The Caledonian Railway branches in North Lanarkshire built on the Caledonian Railway main line, which opened in 1848. In the following years the considerable increase of iron production and coal extraction in North Lanarkshire led to a progressive expansion of branch lines in the area between the eastern margin of Glasgow and Bellside in the east, and between Coatbridge, Airdrie and Motherwell. Mineral traffic was dominant and for some years passenger operation followed the construction of some of the mineral connections. In 1861 the Rutherglen and Coatbridge line was opened, extended later to Airdrie, rivalling the established Monkland Railways route. In 1869 the connection from Cleland to Midcalder was opened, connecting mineral sites but also forming a new passenger route to Edinburgh.
At the end of the nineteenth century some further passenger connections were opened, but in the twentieth century widespread decline took place as collieries and iron works reduced their output and eventually closed, followed by widespread loss of passenger traffic.
Today, the lines that are still operational form part of the North Clyde Line and Argyle Line passenger routes around Greater Glasgow and North Lanarkshire, as well as serving freight paths to and from the West Coast Main Line. From 1992, some passenger services were reinstated on remaining freight routes – most notably the Whifflet Line.
History The coal railways In the later decades of the eighteenth century, Glasgow's demand for domestic and industrial coal had grown enormously. Although there were some limited local deposits, there were plentiful supplies of coal in the Monklands, around Airdrie, and the Monkland Canal was built in stages between 1771 and 1794 to bring the coal to the city.
In the first decades of the nineteenth century railways were proposed as a more efficient medium of transport, and a number of lines were built: the so-called "coal railways". They used a track gauge of 4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm), stone-block sleepers and horse traction at first. The Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway opened in 1826, followed by the adjacent Ballochney Railway in 1828, the Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway in 1831, the Wishaw and Coltness Railway from 1833, and the Slamannan Railway from 1840.
Coal production in the area grew enormously as a result of the greatly reduced transport costs, and in the 1830s, iron extraction and smelting in the Monklands had been growing: the discovery of blackband ironstone by David Mushet and the invention of the hot blast process of iron smelting by James Beaumont Neilson had created a huge industry of iron production in the Coatbridge area. The coal railways found themselves at the centre of an enormous mineral producing and processing area.
Although some locomotive haulage took place, and a very limited passenger operation was conducted, the lines were technologically backward: the Ballochney and Slamannan lines had rope worked inclines. It was obvious that newer railways in other parts of the country were more efficient, and the coal railways' track gauge was now non-standard, limiting transfer of mineral traffic to the longer distance lines being built.
The Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway made some limited improvements and extensions to its line, and became the Glasgow, Garnkirk and Coatbridge Railway (GG&CR) in 1844.
The Caledonian Railway
The Caledonian Railway was authorised in 1845 as a trunk railway: its purpose was to connect Glasgow and Edinburgh to Carlisle, and the growing English network, carrying passengers and goods. Intermediate business from towns on the route was of course welcome; the goods traffic was predominantly agricultural and manufacturing. Other promoters were planning routes elsewhere in Scotland, especially further north, and already a Scottish network was being brought into action.
The first main line of the Caledonian was a huge undertaking by the standards of the time: the capital authorised was £1.5 million, and the promoters had negotiated with two of the coal railways, the Wishaw and Coltness and the Glasgow Garnkirk and Coatbridge, to use their lines to reach Glasgow. This would save a considerable mileage of land acquisition and of new construction. The lines' gauge would need to be converted to standard and the track strengthened, but this was already seen as desirable by those companies.
Accordingly, when the Caledonian opened its line in 1848, it reached Glasgow over those lines, from Garriongill (east of Overtown) to Motherwell, Coatbridge, Garnkirk and Glasgow. This was a very circuitous route, as the line took a broad northward sweep from Motherwell. Moreover, the Glasgow terminal was a wooden shed at Townhead, a considerable distance from the city centre, located on a toll road on the north east margin. The Caledonian set about building an extension to a new terminal station at Buchanan Street, which opened in 1849.
At the same time as the parliamentary bill for the Caledonian Railway was being considered in Parliament, the bill for another line, the Clydesdale Junction Railway was also being heard. The Caledonian promptly leased the line (before it was constructed). This gave it an alternative access to Glasgow: a much more direct route, although it ended at another inconveniently located terminal named South Side, some distance from the city. The Clydesdale Junction route connected to Motherwell and Hamilton to Glasgow by way of Cambuslang and Rutherglen. The Hamilton station was some distance from the centre of the town, and much later became "Hamilton West".
The routes from Glasgow, from South Side via Cambuslang, and from Buchanan Street via Coatbridge, converged at Motherwell station, some distance to the south-east of the present-day station; the line continued east and then south to Carstairs and Carlisle. The original Wishaw and Coltness Railway had a branch line to Cleland, where there was an iron works (and a passenger station named Newarthill), and a line to Morningside, close to further iron works.
