103-626: The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was authorised by act of Parliament on 4 July 1838. It was opened to passenger traffic on 21 February 1842, between its Glasgow Queen Street railway station (sometimes referred to at first as Dundas Street) and Haymarket railway station in Edinburgh. Construction cost £1,200,000 for 46 miles (74 km). The intermediate stations were at Corstorphine (later Saughton ), Gogar , Ratho , Winchburgh , Linlithgow , Polmont , Falkirk , Castlecary , Croy , Kirkintilloch (later Lenzie ) and Bishopbriggs . There
206-482: A breaksman in each break in front of the trains. Sometimes the engines remain attached to the tail of the trains in descending the incline, and sometimes the trains proceed without an engine. This depends on whether the engine is required at Queen's Street or not, but in every case the breaksmen, who travel on the incline breaks in front of the train, are placed in charge of the train. On the 25th of last November, 13 empty waggons were required at Queen's street station, and
309-620: A colliery or other mineral source, to a waterway for onward transport. Notable early lines were the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway of 1812 and the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway of 1826, the first of the "coal railways" of the Monklands area. The Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway (G&GR) was authorised in the same year, and it opened in 1831. There were unfulfilled ideas of connecting Glasgow and Edinburgh as early as 1824 and when
412-695: A fine stone aqueduct, at Kirkintilloch ; it then approaches within little more than two miles [3 km] of the north-west quarter of the city of Glasgow, to which there is a branch communicating with the Monkland Canal at Port Dundas, near that city. The remaining part of the line is in a westwardly direction, crossing the Kelvin River by a noble aqueduct, and thence to the Clyde, into which, after running parallel with it for some distance, it locks down at Bowling's Bay , near Dalmuir Burnfoot. The canal
515-529: A loose collaboration. In 1844 the E&;GR agreed a takeover with them, and from the first day of 1846 took on the operation of their lines, while Parliamentary permission for formal takeover was sought. On 3 July 1846 this was refused by Parliament, and the E&GR withdrew from the informal arrangement at the end of 1846. At this time the Caledonian Railway was planning its route linking Glasgow, and
618-437: A message to that effect was telegraphed to Cowlairs, where there is a large depot. A train of 13 empty waggons, with two incline breaks and two breaksmen in front, and an engine and tender behind the waggons, was formed at the top of the incline at the west end of Cowlairs station on the day in question, and it was despatched by signal at 5.6 pm to Queen's Street. "Line Clear" had been received from Queen's Street telegraph hut, and
721-640: A navigable Cut or Canal of Communication from the Port or Harbour of Borrowstounness , to join the said Canal at or near the place where it will fall into the Firth of Forth.' The subscribers were incorporated by the name of "The Company of Proprietors of the Forth and Clyde Navigation," with power to raise among themselves the sum of £150,000, in fifteen hundred shares of £100 each, and an additional sum of £50,000, if necessary. At first there were difficulties with securing
824-574: A tunnel underneath the city centre) or a light rail / metro system. The Glasgow Connectivity Commission, established by the Glasgow City Council in 2017, has proposed the construction of a cross-city centre tunnel akin to the Stockholm City Line to connect the two termini. If the plans are approved, a new intermediate underground station will also be built. Forth and Clyde Canal The Forth and Clyde Canal
927-474: Is "To promote the canal and to ensure its success" . The Society's campaigning included a petition of over 30,000 signatures for the reopening of the canal, which was then put in place under the Millennium Link project which commenced work in 1999. The society currently has three boats which are used as trip-boats, charter vessels and for members cruises along the canal. There are 39 locks on
1030-594: Is a canal opened in 1790, crossing central Scotland ; it provided a route for the seagoing vessels of the day between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands . This allowed navigation from Edinburgh on the east coast to the port of Glasgow on the west coast. The canal is 35 miles (56 km) long and it runs from the River Carron at Grangemouth to
1133-652: Is electrified; the fleet operating this route are Class 318s , Class 320s and Class 334s . Services on the West Highland Line to Oban, Fort William and Mallaig occasionally use the Low Level station when the main route into the High Level is unavailable due to engineering work. As of September 2014, the Fort William to London Euston overnight sleeper also calls here instead of Westerton in
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#17327974052971236-490: Is free to rail passengers making a cross-Glasgow transfer on a through ticket. Neither of Glasgow's main line terminals is directly served by the Glasgow Subway , although a moving walkway was installed between Queen Street and the immediately adjacent Buchanan Street subway station during the system's modernisation in 1980. Planned expansion work of Buchanan Galleries Shopping Centre is expected to "subtly envelope"
1339-448: Is thirty-five miles [56 km] in length, viz, from Grangemouth to the east end of the summit pool, is ten miles and three quarters [17 km], with a rise, from low water in the Forth, of 155 feet [47 m], by twenty locks. The summit level is sixteen miles [26 km] in length, and in the remainder of its course, there is a fall to low water, in the Clyde, at Bowling's Bay, of 156 feet [48 m], by nineteen locks. The branch to
