Caledonian Railway
The Caledonian Railway was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow, it progressively extended its network and reached Edinburgh and Aberdeen, with a dense network of branch lines in the area surrounding Glasgow. It was absorbed into the London and Scottish Railway in 1923. Many of its principal routes are still used, the original main line between Carlisle and Glasgow is in use as part of the West Coast Main Line railway. In the mid-1830s railways in England evolved from local concerns to longer routes that connected cities, became networks. In Scotland it was clear that this was the way forward, there was a desire to connect the central belt to the incipient English network. There was controversy over the route that such a line might take, but the Caledonian Railway was formed on 31 July 1845 and it opened its main line between Glasgow and Carlisle in 1848, making an alliance with the English London and North Western Railway.
In the obituary of the engineer Richard Price-Williams written in 1916 the contractor of the Caledonian Railway is stated to be Thomas Brassey and the civil engineer George Heald. Although the company was supported by Scottish investors, more than half of its shares were held in England. Establishing itself as an inter-city railway, the Caledonian set about securing territory by leasing other authorised or newly built lines, fierce competition developed with other, larger Scottish railways the North British Railway and the Glasgow and South Western Railway; the company remained less than successful in others. A considerable passenger traffic developed on the Firth of Clyde serving island resorts, fast boat trains were run from Glasgow to steamer piers. In 1923 the railways of Great Britain were "grouped" under the Railways Act 1921 and the Caledonian Railway was a constituent of the newly formed London Midland and Scottish Railway, it extended from Aberdeen to Portpatrick, from Oban to Carlisle, running express passenger services and a heavy mineral traffic.
In the closing years of the 18th century, the pressing need to bring coal cheaply to Glasgow from the plentiful Monklands coalfield had been met by the construction of the Monkland Canal, opened throughout in 1794. This encouraged development of the coalfield but dissatisfaction at the monopoly prices said to be exacted by the canal led to the construction of the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway, Scotland's first public railway. Development of the use of blackband ironstone by David Mushet, the invention of the hot blast process of iron smelting by James Beaumont Neilson in 1828 led to a huge and rapid increase in iron production and demand for the ore and for coal in the Coatbridge area; the industrial development led to the construction of other railways contiguous with the M&KR, in particular the Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway and the Wishaw and Coltness Railway. These two lines worked in harmony, merging to form the Glasgow and Coatbridge Railway in 1841, competing with the M&KR and its allies.
All these lines used the local track gauge of 4 ft 6 in, they were referred to as the coal lines. During this period, the first long-distance railways were opened in England, it was followed by the London and Birmingham Railway in 1838 and the Grand Junction Railway in 1837, the North Union Railway reaching Preston in 1838, so that London was linked with the Lancashire and West Midlands centres of industry. It was desirable to connect central Scotland into the emerging network. At first it was assumed that only one route from Scotland to England would be feasible, there was considerable controversy over the possible route. A major difficulty was the terrain of the Southern Uplands: a route running through the hilly lands would involve steep and lengthy gradients that were challenging for the engine power of the time. Many competing schemes were put forward, not all of them well thought out, two successive Government commissions examined them. However, they did not have mandatory force, after considerable rivalry, the Caledonian Railway obtained an authorising Act of Parliament on 31 July 1845, for lines from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Carlisle.
The share capital was to be £1,800,000. The Glasgow and Edinburgh lines combined at Carstairs in Clydesdale, the route crossed over Beattock summit and continued on through Annandale; the promoters had engaged in a frenzy of provisional acquisitions of other lines being put forward or being constructed, as they considered it was vital to secure territory to their own control and to exclude competing concerns as far as possible. However, if they hoped to operate the only Anglo-Scottish route, they were disappointed; the North British Railway opened between Edinburgh and Berwick-upon-Tweed on 22 June 1846, forming part of what has become the East Coast Main Line
Glasgow
Glasgow is the most populous city in Scotland, the third most populous city in the United Kingdom, as of the 2017 estimated city population of 621,020. Part of Lanarkshire, the city now forms the Glasgow City council area, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Glasgow is situated on the River Clyde in the country's West Central Lowlands. Inhabitants of the city are referred to as "Glaswegians" or "Weegies", it is the fourth most visited city in the UK. Glasgow is known for the Glasgow patter, a distinct dialect of the Scots language, noted for being difficult to understand by those from outside the city. Glasgow grew from a small rural settlement on the River Clyde to become the largest seaport in Scotland, tenth largest by tonnage in Britain. Expanding from the medieval bishopric and royal burgh, the establishment of the University of Glasgow in the fifteenth century, it became a major centre of the Scottish Enlightenment in the eighteenth century. From the eighteenth century onwards, the city grew as one of Great Britain's main hubs of transatlantic trade with North America and the West Indies.
