Overground Subway Depot : A P.S.

From This ...

... To This ...

... So How?

The Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway ran, surprisingly, between Glasgow and Paisley. It was "joint" because it brought together lines between Glasgow and Ayr "joint" with services between Glasgow and Greenock. A branch was opened from Ibrox (originally called Bellahouston) to Govan. 

From a passenger point of view the branch was not a success as these dates show.

You would guess that such a short journey was quicker by tram or Glasgow Underground, despite efforts to drum up passengers with reduced fares.

On this 1922 map, the passenger station is correctly shown as closed!

The unlabelled map from Rail Scot shows that a number of goods links were also part of the line, but the map does not reveal when goods services were withdrawn. (It was in 1960)

Confusingly it shows branches in green and in a lighter green trams running east to west (ish) via Govan (above, top) and ditto along the Paisley Road (above, bottom). 

The link with the main Paisley line is via a   triangular junction.

Note a mid green line curving off to the right on the map above. 

This ran to  the Princes Dock complex ...

... which was the site of the Glasgow Garden Festival of 1988.

The junction is, perhaps, shown more clearly below.

Ibrox station was at the eastern apex of the triangle and is pictured here ...

... and again near the end of its life when DMUs called. It closed for normal service in 1967

Footy fans will know that Ibrox is the home to a well known Glasgow footy team and the Subway (Underground) station bears that name.

It has changed a bit!

It used to be called Copland Road and was much grander than the average Subway station.

The picture belowmshows a football crowd at the "main line" Ibrox station.

It is parked on one of the triangle's curved junction lines, So fbb guesses that it is an excursion bringing "away" passengers to enjoy the footy tussle.

A modern map still shows the shape of those Ibrox station curves.

But it also shows buildings on a track at the southernmost point of the Subway depot. Yes, the depot and a test track were constructed on the solum of the former Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway branch to Govan.

The above ground Underground d3pots are located roughly on the site of the Govan passenger station, closed in 1921. Here is a Google Earth shot showing the former branch in its entirety ...

... again with the various curves still apparent.

fbb could find no pictures on-line of the original Govan station but a couple of rail tours are pictured at a rather spartan single platform. This is one such.

Herewith the fully detailed Carto plan of depot and its tail.

Apart from the Subway "tail" there is little left of these lines in 2026. 

This line of trees is the western curve of the triangle ...

The site of Ibrox station is just over this bridge parapet ...

... and next right is the western curve of the triangle, not accessible to Streetview.

The curve of a bit of industrial access road, near Ibrox Stadium, is where the siding to Princes dock curved away from the triangle ...

... not much to show for many, many years of Glasgow's transport history!

But at least the Govan branch has happily espoused its on-going role in serving the much loved "Subway".

 Next Variety blog |: Sunday 11th Jan 

Underground, Overground Glasgow Version

It Began With This

It was an fbb puzzle picture showing the crane hoist once used to lift stock off the rails and into the depot of the Glasgow Underground, now usually referred to as "The Subway". When fbb went a courting the future Mrs fbb, whose home was Glasgow, trains did indeed look like this.

Originally, they looked like this, ...

... seen below being admired by Glasgow glitterati, possibly as the service was launched. 

Later the cars had power doors, but, when fbb first started visiting, everything was tired and very gloomy ...

... and smelly!

The depot was on Broomloan Road, just round the corner from Govan Subway station which once looked like this.

In fact, Mrs fbb-to-be was amazed that anyone would willingly want to take a ride! But a youthful fbb was made of sterner stuff and plunged happily into the unwelcoming and toil-worn depths on several occasions.

The depot itself had no rail connection with the gloomy tracks and below we see a car arriving at shed level.

There was a shunting loco to move the stock around the depot ...

... but, as far as fbb knows, no depot tracks were electrified.

Here is the exterior of the depot.

Then along came Stratclyde PTE and a massive upgrade. The most obvious feature of the upgrade was shiny new trains ...

... in an orange livery which the PTE called "Strathclyde Red". Stations were progressively rebuilt and improved with lifts and escalators, brighter lighting, ticket gates and ticket machines, all the paraphernalia of a modern high capacity Metro system - but still built small. There was no upgrade to the diminutive size of the system which remained just a "circle" of double narrow gauge track.

Here, for example, is the present Govan Station.

Some dramatic change, not immediately obvious to the typical passenger were those that happened to the Broomloan depot.

It was rebuilt and connected by rail to the circular below ground tracks!

The connection can be seen curving in a cutting from the top right of the above aerial view.

Today's new trains...

... are longer!

So a new new depot was needed. Here it is with the blue/grey roof next to the old new depot.

The old old depot has been demolished (shame!) although it still materialises c/o Google Streetview.

Here is a simple track plan which explains the principle of the rail connected train park and maintenance shed.

But how, we hear you cry, have the PTE builders and engineers been able to squeeze a new depot with a "tail" into the close packed streets of Govan?