1442-477: The Caledonian Railway , among many others, was authorised by Act of Parliament; its capitalisation was £1,500,000, to build a line from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Carlisle, linking there with English railways. Well before its Act, the Caledonian had set about capturing as many other railways, whether completed or still only proposals, as it could. It did so by concluding leases of those lines; the advantage of that
1545-475: The Central Belt of Scotland. The station is located between George Street to the south and Cathedral Street Bridge to the north and is at the northern end of Queen Street adjacent to George Square , Glasgow's major civic square . It is also a short walk from Buchanan Street , Glasgow's main shopping district and the location of Buchanan Street subway station , the closest connection to Queen Street for
1648-551: The German Ocean . The locks are 74 feet long and 20 wide [23 m × 6 m]; and upon its course are thirty-three draw-bridges, ten large aqueducts and thirty-three smaller ones; that over the Kelvin being 429 feet [131 m] long and 65 feet [20 m] above the surface of the stream. It is supplied with water from reservoirs; one of which, at Kilmananmuir, is seventy acres [28 ha], and 22 feet [6.7 m] deep at
1751-579: The Glasgow Subway network. The station underwent major redevelopment works by Network Rail in the late 2010s. In October 2017, a £120 million project began on bringing the station up to modern standards, demolishing many of the 1960s buildings and replacing them with a new station concourse, which was completed in 2021. The station was built by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway , and opened on 21 February 1842 as Dundas Street Station before being renamed as Queen Street . Despite opening in 1842,
1854-684: The Glasgow–Edinburgh via Falkirk line and the North Clyde Line . Other significant connections include the West Highland Line for services to and from the Scottish Highlands , the Highland Main Line and Glasgow–Dundee line . The station is split into two levels with high level trains predominantly serving the Edinburgh shuttle and further afield destinations, while the low level platforms serve trains covering
1957-640: The River Carron near Grangemouth . The canal roughly follows the course of the Roman Antonine Wall and was the biggest infrastructure project in Scotland since then. The highest section of the canal passes close to Kilsyth and it is fed there by an aqueduct which gathers water from (the purpose built) Birkenburn Reservoir in the Kilsyth Hills, stored in another purpose-built reservoir called Townhead near Banton , from where it feeds
2060-532: The River Clyde at Bowling , and had an important basin at Port Dundas in Glasgow. Successful in its day, it suffered as the seagoing vessels were built larger and could no longer pass through. The railway age further impaired the success of the canal, and in the 1930s decline had ended in dormancy. The final decision to close the canal in the early 1960s was made due to maintenance costs of bridges crossing
2163-714: The Scottish Government announced that the Glasgow to Edinburgh via Falkirk Line would be electrified by 2017. Overhead line electrification lines have been installed on the high level platforms of Queen Street, with Class 380 trains now operating from the station as of December 2017, and Class 385 trains as of Autumn 2018. As part of this work, the High Level station was closed for 20 weeks (from 20 March to 8 August 2016) to allow 1,800 m (5,900 ft) of track in Queen Street Tunnel (and all of
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#17327974052972266-777: The University of Glasgow . The western end of the canal connects to the River Clyde at Bowling. In 1840, a 1 ⁄ 2 -mile (800 m) canal, the Forth and Cart Canal , was built to link the Forth and Clyde canal, at Whitecrook , to the River Clyde , opposite the mouth of the River Cart . The canal was authorised by the Forth and Clyde Navigation Act 1768 ( 8 Geo. 3 . c. 63). Priestley, writing in 1831, said: The first act of parliament relating to this canal, received
2369-555: The train shed (curved glass roof) wasn't completed until 1878, over three decades later. In 1865 the E&GR was absorbed into the North British Railway , in 1878 the entire station was redesigned by the civil engineer James Carswell . Carswell introduced electric lighting at the station, which was one of the earliest examples of electricity use in Glasgow. It became part of the LNER group in 1923. The climb through
2472-657: The Caledonian concluded an agreement to take over the Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway and the Wishaw and Coltness Railway . The other coal railways aligned themselves away from the Caledonian Railway's influence, and in 1848 they merged to form the Monkland Railways . The Haymarket terminal was at the western extremity of Edinburgh and inconveniently located, and an Act was obtained on 4 July 1844 to extend
2575-588: The Carron empties itself into that river. Its course is parallel with the Carron, and in nearly a westwardly direction, passing to the north of the town of Falkirk, and thence to Red Bridge, where it quits the county of Stirling, and enters a detached portion of the shire of Dumbarton. Hence it passes to the south of Kilsyth , and runs along the south bank of the River Kelvin , and over the Luggie Water , by
2678-422: The Forth and Clyde Canal Company to take over the Forth and Cart Canal . The Caledonian Railway and Forth and Clyde Navigation Companies Act 1867 ( 30 & 31 Vict. c. cvi) authorised the Caledonian Railway to take over the Forth and Clyde Canal. In the meantime the canal company had itself built a railway branch line to Grangemouth Dock, which it owned. The canal was nationalised in 1948, along with