With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the population and economy of Glasgow and the surrounding region expanded to become one of the world's pre-eminent centres of chemicals and engineering. Glasgow was the "Second City of the British Empire" for much of the Victorian era and Edwardian period, although many cities argue the title was theirs. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Glasgow's population grew reaching a peak of 1,127,825 people in 1938. Comprehensive urban renewal projects in the 1960s, resulting in large-scale relocation of people to designated new towns; the wider metropolitan area is home to over 1,800,000 people, equating to around 33% of Scotland's population. The city has one of the highest densities of any locality in Scotland at 4,023/km2. Glasgow hosted the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the first European Championships in 2018; the origin of the name'Glasgow' is disputed. It is common to derive the toponym from the older Cumbric glas cau or a Middle Gaelic cognate, which would have meant green basin or green valley.
The settlement had an earlier Cumbric name, Cathures. It is recorded that the King of Strathclyde, Rhydderch Hael, welcomed Saint Kentigern, procured his consecration as bishop about 540. For some thirteen years Kentigern laboured in the region, building his church at the Molendinar Burn where Glasgow Cathedral now stands, making many converts. A large community became known as Glasgu; the area around Glasgow has hosted communities for millennia, with the River Clyde providing a natural location for fishing. The Romans built outposts in the area and, to keep Roman Britannia separate from the Celtic and Pictish Caledonia, constructed the Antonine Wall. Items from the wall like altars from Roman forts like Balmuildy can be found at the Hunterian Museum today. Glasgow itself was reputed to have been founded by the Christian missionary Saint Mungo in the 6th century, he established a church on the Molendinar Burn, where the present Glasgow Cathedral stands, in the following years Glasgow became a religious centre.
Glasgow grew over the following centuries. The Glasgow Fair began in the year 1190; the first bridge over the River Clyde at Glasgow was recorded from around 1285, giving its name to the Briggait area of the city, forming the main North-South route over the river via Glasgow Cross. The founding of the University of Glasgow in 1451 and elevation of the bishopric to become the Archdiocese of Glasgow in 1492 increased the town's religious and educational status and landed wealth, its early trade was in agriculture and fishing, with cured salmon and herring being exported to Europe and the Mediterranean. Following the European Protestant Reformation and with the encouragement of the Convention of Royal Burghs, the 14 incorporated trade crafts federated as the Trades House in 1605 to match the power and influence in the town council of the earlier Merchants' Guilds who established their Merchants House in the same year. Glasgow was subsequently raised to the status of Royal Burgh in 1611. Glasgow's substantial fortunes came from international trade and invention, starting in the 17th century with sugar, followed by tobacco, cotton and linen, products of the Atlantic triangular slave trade.
Daniel Defoe visited the city in the early 18th century and famously opined in his book A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain, that Glasgow was "the cleanest and beautifullest, best built city in Britain, London excepted". At that time the city's population was about 12,000, the city was yet to undergo the massive expansionary changes to its economy and urban fabric, brought about by the Scottish Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution. After the Acts of Union in 1707, Scotland gained further access to the vast markets of the new British Empire, Glasgow became p
National Rail
National Rail in the United Kingdom is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies of England and Wales. The TOCs run the passenger services provided by the British Railways Board, from 1965 using the brand name British Rail. Northern Ireland, bordered by the Republic of Ireland, has a different system. National Rail services share a ticketing structure and inter-availability that do not extend to services which were not part of British Rail; the name and the accompanying double arrow symbol are trademarks of the Secretary of State for Transport. National Rail should not be confused with Network Rail. National Rail is a brand used to promote passenger railway services, providing some harmonisation for passengers in ticketing, while Network Rail is the organisation which owns and manages most of the fixed assets of the railway network, including tracks and signals; the two coincide where passenger services are run.