All the coal railways had worked together in a state of competitive collaboration, but the Caledonian acquisition of the Wishaw and Coltness and the Garnkirk line resulted in a polarisation: the other lines moved away from the Caledonian sphere of influence, and together formed the Monkland Railways in 1848; that group eventually became part of the rival North British Railway.
The Monkland Railways too had converted the line to standard gauge so that interchange of traffic continued.
The Caledonian Railway had expended considerable resources in opening its main line. In addition it had acquired leases on a large number of other newly authorised lines in other parts of Scotland. In doing so it had over-reached itself financially, and for a few years its priorities lay elsewhere.
From 1850 Motherwell deviation line
There were considerable mineral resources in South Lanarkshire, and when the Caledonian Railway was unable to fund the building of a railway to serve the collieries, an independent line, the Lesmahagow Railway, was built. It ran south from Motherwell: the present-day junction at Motherwell station is named Lesmahagow Junction.
The former Wishaw and Coltness station at Motherwell was inconveniently located some distance to the south east, at the point where the W&C line turned north. The coal from the Lesmahagow area was destined for Coatbridge, and to make a through line the Caledonian built a short connection, the Motherwell Deviation Line, from Lesmahagow Junction northwards to Jerviston, joining the W&C line there; the northern part of the by-passed section of line was closed. The deviation line opened on 8 October 1857.
Dalmarnock and London Road The area immediately east of Glasgow Green was developing rapidly as a centre of industry at this time. The former Clydesdale Junction line was not far away, but inaccessible on the south side of the Clyde. A short goods branch was built from near Rutherglen, running north and crossing the river to a Dalmarnock goods station: it opened on 24 June 1861. It became very busy and was extended to a further goods terminal at London Road, which opened on 12 April 1877. On 1 April 1879 London Road became a passenger station as well, with a service to Rutherglen station, which was resited to the junction with the main line. A passenger station named Bridgeton was provided on the line adjacent to the earlier Dalmarnock goods depot, which was now also renamed Bridgeton.
Cleland lines In 1861 the Shareholders' Meeting was informed that a Bill was being presented for the Cleland branch extension (sometimes referred to as the Cleland, Morningside and Drumbowie Railway), to be built by the Caledonian. It was authorised by Act of Parliament of 1 August 1861, capital £160,000, and opened on 1 November 1864; the line ran from the stub Cleland branch through Omoa where there were developing pits, and then south, providing a more convenient access for the Coltness Iron Works near Morningside. From Drumbowie Junction a mineral branch ran some distance north into the hills to Turdees Junction, immediately north of Salsburgh, and a spur ran eastwards to Duntillan colliery near Kirk o'Shotts. Other pits were served on the route.
Rutherglen and Coatbridge line The growth in the iron industry in the Monklands area, around Coatbridge, was phenomenal and unforeseen, and the north-south alignment of the Caledonian line there made transport of the refined product difficult; much of it went to Ayrshire harbours for coastal shipping transport and export. That required movement to the area of south Glasgow for onward conveyance by the Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR) or to River Clyde berthing nearer the city, but also on the south side. The Caledonian developed a plan for a line to run directly east-west from the Coatbridge area, and this became the Rutherglen and Coatbridge line; it was authorised on 1 August 1861 with capital of £240,000. It opened to goods and mineral traffic on 20 September 1865, and to passengers on 8 January 1866.
The line ran from Rutherglen Junction on the Clydesdale Junction main line, crossing the River Clyde and on through Carmyle to Langloan Junction, where it divided; a northward arm ran to Coatbridge station, and a southward fork led to Whifflat Junction. (Whifflat is spelt Whifflet nowadays.) Both junctions were on the Caledonian main line south of Coatbridge; there were a great number of pits and ironworks in the general area there; Dundyvan, Langloan and Summerlee ironworks were directly served. In addition several pits developed along the line of route from Carmyle eastwards.
From 1865 The Shotts line In 1869 the Caledonian Railway opened a long west to east line from Cleland to Midcalder on the Carstairs - Edinburgh line. This ran via Hartwood, Shotts and Fauldhouse, connecting collieries and industries, and forming a shorter through passenger route from Glasgow to Edinburgh. It opened for goods and mineral trains on 1 January 1869, and the passenger service was started on 9 July 1869. A station was provided at Omoa (already served by the earlier Morningside and Drumbowie line, a little further south) and a spur connection there was provided at Bellside Junction to connect west to north, bringing the Turdees Junction mineral line into the network.
The mineral line at Turdees Junction was extended by 1881 to Dunsiston Colliery.
Bothwell, Hamilton and Motherwell