2781-452: The G&;GR got its authorising Act, there were thoughts of extending from Broomielaw in Glasgow over the G&GR to Edinburgh and Leith; the connection to sea-going shipping was paramount. In 1830 the railway engineers Thomas Grainger and John Miller were commissioned to survey for such a line. There was to be a tunnel under the centre of Glasgow but there was furious opposition to this; it
2884-496: The House of Commons who performed the opening ceremony. Opening of the second lock was delayed by a dispute over land ownership. The Forth and Clyde Canal Society is a waterway society on the Forth and Clyde Canal in the central lowlands of Scotland. It was formed in 1980 to "campaign for the Forth and Clyde's preservation, restoration and development" According to the Forth and Clyde Canal Society's website, their current aim
2987-561: The Lancashire shareholders, insensitive to the fear of Caledonian hegemony and reluctant to spend money acquiring canals, which they considered to be beaten competitors, overturned the arrangement, and Gregson was dismissed. (In 1849 the E&GR purchased the Union Canal for £209,000, still against the opposition of the Lancashire shareholders.) On 1 April 1848 the Caledonian Railway opened its line between Edinburgh and Glasgow. It
3090-549: The Liverpool and Manchester line), promoted a viable railway. The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was authorised by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway Act 1838 ( 1 & 2 Vict. c. lviii) on 4 July. The bill had been in committee for 37 days. The first contract was let in late 1838, to William Aiton and his company. Bad weather delayed the progress of the work but on New Years Day 1842 the public were invited to walk through
3193-513: The Longridge terminus: "The line terminates in a large field, about a mile from a small village called Whitburn". Although the line connected a number of pits, it was dependent on a long haul to Coatbridge, handing over to the W&;C railway at Morningside, and the line was not commercially successful. Raising money to continue eastwards to a more lucrative destination proved beyond the resources of
Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway - Misplaced Pages Continue
3296-591: The Monkland Canal at Glasgow is two miles and three quarters [4.4 km]; and there is another cut into the Carron River, at Carron Shore, in order to communicate with the Carron Iron Works. Though this canal was originally constructed for vessels drawing 7 feet [2.1 m], yet by recent improvements, sea-borne craft of 10 feet [3.0 m] draught may now pass through it, from the Irish Sea to
3399-540: The North British Railway had commenced their passenger service, on 17 June. For a time the two stations were separate, and with separate goods stations in addition. The primitive passenger accommodation at first was only temporary: from 3 August 1846 E&GR passengers were accommodated at a single platform partly under the northernmost of the Waverley Bridge's three wide arches." On 17 May 1847
3502-609: The River Forth. The Falkirk Wheel opened on 27 May 2002 and is now a tourist attraction. When the canal was reopened, the Port Dundas branch was reinstated from Stockingfield Junction , where it leaves the main line, to Speirs Wharf, where further progress was blocked by culverts created as part of the M8 Motorway construction and the abortive Maryhill Motorway. A connection from there to Pinkston Basin, which once formed
3605-527: The Sighthill area north-east of the city centre. Platforms 1–7 occupy the High Level, platform 1 being at the western end of the trainshed and being considerably shorter; it is usually only used for local stopping services. Since the electrification of several of the routes from the High level station (Edinburgh to Glasgow, via Falkirk High, and to Stirling, Dunblane and Alloa), the fleet is largely electric, using
3708-632: The Slamannan Railway at Causewayend, heading westward to Blackbraes. There was already a considerable network of mineral tramways in the area, leading to the Union Canal, serving pits and tile works. The Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness Railway (WM&CR) was another of the "coal railways" serving mineral sites in Lanarkshire. It opened in 1845, and ran from a junction with the Wishaw and Coltness Railway at Morningside, to Longridge. The Board of Trade Inspecting Officer commented about
3811-600: The Stirling and Perth line from the Edinburgh direction, and to do so it sponsored the Stirlingshire Midland Junction Railway . The nominally independent company got its authorising Act of Parliament on 16 July 1846, to build a line from Polmont (on the E&GR) through Grahamston (part of Falkirk), crossing the Forth and Clyde Canal and turning north to join the SCR near Larbert. Its capital
3914-520: The Subway connection to redevelop the neglected Dundas Street. One option to allow cross-Glasgow rail journeys would be Crossrail Glasgow , using a former passenger line (now used only for freight) that links High Street to the Gorbals area. This initiative was reviewed favourably, but progress has been stalled indefinitely as of 2009. Alternative proposals envisage a new city centre station (possibly in
4017-659: The board proposed an amalgamation with the Monkland Railways , the Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness Railway and the Scottish Central Railway , and the Forth and Clyde Canal, the Union Canal and the Monkland Canal . (The canals still carried substantial mineral traffic.) That group of companies worked as a voluntary combination for a few months under Bryan Padgett Gregson, an experienced manager of canals and railways from Lancashire. In late 1846
