she made her final atlantic crossing in 1968 after which she was ultimately bought by a hong kong consortium for conversion into a floating university shortly before completion of this conversion in 1972 the ship was devastated by fire and eventually sank in hong kong harbor an ignominious end this speeded up sequence captures the queen elizabeth in march 1966 being pushed gently into line by an armada of tugs before heading for the open sea perhaps the kindest way to remember the great ship in the same year as the qe1 was being refitted upperclade shipbuilders had laid the keel of a new cunard luxury liner at their clydebank yard and by september 1967 the hull of the ship dominated the skyline the new liner was to be named queen elizabeth ii or qe2 and at 70 000 tons would be considerably smaller than the qe1 thereby allowing passage through the suez and panama canals the government had given a loan of 18 million pounds toward the cost of the ship in an effort to ease unemployment on clydeside and stem the decline of the shipbuilding industry in addition to creating employment the new ship created great public interest particularly on the day of its launch the 18th of february 1968 as a flotilla of tugs arrived to take up their stations the duchess of hamilton steamed slowly by followed by the waverly however in their desire to see the qe2 passengers on both ships rushed to one side causing a great deal of alarm on the waverly finally the great moment arrived and the qe2 slid gracefully down the slipway into the clyde sending a large tidal wave up the white card water opposite the shipyard this river was dredged to allow large ships such as the qe2 to be launched across the relatively narrow river clyde without fear of running aground [Applause] [Music] this footage is truly historic as this scene is never ever likely to be [Applause] [Music] [Applause] repeated with the ship now at rest the tugs maneuvered her back into the dockyard where she would be transformed from a bear hull into a finished ship by an army of skilled craftsmen [Music] a little over nine months after the launch the liner is ready for the first sea trial and as steam is raised all non-essential personnel leave the ship [Music] dawn on the 19th of november 1968 and the qe2 is carefully maneuvered out of the dock in preparation to leave the clyde for the first time [Music] [Music] passing dumbarton rock she heads for the open sea but technical problems with the engines cut short the trials and she was forced to limp back to the dock at greenock this high-speed sequence records the qe2's entry into the dock where a misjudged maneuver caused the seventy thousand ton ship to collide with the dockside uh fortunately there was little damage and within a short time the ship was safely moored allowing remedial work to begin following repairs to the engines the qe2 was officially handed over to cunard and finally left the clyde on the 17th of december 1968 rejoining the railway the route passes bowling as it heads towards glasgow and on reaching dalmur we exchange rail electrification for road electrification as a trolley bus crosses glasgow's victoria bridge in 1965. introduced in 1949 the system reached its peak 10 years later with 149 vehicles operating on 43 routes making this the third largest system in britain [Music] traversing goals cross we continue up gorbal street as the number 105 queen's cross to clarkston service passes the palace bingo hall forking left into cathcart road the bus passes under the former gswr main line leading to centinock station and eastwards to shetlandstone the tribus network was gradually run down and was less than 18 years old when the final public service ran from queen's cross to hampden on the 27th of may 1967. at the former north british railway terminal the program focuses briefly on diesel operations in 1989 with the full study of the station being incorporated into a later video commencing in the 1970s a high-speed shuttle links glasgow to edinburgh covering the 47 miles in 59 minutes originally operated with type 2 diesels frequent failures brought about their replacement with a single class 47 operating a push-pull system the modified class 47s were the only diesels in addition to deltix and class 50s that were cleared for 100 miles per hour running a campsite plate indicated the locos status and these workings became the high point of diesel loco hall passenger operations in scotland class 26 26s acted as station pilots for several years before the increasing use of sprinters made them redundant do [Applause] [Music] [Applause] steam returned to queen street in 1992 when class a 4 union of south africa switched identities to become william white law this change was part of the program to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the opening of the line between glasgow and edinburgh piloted by a grimy class 26 the a4 made an impressive exit from the station before disappearing into the gloom of carla's tunnel [Music] 47 704 follows the same path as it starts its journey to edinburgh the entrance to the one and a quarter mile long tunnel is the starting point of a climb having gradients of one in 41 only easing well beyond the tunnel exit beyond the top of the bank the line levels as east field depot is reached leaving the class 47 to continue its journey to edinburgh the rows of diesels at eastfield make an interesting comparison with scenes filmed at the same location in 1931. north british class j88 number 9847 and the smaller y9 number 9310 were ideal locos to work tightly curved industrial lines this ability ensured the engine survival into br ownership unlike class d 25 number 9592 which was withdrawn in 1935 class d11 bailey mcweeble remained an east field locomotive until its withdrawal in 1961. a freight line crossed over eastfield yard home to a self-propelled crane built for the lner in the 1920s eastfield in june 1966 with its well-known clock tower and the coaling stage still in situ however within five months from then steam operations would have ceased as diesel traction took over steam's decline underlined by this nbl type 2 hauling two condemned locos class v3s handled much of the suburban traffic until displaced by br built class fours which in turn now faced withdrawal its cylinders removed for spares four five double three seven has only one final journey to make as eastfield's yard undergoes major surgery to accommodate its fleet of diesel locos a group of rail enthusiasts from yorkshire roam the depot having arrived courtesy of halifax corporation at the end of the 1980s class 37s had become the dominant type in the eastfield loco fleet displacing the older and less powerful 26s [Applause] [Applause] eastfield shed closed completely in 1993 with demolition following shortly afterwards a class 37 emerges from behind khaleer's box having traveled through the doors home and mary hill areas of glasgow in the late 1950s four scottish pre-grouping locos were restored to running order and were much in demand for enthusiast specials when not engaged on special workings locals were stabled and serviced at the ex caledonian railway depot at door's home the fourth member of this exclusive quartet gordon highlander heads a special with glenn douglas out of glasgow dawe's home also played host to class j88 number 6835 filmed working in mary hill yard during 1962. she was only one of two j88s to have vacuum brakes originally fitted for working goods traffic in fight the 3rd of september 1966 and cranes tower above buchanan street station as redevelopment of the area creeps ever nearer within the cramped concourse

Channel: John Stewart

Views: 22,960

Rating: 4.9352226 out of 5

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Id: z-UyI2Dxcb8

Length: 58min 3sec (3483 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 01 2020