The Bellgrove rail-crash.
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Coatbridge Branch This line is open. |
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This line runs through the east part of Glasgow, then briefly through countryside before entering the west of Coatbridge.
From High Street, Glasgow to Sunnyside Junction, Coatbridge.
The original College station terminus was to the south of the station shown here, the left of the picture. From a junction, just to the east of this station, the Glasgow City and District Railway ran west under Glasgow Queen Street to meet the Stobcross Railway at Kelvinhaugh. The station is built where the University of Glasgow was once based.
This is a west facing junction with the Bridgeton Central Branch of the Glasgow City and District Railway. The branch is now closed and lifted. The junction was located in a deep cutting with high retaining walls with goods yards at high level on either side of the cutting.
This is an east facing junction where the City of Glasgow Union Railway joined the line, having approached from the south west, a large goods depot and St Enochs station. There was a very large signalbox at this junction which was closed on the opening of the Yoker Signaling Centre. The signalbox also controlled the access to the two large goods depots here; High Street Goods (North British Railway) and College Goods (Glasgow and South Western Railway). Both goods depots are now closed.
This was the main Glasgow cattle market - there were sidings here for transport of cattle, but no station. There was a station at Bellgrove which is very close and still open. Cattle were driven from here to the Merklands Lairage, near Partick, through the streets.
There were a number of sidings here on either side of the main line which were used in connection with the cattle market. The station has an island platform.
This is a west facing junction where the City of Glasgow Union Railway leaves the line and runs north to Springburn. The junction was the site of a crash which involved fatalities; see the top of the page for a photograph of the aftermath of the Bellgrove rail-crash. The signalbox here was latterly a 1950s concrete one which was closed when the Yoker signalling centre was opened.
This station was located by Beardmore's Parkhead forge, the site of which is now occupied by a supermarket. There was a very large bridge over a road by the station which at one time carried four tracks. The Caledonian Railway's Switchback line crossed over the top of the line here. There was locomotive shed to the east of the station and lines ran into the forge. The forge made very large castings, guns and armour plate for battleships. Until recently there was a scrap yard to the east of the station site which was rail served.
This was an east facing junction with the City of Glasgow Union Railway. From here the Union line ran north to Springburn. The signalbox at Parkhead North Junction survived the closure of the junction, but was closed on the opening of the Yoker signalling centre.
This is a two platform station.
Shettleston is a two platform station.
To the east of Shettleston station is the former west facing junction with the Glasgow, Bothwell, Hamilton and Coatbridge Railway which ran south east from here to Hamilton. The signalbox here closed on the opening of the Yoker Signalling Centre. The old branch was retained as two short sidings until recently. There is a permanent way depot, and some sidings, just to the east of the station.
This signalbox was pretty isolated. It was faced with pinkish pebble-dash and closed on the opening of the Yoker Signalling Centre.
This is a two platform station.
This is a two platform station. To the east of the station, and north of the line, there was a goods yard with a loading bank. This was closed some time ago and the track lifted but the site was recently cleared for a new car auctions warehouse.
I've not visited this station.
This station is just to the west of Coatbridge. Services from Hamilton used to terminate here having run via Bellshill over the Glasgow, Bothwell, Hamilton and Coatbridge Railway.
This junction is just to the west of Coatbridge Sunnyside station. The junction is with the former Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway which runs to the north (as far as Gunnie yard today) and south (to Whifflet) and east (to Coatbridge Sunnyside and via the Monkland New Line to Airdrie).