Most major Network Rail lines carry freight traffic and some lines are freight only. There are some scheduled passenger services on managed, non-Network Rail lines, for example Heathrow Express, which runs on Network Rail track; the London Underground overlaps with Network Rail in places. Twenty eight owned train operating companies, each franchised for a defined term by government, operate passenger trains on the main rail network in Great Britain; the Rail Delivery Group is the trade association representing the TOCs and provides core services, including the provision of the National Rail Enquiries service. It runs Rail Settlement Plan, which allocates ticket revenue to the various TOCs, Rail Staff Travel, which manages travel facilities for railway staff, it does not compile the national timetable, the joint responsibility of the Office of Rail Regulation and Network Rail. Since the privatisation of British Rail there is no longer a single approach to design on railways in Great Britain; the look and feel of signage and marketing material is the preserve of the individual TOCs.
However, National Rail continues to use BR's famous double-arrow symbol, designed by Gerald Burney of the Design Research Unit. It has been incorporated in the National Rail logotype and is displayed on tickets, the National Rail website and other publicity; the trademark rights to the double arrow symbol remain state-owned, being vested in the Secretary of State for Transport. The double arrow symbol is used to indicate a railway station on British traffic signs; the National Rail logo was introduced by ATOC in 1999, was used on the Great Britain public timetable for the first time in the edition valid from 26 September in that year. Rules for its use are set out in the Corporate Identity Style Guidelines published by the Rail Delivery Group, available on its website. "In 1964 the Design Research Unit—Britain’s first multi-disciplinary design agency founded in 1943 by Misha Black, Milner Gray and Herbert Read—was commissioned to breathe new life into the nation’s neglected railway industry".
The NR title is sometimes described as a "brand". As it was used by British Rail, the single operator before franchising, its use maintains continuity and public familiarity; the lettering used in the National Rail logotype is a modified form of the typeface Sassoon Bold. Some train operating companies continue to use the former British Rail Rail Alphabet lettering to varying degrees in station signage, although its use is no longer universal; the British Rail typefaces of choice from 1965 were Helvetica and Univers, with others coming into use during the sectorisation period after 1983. TOCs may use what they like: examples include Futura, Frutiger, a modified version of Precious by London Midland. Although TOCs compete against each other for franchises, for passengers on routes where more than one TOC operates, the strapline used with the National Rail logo is'Britain's train companies working together'. Several conurbations have their own metro or tram systems, most of which are not part of National Rail.
These include the London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, London Tramlink, Blackpool Tramway, Glasgow Subway, Tyne & Wear Metro, Manchester Metrolink, Sheffield Supertram, Midland Metro and Nottingham Express Transit. On the other hand, the self-contained Merseyrail system is part of the National Rail network, urban rail networks around Birmingham, Cardiff and West Yorkshire consist of National Rail services. London Overground is a hybrid: its services are operated via a concession awarded by Transport for London, are branded accordingly, but until 2010 all its routes used infrastructure owned by Network Rail. LO now possesses some infrastructure in its own right, following the reopening of the former London Underground East London line as the East London Railway. Since all the previous LO routes were operated by National Rail franchise Silverlink until November 2007, they have continued to be shown in the National Rail timetable and are still considered to be a part of National Rail.
Heathrow Express and Eurostar are not part of the National Rail network despite sharing of stations. Northern Ireland Railways were
Abellio ScotRail
Abellio ScotRail, operating services under the name ScotRail, is the Dutch-owned national train operating company of Scotland. A subsidiary of Abellio, it has operated the ScotRail franchise since 1 April 2015. In November 2013, Transport Scotland announced that Abellio, FirstGroup, MTR Corporation and National Express had been shortlisted to bid for the new ScotRail franchise. In October 2014, the franchise was awarded to Abellio; the franchise will operate for 7 years with a 3-year extension available contingent on performance criteria being met. Abellio began operating the franchise on 1 April 2015 and it opened the Borders Railway on 6 September 2015. In June 2016, the RMT union announced that train guards would be going on strike several times during the summer months in protest at more driver only trains. Six 24-hour and three 48-hour strikes were held on ScotRail services during June and July 2016. An agreement was reached in September 2016, it was agreed that the new Class 385 trains will have the doors controlled by both the driver and guard, with the driver opening the doors and the guard closing them.
On 20 January 2017 the Managing Director of ScotRail and the ScotRail alliance stepped down from his role after 18 months in the company. Within a few days Alex Hynes was named as the new Managing Director. Abellio ScotRail took over all of the services operated by First ScotRail on 1 April 2015, except for the Caledonian Sleeper services, which were transferred to a separate franchise operated by Serco; the franchise agreement requires the introduction of'Great Scottish Scenic Railway' trains on the West Highland, Far North, Borders Railway and Glasgow South Western lines. Steam special services are promoted by Abellio ScotRail. Current off-peak services are as follows. Abellio ScotRail operates 352 stations in Scotland. Not included are Glasgow Prestwick Airport station and operated by the airport, as well as both Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central, which are managed by Network Rail. Abellio ScotRail operates Lockerbie though none of its services call there, it took over management of Dunbar operated by Virgin Trains East Coast, in June 2015.
Abellio ScotRail's fleet is maintained at Edinburgh Haymarket, Glasgow Eastfield, Glasgow Shields Road, Corkerhill Glasgow Yoker, Ayr Townhead and Inverness as well as a newly built EMU stabling depot at Millerhill in Midlothian. Abellio ScotRail operates a diverse fleet of EMUs and loco-hauled stock. From Sunday 10 December 2017, Class 380 EMUs were introduced onto services between Glasgow and Edinburgh via Falkirk High; this was the first step in creating an electric service between the two cities, now expected to start in October 2018 with Class 385 EMUs, which should have entered service in December 2017, but have been delayed due to a windscreen fault. Abellio ScotRail began operations with the rolling stock below transferred from First ScotRail: Abellio ScotRail has mentioned the following as part of the future rolling stock. Abellio ScotRail were meant to introduce a brand new fleet of 46 three-car and 24 four-car Class 385 electric trains from December 2017, to operate services on the lines being electrified as part of the Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme.
However, due to infrastructure problems, issues with the trains involving software and windscreen issues, their introduction was delayed until September. In the meantime Abellio ScotRail hired 10 Class 365 units from Great Northern. If Abellio is granted a three-year optional franchise extension, it will order a further 10 three-car Class 385 units. From October 2018, Abellio ScotRail introduced former GWR HSTs on services between Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness, branded as "Inter7City" in reference to Scotland's seven main cities; the Mark 3 coaches, up to 40 years old, were intended to all have refurbished interiors and are fitted with powered doors. There will be 26 sets: 9 four-car trains; as with the Class 385’s there have been delays getting the refurbished trains into service. As a result a considerable number have been pressed in to service without refurbishment to allow for others to have refurbishment completed; this new rolling stock will result in ten Class 156, eight Class 158 and 21 Class 170 sets returning to their leasing companies when their leases expire in 2018.
Transport Scotland negotiated to retain an extra 13 Class 170s to support services through Fife to Aberdeen and the Borders railway. Northern will receive five of all the 158s and 16 of the 170s. In June 2018 it was announced that ScotRail will lease 5 Class 153 and reconfigure them to accommodate bikes and other outdoors sports equipment; the Class 153 will be attached to ScotRail Class 156s which will operate the line from Summer 2019 travelling between Glasgow, Fort William and Mallaig and may be introduced on Northern lines between Inverness, Kyle of Lochalsh and Wick. Media related to Abellio ScotRail at Wikimedia Commons Official website
Dalmarnock
Dalmarnock is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde opposite the town of Rutherglen, it is bounded by the Clyde to the south and east, Parkhead & Celtic F. C. to the north, Bridgeton at Dunn Street to the north west. The area covers; the area was once industrialised. Sir William Arrol & Co. had its extensive engineering works at Dunn Street and Baltic Street from 1873. From its beginnings in boiler making, the firm became renowned for its achievements in the field of Structural engineering. Amongst the many bridges constructed throughout Britain were the Forth Railway Bridge and Forth Road Bridge, the Humber Bridge and London's Tower Bridge; the company was taken over by Clarke Chapman in 1969 and the Dalmarnock Works closed in 1986. There was a large coal-fired power station located near Dalmarnock Bridge, it was built by Glasgow Corporation in two stages, with phase one opening in 1920 and phase two in 1926. It was closed in 1977 by the South of Scotland Electricity Board.
