Glasgow and Renfrew District Railway

Introduction

This railway is partly open between Shieldhall Junction and the Deanside Transit depot. The branch has not seen traffic for several years.




Dates

29/01/1897Glasgow and Renfrew District Railway
Glasgow and Renfrew District Railway authorised. The line is to run from by Cardonald Junction to Renfrew Porterfield. Branches to Lobnitz Shipyard (London Works), Simon's Shipyard (Engineering and Shipbuilding Works), Renfrew Dock (Renfrew Harbour), Shieldhall (rebuilding and reopening).
  /  /1900Glasgow and Renfrew District Railway
Permission to extend time for land buying.
  /  /1901Glasgow and Renfrew District Railway
Caledonian Railway
Glasgow and South Western Railway
Glasgow and Renfrew District Railway absorbed by Caledonian Railway and Glasgow and South Western Railway.
31/10/1902Glasgow and Renfrew District Railway
Opened to goods and minerals.
01/06/1903Glasgow and Renfrew District Railway
Opened to passengers. Stations at; Deanside, Renfrew Kings Inch, Renfrew Porterfield.
02/01/1905Glasgow and Renfrew District Railway
Deanside closed to passengers.
  /  /1911Clyde Navigation Trust
Purchase of Renfrew Tidal Dock and Renfrew Graving Dock. Access for the Glasgow and Renfrew District Railway.
19/07/1926Glasgow and Renfrew District Railway
Renfrew Porterfield to Cardonald Junction closed to passengers
  /  /1931Clyde Navigation Trust
Glasgow and Renfrew District Railway
Opening of the King George V Dock. The dock quaysides were served by lines of the Glasgow and Renfrew District Railway and Shieldhall Yard laid out from Cardonald North Junction.
06/07/1964Glasgow and Renfrew District Railway
Renfrew South No 2 (South Renfrew) to Renfrew Kings Inch closed to freight.
04/04/1987Glasgow and Renfrew District Railway
King George V Dock to Cardonald North Junction (excluded) closed.

Portions of line and locations

This line is divided into a number of portions.


Cardonald to Renfrew

The main line carrying passengers, minerals and goods between Cardonald and Renfrew following a course close the the Clyde. At Renfrew the line turned south to serve the industry developing in the area to the south of Renfrew, following the River Cart a little inland. At Renfrew south there was a connection to the existing Paisley and Renfrew Railway at Renfrew south station, alongside the Renfrew Porterfield terminus.

This was a three way junction approached from Cardonald Junction to the south.
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More details

See also
Shieldhall Branch (Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway)


This was an island platform station with a station building with canopies on all sides. Access was from the north end by a flight of stairs from a road overbridge carrying Old Govan Road / Old Renfrew Road.
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The site of Deanside station, relegated to being the run round loop for Deanside Transit, looking to Cardonald. The buffer was just out of view. Much ...
Ewan Crawford //1988
The Deanside loop running alongside the M8 at Braehead in July 2009. ...
Colin Miller /07/2009
Once the entrance to Deanside station, the gates that formerly gave access to the steps down to the island platform from alongside the A8 are now ...
Colin Miller 05/07/2009
Standard class 4 2-6-0 No 76114 of Corkerhill shed leaving Braehead power station sidings and approaching Deanside with coal empties in 1966. Taken ...
Colin Miller //1966
4 of 7 images. more




This was an island platform station with a goods yard on the west side, approached from a loop on the west side of the station. Access to the station was by a subway at the north end (the station was to the south of Station Road). The station building was canopied. The King's Inch, for which the station is named, was to the north.
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At Kings Inch. CR type 4.6.0 54634. The Stephenson Locomotive Society Renfrew District Tour. ...
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 03/05/1952
1 of 1 images.


This signal box was in Renfrew, controlling access to a looped headshunt for a short line north, on a tight curve, to Lobnitz's Engineering and Shipbuilding Works and Simons' London Works. The headshunt was approached from the Glasgow direction (the east) and on the north side of the line. The signal box was located in the 'V' between the main line and the branch curving north. The box was ...

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This was a two platform terminus directly across Porterfield Road from Renfrew South, on the north side of the road. The terminus was built within the considerable Babcock and Wilcox Works to the south of Renfrew on the east bank of the White Cart Water.
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View north at what was Renfrew Porterfield in 1998. The platform was to the left and through lines of the original Paisley and Renfrew Railway to the ...
Ewan Crawford //1998
C.R. 0.6.0 57300 working Porterfield station - Renfrew (South) in background. ...
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 08/05/1953
Passing Renfrew (Porterfield) station. Class 2 4.4.0 40636 on up passenger. ...
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 08/05/1953
3 of 3 images.





King George V Dock Branch

This was a three way junction approached from Cardonald Junction to the south.
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More details

See also
Shieldhall Branch (Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway)


View looking south over Shieldhall Yard. ...
Ewan Crawford //
Shieldhall Yard was lifted in April/May of 1987. A very short section was left behind, seen here. The view looks to the King George V Dock approach ...
Ewan Crawford 19/05/1987
2 of 2 images.


This dock is on the south bank of the River Clyde. Although it has lost its railway connection via Shieldhall Yard, it remains open.
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Blue Funnel and Clan Line vessels in the King George V Dock in the summer of 1964. Ships of both of these lines were regularly seen in the Clyde at ...
Brian Haslehust /07/1964
Rails by the Quayside at the King George V Dock. ...
Ewan Crawford //1987
Looking to the King George V Dock at the point where the rails fanned out. This photograph was taken to compare with an older shot of mine, 22 years ...
Ewan Crawford 26/09/2009
The King George the 5th Dock was served by a branch of the Glasgow and Renfrew District Railway with a marshalling yard at Shieldhall. The yard and ...
Ewan Crawford 20/05/1987
4 of 7 images. more


A passenger station was developed at the King George V Dock during the Second World War. ...

