Southside Station was a Caledonian Railway passenger terminal situated at the junction of Cathcart Road and Pollokshaws Road at Gushetfaulds in the Gorbals.
The station opened on 29th September, 1848, providing a service to Arthurlie Street, Barrhead. operated by the Glasgow, Barrhead and Neilston Direct Railway, which a short time later was taken over by the Caledonian Railway.
From 1st June 1849, the Caledonian Railway used the station as a terminal for its branch line to Lanarkshire via Polmadie and Rutherglen.
Southside Station continued to be used as a terminus for the Caledonian Railway’s Lanarkshire services until it closed in 1879, during the development of lines to the new Glasgow Central Station.
Goods trains used the branch line to General Terminus Quay, allowing access to Glasgow’s harbourside from industrial Lanarkshire.
The additional tunnels which were created for the later lines into Eglinton Street and Central station were situated next to the tunnel for the line to General Terminus Quay, shown in the above map.
The blueprint of Southside station, below, shows the station platforms which were entered by two stairways from street level.
The station had 5 tracks entering it, with 4 passenger platforms. The additional track between the platforms was used for the storage of rolling stock.
This pattern was also used for the tracks entering both versions of the terminals at Bridge Street, each of which had 5 tracks and 4 platforms.
The photograph below shows the site of Southside Station from Cathcart Road, alongside the ruins of Caledonia Road Church.
The Barrhead line which previously terminated at Southside was later carried by a bridge towards Gorbals station, the last stop before the St Enoch Terminus.
After Gorbals Station opened for Barrhead services in 1877, Southside Station continued to be used for Lanarkshire services until it closed in 1879.
Photograph from site of Southside Station looking towards entrance from Cathcart Road.
Long view of the site of Southside Station with the overgrown railway embankment, built for the Barrhead line, to the left.
Workshop facilities were sited at Southside Station, as a supplement to the Caledonian Railway's huge main works at St Rollox, Springburn, on the other side of the Clyde.
The Glasgow and South Western lines were all south of the river, making it easier to centralise the repair and transfer of rolling stock. Their main workshops were in Kilmarnock, with no need for facilities at their Glasgow terminals.
Aerial view of the site of Southside Station, Caledonia Road Church and flats in the "New Gorbals".
The site of the station was later used as a freight terminal.
Notice of the station's impending closure on 1st July 1879 was published in the Glasgow Herald of 27th June 1879. It informed passengers of the replacement stations which were to open on the same day.
The horse-drawn omnibuses used to connect Southside Station with Buchanan Street Station were withdrawn at the same time.
Buchanan Street was the terminus for the Caledonian Railway's services to the major cities of England.
The old station is commemorated by Southside Crescent in the housing development facing its former site.
Gorbals Station opened on 1 September 1877 as a partial replacement for Southside Station. It closed on 1 June 1928.
It allowed access for trains on the Barrhead branch line to the new St Enoch Station, which had opened nearly a year earlier.
The photograph below shows the viaduct carrying the extended Barrhead line over a new bridge, crossing Cathcart Road, close to Caledonia Road Church. The familiar railway pub at the bridge, the Granite City, survives as the Brazen Head.
Main Street was the last station on the line from Paisley to St Enoch. It opened on 1 January 1872 when services terminated at the temporary station at Dunlop Street, which was in use while St Enoch Station was under construction. It remained in use until 1900 when a new station in Cumberland Street replaced it.
The timetable on the station's opening day shows that services to Greenock were shared with Bridge Street Station, meeting up at Shields junction.
Trains from Dunlop Street went through the stations at Main Street and Shields Road. Trains from Bridge Street went through Pollokshields Station.
The map below shows the lines to St Enoch approaching Gorbals Station and the nearby Main Street Station, before they connected at Gorbals Junction.
The remains of both stations at Gorbals Street can still be seen.
The photograph below shows the site of the stations before the two lines merged at Gorbals Junction.
Main Street Station was on the left and Gorbals Station was on the right.
The stone staircase leading to the city bound platform at Gorbals Station is still in place.
On the other side of Gorbals Station, at Hospital Street, you can see the staircase leading to Waiting Rooms and outbound platform.
Close-up view of map, showing stairway entrances on both sides of Gorbals Station as seen in the above photographs.
Site of Main Street Station. Like the line and platforms at Gorbals Station, it is overgrown with trees and weeds.
The present day bridge near the site of Main Street Station was a later construction, carrying an additional two tracks over Gorbals Street after Main Street Station closed in 1900.
The site of the dismantled 1870 bridge carrying the track into Main Street Station is shown by the much fresher grey brickwork, which was put in place after the bridge had been dismantled.
Colour differences below the wall show where the bridge supports would have been situated.
This extract from the "Glasgow and South Western Railway 1850-1923" , published by the Stephenson Locomotive Society in 1950 shows the changes which occured in 1900.
Main Street Station closed on 30th September 1900 to "permit of the doubling of the lines to St Enoch Stn".
The following day, 1st October, a new station, "Eglinton Street Stn (G & SW R), later Cumberland Street Stn", opened.
The Post Office Directories for this period show that this large new station had 2 separate addresses, 225 Eglinton Street and 100 Cumberland Street.
On the other side of Gorbals Street from Main Street Station, you can see the overgrown site of the 1870 bridge alongside the 1900 bridge.
An aerial view of the sites of both stations from the south.
The line of the original track at Main Street Station, as shown in the old maps, is marked by a broken red line.
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All original artwork, photography and text © Gerald Blaikie 2002-2012 Contact: admin@scotcities.com
Unauthorised reproduction of any image on this website is not permitted.
