With a heavy heart checked out of my hotel and prepared for my train home. Time for breakfast and a chance to watch the city go by first though, in my old haunt on Renfield Street and via a walk around George Square. All too soon I was on board the 10:10 to Penzance, having for a change been allocated just the right seat on my reservation. A fair morning, with good views over the Clyde in both directions as we started out southwards.
A fairly relaxing and uneventful journey compared to the trip up here last week, with a smooth connection at Bristol which saw me stepping out on home turf bang on time. Forgot I'd tidied the flat extensively before leaving, so felt like an intruder in someone else's home on walking in! Since I arrived early, decided to attend the local CAMRA meeting which for a rare change took place close by at the Royal Artillery just on the outskirts of Highbridge. Lots of the usual faces in attendance meant a fair bit of gossip. Didn't really attend the meeting so much as 'stand nearby' drinking, though it sounds like sensible decisions were made! Also had the chance to sample RCH's Santa Fe and the infamous blend with Double Header known as B5.
Staggered home, and need to sleep very soon! It's been a long day...
I'm not used to having much of a Sunday transport service, living in the sleepy South West. There were a few bits of track left uncovered over the past couple of days in Glasgow which I hoped to be able to pick up today despite a fair bit of engineering work affecting service - particularly early this morning.
Started out with another run out to Newton, in daylight this time. The object of this run was to cover the line from Cathcart North to East Junctions and position myself for a run over the remainder of the Hamilton Circle to Motherwell. Despite being a damp morning, there was a promise of sunshine lurking behind the clouds, and it was good to be out with an objective in mind. Arrived at Newton, realising just how bleak the surroundings of the station are. The unit crossed over to the wrong line prior to arrival rather than using the reversing siding beyond the station, and this meant a wet trudge down the deep subway to regain the platform for the Motherwell train. With the shelter being occupied by an amorous couple, wasn't sorry to see a warm and dry 334019 arrive.
Arrived at Motherwell, and realised what a substantial station it is, with a complicated building with lots of stairs to negotiate to get from one side to the other! Realised that my terminating unit would now form an onward train to Bellshill and then back to Glasgow. Noted that bailing here meant missing the crossovers back onto the mainline, but I had a plan to follow. Firstly, this meant retracing my steps to Newton and changing again to head back to Cathcart East, covering the dive-under to Cathcart North and thus completing my exploration of this little complex of lines. Realised the extent of the closure at Glasgow Central when we arrived back into the station, with only platforms 8 to 13 in obvious use. Predictably, we arrived on 11A which meant a long walk into the station.
On passing the end of Platform 12, noted a few Pathfinder staff boarding the unit there, and out of pure curiosity checked where it was headed. Amazed to find it was the 11:15 to Ardrossan Harbour which I'd assumed was going to be a bus like earlier trains via Paisley. Quickly boarded and settled in for the ride. A sudden burst of sunshine at Shields Junction made for a really pleasant run out to the coast, and a chance to cover the short branch from Holm Junction to lines end at the harbour. With a few minutes to spare, wandered into the Ferry Terminal for a coffee and took some photographs.
The train back to Central was fairly busy, and it was interesting to see First Group staff north of the border not selling discounted tickets where there were staffed stations - but then the PTE clearly invests in staffing and ticketing facilities, which makes this an easier proposition for the guards. On arrival back in Glasgow I had one last mission - to finally catch a train from the Low Level station. Again, I've always avoided this because of the escalator concerns, but I noted a lift from platform 12 down to the station, and with this and the judicious use of some convenient stairs, I got down into the dark tunnel in time for a train to Garscadden. I only needed to do the tiny stretch of track between Hyndland East and West Junctions which the tour had avoided yesterday. I should probably in fact have pressed onto Dalmuir to cover the whole line in both directions, but I was eager to get off the train and into the city!
I realise that much of what I've written about this trip has focused on the railways. This isn't of course the whole picture by any means. I've loved visiting Glasgow now for years, and despite the need to make early starts each evening has been spent visiting old haunts and in my favourite spots. There is always something new to discover here, and having not often stayed more than a night in recent years I wanted to get out west to see how things had changed. So, hopped on a bus outside the station using my Daytripper ticket and headed along Bath Street and Sauciehall Street towards Kelvin Hall and over the river. A right turn by the Western Infirmary and off at a stop somewhere in the maelstrom of traffic which is Byres Road - even on a Sunday. Fantastic to be back, and amazed how much was open today. Browsed the excellent Oxfam Bookshop, finding an aposite quote from John Clare which will eventually adorn the header of this site. Time for a coffee, though not from the interestingly converted 'tardis' on Great Western Road!
