Eglinton Street railway station

Eglinton Street railway station was a railway station approximately one mile (1.5 kilometres) south of Glasgow Central, in the Port Eglinton district of Glasgow.

Eglinton Street
The site of the station in 2019
General information
LocationPort Eglinton, Glasgow
Scotland
Coordinates55°50′47″N 4°15′39″W / 55.8465°N 4.2609°W / 55.8465; -4.2609
Platforms6
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyCaledonian Railway
Pre-groupingCaledonian Railway
Post-groupingLMS
Key dates
1 July 1879Opened
(as per Glasgow Herald notice)[1]
28 February 1909Opened
(as documented by Butt)[2]
1 February 1965Closed[2]
Glasgow Central & St Enoch approaches
Glasgow Central
St Enoch Glasgow Subway
parts of former station
reused as carriage sidings
Glasgow Bridge Street
Main Street
Gorbals
Cumberland
Street
Southside
Eglinton Street
Pollokshields East
Pollokshields West
Strathbungo

History

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Sources published in the late 20th century claim that this station opened on Sunday 28 February 1909,[2] which would have been highly unlikely given Scotland's sabbatarian culture at the time. Contemporary sources, such as railway notices, timetables, maps, and Post Office Directories, show that the station existed nearly 30 years before that date.

When the station opened on 1 July 1879, it allowed Caledonian Railway trains from Edinburgh and Lanarkshire, which had previously terminated at Southside to reach Bridge Street to connect with trains for Greenock and Wemyss Bay, with through carriages being provided from Edinburgh to stations on the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway and Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway.[1] These continued to terminate at Bridge Street even after Central Station had opened on 1 August 1879.[3]

On 19 March 1883, there was a collision between two trains at Eglinton Street station in which four people died and many more were injured.[4] The crash involved the 6:15pm train from Central Station to East Kilbride and the 5pm train from Edinburgh to Glasgow Central, which had stopped at Eglinton Street Station. The driver of the Edinburgh train failed to heed the signal against the train leaving the station. The East Kilbride train had left Central on time and had a clear signal to proceed. It was slowing down when it collided with the Edinburgh train which was getting up steam. The drivers and firemen of both trains survived the crash, having been violently thrown from their engines.[5]

Opened by the Caledonian Railway on the former routes of the Cathcart District Railway and Polloc and Govan Railway on the southern approached to Glasgow Central, Eglinton Street station became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The station was located in the routes to the:

The station was closed in 1965.[2]

The site today

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Some parts of Eglinton Street station remain intact today, including sections of the platforms and access towers from the station platforms.

Route

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Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Glasgow Central
Line and station open
  Caledonian Railway
Polloc and Govan Railway
  Rutherglen
Line and station open
  Caledonian Railway
Cathcart District Railway
  Pollokshields East
Line and station open
  Caledonian Railway
Cathcart District Railway
  Pollokshields West
Line and station open
  CR & G&SWR
Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway
  Strathbungo
Line open; station closed

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b Caledonian Railway.| Opening Of New Stations at Bridge Street and Eglinton Street, Glasgow., The Glasgow Herald, 1 July 1879
  2. ^ a b c d Butt (1990), page 90
  3. ^ Caledonian Railway.| Opening Of Central Station, Glasgow., The Glasgow Herald, 1 August 1879
  4. ^ The People's History of Glasgow, 1899, page 38
  5. ^ A disastrous railway collision, The Glasgow Herald, 20 March 1883

Sources

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  • Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
  • Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
  • Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
  • Eglinton Street Station on navigable O.S. map
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