Kelvin Valley Railway

Introduction

This railway is closed. The line ran from Kirkintilloch to Kilsyth and from Maryhill to Kilsyth. Its opening was in part due to the coal measures in the Kilsyth area and recent opening of the Stobcross Railway serving docks on the River Clyde.

The company had an argument with the North British Railway, which operated it, at the outset. The NBR initially refused to open the Maryhill to Kelvin Valley East Junction section. When it later did, it was opened as a self contained separated line.

The line opened throughout in 1879.

Its situation further improved with the opening of the Glasgow City and District Railway in 1886 allowing trains from Glasgow Queen Street Low Level to reach the western and eastern portions of the line while the east portion continued to be served from Glasgow Queen Street High Level.

The line connected with Bairds of Gartshore's Railway at Twechar, providing considerable coal traffic, and grew to serve several coal mines, sand pits and even a gun range.

The line closed to passengers in 1951. Torrance to Kelvin Valley East Junction closed in 1956. In 1958 the remaining part of the west portion of the line was used for DMU driver training. Torrance to Balmore closed in 1959. The remainder of the western portion closed in 1961. Twechar to Kilsyth [1st] closed in 1964. The final portion closed in 1966.






Dates

  /  /1873Kelvin Valley Railway
Kelvin Valley Railway authorised.
  /  /1877Kilsyth Railway
Kilsyth Railway absorbed by Kelvin Valley Railway.
01/06/1878Kelvin Valley Railway
Opened to Kilsyth Old via Kelvin Valley West Junction (Birdston Junction), Kirkintilloch, to passengers and freight. Also given as the 3rd of June.
04/06/1879Kelvin Valley Railway
Opened to Maryhill [Temporary] (no connection made at this time to the Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway) from Kelvin Valley East Junction (Birdston Junction) for freight.
01/10/1879Kelvin Valley Railway
Opened to passengers from Maryhill to Torrance, Maryhill East Junction opened.
29/10/1880Kelvin Valley Railway
Opened to passengers from Maryhill to Kilsyth [1st].
01/08/1885Kelvin Valley Railway North British Railway
Kelvin Valley Railway absorbed by North British Railway. (Alternative date 31/03/1886.)
  /12/1936Haugh Colliery No 1
This pit (to the south of the Kelvin Valley Railway's Kilsyth [1st] station and opened by Merry and Cunninghame) closed by William Baird & Co.
31/03/1951Kelvin Valley Railway
Alternative date for closure to passengers from Kelvin Valley East Junction to Maryhill.
02/04/1951Kelvin Valley Railway
Kilsyth (Old) (Kelvin Valley East Junction) to Maryhill (Maryhill East Junction) closed to passengers. Maryhill Park Junction [1st] to Knightswood South Junction closed to regular passenger trains.
04/08/1951Kelvin Valley Railway
Closed to passengers from Kelvin Valley West Junction to Kilsyth (Old).
24/06/1956Kelvin Valley Railway
Kelvin Valley East Junction to Torrance (excluded) closed to freight.
  /  /1958Kelvin Valley Railway
Maryhill East Junction to Torrance used for DMU driver training.
05/10/1959Kelvin Valley Railway
Torrance to Balmore (excluded) closed to freight, although subsequently used by tour train in 1960.
  /  /1960Kelvin Valley Railway
Line used between Maryhill and Torrance by tour train hauled by Glen Douglas visiting Torrance.
06/06/1961Kelvin Valley Railway
Alternative date for Kilsyth Old to Kirkintilloch (Kelvin Valley West Junction) closed to passengers.
31/07/1961Kelvin Valley Railway
Balmore to Maryhill East Junction closed to freight, but retained for a short period for coal to Summerston [1st].
04/05/1964Kelvin Valley Railway
Kilsyth (Old) to Twechar (excluded) closed to freight.
04/04/1966Kelvin Valley Railway
Twechar to Kelvin Valley West Junction closed to freight.

Portions of line and locations

This line is divided into a number of portions.


Maryhill to Kilsyth

This closed single track line ran from Maryhill East Junction to Kilsyth (Old).

