Bridge of Weir Railway

Introduction

This railway is closed. The course of the line is now a cycle-track. The line stretched from Elderslie to Bridge of Weir. It became part of the Glasgow and South Western Railway's main line from Glasgow to Greenock. It was originally meant to reach Port Glasgow, but this was not allowed by Parliament. However this later happened with the opening of the Greenock and Ayrshire Railway.






Dates

  /  /1862Bridge of Weir Railway
Act receives Royal assent.
20/06/1864Bridge of Weir Railway
Opened from Cart Junction, Elderslie, to Bridge of Weir [1st].
  /  /1865Bridge of Weir RailwayGlasgow and South Western Railway
Bridge of Weir Railway absorbed by Glasgow and South Western Railway.
01/07/1885Paisley Canal Line (Glasgow and South Western Railway)
Opened from Port Eglinton Junction to Elderslie Junction. The line uses much of the former route of the Glasgow, Paisley and Ardrossan Canal, the line runs skew across a former aqueduct bridge at Paisley Hawkhead. The canal route under the main line at Elderslie was used for a link to the Bridge of Weir Railway so that Greenock Princes Pier [1st] bound trains did not have to cross the track used by Ayr to Glasgow trains. The former Port Eglinton Basin becomes the Port Eglinton Goods depot.
  /09/2000Bridge of Weir Railway
Sustrans plans to sell the site of Bridge of Weir station for housing development for £500K (purchase price £1). The housing would block the trackbed preventing re-opening.

Locations along the line

These locations are along the line.

66182 at Elderslie en route to Hunterston with empty coal wagons on 16th September ...
Graham Morgan 16/09/2009
66605 with a train of empty coal hoppers from Leeds bound for Hunterston on 16th July ...
Graham Morgan 16/07/2008
2nd January 1965, and Kingmoor's Black 5 44692 is making good progress up the 1 in 80 from Cart Junction towards Elderslie, where it is signalled to ...
Colin Kirkwood 02/01/1965
334030 just to the west of the Elderslie loop and WH Malcolm depot with a service for Ayr on 20th May ...
Graham Morgan 20/05/2008
4 of 12 images. more


This was a large junction of which little remains today, the trackbed being a footpath. The junction was on the south bank of the Black Cart Viaduct.
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See also
Greenock and Ayrshire Railway
Kilbarchan Loop (Glasgow and South Western Railway)
North Johnstone Branch (Glasgow and South Western Railway)
A St Enoch - Princes Pier train shortly after passing through Cart Junction on 22 April 1954 (signal box just visible in background). Locomotive in ...
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 22/04/1954
Looking east towards Elderslie West Junction on 14th May. This is the remains of embankment that ran down the hill from Elderslie West Junction to ...
Graham Morgan 14/05/2008
In 1975 a DMU from Kilmacolm crosses the Black Cart to arrive at the site of the former Cart Junction. The truck stands on the course of the former ...
Bill Roberton //1975
Looking east towards Elderslie West Junction on 14th May. This is the remains of embankment that ran down the hill from Elderslie West Junction to ...
Graham Morgan 14/05/2008
4 of 24 images. more




This junction was north west of Cart Junction and the Linwood Branch (Glasgow and South Western Railway). It gave access to the Clippens Branch (Glasgow and South Western Railway).
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See also
Clippens Branch (Glasgow and South Western Railway)


This was a two platform station. The station went through a remarkable number of different names, an indication that while open it wasn't close to any particular town or village. The station was by Windyhill Farm (its first name), Crosslee was around a mile and a half to the north (the second name), and Houston was about two miles north (the third name). The fourth name name was a compromise!
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Looking West, this shows Platform 2 and the station house at Houston and Crosslee station, which is now a private dwelling. ...
Graham Morgan 12/07/2006
Looking East, this shows the site of Houston and Crosslee Station. Platform 2 is still in place, as is the station house which is now a private ...
Graham Morgan 12/07/2006
View looking to Greenock at Houston and Crosslee station in March 2007. The obliterated platform to the right was the last one in use. ...
Ewan Crawford 29/03/2007
View of the restored station house at Houston and Crosslee in 2007. Bet maintaining that fence is an ongoing battle. ...
Ewan Crawford 29/03/2007
4 of 6 images. more


This attractively decorated bridge, near Brookfield, is on the former Bridge of Weir Railway. There is a fine surface for cycling on this path. View ...
Ken Strachan 15/07/2014
1 of 1 images.




Looking West towards Bridge of Weir, this shows Locher Viaduct. The viaduct was built to carry a single line, but when the line was doubled another ...
Graham Morgan 12/07/2006
Looking West towards Bridge of Weir, this shows Locher Viaduct. The viaduct was built to carry a single line, but when the line was doubled another ...
Graham Morgan 12/07/2006
2 of 2 images.


This was the terminus of the Bridge of Weir Railway, opened to the south east of Bridge of Weir and south of the River Gryfe.
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Reconstruction of timber post with cast metal numerals screw fixed to same, legend 1/2 of black on white post. Located approx 1/2 mile SE of Bridge of ...
Alistair MacKenzie 24/1/1980
Old semaphore period telegraph pole still in place next to the trackbed just east of Bridge Of Weir ...
Graham Morgan 30/08/2007
Old semaphore period telegraph pole just to the east of Bridge Of Weir station ...
Graham Morgan 30/08/2007
Bridge of Weir Goods shed still in use as a coal depot. The former station site was behind the camera and the goods sidings ran off to the right to ...
Ewan Crawford 29/03/2007
4 of 7 images. more