4120-407: The breaksmen entered the tunnel they found it full of smoke and steam. The passenger train collided with the derailed rear part of the trains of wagons. Hamilton Ellis described the operation after the banking engines were first discontinued: Rails continued to break under the heavy banking engines and the stationary engine was brought out of retirement, and Newall’s untwisted cable substituted for
4223-407: The canal between 1767 and 1774; he contributed his geological knowledge, made extended site inspections, and acted both as a shareholder and as a member of the management committee. The Union Canal was then constructed to link the eastern end of the canal to Edinburgh . In 1842 an act of Parliament , the Forth and Clyde Navigation Act 1842 ( 5 & 6 Vict. c. xli) was obtained authorising
Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway - Misplaced Pages Continue
4326-470: The canal exceeding the revenues it brought in. However, subsidies to the rail network were also a cause for its decline and the closure ended the movement of the east-coast Forth River fishing fleets across the country to fish the Irish Sea . The lack of political and financial foresight also removed a historical recreational waterway and potential future revenue generator to the town of Grangemouth. Unlike
4429-561: The canal via a feeder from the Shawend Burn near Craigmarloch . The canal continues past Twechar , through Kirkintilloch and Bishopbriggs to the Maryhill area north of Glasgow city centre. A branch to Port Dundas was built to secure the agreement and financial support of Glasgow merchants who feared losing business if the canal bypassed them completely. This branch flows past Murano Street Student Village, halls of residence for
4532-440: The capital for the work, but soon, thanks in the main to investment by Sir Lawrence Dundas, 1st Baronet , "the execution of this canal proceeded with such rapidity, under the direction of [the engineer] Mr. Smeaton, that in two years and three quarters from the date of the first act, one half of the work was finished; when, in consequence of some misunderstanding between him and the proprietors, he declined any further connection with
4635-446: The clerk at Queen's Street would not accept the train, as the empties had not arrived. As soon as the 11 empties arrived, he telegraphed "line clear" and a train, which consisted of three incline breaks and three breaksmen, a carriage truck, a horse box, a 3rd [class carriage], a 1st, a 3rd, a 1st, a guard's van, a 1st, a 3rd, a 1st, a 3rd, and a guard's van, coupled in the order given, left Cowlairs for Queen's Street station at 5.15 pm. As
4738-402: The company. In 1847 the company decided that it could not continue independently, and the negotiated the sale of their line to the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway. A legal prohibition on amalgamation of companies which had not expended half of their authorised capital delayed the process until 1849, when an Act was obtained, authorising the sale to the E&GR, which took full effect in 1850. In
4841-541: The connection to the Forth and Clyde canal had been filled in and built over in the 1930s. As part of the millennium celebrations in 2000, National Lottery funds were used to regenerate both canals. A boatlifting device, the Falkirk Wheel , was built to connect the two canals and once more allow boats to travel from the Clyde or Glasgow to Edinburgh, with a new canal connection to the River Carron and hence
4944-418: The control of Yoker Signalling Centre ( IECC ) on 19 November 1989. Various schemes to link Queen Street to Glasgow Central station have been considered, as passengers travelling from the north of Scotland to the south and vice versa via Glasgow have to traverse the city centre either on foot or by road. A bus link connects the two stations (which also calls at the city's Buchanan bus station ), use of which
5047-476: The decision is still pending. Queen Street station's platforms are on two levels, with the high-level platforms running directly north–south and the low-level running east–west. They are connected by staircases at either end of the low-level platforms and by lifts accessible from platform 7 on the high level. All services except the Caledonian Sleeper are operated by Scotrail . As of May 2024,
5150-413: The descent. There was soon difficulty with the hemp rope slipping in damp weather, and two banking engines named Samson and Hercules, were introduced in 1844, but they were found to be damaging to the track, and the powerful exhaust caused vibrations in the roof, leading to leakage of the canal water. The banking engines were sent to the Monklands area in 1848, and wire rope haulage with the stationary engine
5253-405: The earlier hemp rope. The cable was 2.78 miles long and weighed 24 tons. Leaving Glasgow the train moved slowly to the tunnel mouth and there a chain secured to a hemp messenger rope, lashed in turn to the cable, was linked to the front drawhook [which was inverted]. The locomotive then set back slightly to make the messenger rope taut. This of course brought the main cable up against the underside of
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#17327974052975356-663: The end of the train being close to the tunnel mouth. Minor refurbishments of the station took place throughout the 2000s, which saw the station internally repainted and paved with new flooring, and the CRT screens that displayed train timetables and passenger information replaced with new LED information boards similar to those in Glasgow Central Station but smaller, in January 2008. The station received new Eco LED screens provided by Infotec Displays in 2020. In 2009,
