Paisley and Barrhead District Railway

Introduction

This line is closed. The line was equiped with passenger stations which were never opened. The line was only opened for freight. The junctions at Arkleston were prepared but the connections never laid in. Track ran from Paisley East to the southern Arkleston junction and stopped just after the junction.

The system was accessed, latterly, from St James Junction, just west of Paisley St James station, which had a large goods yard. The small shed there may have opened in connection with it.

Why built

This line was built for several purposes. It was to provide a Caledonian Railway owned route to Greenlaw Goods, a wholly Caledonian Railway owned route from Lanarkshire to Greenock and to provide a passenger route between Paisley and Barrhead serving the area between. The Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway was jointly owned with the Glasgow and South Western Railway, used to reach both Greenlaw Goods and Greenock. A goods depot in Paisley was to be established.






Dates

  /  /1865Paisley and Barrhead District Railway
Caledonian Railway's Barrhead and Paisley Branch authorised (not built).
  /  /1868Paisley and Barrhead District Railway
Caledonian Railway's Barrhead and Paisley Branch, Act abandoned.
  /  /1897Paisley and Barrhead District Railway
Paisley and Barrhead District Railway authorised. Working agreement with the Caledonian Railway, who are authorised to subscribe.
  /  /1899Paisley and Barrhead District Railway
Deviations authorised. Branch to Paisley Gas Works authorised (not built).
  /  /1901Paisley and Barrhead District Railway
Extension of time to build line.
01/08/1902Paisley and Barrhead District RailwayCaledonian Railway
Paisley and Barrhead District Railway absorbed by Caledonian Railway.
  /  /1904Paisley and Barrhead District Railway
Extension of time to complete works until 1907. Authorisation to buy land for the Chain Road Goods and Meikleriggs Goods branch. Agreement made with J & P Coats (the Ferguslie Thread Works was to the north).
01/06/1905Paisley and Barrhead District Railway
Line opened to goods and minerals (but not passengers).
  /  /1907Paisley and Barrhead District Railway
Seedhill Depot (Lacy Street Depot) protective clauses for Paisley Corporation.
30/06/1958Paisley and Barrhead District Railway
Blackbyres Junction [CR] (excluded) to Lacy Street Depot (near Paisley East) closed.
  /05/1981Paisley and Barrhead District Railway
St James Junction to Linwood Car Plant closed to freight (track remains until 1987). Alternative date 21/10/1984.

Portions of line and locations

This line is divided into a number of portions.


Walkinshaw to Lyoncross

This provided a link between the Caledonian Railway's Greenock line and the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway. The line was, after severance at Lyoncross Junction, operated from Paisley St James as this best served the goods depots. Walkinshaw to Barrhead (Blackbyres Junction [CR]) was single track and south to Lyoncross Junction was originally double track.

This was the northern of a triangle of lines at Walkinshaw. The junction allowed a train from the Barrhead direction to join the Greenock line. The Caledonian Railway's plan was to create a route fully owned by the CR between Greenock and Glasgow via Barrhead and Cathcart via the Paisley and Barrhead District Railway. It was redundant after the grouping of 1923 which brought the CR and ...

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See also
Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway
A train of flats approaching the site of Walkinshaw Branch Junction from the north west on Saturday 16 May 1964. The locomotive in charge is BR ...
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 16/05/1964
A Gourock - Glasgow service eastbound approaching Walkinshaw Branch Junction on 27 August 1963. Locomotive in charge is Fairburn 2-6-4 tank no 42695. ...
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 27/08/1963
A Gourock - Glasgow Central train approaching the site of Walkinshaw Branch Junction on 16 May 1964 behind Fairburn 2-6-4T no 42265. ...
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 16/05/1964
BR Standard class 5 4-6-0 no 73075 photographed half a mile west of Paisley St James with the 9.30am Glasgow - Gourock on 16 May 1964. The train is ...
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 16/05/1964
4 of 4 images.


There was a triangle of lines at Walkinshaw. At this junction the line from St James Junction met the line from Walkinshaw Branch Junction. The junction opened in 1905.
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Looking to the closed Linwood Car Plant near Walkinshaw South Junction. ...
Ewan Crawford //1988
1 of 1 images.




View south, in 1988, of the junction where the sidings for Pressed Steel left the Paisley and Barrhead District Railway. A loop was retained on the ...
Ewan Crawford //1988
1 of 1 images.




This island platform station was completed but never opened. The line was completed in 1905 and opened to goods only. A station building was built and there was a signal box to the south of it on the platform. An entry subway was built at the north end leading to Main Road/Beith Road.
...

