Glasgow St Enoch

Location type

Station

Name and dates

Glasgow St Enoch (1876-1966)

Opened on the City of Glasgow Union Railway.

Description

This was a large terminus with 12 platforms in Glasgow. The main entrance was from St Enoch Square in the city centre.

It was originally built for the cross city City of Glasgow Union Railway but became the main terminus, and headquarters, of the Glasgow and South Western Railway. The station was covered by two large glazed trainsheds, the northern of which was the original covering platforms 1-6. The eastern portion of these platforms constituted the site of the temporary terminus, Dunlop Street (1870-1876).

To build the station required demolition of existing buildings, including the Theatre Royal.

As designed, platforms 1 to 3 were for departures and 4 to 6 for arrivals. Platforms were numbered 1 to 6 from the south (this was reversed with the station's extension).

The original station (1876) consisted of the northern 6 platforms and original northern trainshed. This curved shed was 204 ft long and 83 ft high. It was designed by John Fowler and James F Blair. Unlike the similar trainshed at London's St Pancras this shed was without ties at its base.

Platforms 1 and 2, the northernmost platforms, were separated by three tracks, the middle being a locomotive release line or carriage siding, and were approached both from Clyde Junction [CGU] to the south and Saltmarket Junction to the east (lines met at Stockwell Junction at the east end of the platforms). The platforms extended from under the trainshed out to above Stockwell Street.

Platforms 3 and 4 were separated by three tracks and led to Clyde Junction [CGU]. The centre line was a locomotive release line or carriage siding. These platforms extended out from the trainshed to above Stockwell Street.

Platforms 5 and 6 were separated by two tracks and led to Clyde Junction [CGU]. Following the extension of the station to the south platform six had a canopy which also served the new platforms to the south.

The station had several signal boxes over time. A box first opened in 1876, with the station. The box was replaced in 1882 (when the chord to Saltmarket Junction opened). It was located closed to platforms 1 and 2, in the 'V' of the junction between the curve to Clyde Junction [CGU] and curve to Saltmarket Junction.

Platforms 7 to 12 were the extension to the south built in 1898-1902. These were covered at their western end by a smaller trainshed 140 ft long and 80 ft high, designed by William Melville. Canopies continued out onto these platforms. This extension dated from the quadrupling of the line south to Gorbals Junction and west to meet the two Paisley lines. It was part of a quadrupling which effectively extended from Glasgow the whole way to just shy of Kilwinning. All of these platforms led to Clyde Junction [CGU].

Platforms 7 and 8 were separated by two tracks and ran from under the trainshed to above Stockwell Street and curved south to alongside the locomotive shed. These were covered with canopies which also covered platform 6 to the north and platform 9 to the south.

Platforms 9 and 10 were separated by two tracks and platform 9 extended from the trainshed to alongside St Enoch Locomotive Depot. Platform 10 was shorter finishing above Stockwell Street. It had a short canopy shared with platform 11.

Platforms 11 and 12 were short platforms, separated by two tracks, and finished above Stockwell Street. Platform 12 had a canopy of similar length to that above 11.

A new (third) signal box opened with the extension. It lasted until 1933 when a new power box opened at the same location. This box subsumed several boxes:
Clyde Junction [CGU] Gorbals Junction Gorbals Station
St Enoch
Saltmarket Junction
The western frontage of the original trainshed, and its north side, were a large hotel opened in 1879, closed in 1974.

In front of the station was St Enoch [Subway].

After closure in 1966, the station remained open briefly as a parcels depot and, after track lifting, it was used as a car park. The hotel survived the closure for a short time.

The signal box closed in 1967, partly taken over by High Street Junction.

On demolition in November 1977, the stonework of the station was used to fill in the Queens Dock (250,000 cubic metres of material).

The station site is now the St Enochs Shopping Centre and the nearby car parks. None of the station has survived except the wide southern abutment of a bridge which carried the fan of lines into the station from the south and the east abutment of the bridge which carried two lines to the east. The station clock survives in a shopping centre in Cumbernauld.

Local

St Enoch Hotel, the station frontage onto St Enoch Square, was built by the railway company. A cab road ran up on arches to the first floor level, for the hotel, circulating area and platforms, from ground level. The entrance was covered.

This hotel was six storeys high with an attic.

The hotel ultimately became a British Transport Hotel and was closed in 1974 and then demolished in 1977/78. Rubble from the demolition was used in the filling in of the Queens Dock.

The western part of the site of the station and hotel is now the St Enoch Centre , a retail shopping centre.

