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shows that a number of goods links were also part of the line, but the map does not reveal when goods services were withdrawn.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