Strolled around Ruthven Lane and Ashton Lane too, remembering previous visits and some very good times had hereabouts. Spent quite a bit of time wandering in a fugue before catching a bus which took me a different route back to the city, via Great Western Road, Cowcaddens and Garnethill. Time for more coffee and a chance for the first time to watch the world go by, which is always a pleasant prospect here. After popping back to the hotel, out again and time to visit more old haunts, including the Horseshoe Bar before popping into The 13th Note for the last pint of my visit.
Back home tomorrow, and it's always a bit of a wrench leaving Glasgow. I've never quite managed to explain it to anyone. Still, I have 400 miles or so of rail travel to look forward too, and since the mileage has been a little lean this year so far, that's a bonus!
As far as this trip was concerned, today was the main event. A pair of Class 37s visiting a bunch of suburban Glasgow termini and covering a fair bit of 'red' track in the Baker at the same time. I couldn't think of a better way to explore one of my favourite cities, and booked this tour within seconds of it appearing on Pathfinder's site. And so I found myself on the concourse at Central Station far too early once again. Got coffee and breakfast and noted a fair few familiar faces among the crowds, many like me having made the journey northwards. The crowd seemed fairly evenly divided between the Branch Line Society crowd and the usual 37 bashing faces. With a foot in each camp I was in good company! The stock arrived with 37406 at the buffers, meaning 37410 was to lead us out of Central. Found my seat and settled in for the day's entertainment. Chatted with a few regulars as we waited for departure - which was bang on time. An announcement about being promptly back on board to ensure we kept our tight paths between First Scotrail services gave the first hint of a slight resentment for enthusiasts which we were to experience from the local operator during the day! Once out of Central, we took the mainline to the rather mournful industrial wasteland of Rutherglen, using the rare west to north curve to double back on ourselves and head through Central Low Level to the first terminus of the day at the attractive little town of Milngavie.
Off a little early with 37406 leading via the rare Hyndland West curve to gain the Yoker line and head for Helensburgh Central. There was some confusion on board due to this line being entirely missing from the Baker Atlas, although it appears correctly in the 4th Edition Quail map. Surprise celebrity visitor at Dumbarton Central was 37248 which had worked up from Bristol on route to Fort William. A brief stop allowed some brave souls to head to the end of the platform in freezing conditions to get a shot. Back on board, and some nice quick running along the Firth of Clyde to Helensburgh, and what we didn't realise would be the only practical and sensible refreshment stop of the day!
With 37410 once again in the lead, we headed back towards civilisation via Dalmuir and the Singer line, joining the Northern Suburban Line at Knightswood North Junction and taking the North to West curve at Cowlairs to arrive earlier than planned at Springburn for our reversal via the Cowlairs Chord. Here we learned that First Scotrail were less than pleased at our impending arrival at Queen Street. With additional services and crowd control in place due to the rugby match at Murrayfield, they felt less than able to cope with a trainful of enthusiasts descending on the concourse. For some, this meant no lunch as they'd planned to descend on the concessions at the station or the shops nearby. We were warned of dire consequences for anyone who dared to pass the barrier, and I've yet to hear if anyone did brave the lift down to Low Level and up the stairs route! Lots of conspiracy theories flying around too about our containment - some plausible, some not so. The only certainty was that we needed to be out of Queen Street pretty much on the button, which we happily were. The noise of 37410 thundering up the bank out of Queen Street station was memorable, and I'd love to find some footage from the many video cameras which were recording our ascent.
Having reversed again at Eastfield Passenger Loop, 37406 led us as we retraced our steps via Springburn and then on to High Street Junction where we took the City Union Line across the eastern edge of the city. I'd often looked across at this line from my vantage point in The 13th Note, as it is carried high on arches still advertising Poll Tax protests and Militant meetings, across the bottom of King Street before crossing the river into the Gorbals. Quite something to finally be traversing this bit of track which has featured in my personal views of Glasgow for so long. Once under the tangle of lines south of the Clyde we rejoined the route to Paisley Gilmour Street at Shields Junction and headed for the coast at Gourock where I braved the high winds for a quick photograph. Others made a mercy dash to local chip shops, and some only just made it back in time. Glad I managed to pack lunch in advance last night!
