Former Glasgow St Enoch to Greenock Princes Pier railway

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Overview

A journey by foot, train and bike along what remains of the former Glasgow & South Western Railway line from St Enoch in Glasgow to Princes Pier in Greenock. The line ran inland to Paisley, following the valley of White Cart Water and the site of the former Glasgow to Ardrossan canal for much of the way. It then ran through the rolling Renfrewshire countryside to Linwood, Bridge of Weir and along the course of the River Gryffe to Kilmacolm before dropping downhill to the industrial towns of Port Glasgow and Greenock.

From 1959, the line closed to passengers in stages from the Greenock end, but a passenger service to Kilmacolm ran from Glasgow Central (after St Enoch closed in 1966) to Kilmacolm until 1983. The track was then lifted from Kilmacolm to Paisley where the line still served a fuel depot for Glasgow Airport. At the Greenock end, Princes Pier became Greenock Container Terminal (now Greenock Ocean Terminal) and part of the line was re-opened in 1971 for container trains, joining the Glasgow-Wemyss Bay line at Cartsburn East Junction in the east end of Greenock. That section of line is now disused and overgrown, but the track is still in place although the points at Cartsburn have been removed.

The passenger service to Paisley was reinstated in 1990 and remains to this day. Most of the remainder of the line now forms part of the National Cycle Network Route 75.

Glasgow St Enoch station

This once grand railway station and hotel closed in June 1966. A shopping mall of the same name now stands on the site. Unfortunately there are no photos of the station on geograph, but some evidence of the elevated tracks which led to the City Union Railway line survive to the east.


The elevated approaches to the station can be seen in these two 1967 views of Stockwell Street.

Crossing The Clyde

The City Union line is still in use today, but is used infrequently. After passing above Paddy's Market, the line crosses the River Clyde by means of the City Union Railway bridge to The Gorbals.

There has been much talk about using this bridge to create a "crossrail" link between the north and south (effectively Queen Street and Glasgow Central) passenger lines, but it has never progressed beyond talk. Perhaps the new Glasgow Airport Rail Link, due to open in 2011, will help bring this to fruition. Such a link would also improve links between Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen and the towns south and west of Glasgow.

The Gorbals Area

After crossing the Clyde, the line makes a sweeping, elevated right turn through The Gorbals, passing through Main Street and Cumberland Street stations on the way to Shields Junction where it turns left to the Paisley Canal section of the line which is still in use for passenger services today.

Cumberland Street station

Opened as Eglington Street station in 1901, the station building still stands today but is disused and looking pretty derelict. It has been closed since 1966.

Dumbreck Station

Opened in 1990, close to the site of the original Bellahouston station which closed in 1954.

Corkerhill station

The station is still in use today.

Mosspark Station

A station opened here in 1938 to serve the Empire Exhibition at nearby Bellahouston Park. The station is still in use today, but there are no photos on geograph. Look out for Crookston Castle which is just across the river, south of the station.

Crookston station

The station is still in use today.

Hawkhead Station

Opened in 1990, close to the site of the original station of the same name.


Between Hawkhead and Canal Street, the line twists and turns past some of the great mills that made Paisley the thread making centre of the world.

Paisley Canal Street station

Now the terminus of what remains of the section of line from Glasgow Central. The original station building was converted to a bar/diner when the line closed in 1983. The line to Canal Street re-opened to passenger services in 1990, to a new station on the east side of Causeyside Street bridge. The line had been kept open until then to serve the fuel depot at Hawkhead.



The track west of Canal Street has been lifted and the trackbed converted to a cycle path, forming part of the National Cycle Network Route 75.

The line passed the Ferguslie Mills complex, a few traces of which remain. The only surviving stretch of the Glasgow to Ardrossan canal can also be found in this area. The line from Glasgow to this point was built along the route of the canal.

Elderslie station

There was a major junction at Elderslie where this line crossed the Glasgow to Ayr line. The Barrhead line joined near here too. The station closed in 1996, with little evidence remaining today. There are no photos on geograph.

Houston and Crosslee station

This station was actually in Brookfield, over a mile from Crosslee and two miles from Houston. A footpath parllel to the line led to Brookfield village. There are no photos of this station on geograph.

Bridge of Weir station

This was a busy country village station with quite a large station building. The station closed in 1983 and little trace remains today. The A761 road bridge crosses the line here. There are no photos of this station on geograph.

Bridge of Weir to Kilmacolm

The line runs through the Gryffe Valley, following the River Gryffe past Quarriers Village to Kilmacolm.

Kilmacolm station

The station building survives, having been converted into a pub in what was a traditionally 'dry' village. The pub burned down, but the building survives to this day.

Kilmacolm to Port Glasgow

The high point of the line was between Kilmacolm and Port Glasgow, amidst rolling countryside. The track was lifted in 1966 and a housing scheme was built on part of it at Mid Auchinleck farm in Port Glasgow. More housing was built on the line at Kilmacolm in the 1980s. The surviving trackbed became overgrown until it was reopened as a cycle route in the 1980s.

Upper Port Glasgow Goods

This was a goods only station, located just off Dubbs Road near the telephone exchange. All signs that there was a station here have gone, but an old railway van survives as a shop at nearby Bridgend.

Upper Port Glasgow to the Greenock boundary

The line clings to a steep north facing slope through the west end of Port Glasgow. Devol Glen was crossed on a high nine arched stone viaduct which was demolished in the early 1970s, part of the foundations are still visible. A smaller bridge carries National Cycle Network Route 75 across the burn at the base of the glen.

Greenock boundary to Lynedoch station

Most of the line through Greenock is hidden from view in tunnels and deep cuttings, emerging only for a few hundred yards here and there.

The cycle path follows the route of the line until Lady Octavia Park at Bridgend Road. A footpath then follows the route for a few hundred yards behind Castle Road before it disappears into the undergrowth and a tunnel, to re-emerge at Kilmacolm Road, near Whinhill station on the Wemyss Bay line. The line crosses Cartsburn on a stone arched viaduct and then passes under an old aqueduct on the way to Lynedoch station.


The road bridge at Kilmacolm Road was removed in February 2009. Here are some before and after shots of the area taken a few days apart.

Lynedoch station

This station stood in the shadow of the Tate & Lyle sugar refinery and was one of three stations on different lines within a few hundred yards of each other (the others being Greenock Central and Upper Greenock).

The platforms are still reasonably intact today, but no buildings survive.


There was a goods yard at Lynedoch station, which is now the site of Lynedoch Industrial Estate. The retaining walls are still in place.

Central Greenock

The line runs mostly in tunnels through Central Greenock from Lynedoch Street to Union Street. There are a few bridges which offer views of the line and track.

Princes Pier

The James Miller designed station buildings are long gone and Greenock Ocean Terminal stands on the site. The tunnel at Union Street and the bridge over Brougham Street are still intact. The rails are still in place as can be seen from the bridge on Union Street. A tunnel vent can be seen in a garden at Newton Street.



From 1869, the station and pier provided a useful commuter service to communities along the Clyde coast, but the shorter journey and travel times offered by the Caledonian Railway from nearby Gourock (opened 1889), meant that the bulk of the commuter traffic was lost and business declined to the point that only boat-train traffic existed when the line closed in 1966.

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