The east side of Allan Street was bombed during the Second World War. Most of the Victorian red sandstone tenements on Dalmarnock Road and Springfield Road were demolished in the 1960s and early-1970s, although some were renovated. In the 1960s, a new housing scheme was built, consisting of four twenty-two storey tower blocks and "H-block" maisonettes. Two of the towers, 40 & 50 Millerfield Road, were demolished on 3 February 2002. One other tower was demolished on 1 July 2007, the final one on 9 September 2007; this physical transformation featured in Chris Leslie's'Dissapearing Glasgow' book. By August 2011, Dalmarnock had no housing on Ardenlea St/Sunnybank St side of the area,due to the preparations and land need for the construction in the area pertaining to the Commonwealth Games and City Legacy. After the departure of all local retailers from the area all that remained was a small shop, set up by the workers in the Community Centre; this was a welcome boon for the area residents as the nearest shops were not within walking distance.
There is a petrol station on a car wash. There are a lot of small business units in the Nuneaton Street area and the Calder Millerfield factory which supplies meat-based products to the fast-food market. Dalmarnock railway station, on the Argyle Line, serves the local area. Dalmarnock Railway Station was upgraded for the 2014 Commonwealth Games; the area used to have four schools: Springfield Road Primary, Springfield Primary, Riverside Secondary and Our Lady of Fatima RC Primary School on Springfield Road have now closed. There is a Dalmarnock Primary School, but it is situated in the nearby Bridgeton area and should not be counted in the schools list for the area. A new primary school Riverbank Primary School is being developed by Glasgow City Council and is due to open in Autumn 2019. Dalmarnock was the location for the athletes' village when Glasgow hosted the 2014 Commonwealth Games and proposed skyscraper East One; the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome is in the area, at the section of Springfield Road where it intersects London Road.
From 19 May 2014 to 2 June 2014 BBC One Scotland aired a documentary entitled "Commonwealth City" which showed how the people and community in Dalmarnock have been affected since the games were announced in November 2007. It was narrated by actor Martin Compston; the documentary features local residents Margaret Jaconelli, David Stewart, Darren Faulds, local Councillors George Redmond & Yvonne Kucuk. Clyde Gateway is Scotland’s biggest and most ambitious regeneration programme, it is a partnership between Glasgow City Council, South Lanarkshire Council and Scottish Enterprise, backed by funding and direct support from the Scottish Government. There is a bridge over the River Clyde on Dalmarnock Road called Dalmarnock Bridge; the first bridge in the area was a wooden one erected in 1821 to connect Dalmarnock and the Farme Cross area of Rutherglen. It was replaced by a new timber bridge in 1848, in 1891 by the current Dalmarnock Bridge, designed by Glasgow consulting engineers, Crouch & Hogg; the Glasgow side of the bridge is a convenient point for walkers and cyclists to join the Clyde Walkway or National Cycle Route 75 which share a tarmac path along the river at this point.
It should not be confused with the nearby Rutherglen Bridge which connects Rutherglen to Dalmarnock as well as Glasgow Green and Bridgeton, nor with a modern pedestrian'Smartbridge' between Shawfield and Dalmarnock. There have been two railway bridges in Dalmarnock crossing the River Clyde; the first bridge was built in 1861, but was soon replaced in 1897 by a wider bridge to accommodate the Dalmarnock branch line. The stone pillars of the old bridge are still in situ adjacent to the newer bridge. Both bridges were designed by George Graham. Professional footballer Kenny Dalglish who played for Celtic F. C. and Liverpool was born in Dalmarnock. He opened the Dalmarnock Legacy Hub on 9th October 2015. George Chisholm, was born in Dalmarnock. Glasvegas Margaret Jaconelli, featured in Commonwealth City. David Stewart, was featured in Commonwealth City. Glasgow tower blocks'The Legacy', study of Dalmarnock at Disappearing Glasgow
Alexandra Parade railway station
This station was once named Alexandra Park: for a guide to the various stations of that name see Alexandra Park railway station. Alexandra Parade railway station is a railway station in Scotland; the station is 1 3⁄4 miles east of Glasgow Queen Street on the Springburn branch of the North Clyde Line. The station is managed by Abellio ScotRail, it was built as part of the City of Glasgow Union Railway. 2tph to Dumbarton Central via Glasgow Queen St Low Level and Dalmuir 2tph to SpringburnOn Sundays, an hourly Partick to Springburn service each way operates between 9am and 8pm. Brailsford, Martyn, ed.. Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man. Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8. Butt, R. V. J.. The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt and stopping place and present. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. Jowett, Alan. Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd.
ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137. Jowett, Alan. Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas. Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687. Media related to Alexandra Parade railway station at Wikimedia Commons
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