5459-518: The engine, where a pulley wheel was mounted to engage with it and prevent it from fouling. With the locomotive thus secured to the cable, the driver, advised by the foreman cable attendant, gave a whistle signal, and the Queen Street signalman then telegraphed the Cowlairs box. If and when the line was clear, the Cowlairs signalman sounded three blasts on a horn, piped down through the tunnel and
5562-512: The fine rivers above-mentioned [the Forth and Clyde, the canal], is joined by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Union Canal , near Falkirk ; with the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway at its summit, near the last-mentioned village; and with the Monkland Canal and the Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway , at Port Dundas , near the city of Glasgow. This magnificent canal commences in the River Forth, in Grangemouth Harbour, and near to where
5665-507: The following year. An accident took place in 1869 and the Inspecting Officer's report gives a flavour of the operations on the incline: Trains are worked up the incline between Queen's Street station and Cowlairs by attaching them to an endless wire rope, which is worked by a stationary engine at the top of the incline, and trains are piloted down the incline from Cowlairs to Queen's Street station, by attaching heavy breaks with
5768-635: The form of construction was already obsolete; "half logs" were used in some places. The construction of the E&GR line to the Haymarket terminal in Edinburgh cost £1,200,000 for 46 miles (74 km). The 30 miles (48 km) of the Liverpool and Manchester had cost £1,407,000. A ceremonial opening of the line took place on 19 February 1842 and the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway opened for passenger traffic on 21 February 1842, between its Glasgow station (sometimes referred to at first as Dundas Street, and later named Queen Street) and Edinburgh, where
5871-535: The hiatus period, and with the authorisation of the Edinburgh and Bathgate Railway , the WM&;CR enlisted E&GR financial help and set about extending from Longridge to Bathgate. The E&GR wished to exclude the Caledonian Railway from the area. The line opened to goods and mineral traffic early in 1850, and passenger traffic started in May 1850, after the takeover by the E&GR. The Stirling and Dunfermline Railway
5974-517: The key to unlocking the problem was some creativity, in which "the Barons of the Court of Exchequer in Scotland, are, out of the money arising from the sale of forfeited estates, directed to lend the Forth and Clyde Navigation Company the sum of £50,000, by which they were enabled to resume their labours, under the direction of Mr. Robert Whitworth, an engineer possessing a well earned reputation". The work
6077-445: The lengthened platforms and an expanded concourse. Following demolition of the surrounding Consort House buildings, the frontage of the original Victorian era train shed (the large curved glass roof of the station) was uncovered after more than 40 years. The shed is a Category A Listed Structure , and subsequently work on the station was undertaken with care to integrate the historic structure into its new surroundings. The work
6180-507: The line to a more central location. The North British Railway was building its main line from North Bridge station to Berwick-upon-Tweed , there to connect with the Newcastle and Berwick Railway (later to form the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway ). The E&GR extended their line eastwards from Haymarket to their own station at North Bridge immediately adjacent to the NBR station. The line opened for passenger traffic on 1 August 1846. The NBR had started operations on 22 June 1846. By then
6283-480: The line: the Garngaber Viaduct carried the line over Bothlin Burn and the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway ; Castlecary Viaduct consists of 8 arches and is 200 yards long. The Falkirk (or Callendar) tunnel is 845 yards long. Approaching Linlithgow the Avon Viaduct consists of 23 arches; Winchburgh tunnel is 372 yards in length; and the Almond Valley Viaduct has 36 arches; it cost £130,000 to build. The permanent way consisted of malleable iron rails on stone blocks;
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#17327974052976386-434: The main line between Edinburgh and Glasgow. It was electrified and improved under the auspices of the Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme . 8-car electric Class 385 trains started operating from Monday 29 July 2019 between Glasgow and Edinburgh via Falkirk High. The fastest trains are scheduled to take 42 minutes. The earliest railways in Scotland were waggonways, intended for horse drawn operation, in most cases from
6489-410: The majority of major canals the route through Grangemouth was drained and backfilled before 1967 to create a new carriageway for port traffic. The M8 motorway in the eastern approaches to Glasgow took over some of the alignment of the canal, but more recent ideas have regenerated the utility of the canal for leisure use. The eastern end of the canal is connected to the River Forth by a stretch of
6592-413: The new Class 385 trains. Platforms 8 and 9 comprise the Low Level station and it is the most central stop on the North Clyde Line of the Glasgow suburban electric network. Trains run frequently between Helensburgh on the Firth of Clyde , Balloch and suburban Milngavie to Airdrie , on the eastern edge of the Greater Glasgow conurbation and onward to Edinburgh via Bathgate and Livingston . The line
6695-418: The new Cowlairs signalling centre on 28 December 1998. This in turn was abolished in October 2013 and the station is now under the supervision of Edinburgh IECC (which will eventually become the Edinburgh Rail Operating Centre). The low level station had two signal boxes, 'Queen Street West' and 'Queen Street East'. Both boxes were over the tracks and closed on 8 February 1960. The low level lines came under
