The Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway (GP&GR) was an early Scottish railway, opened in 1841, providing train services between Greenock and Glasgow. At the time the River Clyde was not accessible to sea-going ships, and the intention was to compete with riverboats that brought goods to and from the city. In fact, passenger traffic proved surprisingly buoyant, and connecting steamer services to island resorts in the Firth of Clyde provided a very great source of business.
The GP&GR merged with the larger Caledonian Railway in 1851.
The Greenock station was not alongside the steamer berths and as the trade developed, this became a significant disadvantage. The independent Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway built a branch line to a pier at Wemyss Bay, giving much closer access to Rothesay, and in 1889 the Greenock line itself was extended to Gourock. The work involved building Newton Street Tunnel, the longest railway tunnel in Scotland.
The line between Glasgow, Greenock, and Gourock is active today, as is its Wemyss Bay branch.
History
Before the GP&GR At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the City of Glasgow had long been growing in industrial and commercial importance. With that growth came the need for transport of manufactured goods and raw materials, and at first crude horse-operated tramways responded to that demand, particularly short lines built to convey minerals to waterways. The River Clyde itself was a major traffic artery, but difficult navigational problems made it impossible for large vessels to reach the city. Increasingly, sea-going ships berthed at Greenock, and goods were trans-shipped there to smaller boats that could navigate the Clyde. Passengers too changed at Greenock to reach the city.
Passenger traffic was heavy following the introduction of steam vessels: traffic density may be judged from the fact that in the years 1838 and 1839 there were 69 collisions on the river.
Greenock itself grew in importance; it had a harbour in 1710 and became a focus for international trade, and the town developed numerous industries, including shipbuilding, metalworking, sugar refining and hat making.
A railway proposed
The successful operation of the "coal railways" in the west of Scotland, notably the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway, encouraged thoughts of a railway between Greenock and Glasgow, and in 1836 these thoughts took the form of a prospectus for a company. This led to a parliamentary bill, but at the same time another proposed railway, the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway was being presented; the two lines would have very similar routes between Glasgow and Paisley, and it became plain that Parliament would be reluctant to authorise two adjacent lines; moreover the landowners would be hostile to the double loss of amenity. The respective promoters responded to this by agreeing on a jointly made and operated line between Glasgow and Paisley.
Land acquisition was a significant issue for the company. Houston station was built only because Lord Douglas made that the price of his withdrawing opposition to the bill, and although the company was pleased to have obtained all the necessary lands without legal sanction (except in one case), it paid 18.1% of its capital for land, compared with 12–13% for comparable lines. Its parliamentary costs were also much higher than for other lines.
Both companies were authorised by acts of Parliament, the (7 Will. 4 & 1 Vict. c. cxvi) and the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway Act 1837 (7 Will. 4 & 1 Vict. c. cxvii), on 15 July 1837.
The Glasgow, Paisley and Ardrossan Canal had been authorised by the Glasgow, Paisley and Ardrossan Canal Act 1806 (46 Geo. 3. c. lxxv), but in fact was only built between Glasgow and Johnstone; Parliament wished to prevent partial construction of the new railways, and the authorising acts of Parliament required construction to be undertaken from both ends of the lines.
Construction and opening The track gauge had not yet been decided; the coal railways already active in the west of Scotland used a gauge of 4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm) and for a time it was thought that this gauge would be adopted. At this stage, the design of the line was in the hands of Thomas Grainger who had been largely responsible for the coal railways. However much thought was being given by others to a line connecting Glasgow and the English railways. The line was to become the Caledonian Railway; trunk railways in England were already established and standard gauge was in general use there. The implications of a railway network were now understood, and the Greenock line decided to adopt standard gauge. The GPK&AR followed suit.
The first Secretary to the company appointed in 1837 was Captain Mark Huish; at that time he was new to railway management. He later went on to become the General Manager of the London and North Western Railway Company.
The contract for the first of the railway was agreed in 1839, the engineer being Joseph Locke supported by his partner John Errington; the contractor was Thomas Brassey. This was to be the first work of Locke in Scotland; and Brassey's fourth contract.
The GPK&AR was able to open to traffic on the joint section between a temporary terminus in Glasgow at Bridge Street and Paisley, for a demonstration run on 13 July 1840; it opened fully to the public the following day; the GPK&AR went on to extend towards Ayr in the following months. The GP&GR was unable to open at this stage, due to serious difficulties in forming the Bishopton tunnel and the rock cuttings approaching it, and it was not until 31 March 1841 that it was able to open.
The permanent Bridge Street station opened a week later, on 6 April 1841.
The section between Glasgow and Paisley was managed by a joint committee, of representatives of the GP&GR and GPK&AR; it was known as the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway: the section of line was jointly owned with the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway.
The construction had significantly overrun Grainger's estimates: he had quoted £393,000 and the company had exhausted its £666,666 of share and loan capital and had had to apply for powers for a further £200,000 in loans. Shareholders were critical of some of the contract arrangements, which appeared to be wasteful, if not corrupt.