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Renfrew Harbour Branch

This was an island platform station with a station building with canopies on all sides. Access was from the north end by a flight of stairs from a road overbridge carrying Old Govan Road / Old Renfrew Road.
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The site of Deanside station, relegated to being the run round loop for Deanside Transit, looking to Cardonald. The buffer was just out of view. Much ...
Ewan Crawford //1988
The Deanside loop running alongside the M8 at Braehead in July 2009. ...
Colin Miller /07/2009
Once the entrance to Deanside station, the gates that formerly gave access to the steps down to the island platform from alongside the A8 are now ...
Colin Miller 05/07/2009
Standard class 4 2-6-0 No 76114 of Corkerhill shed leaving Braehead power station sidings and approaching Deanside with coal empties in 1966. Taken ...
Colin Miller //1966
4 of 7 images. more






This was a coal fired power station, later converted to burn oil. It was on the north side of King's Inch Road and served from the east by sidings from the Clyde Navigation Trust's Renfrew Harbour siding of the Glasgow and Renfrew District Railway. Trains entering the power station crossed the road on the level.
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The closed Braehead Power Station in 1998, viewed from the south where a line entered the site via a level crossing over King's Inch Road. ...
Ewan Crawford //1998
A Barclay 0-4-0ST stands out of use in the gathering dusk at Braehead power station in November 1970. This large coal-fired power station, built after ...
Colin Miller /11/1970
2 of 2 images.




The 'Balmoral' in 1988 berthed in The Pudzeoch - the basin on the Clyde but the end of an aborted canal project. There is one of the displaced Chain ...
Colin Miller //1988
1 of 1 images.





Deanside Transit

This single lead junction is just west of Cardonald station. Its most recent purpose was to reach Deanside Transit.
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See also
Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway
Shieldhall Branch (Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway)
Standard 2-6-0 76071 leaving Cardonald with the 16.54 Glasgow Central to Gourock, seen from an eastbound service heading for Glasgow St Enoch in July ...
Robin McGregor 01/07/1965
'Jumbo' 57360 comes off the Shieldhall branch at Cardonald Junction with an eastbound freight in the summer of 1959.
See
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 09/06/1959
K2 Mogul 61772 Loch Lochy passing Cardonald Junction on 9 June 1959 with a westbound freight. (The plate on the left lamp bracket reads N279) ...
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 09/06/1959
View east at Cardonald Junction showing the cross-over from the centre track to the eastbound track for access to the Deanside Branch. ...
Ewan Crawford 27/11/2011
4 of 8 images. more


This is a rail served transit depot near the M8, King George V dock, and Braehead shopping centre in Glasgow, just west of Cardonald and north of Hillington East. It is owned by Russell Logistics. The depot was noted for its four 08 shunters in Russell livery (initially light blue, later lilac).
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08730, on hire from BR, at Deanside Transit in 1987. The locomotive bears the attractive leaping salmon logo of Motherwell Shed. In 2022 this shunter ...
Ewan Crawford 20/05/1987
Deanside Transit viewed from the north/west in 1988 with a 37 and two 08s shunting. [Access, and jacket, arranged by kind permission of Deanside ...
Ewan Crawford //1988
A privately owned 08 at Deanside Transit. Shieldhall yard and M8 to right. Access by kind permission of Deanside Transit. ...
Ewan Crawford //1987
Privately owned 08 at Deanside Transit. Access by kind permission of Deanside Transit. ...
Ewan Crawford //1987
4 of 5 images. more


This was an island platform station with a station building with canopies on all sides. Access was from the north end by a flight of stairs from a road overbridge carrying Old Govan Road / Old Renfrew Road.
...

More details
The site of Deanside station, relegated to being the run round loop for Deanside Transit, looking to Cardonald. The buffer was just out of view. Much ...
Ewan Crawford //1988
The Deanside loop running alongside the M8 at Braehead in July 2009. ...
Colin Miller /07/2009
Once the entrance to Deanside station, the gates that formerly gave access to the steps down to the island platform from alongside the A8 are now ...
Colin Miller 05/07/2009
Standard class 4 2-6-0 No 76114 of Corkerhill shed leaving Braehead power station sidings and approaching Deanside with coal empties in 1966. Taken ...
Colin Miller //1966
4 of 7 images. more





Shieldhall Branch

A re-invigorating of this existing branch with a new goods yard and connection to the Linthouse Shipyard and, at the north end, a connection west to the King George V Dock lines.

This former goods yard site is on the west side of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. With little difficulty the branch could be re-opened as a passenger line from Cardonald Junction to serve the hospital. The trackbed is intact including the M8 closing the trackbed by bridge.
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More details

See also
Shieldhall Branch (Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway)
Under all the undergrowth the Shieldhall Goods Branch was still in place in 1987. This branch served several goods yards and the Alexander Stephens ...
Ewan Crawford 19/05/1987
1 of 1 images.


This was the shipyard of Alexander Stephens and Sons, opening in 1870 when the company relocated from the Kelvinhaugh Slipdock and yards on the east coast to Govan. It was west of the Fairfield Shipyard. The berths were on the south bank of the River Clyde and faced downriver. Opposite were those of the Clydeholm Shipbuilding Yard on the north bank. Unlike the neighbouring ...

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See also
Shieldhall Branch (Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway)