Glasgow and South Western Railway
The Glasgow and South Western Railway (G & SWR) was a British railroad company that existed from 1850 to 1922. It opened up a triangular area in the southwest of Scotland , between Glasgow , Stranraer and Carlisle . In the last year of operation, the length of the route network was 793 km.
history
The main route from Glasgow to Carlisle was built in several stages. On August 12, 1840, the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway (GPK & AR) opened the section between Glasgow and Ayr , with a branch to Kilmarnock . The northeast end of this line, the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway , was jointly owned by the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway .
From 1843 further sections followed one after the other. On October 28, 1850, the last gap between Cumnock and Closeburn was closed and the GPK & AR merged with the Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway (GD&CR) to form the Glasgow and South Western Railway. From that day on, it was possible, in cooperation with the London and North Western Railway (LNWR), to offer trains along the entire length of the West Coast Main Line to London .
This first merger was followed by the Ardrossan and Johnstone Railway in 1854 , the Glasgow, Paisley and Johnstone Canal (converted into a railway line in 1885) and the Bridge of Weir Railway in 1869 , the Greenock and Ayrshire Railway in 1872 and the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway in 1899 (the oldest Railway line of Scotland).
G & SWR grew not only through mergers, but also through the construction of numerous new routes. In 1883 she took over Glasgow St. Enoch station and used it as the new starting point for her trains and as the headquarters. Together with the LNWR and the Midland Railway , the G & SWR operated the joint venture Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway .
The route network was completed in the first decade of the 20th century. With the entry into force of the Railways Act 1921 , the G & SWR went on January 1, 1923 in the newly formed London, Midland and Scottish Railway .
See also
literature
- John Thomas: A regional History of the Railways of Great Britain. Volume 6 Scotland - The Lowlands and the Borders . David and Charles, 1971. ISBN 0-7153-5408-6 .