First years of operation On opening, the company had stations at Bridge Street in Glasgow and at Paisley (both on the Joint Section), Bishopton, Port Glasgow and Greenock.Butt and Cobb say that the Greenock station was called "Greenock Bridge Street"; Quick adds a question mark. There is, and was, no such thoroughfare in the area; and of course there was no need to specify. This may be confusion with sources referring to "the Greenock Railway's terminus at Bridge Street", referring of course to the Glasgow station. Paisley station was simply known as "Paisley"; the Paisley and Renfrew Railway already had a terminal in the town, but neither station needed a specifier. Paisley Station was renamed Paisley Gilmour Street in 1872.
The 1850 Bradshaw timetable shows nine trains each way between "Glasgow, Paisley, and Greenock", with no tabular indication of running: the starting times only of the trains are shown. The first from Greenock started at 5.30 am (except on Mondays), or as soon thereafter as the arrival of the mail steamer from Belfast would allow.
The company paid a good dividend, an annualised equivalent of 4% was declared at the first half-yearly meeting in 1841, but this was before any actual operating income had come in. When actual receipts were known this quickly reduced and never exceeded 2% (annualised). At over 50% the ratio of operating costs to income was poor, and it emerged that a track maintenance contract had been let at first for £250 per mile to the managing director's nephew-in-law, while the GPK&AR paid about £85 per mile to an independent contractor.
Amalgamation with the Caledonian Railway
For some time the alliance between the Caledonian Railway and the GP&GR was strong, and in 1847 the Caledonian obtained the (10 & 11 Vict. c. clxix) giving authority to absorb the Greenock line. This proved to be more contentious than it had appeared: the terms of share transfer were difficult as the GP&GR held out for guaranteed income, and as the Caledonian considered the financial situation of the Greenock company, it became alarmed at apparent financial impropriety in the company. The Caledonian's own finances were not strong, and the alarm increased with time, and on 6 May 1850 the Caledonian board decided to try to repeal the act of amalgamation.
In fact, this was not proceeded with, and in time the Caledonian relented, and on 26 May 1851 an amalgamation agreement was signed; it was enacted by Parliament in the Caledonian Railway Arrangements Act 1851 (14 & 15 Vict. c. cxxxiv) on 7 August 1851. The Caledonian paid an annuity to the shareholders of the former Greenock company.
Locomotives 1839 to 1848 GLASGOW, PAISLEY & GREENOCK RAILWAY LODOMOTIVES 1839 to 1848 NoNameWheel ArrangementFoundryBuiltNotes1Lucifer2-2-0Rothwell & Co1839Converted to 2-2-21Lucifer2-2-2ex 2-2-01839renamed 18411Fireking2-2-2ex Lucifer1839ex Lucifer, Caledonian Railway No 772Zamiel2-2-0Rothwell & Co1839Converted to 2-2-2 in 18412Zamiel2-2-2ex 2-2-01839Caledonian Railway No 673Glasgow2-2-0Rothwell & Co1839Converted to 2-2-2 in 18413Glasgow2-2-2ex 2-2-01839renamed 18413Hecate2-2-2ex Glasgow1839Caledonian Railway No 784Eagle2-2-2Sharp Roberts & Co1840Caledonian Railway No 705Falcon2-2-2Sharp Roberts & Co1840Caledonian Railway No 716Petrel2-2-2Sharp Roberts & Co1841Caledonian Railway No 727Curlew2-2-2Sharp Roberts & Co1840Caledonian Railway No 738Hawk2-2-2Barr & McNab1840Scrapped 1844 (Acc)9Witch2-2-2Tayleur & Co1840Caledonian Railway No 6510Phantom2-2-2Tayleur & Co1840Caledonian Railway No 6611Greenock2-2-2Caird & Co1840Caledonian Railway No 6812Glasgow2-2-2Caird & Co1840Caledonian Railway No 6913Paisley2-2-2Tayleur & Co1841Caledonian Railway No 7414Clyde2-2-2Tayleur & Co1841Caledonian Railway No 7515Hercules0-4-2R & W Hawthorne & Co1841Caledonian Railway No 7616Willington2-2-2Sharp Roberts & Co1842Caledonian Railway No 7917 2-2-2Greenock1846Caledonian Railway No 118 2-2-2Greenock1846Caledonian Railway No 219 2-2-2Greenock1846Caledonian Railway No 3
Steamer connections The passenger traffic on the line exceeded original estimates; a particular growth in traffic was passengers connecting with steamers at Greenock for the island resorts. Business people acquired residences on the islands and other Firth of Clyde locations, and in many cases travelled each weekend. The journey time was critical, and goods and parcels traffic for the steamers was required to be sent down by the previous train; passengers making the connection hurried through the streets of Greenock. The station faced Cathcart Street and the steamers berthed at Custom House Quay, a few minutes away.
Rothesay became extremely popular as a resort, and as demand for journeys to and from the islands established, it was recognised that Greenock was not ideal in providing the railhead. A more suitable location was Wemyss Bay, where a pier giving closer access to Rothesay was available. The Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway was formed, obtaining the Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway Act 1862 (25 & 26 Vict. c. clx) giving authorisation on 17 July 1862. It left the Greenock line at Port Glasgow and skirted the southern margin of Greenock, climbing onto high ground before descending into Wemyss Bay. The line opened on 15 May 1865 and was worked by the Caledonian Railway. Although the Wemyss Bay company was friendly to the Caledonian, relations were sometimes strained; a joint committee oversaw the operation of the line.