Tags

Terminus

Aliases

St Enoch Stockwell Junction St Enoch^s

External links

Canmore site record
NLS Collection OS map of 1892-1914
NLS Collection OS map of 1944-67
NLS Map
NLS Map




Chronology Dates

  /  /1869Glasgow and Kilmarnock Joint RailwayGlasgow and South Western RailwayCaledonian Railway
Glasgow and Kilmarnock Joint Line committee formed for the under construction line. The joint line includes the Caledonian Railways former Glasgow, Barrhead and Neilston Direct Railway. This gives the G&SWR a shorter route to Kilmarnock (and Carlisle) just as the City of Glasgow Union Railway, and its Glasgow St Enoch, is under development. It gives the Caledonian access to Kilmarnock with some running powers beyond.
12/12/1870City of Glasgow Union Railway
Opened between Pollok Junction (on the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway) and the new temporary four platform terminus at Dunlop Street (replaced by Glasgow St Enoch). Glasgow and South Western Railway main line services start to use the new station, local services continue to use Bridge Street. Stations opened at Shields Road [CGU] (interchange with Pollokshields) and Dunlop Street.
17/10/1876City of Glasgow Union Railway
Glasgow St Enoch opened. Through service from London St Pancras via the Midland Railway starts. Dunlop Street closed. Gorbals Junction on the City of Glasgow Union Railway to South Side on the Glasgow, Barrhead and Neilston Direct Railway opened.
29/06/1883City of Glasgow Union Railway
Glasgow St Enoch station and approach lines south of Bellgrove taken over by the Glasgow and South Western Railway. Lines north of Bellgrove taken over by the North British Railway.
01/08/1883City of Glasgow Union Railway
Glasgow St Enoch vested in the Glasgow and South Western Railway.
  /  /1884City of Glasgow Union Railway
St Enoch Locomotive Depot opened. This was built in the triangle of lines bounded by Glasgow St Enoch station, Saltmarket Junction and Clyde Junction. The lines ran south from the shed to Clyde Junction. The area under the shed was notorious for oil dripping down on passers by.
  /07/1888Nottingham and Melton Line (Midland Railway)
London St Pancras - Glasgow St Enoch and Edinburgh Waverley trains start to use line.
  /  /1896City of Glasgow Union RailwayGlasgow and South Western RailwayNorth British Railway
City of Glasgow Union Railway absorbed and divided between Glasgow and South Western Railway and North British Railway. The point of division was College East Junction (later High Street Junction) with Glasgow St Enoch and the line to the south west passing to the GSW. North of Bellgrove Junction and Parkhead Junction [NB] went to the NBR.
  /  /1896City of Glasgow Union Railway
Authorisation to quadruple line from Glasgow St Enoch to Port Eglinton Junction.
  /  /1898City of Glasgow Union Railway
Authorisation to enlarge St Enoch station. A further 6 platforms at Glasgow St Enoch start being built.
  /  /1898City of Glasgow Union Railway
Glasgow St Enoch to Port Eglinton Junction quadrupled, complete with Union Bridge (over the Clyde) rebuilt to accommodates 4 tracks.
  /  /1901City of Glasgow Union Railway
Expanded Glasgow St Enoch station opened.
27/07/1903City of Glasgow Union Railway
A busy Isle of Man boat train from Ardrossan Winton Pier over-runs the buffers at platform 8 in Glasgow St Enoch and two carriages are telescoped and hit the stations glass roof. 16 were killed and 27 injured. The train was apparently terminated in a shorter platform than usual due to renovation work and the driver, Henry Northcott, had assumed a greater braking distance.
  /  /1966City of Glasgow Union Railway
Glasgow St Enoch station closed.
18/04/1966City of Glasgow Union Railway
Glasgow Glasgow St Enoch (Gorbals Junction) to Strathbungo Junction closed to passengers. (Routes via Barrhead.)
27/06/1966City of Glasgow Union Railway
Glasgow Glasgow St Enoch to Pollok Junction closed to passengers. (Routes to the coast.)
27/06/1966City of Glasgow Union Railway
Glasgow Glasgow St Enoch completely closed to passengers.
05/06/1967City of Glasgow Union Railway
Glasgow Glasgow St Enoch to Clyde Junction closed to Parcel traffic.
23/06/1973City of Glasgow Union Railway
Glasgow Glasgow St Enoch (Gorbals Junction) to Strathbungo Junction closed to freight.
  /  /1975City of Glasgow Union Railway
Glasgow St Enoch station clock removed. After purchase of the clock by businessman Raymond Gillies in 1966, the clock was gifted to the people of Cumbernauld as a 21st birthday present (town founded 1955). It was installed at the shopping centre. (Services did not run from St Enoch to Cumbernauld.)
  /  /1977City of Glasgow Union Railway
Glasgow St Enoch station starts to be demolished after having been a car-park. Rubble used to fill the Queens Dock (Glasgow).
  /  /1987Scottish Exhibition Centre (Glasgow)
Opened on the site of the Queens Dock, which was filled in with the rubble of the demolished City of Glasgow Union Railway's demolished Glasgow St Enoch station.
  /12/2005Riverside Museum
The Glasgow St Enoch station clock is requested from Cumbernauld for the new museum.
  /03/2019Network Rail
The Glasgow St Enoch station clock is requested from Cumbernauld for the rebuilt Glasgow Queen Street High Level.

News items

28/10/2023Glasgow's lost railway station which was grandest in city [Glasgow Times]
23/03/2021Animator creates 360 degree digital model of Glasgow's St Enoch Square as it looked in 1900 [The Scotsman]
19/06/2020Huge multi-storey hotel and flats development planned for Glasgow car park [Glasgow Live]
17/03/2019Cumbernauld refuses to hand back Glasgow clock for Queen Street centrepiece [Glasgow Times]