6798-402: The north-western suburbs; this eliminates the need for those travelling between Glasgow & Fort William and between Glasgow & London Euston on the sleeper to change there (alighting only southbound/boarding only northbound) - the only locomotive-hauled train to call here. The Low Level line between High Street, Queen Street and Charing Cross was built before the Glasgow Subway , making it
6901-457: The observance of the Sabbath was held as sacred by much of Scottish public opinion at the time. Edinburgh time was observed, 4.5 minutes later than Glasgow time. The intermediate stations were at Corstorphine (later Saughton), Gogar, Ratho, Winchburgh, Linlithgow, Polmont, Falkirk, Castlecary, Croy, Kirkintilloch (later Lenzie) and Bishopbriggs. There was a ticket platform at Cowlairs. The opening created phenomenal passenger demand, three times what
7004-436: The off-peak Monday to Friday service in trains per hour (tph) or trains per day (tpd) is: High-Level: Low-Level: The High Level station is the larger of the two levels; it is the terminus for the Edinburgh shuttles and all routes north of the Central Belt run by ScotRail . The high level railway approaches the station building through the Queen Street Tunnel, which runs beneath the Buchanan Galleries shopping centre to
7107-413: The oldest underground railway in the city. In May–June 2014, work was carried out to redevelop the Low Level platforms, which now have new compliant seating. Queen Street signal box , opened in 1881, was on a gantry spanning the tracks close to the tunnel mouth. It closed on 26 February 1967 when control of the high level station was transferred to a panel in Cowlairs signal box. That box was superseded by
7210-411: The original single platform under North Bridge was brought back into use. Stage coach operation on the route of the E&GR fought a brave but futile rearguard action, but the Union Canal and the Forth and Clyde Canal continued to trade in goods and especially mineral traffic, although they lost nearly all of their passenger business. In 1845 there was a frenzy of railway promotion in Scotland, and
7313-410: The other routes. There was a siding connection to the E&GR line. The E&GR and NBR joint station was formally inaugurated on 22 February 1848. The accommodation at the station was clearly cramped, largely due to the built up surroundings limiting available land. Extension was under way in subsequent years but in 1852 a financial crisis within the North British Railway called a halt to the work and
7416-550: The permanent joint passenger station came into use. The North British Railway referred to it simply as "Edinburgh" station, or "North Bridge", although it was also known as the General station. On the same day the Edinburgh Leith and Granton Railway (formerly the Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway ) opened its line from Scotland Street to Canal Street station, adjacent to the new Edinburgh station and at right angles to
7519-487: The power of its own engine. A boardwalk about 100 yards long laid in the four foot way prevented the dropped messenger with its chain getting into mischief in the few moments before the winding engine stopped. For the downward journey the procedure was simple. On arrival at Cowlairs the train engine would be detached and run round its carriages, after it had shunted on to the head end three or more special brake wagons. Tickets were meanwhile collected. The engine would then propel
7622-769: The railway companies, and control passed to the British Transport Commission . In 1962, the British Transport Commission was wound up, and control passed to the British Waterways Board ; subsequently Scottish Canals took control. In 1963 the canal was closed rather than construct a motorway crossing, and so it became disused and semi-derelict. Canal locks in the Falkirk area on the Union Canal near
7725-560: The rival Caledonian Railway closed on 7 November 1966 as a result of the Beeching cuts and its services to Stirling , Perth , Inverness , Dundee and Aberdeen transferred to Queen Street. This caused difficulties with longer trains, as Queen Street is in a confined position between George Square and the tunnel. Buchanan Street was demolished the following year in 1967. In the 1980s, HSTs were used on Cross Country and East Coast services run by InterCity , having to use Platform 7 with
7828-459: The route, forming an almost perfectly level route, apart from the climb out of the Glasgow terminal. The original intention was to descend gently into Glasgow, crossing over the Forth and Clyde Canal , but opposition from the canal company obliged the E&GR to be brought under it instead, resulting in a steep descent at 1 in 41 from Cowlairs mostly in tunnel. Cowlairs tunnel is 1000 yards (914 m) in length. There were other major structures on
7931-408: The royal assent on the 8 March 1768, and it is entitled, 'An Act for making and maintaining a navigable Canal from the Firth or River of Forth , at or near the mouth of the River Carron , in the county of Stirling , to the Firth or River of Clyde , at or near a place called Dalmuir Burnfoot, in the county of Dumbarton ; and also a collateral Cut from the same to the city of Glasgow; and for making
8034-756: The sluice; and that at Kilsyth is fifty acres [20 ha] in extent, with 24 feet [7.3 m] water at its head. Between 1789 and 1803 the canal was used for trials of William Symington 's steamboats , culminating in the Charlotte Dundas , the "first practical steamboat" built at the shipyard in Grangemouth by Alexander Hart. Passenger boats ran on the canal from 1783, and in 1809 fast boats were introduced, running from Edinburgh to Falkirk in 3 hours 30 minutes, providing such comforts as food, drink and newspapers. By 1812 they carried 44,000 passengers, taking receipts of more than £3,450. From 1828 there
