Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway
Encyclopedia
The Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway was an early railway, which merged 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...

. It was created to provide train services between Greenock
Greenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...

 and Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

.

History

The railway company was formed by Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

 on 15 July 1837; and the line opened on 31 March 1841, having been delayed from the previous year after difficulties constructing a tunnel at Bishopton
Bishopton, Renfrewshire
Bishopton is a large village in Renfrewshire, Scotland, a few miles west of Erskine.-Transport links:Bishopton sits a couple of miles from the southern end of the Erskine Bridge, which spans the River Clyde between Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire. Part way along the B815 road is a computer...

. The contract for the first seven miles of the railway was agreed in 1839, the engineer being Joseph Locke
Joseph Locke
Joseph Locke was a notable English civil engineer of the 19th century, particularly associated with railway projects...

 and the contractor Thomas Brassey
Thomas Brassey
Thomas Brassey was an English civil engineering contractor and manufacturer of building materials who was responsible for building much of the world's railways in the 19th century. By 1847, he had built about one-third of the railways in Britain, and by time of his death in 1870 he had built one...

. This was to be the first work of Locke in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

; and Brassey's fourth contract.

The first Secretary to the railway appointed in 1837 was Captain Mark Huish
Mark Huish
Captain Mark Huish was an English railway manager. He is best known for his term as General Manager of the London & North Western Railway, which he held for 12 years, beginning from the Company's formation in 1846....

 who at that time was new to railway management. He later went on to become the General Manager of the London & North Western Railway Company.

The company was set up to provide through train services between Greenock and Glasgow. Its line originally ran from Greenock to Paisley
Paisley
Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...

, where it joined 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....

: a line it jointly owned with 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...

. Both companies received their Act of Parliament on the same day, and had been advised that the necessary Acts of Parliament to build their lines between Glasgow and Paisley could only gained by forming a joint company to build and run that portion. The anticipated problem was obtaining the necessary agreement from the land owners. Due to the failure of the Glasgow, Paisley and Ardrossan Canal
Glasgow, Paisley and Johnstone Canal
The Glasgow, Paisley and Ardrossan Canal was a canal in the west of Scotland, running between Glasgow, Paisley and Johnstone which later became a railway. Despite the name, the canal was never completed down to Ardrossan, the termini being Port Eglinton in Glasgow and Thorn Brae in Johnstone...

 to be completed beyond Johnstone, both railway companies were required to start work from both ends of their respective lines.

The Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway merged 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...

 in 1847.

Extension to Gourock

The Caledonian Railway bought Gourock Pier and the surrounding land in 1869; and obtained an Act of Parliament on 21 March 1878 to build a railway line and a quay. It built an extension to the existing line, which was opened on 1 January 1889. The line provided several new stations from Greenock to Gourock, and allowed the Caledonian Railway to have their own rail-connected steamer pier in the area, directly competing with the Glasgow and South Western Railway
Glasgow and South Western Railway
The Glasgow and South Western Railway , one of the pre-grouping railway companies, served a triangular area of south-west Scotland, between Glasgow, Stranraer and Carlisle...

's Princes Pier
Greenock Princes Pier railway station
Greenock Albert Harbour was a railway station serving Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland, originally as part of the Greenock and Ayrshire Railway.-History:...

.

Connections to other lines

  • 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...

     at Paisley Gilmour Street
  • 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....

     at Paisley Gilmour Street
  • Paisley and Barrhead District Railway
    Paisley and Barrhead District Railway
    The Paisley and Barrhead District Railway was a railway in Scotland that ran between the towns of Paisley and Barrhead. Despite stations being built on the line, the railway was only ever open to freight services. For this reason it was known locally as "the dummy railway".-History:The railway was...

     at Paisley St James
  • Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway
    Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway
    The Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway was a railway owned by the Caledonian Railway, providing services between Greenock and Wemyss Bay.- History :...

     at Port Glasgow

Current operations

Today, this line together with the former Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway is fully operational as the Inverclyde Line
Inverclyde Line
The Inverclyde Line is a railway line running from Glasgow Central station through Paisley and a series of stations to the south of the River Clyde and the Firth of Clyde, terminating at Gourock and Wemyss Bay, where it connects to Caledonian MacBrayne ferry services...

; with Georgetown/Houston station
Georgetown railway station
Georgetown railway station was a railway station serving the village of Houston, Renfrewshire, Scotland, originally as part of the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway and later owned by the Caledonian Railway.-History:...

 on the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway, and various stations on the Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway, having closed.

Sources

  • Robertson, C.J.A. (1983). The Origins of the Scottish Railway System: 1722-1844. Edinburgh: John Donald (Publishers). ISBN 0-85976-088.
  • Thomas, John
    John 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). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain. Volume 6 Scotland: The Lowlands and the Borders. Newton Abbott: David & Charles
    David & Charles
    David & 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.
  • Webster, N.W. (1970). Joseph Locke: Railway Revolutionary. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd. ISBN 0-04-385055-3.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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