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Ferguslie on the P&BDR looking North ...
John Robin 04/08/1963
Looking South from the location of Ferguslie station where the PBDR ran under the Paisley Canal Line. All traces of the railway here are now gone, now ...
Graham Morgan 12/04/2007
Passing under main line. C.R. 0.6.0 57268 on Paisley-Barrhead-District goods at Ferguslie. [RAILSCOT Note: view looks north]. ...
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow //
HR 103 at Ferguslie station during its tour of Renfrewshire as part of Easter Rambler No 4 on 17 April 1965. Plenty of colour here with the orange ...
Colin Kirkwood 17/04/1965
4 of 10 images. more


This island platform station never opened.
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Track feature ID plates. 3A is from the Gleniffer / Stanely Road bridge. ...
Alistair MacKenzie //
Former Stanely station by Stanely reservoir. ...
Ewan Crawford //
2 of 2 images.


This was an island platform station which never opened. There was a goods yard on the south side of the line approached by reversal from the westbound track. The line was single track on approach to the station from either direction. The west end of the station was crossed by a bridge and access to the platform was by stairs. There was a station building. The goods yard was opposite the GSW ...

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The never used Glenfield station looking east to Blackbyres Junction. ...
Ewan Crawford //1987
CR Jumbo 0.6.0 57238 calls at Glenfield during the September 1949 trip from St James to Paisley East via Barrhead. ...
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 24/09/1949
2 of 2 images.


This was a double track junction immediately to the west of Blackbyres Junction [G and SW].
...

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This road bridge (Caplethill Road) is half way between Blackbyres Junction (Caledonian) and the never opened Glenfield station. The view, in 1998, is ...
Ewan Crawford //1998
1 of 1 images.


This station was never opened. There were two platforms on a raised line complete with platform buildings with canopies. The station at street level bore some resemblance to Dumbarton Central street level buildings.
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Looking east at the site of Barrhead New station, which never opened. The line was on a high embankment here. At this location, the west end of the ...
Ewan Crawford //1998
1 of 1 images.


This was a 30 arch double track viaduct with a girder bridge crossing roads at either end - Kelburn Street at the west end on the approach to Barrhead South and Arthurlie Street at the east end on the approach to Barrhead New.
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Just north of the site of Barrhead South viewed from the south. ...
Ewan Crawford //
Part of the surviving section of the viaduct that once carried the Paisley and Barrhead District Railway through Barrhead. View south on 4 April 2012. ...
John Yellowlees 04/04/2012
Looking south west along the A736 at Barrhead in the summer of 2006. In the background is the remaining section of the viaduct that once carried the ...
John Furnevel 17/08/2006
3 of 3 images.


This two platform station was completed but never opened. The double track line was completed in 1905 and opened to goods only. Station buildings were never provided. However the station did open to goods traffic.
...

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View from Barrhead South in August 1963 along the P&BDR viaduct running through Barrhead see image 10663. ...
John Robin 04/08/1963
Trip from St James to Paisley East via Barrhead. Barrhead South. CR Jumbo 0.6.0 57238 driver D. Fay. ...
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 24/09/1949
SLS tour at Barrhead South. CR 0.6.0 57266. ...
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 01/09/1951
3 of 3 images.


This is a disused concrete six arch double track viaduct. The viaduct crosses the minor Aurs Burn which runs in a deep defile. It is located in the south of Barrhead. The approximate length is 350 ft.
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Not easy to photograph in the summer! Other than the short length of viaduct in Barrhead itself, the Aurs Burn Viaduct is probably the most ...
Ewan Crawford 28/09/2017
1 of 1 images.


This junction was immediately west of the never completed Lyoncross station. The signal box was at the west end of its never built island platform and opened with the junction in 1905.
...

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See also
Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway
A £2.9m project to replace a bridge on a key walking route over the Neilston railway line has taken a big step forward after the replacement ...
Network Rail /08/2023
Bridge replacement at Balgray on the Neilston line. ...
Network Rail /08/2023
A 314 passes the site of Lyoncross Junction. The Barrhead and Paisley route was in the trees behind the train. ...
Ewan Crawford 14/09/2017
A Sunday and Monday line closure will be trialled for the first time on Scotland's Railway as preparatory bridge works get underway on the Neilston ...
Network Rail /08/2023
4 of 8 images. more





Barrhead to Paisley

This was intended to provide a link to Greenlaw Goods in the east of Paisley and the shortest connection for passengers between Paisley and Barrhead. The line was double track.

This was a double track junction immediately to the west of Blackbyres Junction [G and SW].
...

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This road bridge (Caplethill Road) is half way between Blackbyres Junction (Caledonian) and the never opened Glenfield station. The view, in 1998, is ...
Ewan Crawford //1998
1 of 1 images.