Once again in the warm of our train, we set off eastwards, retracing our steps to Shields Junction, but then swinging south at the end of the loop, under the main lines to Terminus Junction using the so-called 'Burma Road'. I need to do a little research as to why this strange little link of track received this unusual name. Once we'd surfaced at Muirhouse South, we made good time via Busby Junction to East Kilbride. A very quick turnaround here, but some still tried for the picture from what seemed a very good vantage point. I didn't want to rely on my ability to make it to the end of the train and back in time, so contented myself with a leg stretch in the gloom and chill. Soon back on board and retracing our steps once again, this time taking the Larkfield Curve to join the West Coast Mainline for a quick dash down to Lanark via Wishaw. There were concerns about our timings on this stretch as 37406 seemed to be performing poorly. Arrived around 8 minutes down, having slightly delayed an Argyle Line service. No major problems though, apart from a shorter than expected reversal. Soon on our way and making good time with 37410 back on the front. Again over familiar ground back to Shields Junction with a diversion via Mossend and Whifflet via more unusual track, then via Paisley Gilmour Street and this time taking the southern fork at Weymss Bay Junction, making the steep climb away from Bogston. Arrived only a couple of minutes down at a very wet and windy Weymss Bay, where rumour had it that a 'tired and emotional' passenger was removed from the train following a disagreement with a steward. Not a night to be stuck out here on the coast!
So, onto our final leg - returning to Shields and taking the line to Muirhouse Central Junction for an anti-clockwise spin around the Cathcart Circle before presenting ourselves outside Glasgow Central two minutes early! It wasn't to be however, and we were held awaiting platform 1 until we were in fact two minutes late. Arrival meant a rush for photographs, which seemed to rile the Network Rail staff on duty. The BTP escorted at least one apparently innocent gent away as he was 'preventing people from doing their job'. I don't think there was any serious concern, beyond some staff who'd had a long day meeting some enthusiastic and exhilarated railtour customers! Despite this inauspicious ending, I think this is perhaps one of my favourite tours yet, with the combination of a place that fascinates me, lots of rare track and some fine traction. Stuck around at Central for a little while, keeping well away from the action and just watching and listening, before heading for the hotel and a much needed night of sleep!
Despite good intentions to plan ahead, I'd left much of the thinking-out of today's order of play until last night. In my slightly uncomfortable but perfectly adequate hotel room I'd pieced together a few bits of planning I'd done into an itinerary, and realised I needed a much earlier start than I'd reckoned on. So I found myself waiting for a platform for the 06:35 to Newton on an unusually almost deserted Central Station concourse. Finally a coffee stall opened and I was much happier. It was cold and frosty, but still no snow here. Still very pleased to see the train announced however, so I could settle into a warm 314 for the trip out via the Inner Rail of the Cathcart Circle and via Kings Park to Newton.
Not much to see in the dark, but I'd be doing much of this route several more times in order to get everything I hoped to cover. Noted the pleasant little wooden station buildings on most of the island platforms around the circle. No such luxury at Newton though, where we we deposited on a bleak platform with a trudge down some treacherously salt-covered stairs into a deep concrete chasm to access the exit, or in my case to head for the other platform to catch the same unit returning the same way once it had run into the turnback siding. Strange look from the guard on boarding the train which is always the risk when bashing branches! I had meant to get a service back which covered the diveunder at Cathcart North Junction, but this would have to wait.
Next up was the short branch to Paisley Canal. This branch was not electrified as part of the original schemes, and was actually closed for some time - I understand as a means to push through cost-cutting measures in the face of a union which called the PTE's bluff in the 1970s. Now reopened, the branch seemed busy - with brisk business from a range of new halts. Our pair of 156s was almost full on the return journey, and I was struck that in general the commuter services here were well planned in terms of both frequency and capacity - in very sharp contrast to the treatment we are receiving in the South West from the very same parent company.
