Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway

Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway

Photograph of train on the opening of the Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway in 1831, while passing the St Rollox Chemical Works
Overview
Dates of operation	1831–1844
Successor	Caledonian Railway
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Previous gauge	4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm)

The Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway was an early railway built primarily to carry coal to Glasgow and other markets from the Monkland coalfields, shortening the journey and bypassing the monopolistic charges of the Monkland Canal; passenger traffic also developed early in the line's existence.

It opened officially on 27 September 1831 using horse traction, and had the track gauge of 4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm) that had been adopted by the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway, with which it was to connect.

It was dependent on the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway for access to the best areas of the coalfields, but eventually it by-passed this constraint by extending its line southwards through Coatbridge, enabling a direct link with another coal railway, the Wishaw and Coltness Railway. Widening its horizons it changed its name to the Glasgow, Garnkirk and Coatbridge Railway.

The track gauge originally chosen was now a limitation and it altered its gauge to the standard of 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm). When the Caledonian Railway advanced on Glasgow, the Glasgow, Garnkirk and Coatbridge provided a ready-made access route, and the Caledonian company purchased the Garnkirk line.

Most of its original route remains open today.