8137-542: The station was at Haymarket, at the western edge of the New Town . It was Scotland's first trunk line. Goods traffic started in March 1842. There were four passenger trains each way daily; and there were ten intermediate stations and the journey took 150 minutes. Two passenger trains ran each way on Sundays, "timed at hours which would not interfere with the ordinary period of divine service". This provoked great controversy as
8240-617: The station's entrances and to provide escalators down to the lower-level platforms. More plans were unveiled in September 2011 by Network Rail, along with an announcement that the owner of the Buchanan Galleries shopping mall – Land Securities had been chosen as development partner for the station alongside Henderson Group . This saw the 1970s hotel extension (which until recently fronted the George Square entrance of
8343-490: The station) demolished and replaced by a glass atrium. The previous plans of developing the airspace rights above the North Hanover Street car park into an expanded retail and restaurant area will be carried forward – and will form part of the proposed extension to the Buchanan Galleries, which will gain direct access to the station concourse. In August 2017, work began on the £120 million redevelopment of
8446-475: The station, which at the time was expected to be completed by December 2019, but was pushed back until 2020 due to delays in receiving power to go forward with the work. Platforms 2 through 5 were subsequently extended in 2019 to accommodate longer trains introduced as part of the Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP). Demolition of surrounding buildings was completed in October 2018 to accommodate
8549-453: The telegraph clerk at Cowlairs, after telegraphing to Queen's Street that the train of empties had left, telegraphed "engine behind". The rear part of the train became derailed in the tunnel, and the train became divided; the front part continued and the telegraph clerk failed to satisfy himself that the whole train had arrived; later, At this time a passenger train from Helensburgh had been twice telegraphed from Cowlairs to Queen's Street, but
8652-456: The terminus of the Monkland Canal , was later achieved by the construction of 330 yards (300 m) of new canal and two locks, lowering the level of the canal to enable it to pass beneath existing structures. The project cost £5.6 million, and the first lock and intermediate basin were opened on 29 September 2006. The lock was named Speaker Martin's Lock, after Michael Martin MP, the speaker in
8755-524: The tracks and platforms in the station itself) to be replaced. Services were diverted over various routes during this period, with some trains running to/from the Low Level station and others to/from Glasgow Central station (via Cumbernauld, Coatbridge and Carmyle). In August 2006, Network Rail revealed that it intended to redevelop Queen Street substantially, making use of the Hanover Street car park area to provide more retail space, and to upgrade
8858-489: The train gently over the top of the incline, whence it trundled down into the city with all the brakes squealing. The coal railways of the Monkland district had been very successful early entrants in the field of conveying minerals to market, but as technological pioneers they were now at a disadvantage, with their primitive track and a track gauge that was now non-standard, preventing through running. They worked together in
8961-472: The tunnel at Glasgow Queen Street. Policeman were stationed to prevent the entrance of disorderly persons. The tunnel was whitewashed and gas lit, and the proceeds went to the Paisley Relief Fund and workmen injured on the railway. The Glasgow terminal was designed by James Carswell. The line was engineered as a main line, and substantial earthworks, viaducts and tunnels were incorporated into
9064-399: The tunnel to Cowlairs is at 1 in 42 and until 1909 trains were hauled up on a rope operated by a stationary engine , although experiments were carried out using banking engines in 1844–48. Three people died in 1928 when a train leaving the station rolled back into another train. Modern diesel and electric trains have no difficulty with the climb. The adjacent Buchanan Street station of
9167-403: The winding engine was started. As the cable began to pull, simultaneously the driver started his locomotive and the train, thus double powered, swept solemnly up to Cowlairs. South of the Cowlairs engine house, the gradient eased off and the locomotive, working hard, would gain on the slowing cable, so that the messenger automatically dropped off the inverted drawhook and left the train entirely to
9270-436: The work, which was shortly afterwards let to contractors, who however failed, and the canal was again placed under the direction of its original projector, who brought it to within six miles [10 km] of its proposed junction with the Clyde, when the work was stopped in 1775 for want of funds, and it continued at a stand for several years." Numerous supplementary acts of Parliament preceded this period, and more followed, but
9373-421: The years 1845 – 1846, Alexander Bain installed an electric telegraph system along the line; the cost to him was £50 per mile. The incline section was worked by stationary engine and cable haulage: an 80 hp (60 kW) high pressure steam engine was constructed at Cowlairs, and a continuous hemp rope was used to pull trains up the gradients. Special brake vehicles were attached to downwards trains to control
9476-417: Was a steamboat service, operated by Thomas Grahame's boat Cupid . The canal was designed by John Smeaton . Construction started in 1768 and after delays due to funding problems was completed in 1790. To mark the opening a hogshead of water taken from the Forth was emptied into the Clyde at Bowling to symbolise the union of the eastern and western seas. The geologist James Hutton became very involved in
9579-535: Was a ticket platform at Cowlairs . The line was extended eastwards from Haymarket to North Bridge in 1846, and a joint station for connection with the North British Railway was opened on what is now Edinburgh Waverley railway station in 1847. Patronage on the line quickly reached double the railway's initial estimates, and by 1850 58 locomotives and 216 coaches were needed to handle the traffic. Goods traffic started in March 1842 and slowly increased, overtaking passenger revenue by 1855. The line still runs today as
9682-462: Was authorised on 16 July 1846. As well as linking the named places, there were to be branches to Alloa and Tillicoultry. The line opened between Dunfermline and Alloa on 28 August 1850, and Alloa Harbour and Tillicoultry were connected on 3 June 1851. The section from Alloa to Stirling was completed on 1 July 1852. At Dunfermline, the line made an end-on connection with the Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee Railway, giving onward connection to Fife. The company
9785-461: Was completed on 28 July 1790. The Forth and Clyde Navigation Committee was set up in Glasgow in (or before) 1787 and had several notable members: John Riddel ( Lord Provost of Glasgow ); John Campbell of Clathick ; Patrick Colquhoun (Convenor and Superintendent); Robert Whitworth (engineer); Archibald Spiers ; John Cumine (as collector of fees at east end) and James Loudon (as collector of fees at west end). Priestley wrote in 1831, Besides
9888-458: Was difficult in operational terms, but in July the Caledonian accelerated its passenger trains and added new fast services, and cheap fares. The E&GR responded with fare reductions, and a desperate price war soon developed. It could not continue and in September fares were increased by mutual agreement. The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway opened its Shieldhill branch on 28 August 1847. This ran from
9991-528: Was expected, and by 1850 company needed 58 locomotives and 216 coaches to handle the traffic. The quantity of passenger business on the line considerably exceeded the estimates, reaching almost double the daily volume; third class travel was especially buoyant, although in the first years third class passengers did not have seating accommodation, and even second class carriages did not have glazed windows. Goods traffic started in March 1842 and slowly increased, overtaking passenger traffic in revenue terms by 1855. In
10094-412: Was officially completed on 4 October 2021. This also marks the end of EGIP. In September 2024, the expansion project won an industry award, with judges praising the "station's striking design and the recent integration of the high and low-level stations". In May 2021, a planning proposal was submitted to add a new plaza and mezzanine on the North Hanover Street side of the station. As of January 2023 ,
10197-483: Was so strong that the proposal failed. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway had opened in 1830, and was more successful than its promoters expected, showing that an intercity railway could be commercially successful. The pressure to connect the two great cities of central Scotland continued, and in the second half of the 1830s money became freely available, and investors, chiefly in England (many of them shareholders in
10300-423: Was that the lease charge payments only became due later, and were annual percentages: no large front-end payment was necessary. The Caledonian would soon have its own line, albeit somewhat longer than the E&GR, between Glasgow and Edinburgh, and its predatory behaviour led to alarm in the E&GR board room that further Caledonian acquisitions and leases would result in serious harm to the E&GR. Accordingly,
10403-714: Was used instead. The endless rope for the incline was driven by two beam engines at Cowlairs, of the high pressure type, made by Kerr, Neilson and Company of Glasgow. They had 28 inch cylinders, and 72 inch stroke. The crankshaft had a spur wheel of 12 feet diameter, which drove the cable drum through gearing. The main cable drum was 18 feet in diameter, mounted in a pit under the track. The beam engines were supplied with steam at 50 psi by 8 boilers, each 30 feet long and 5 feet diameter. The boilers were replaced in 1862 – 1863 by seven Cornish boilers. The cable haulage continued in operation until 31 January 1908, when banking engines took over. The stationary engines at Cowlairs were scrapped
10506-485: Was vested in the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway by Act of 28 June 1858. When the Caledonian Railway opened its line throughout in 1848, it had a connection to Greenhill, joining the E&GR and the Scottish Central Railway there. The SCR gave access to Stirling and Perth and was an important connecting route. Moreover, the Caledonian and the SCR concluded a working arrangement which they expected to lead to formal merger. The E&GR needed to ensure that it got access to
10609-540: Was £450,000, and branches were authorised to Carron Ironworks and to Falkirk Ironworks. Glasgow Queen Street railway station Glasgow Queen Street ( Scottish Gaelic : Sràid na Banrighinn ) is a passenger railway terminus serving the city centre of Glasgow , Scotland. It is the smaller of the city's two mainline railway terminals (the larger being Glasgow Central ) and is the third-busiest station in Scotland behind Central and Edinburgh Waverley (as of March 2023 ). It connects Glasgow with Edinburgh via
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