As my next journey wouldn't commence until after 09:00, bought an SPT Daytripper ticket which presented a good value way of getting around all of the rest of the planned track. Struck again by the joined-up approach - if only Greater Bristol had a PTE to manage things! Found more coffee and some breakfast before heading onto the 09:20 to Neilston, which took in the Outer Rail of the Cathcart Circle before plunging into fairly open country after Muirend. With the sky finally light, I was able to see the way this part of Glasgow is a cluster of small towns and villages with often large expanses of quite wild space between them. Arrived at Neilston, which still showed evidence of not always having been the end of the line as our unit trundled into a headshunt to reverse.
On arrival back at Central Station, made my first exit of the weekend via the main Gordon Street frontage, and plunged into the busy city morning. A quick walk over to Queen Street Station and underground to the Low Level platforms to finish some track I half-heartedly started to use a few years back when staying in Elmbank Terrace and travelling to High Street to access The 13th Note each evening! Had to wait for a couple of eastbound trains to pass before the half-hourly Drumgelloch service arrived, again in good time. Once out in the open and beyond High Street, the line passes some very bleak and rather run-down territory including the infamous Easterhouse area - now seemingly not quite the forbidding place it once was. Steady business again, much of it heading for Airdrie. The short eastern extension of this line left us in the midst of a huge housing estate at Drumgelloch. There are many rumours of a new through route to Edinburgh to be created by linking Drumgelloch and Bathgate. Given thought, it could be a fairly successful project.
Waited for the turn around at Drumgelloch and made the short hop back to Airdrie in the hope of a toilet being available. No such luck. Boarded my next unit for Balloch on the shores of Loch Lomond, way out west from here. Oddly, reading a discarded copy of The Lennox I discovered that Balloch Station had recently benefited from construction of an expensive new toilet facility. Thanked my lucky stars that nature was not hopefully to further interrupt the plan, and waited to enjoy more new line west of Charing Cross. Much of this track is familiar from West Highland jaunts, and it was pleasant to scud along beside the Firth of Clyde, before turning north just before Helenburgh. Arrived at Balloch to find the much-trumpeted new toilet closed, but found a strange and cocoon-like modern portaloo over the street which served it's purpose wonderfully! No time to find refreshments however, which was disappointing.
Next part of the plan involved changing to the Argyle Line - which plunges deep under Central Station and heads east and south. Should really have changed at Partick, but it's escalator only access makes me deeply nervous should there be a problem. So hopped off at Hyndland for the short wait for a train via Hamilton to Larkhall, on the recently completed extension to this line. I confess some slight nerves on passing Central Low Level too, because I've wanted to catch a service here for many years, but have always been too concerned about the access! Some fairly swift running on this - partly due to the limited stops on the city outskirts, and partly because it needs to slot between West Coast Mainline services as far as Newton, where it follows the River Clyde to Hamilton.
Reversed once again at the apparently pleasant little town of Larkhall, where I understand the railway is on a slightly different alignment to it's original and long-closed predecessor. Certainly there seem to be deep earthworks around the simple station platfroms. Retraced my steps as far as Anniesland (the return trip being Milngavie bound, giving some idea of the complex movements necessary to provide a fifteen minute service on these busy lines!). At Anniesland, hoped to do the next bit of 'reopened' line in Scotland, being the short extension from here to the Northern Suburban Line to Queen Street which once terminated at Maryhill. Found the 15:56 cancelled as I arrived, which was perhaps the first real setback of the whole complex plan I'd devised! Not really a problem since I'd planned to make this the last leg, and there was another train 30 minutes later. Wandered briefly around Anniesland, before returning for the 16:26 to Queen Street. Arrived just before the throngs of city workers descended on Queen Street for their trains home.
Overall, I'm astounded how smoothly things run given the density and complexity of the timetable. The trains are well patronised and fairly easy to understand, which seems to attract particularly the younger and older elements of the population. Still amazed at how well it had all gone, went again in search of food and beer to celebrate.
Lost::MikeGTN
I've had a home on the web for more years than I care to remember, and a few kind souls persuade me it's worth persisting with keeping it updated. This current incarnation of the site is centred around the blog posts which began back in 1999 as 'the daylog' and continued through my travels and tribulations during the following years.
I don't get out and about nearly as much these days, but I do try to record significant events and trips for posterity. You may also have arrived here by following the trail to my former music blog Songs Heard On Fast Trains. That content is preserved here too.