For that fascinating tale, and theo reason for its tail, you will have to "tune in" to tomorrow's blog.

Here is a clue!

More tomorrow.

Meanwhile At Peterville  ...

... something is happening!

But what? It is certainly overground not underrground; but why yellow?

Also more tomorrow - possibly!

Big Numbers 

YouTube creators always seem anxious to get you to "like" their videos and to "subscribe". This is because the author of the video makes money from advertising on their often substantial productions. The more who "like" and "subscribe", the more they will watch and thus the advertisers will record more viewers and pay more money.

The same principle applies to "followers" on a blog.

fbb has never been desirous of corrupting his blogging muse; so will not taint his "art" with commercial considerations. He is also very well aware that the concept of "page reads" can also be corrupted by "bots", voracious electronic gobblers that suck in stuff from the interwebnet and use it to feed the even more voracious data warehouses essential for current non-AI craze.

But, at some time yesterday, fbb's all-time page reads clicked through ..

6,000,000

... six million!

Not at all bad for an old bloke with a strange sense of humour and a collection of OO tank wagons!

 Next Underground Overground blog : Sat 10 Jan 

Underground, Overground and No Wombles!

The Tale Of The Shepherds

It was very much Overgound but it is now Underground.

The Central London Railway claimss to be the very first "proper" Underground line in the world by which is meant and line that is still operational. We now call it the Central Line. It ran from Bank to Shepherds Bush and was later extended to start at Liverpool Street.

At its western end there were two extensions.

The first was just one stop to Wood Lane, followed by a more significant push to Ealing. Here are the relevant dates.

There was a depot immediately north of the Shepherds Bush terminus so when the need for a one-stop extension came the company just built a loop round the depot ...

... and plonked a station, called Wood Lane, on the top left of the loop. It was on a curve as seen here much much later.

Why 1908? White City is why!

In 1908 land to the west of Wood Lane was the site of a big "Exhibition" with most of the temporary building covered with white plaster - hence the nickname which stuck. There was a huge pedestrian overbridge and walkway to the exhibition entrance from Wood Lane station ...

... also in white.

Exhibitions on the site continued until 1914.

But there was a problem in 1903. The Central London Railway replaced its loco hauled trains ...

... with multiple unit trains in concept similar to today's stock. The coaches had multiple doors and needed a longer platform. But a junction for the depot sidings was in the way. So they built a pivoted moving chunk of platform.

Here is a terminating train with the platform having done it sliding for the siding job.

Or was it going straight on?

But the 1920 extension to Ealing created some more problems.  Instead of just a simple station on the loop, the set-up was now needed for through trains.

Trains departed from Shepherds Bush running conventionally on the left hand line then they dropped under the eastbound tracks via the so-called Caxton Curve, named after a road just west of Shepherds Bush Station.

It is the sharpest "corner" on the Underground.

But now trains were running on the right of the depot and would continue north on the wrong side of the double track.

So, cleverly, after leaving the depot, the track swapped over ...

... and left hand running is restored. 

Some who think they know all about railways in the UK can be caught out as they wait on the wrong platforms at Wood Lane and risk being whisked off in the wrong direction.

Another problem is that the original platforms were on the loop and thus useless for through running to Ealing. This diagram shows what had to be done.

So it was that in 1920 the "loop" platforms closed and were replaced by straight platforms. The loop line was also closed and replaced with a link from the north into the depot, seen below looking south.

The westbound line to Ealing and beyond is on the left of the picture and the line to central London is on the right, The depot link is, guess where, in the middle.

With the lack of exhibitions to serve, the whole station closed in 1947 and remained so until the new Wood Lane, a little further north, opened in 2008 ...

... to offer potential interchange with  White City on the line to Hammersmith.

By now, you are thoroughly confused but this Carto map of the area today might nelp!

... and an enlargement is even better!

But the biggest change to the area came with the opening of the huge (even huger than huge) Shepherds Bush Westfield Centre, retail therapy at its best worst!. The depot was rebuilt as simple sidings and hidden under the shopping centre.

It is the only traditional Underground depot that is under the ground. The Waterloo and City depot always was underground, but that doesn't count as it was built by The Southern Railway! Its annexing by the Underground is a relatively recent development.

The link to the modem sidings at Wood Lane is also now underground.

Of course the old depot was a real depot with repair shops, being the only one on the Central London Railway. Later extensions out east took such work to a new site at Newbury Park.

Here are the original train sheds at Wood Lane (north is on the left) ...

... and the ancillary buildings slightly further north and adjacent to the original Wood Lane platforms.

Those two still stand, sitting somewhat incongruously beside a very modern bus station!

The old road entrance to the depot is still there at  northern end of the aforementioned Caxton Road ...

... but all that exists beyond the big gates is a lower level of the southern walkway alongside the thrill-a-minutes shopping centre.

It is all rather boring compared with what was visible before!

Such is progress!

Isn't it?

Underground Overgound - time for an irrelevant song!!

 Next Underground Overground blog : Friday 9th Jan