The Laundry in the north part of Dykebar Hospital was rail served by a short branch. This connected to the Paisley East to Blackbyres Junction [CR] at a south facing junction. ...

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This island platform station never opened. There was a station building and a signal box immediately to the south of the building on the island platform. There were no goods facilities. To the north and south the line was double track. The southbound line was lifted first.
...

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Looking east, the path runs along the approximate line of the trackbed of the Pasiely & Barrhead district railway at the location of Dykebar station. ...
Graham Morgan 05/04/2008
Remains of the Hawkhead Road railway bridge just to the west of Dykebar station in Paisley ...
Graham Morgan 05/04/2008
The derelict Dykebar station on the line from Paisley East to Barrhead, photographed in 1964 from the west in Hawkhead Road. The stations on the ...
Colin Miller //1964
3 of 3 images.




Also known as Paisley East Goods and Seedhill Depot. This goods depot was on the west side of the large stone built embankment of Paisley East station. Unlike the station, the goods yard opened. The yard was approached from a loop off the northbound line, this loop being south of the station. Running round was a little inconvenient as with the connection being onto the loop track. The goods ...

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Scene at Paisley East goods (the Lacy Street Depot) on 24 September 1949. CR Jumbo 0.6.0 57238 had arrived with the trip from St James via Barrhead. ...
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 24/09/1949
1 of 1 images.


This two platform station was built but never opened. The railway opened to goods in 1906. Nearby was the Lacy Street Depot, the goods yard for the station.
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Remnants of the Paisley & Barrhead District Railway photographed in the Summer of 2004. The northern abutment of the bridge that carried the line over ...
Colin Miller //2004
Excuse me, does my abutment look big in this? The remains of the former P&BDR bridge on the south side of Barshaw Drive, Paisley, now forming ...
Colin Miller //2004
The 'squinty house' in Seedhill Road, to the west of Hawkhead station. The view shows its peculiarly-angled gable, which came about as a result of the ...
Colin Miller 02/08/2010
The office/shop once used by coal merchant John Lyon in Glasgow Road, Paisley, (just round the corner from the former Paisley East ...
Colin Miller 25/12/2008
4 of 4 images.


The name of this junction is assumed - it was never laid in.
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Walkinshaw to Paisley St James

This curve was intended to allow a passenger service from Paisley to Barrhead via Glenfield

There was a triangle of lines at Walkinshaw. At this junction the line from St James Junction met the line from Walkinshaw Branch Junction. The junction opened in 1905.
...

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Looking to the closed Linwood Car Plant near Walkinshaw South Junction. ...
Ewan Crawford //1988
1 of 1 images.


This junction for the [1902 [Paisley and Barrhead District Railway]] was just west of Paisley St James station on the 1841 Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway. In its final days the branch was a single track serving the former Pressed Steel Co Ltd works.
...

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See also
Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway
Looking west at the former junction to the west of Paisley St James station. The branch still existed to Linwood but the junction itself had been ...
Ewan Crawford //
CR 0.6.0 57360 on branch at Paisley St James. ...
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 10/04/1953
2 of 2 images.





Meikleriggs Goods Branch

This branch left the line at Ferguslie.

This island platform station was completed but never opened. The line was completed in 1905 and opened to goods only. A station building was built and there was a signal box to the south of it on the platform. An entry subway was built at the north end leading to Main Road/Beith Road.
...

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Ferguslie on the P&BDR looking North ...
John Robin 04/08/1963
Looking South from the location of Ferguslie station where the PBDR ran under the Paisley Canal Line. All traces of the railway here are now gone, now ...
Graham Morgan 12/04/2007
Passing under main line. C.R. 0.6.0 57268 on Paisley-Barrhead-District goods at Ferguslie. [RAILSCOT Note: view looks north]. ...
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow //
HR 103 at Ferguslie station during its tour of Renfrewshire as part of Easter Rambler No 4 on 17 April 1965. Plenty of colour here with the orange ...
Colin Kirkwood 17/04/1965
4 of 10 images. more




This was the goods yard for the never opened Ferguslie station. The goods yard was south of the station and reached by reversal from the Meikleriggs Goods branch. To the north was the branch to Ferguslie Clay Works, also served by reversal from the goods branch.
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English Electric Bo-Bo Type 1 No D8086 on a short freight at Chain Road Goods, just south of Ferguslie station, on 26 March 1964. This loco and D8085 ...
Colin Kirkwood 26/03/1964
1 of 1 images.




This goods and mineral yard was at the east end of the short Meikleriggs branch from the south end of the never opened Ferguslie station. The branch also served the Burnbank Chemical Works. The goods yard competed with the Glasgow and South Western Railway owned Ferguslie Goods to the north. Both served the area and the Ferguslie Thread Works, Ferguslie Dye Works and other ...

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