General Terminus and Glasgow Harbour Railway
Encyclopedia
The General Terminus and Glasgow Harbour Railway was authorised on 3 July 1846 and it opened, in part, in December 1848.
Its main function was intended to be the transportation of coal
from collieries and Lanarkshire
and Ayrshire
, over other railways, to a coal depot on the south bank of the River Clyde
.
It linked the Polloc and Govan Railway
with the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway
, the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway
, the Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway
and the Clydesdale Junction Railway
.
On 24 July 1854 parts of the line were vested with the Caledonian Railway
; and final amalgamation occurred on 29 June 1865.
In the 1921 Railway Grouping it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
(LMS).
to join the City Union Line
at Port Eglinton Junction. The other branch crossed under both the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway
and the Paisley Canal Line
; before splitting at Terminus Junction. One branch joined the Glasgow, Barrhead and Neilson Direct Railway and the Cathcart District Railway
at Muirhouse Central Junction, the other branch passed through one of the Eglinton Street Tunnels and joined the Polloc and Govan Railway
.
, near Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Colvilles Ltd and British Railways began installing new wharfage and facilities at General Terminus Quay. This was to allow the simultaneously unloading of two large ships carrying bulk iron ore. The ships were designed to hold 12,000 ton
s (12,200 metric tonnes) of iron ore.
Iron ore was to be transported, in bulk, by railway, from the River Clyde to the Lanarkshire
steel works at, Motherwell
. In March 1949, forward plans by Colvilles suggested that the General Terminus Quay ore handling facility would be handling two million tons of basic iron ore per year. 1,020,000 tons per year for the Clyde Iron Works and 980,000 tons for Ravenscraig steelworks
. In 1954, Scotland imported 1,436,000 ton
s (1,460,000 metric tonnes) of iron ore, mainly from Sweden
, North Africa, and Newfoundland
.
, near West Kilbride
, in the early 1970s led to The General Terminus Quay ceasing to handle this traffic and the ore handling equipment was demolished in the early 1980s.
A large area of the river frontage, including part of Windmillcroft Quay, Springfield Quay, General Terminus Quay, Mavisbank Quay and Princes Dock, was cleared in the early 1980s. Mavisbank Quay and the mostly infilled Princes Dock area was used to host the 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival
. The former Glasgow Garden Festival site was relatively quickly redeveloped after the end of the six month festival; however the General Terminus Quay site was left vacant. It has since been used for housing and nearly all traces of the railway line have been removed between the River Clyde and its passage under the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway
.
Its main function was intended to be the transportation of coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
from collieries and Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...
and Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
, over other railways, to a coal depot on the south bank of the River Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
.
It linked the Polloc and Govan Railway
Polloc and Govan Railway
The Polloc and Govan Railway started off as a private railway owned and built by William Dixon, a Coal master; it ran along part of the route of his Govan tramway...
with the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway
Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway
The Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway company was formed in 1837 to provide a railway link between Glasgow and Paisley, Scotland. It was promoted jointly by the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway and the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway....
, the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway
Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway
The Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway was a railway in Scotland that provided train services between Glasgow, Kilmarnock and Ayr. For a short period, it also provided West Coast services between Glasgow and London. Opened in stages between 1839 and 1848, the line ran from Paisley in the...
, the Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway
Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway
The Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway was a railway co-owned by Caledonian Railway and Glasgow and South Western Railway and was an amalgation of two different lines: the Glasgow, Barrhead and Neilston Direct Railway and the Glasgow and Kilmarnock Joint Railway.-Glasgow, Barrhead and...
and the Clydesdale Junction Railway
Clydesdale Junction Railway
The Clydesdale Junction Railway was a railway company in Scotland that was formed to run trains between Rutherglen and Motherwell, North Lanarkshire.- History :It received its Royal Assent on 31 July 1845....
.
On 24 July 1854 parts of the line were vested with the Caledonian Railway
Caledonian Railway
The Caledonian Railway was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century and it was absorbed almost a century later into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, in the 1923 railway grouping, by means of the Railways Act 1921...
; and final amalgamation occurred on 29 June 1865.
In the 1921 Railway Grouping it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
(LMS).
The route
From its terminus at the River Clyde, the General Terminus and Glasgow Harbour Railway proceeded to Scotland Street Junction, where one branch crossed under the Glasgow and Paisley Joint RailwayGlasgow and Paisley Joint Railway
The Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway company was formed in 1837 to provide a railway link between Glasgow and Paisley, Scotland. It was promoted jointly by the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway and the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway....
to join the City Union Line
City Union Line
The City of Glasgow Union Railway - City Union Line , is a railway line in Glasgow, Scotland. The line is still open, with the section north of Bellgrove still open to passenger trains.-Description of the route:...
at Port Eglinton Junction. The other branch crossed under both the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway
Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway
The Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway company was formed in 1837 to provide a railway link between Glasgow and Paisley, Scotland. It was promoted jointly by the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway and the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway....
and the Paisley Canal Line
Paisley Canal Line
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...
; before splitting at Terminus Junction. One branch joined the Glasgow, Barrhead and Neilson Direct Railway and the Cathcart District Railway
Cathcart District Railway
The Cathcart District Railway was authorised on 7 September 1880. The eastern section to Cathcart opened to Mount Florida station on 1 March 1886. The line was completed through to the first Cathcart station on 25 May 1886...
at Muirhouse Central Junction, the other branch passed through one of the Eglinton Street Tunnels and joined the Polloc and Govan Railway
Polloc and Govan Railway
The Polloc and Govan Railway started off as a private railway owned and built by William Dixon, a Coal master; it ran along part of the route of his Govan tramway...
.
Expansion under British Railways
In 1954, as part of their development of their Ravenscraig steelworksRavenscraig steelworks
The Ravenscraig steelworks, operated by Colvilles and latterly by British Steel, consisted of an integrated iron and steel works and a hot strip steel mill. They were located in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland....
, near Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Colvilles Ltd and British Railways began installing new wharfage and facilities at General Terminus Quay. This was to allow the simultaneously unloading of two large ships carrying bulk iron ore. The ships were designed to hold 12,000 ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
s (12,200 metric tonnes) of iron ore.
Iron ore was to be transported, in bulk, by railway, from the River Clyde to the Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...
steel works at, Motherwell
Motherwell
Motherwell is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, south east of Glasgow. The name "Moderwelt" appears on a map of Lanarkshire made by Timothy Pont some time between 1583 and 1611 and printed in the Netherlands in around 1652, although the settlement was probably little more...
. In March 1949, forward plans by Colvilles suggested that the General Terminus Quay ore handling facility would be handling two million tons of basic iron ore per year. 1,020,000 tons per year for the Clyde Iron Works and 980,000 tons for Ravenscraig steelworks
Ravenscraig steelworks
The Ravenscraig steelworks, operated by Colvilles and latterly by British Steel, consisted of an integrated iron and steel works and a hot strip steel mill. They were located in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland....
. In 1954, Scotland imported 1,436,000 ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
s (1,460,000 metric tonnes) of iron ore, mainly from Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, North Africa, and Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
.
Run down and redevelopment
The opening of the deep water Hunterston Ore TerminalHunterston Terminal
Hunterston Terminal, in North Ayrshire, Scotland, is a coal-handling port located at Fairlie on the Firth of Clyde, and operated by Clydeport. It lies adjacent to Hunterston estate, site of Hunterston Castle....
, near West Kilbride
West Kilbride
West Kilbride is a village in North Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland by the Firth of Clyde, looking across the water to Goat Fell and the Isle of Arran...
, in the early 1970s led to The General Terminus Quay ceasing to handle this traffic and the ore handling equipment was demolished in the early 1980s.
A large area of the river frontage, including part of Windmillcroft Quay, Springfield Quay, General Terminus Quay, Mavisbank Quay and Princes Dock, was cleared in the early 1980s. Mavisbank Quay and the mostly infilled Princes Dock area was used to host the 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival
Glasgow Garden Festival
The Glasgow Garden Festival was the third of the United Kingdom's five National Garden Festivals, and the only one to take place in Scotland.It was held in Glasgow between 26 April and 26 September 1988...
. The former Glasgow Garden Festival site was relatively quickly redeveloped after the end of the six month festival; however the General Terminus Quay site was left vacant. It has since been used for housing and nearly all traces of the railway line have been removed between the River Clyde and its passage under the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway
Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway
The Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway company was formed in 1837 to provide a railway link between Glasgow and Paisley, Scotland. It was promoted jointly by the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway and the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway....
.
Sources
- Cunnison, J. and Gilfillan, J.B.S., (1958). The City of Glasgow (The Third Statistical Account of Scotland, Volume V). Glasgow: William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd.
- Little, M., (1979). Greater Glasgow's Railway Network. In: Scottish Transport, 33, Scottish Tramway Museum Society. ISSN 0048-9808.
- Payne, Peter L. (1979). Colvilles and the Scottish Steel Industry. Oxford: Oxforf University Press. ISBN 0-19-828278-8.
- Smith, W.A.C (compiler). and Thomas, JohnJohn Thomas (author)John Thomas was a Scottish railway author based in Springburn, Glasgow.Most of his books were published by the Newton Abbot based publisher David & Charles.-Books:* The Springburn Story: The History of the Scottish Railway Metropolis. ....
(Introduction), (not dated, but pre-1982). Rails Around GLASGOW. Scottish Steam Railtours Group (printed in Paisley). - Thomas, JohnJohn Thomas (author)John Thomas was a Scottish railway author based in Springburn, Glasgow.Most of his books were published by the Newton Abbot based publisher David & Charles.-Books:* The Springburn Story: The History of the Scottish Railway Metropolis. ....
(1971). Scotland: The Lowlands and the Borders (A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain, Volume 6). Newton Abbott: David & CharlesDavid & CharlesDavid & Charles is a publisher. The company was founded - and is still based - in the market town of Newton Abbot, in Devon, UK, on 1 April 1960 by David St John Thomas and Charles Hadfield. It first made its name publishing titles on Britain's canals and railways...
. ISBN 0-7153-5408-6.