The Kelvin Valley Railway (1879) met the existing Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway (1858) at a junction which allowed eastbound trains to take the branch from the main line. The junction was also known as Kelvin Valley Junction.
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See also
Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway


This was the temporary western terminus of the Kelvin Valley Railway built during an argument between that company and the North British Railway, who operated the line.
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This colliery was north of Maryhill at Balmuildy with Blackhill Farm to the south west. The colliery opened around 1873, about the time the Kelvin Valley Railway opened (1879) and was owned by the Summerlee Iron Co.
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Summerlee Iron Co




This was a single platform station. The platform was on the west side of the line with a small timber station building at its north end, next to the railway cottage (which survives). The building was more Glasgow and South Western Railway (eg Fairlie) in style than North British Railway. A pair of sidings left the station at the south end of the platform alongside the signal box.
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Platelayers hut by the goods sidings at the first Summerston station in 1987. The view is from by the old passenger platform. Maryhill was off to the ...
Ewan Crawford //1987
Summerston station looking to Kilsyth. ...
Ewan Crawford //
2 of 2 images.


This was a single platform station.
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Bardowie looking to Maryhill. The platform was to the right. ...
Ewan Crawford //
Bardowie station house looking east towards Kilsyth from the old trackbed. Lots of railway fencing survived at this date. The platform was obliterated ...
Ewan Crawford //1987
2 of 2 images.




This was a single platform station. The platform was on the north side of the line. It was a minimal station. There was a siding, approached from the west, on the south side of the line with a loading bank. To the east Glenorchard Road crossed over the line and to the west the line crossed over what is now the A807. A second siding was added around 1900.
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Balmore looking to Maryhill. The station was out of shot to the right and has been obliterated. ...
Ewan Crawford //
At Balmore. V.1. 2.6.2T 67676. Last train Bridgeton Cross to Kilsyth via Maryhill. ...
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 31/03/1951
2 of 2 images.




This was a single platform station.
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'FRUIT' sign from a standard wagon van at the former Torrance station. ...
Alistair MacKenzie //
Platform at Torrance. The site is now obliterated. This was the side of the goods platform which faced the passing loop, the photograph is taken from ...
Ewan Crawford //1987
Looking east at the Torrance station. This had a single platform. ...
Ewan Crawford //1987
Torrance. Restored N.B.R. 4.4.0 256 Glen Douglas. ...
G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 30/04/1960
4 of 4 images.


This sand pit was served by a siding. It was to the east of Torrance station, on the south side of the line, and accessed from west.
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This sand pit was on the south side of the Kelvin Valley Railway east of Torrance.
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This sand pit was served by a siding from the Kelvin Valley Railway. There was a loop on the north side of the line and a siding, served from the east, into the sand pit.
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This junction was between two parts of the Kelvin Valley Railway. The railway ran east to Kilsyth [1st] and could be approached from Kirkintilloch [2nd] to the south and Maryhill to the west.
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Looking east towards Kelvin Valley East Junction. The Campsie Branch passed under this missing bridge and the River Kelvin below another span just ...
Ewan Crawford //1987
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This sand siding was on the south side of the line immediately east of Kelvin Valley East Junction. Access was from the west.
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This signal box provided access to the Auchenreoch Colliery. This mine was on the north side of the line and a siding ran west to the mine from the railway. ...

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Looking east towards the site of the former MoD Inchterf military shell testing range, once referred to locally as The Gun Range. Taken just ...
David Forbes /07/2009
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This was a typical small North British Railway style station, with a building typical of the NBR. However there was a large yard on the south side of the line, accessed from the east.
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Bairds of Gartshore^s Railway
Looking south at what was a railway bridge crossing the road near Twechar. The line was Bairds of Gartshores private line to coalmines by Kilsyth. ...
Ewan Crawford //1990
Looking east at Twechar. The station building and platform were on the right and through line to the left. To the right of the platform were multiple ...
Ewan Crawford //1990
Looking west from Twechar. The station was behind the camera. Note the wooden supports for the removed rails. ...
Ewan Crawford //1990
3 of 3 images.


This was a small single road shed on the north side of the Kelvin Valley Railway at Kilsyth Junction. There was direct access from Kilsyth (Old) (to the east) but not from the Kilsyth and Bonnybridge Railway.
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This was the junction where the Kilsyth and Bonnybridge Railway met the Kelvin Valley Railway. Kilsyth Shed was located to the north, approached from the junction to the east.
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Bairds of Gartshore^s Railway
Kilsyth and Bonnybridge Railway
Kilsyth Junction looking east in 1991. The Kelvin Valley Railway came in from the bottom right and ran to a station, distant centre. To the left is a ...
Ewan Crawford //1991
1 of 1 images.


The first station in Kilsyth was a single platform terminus to the west of the town. There was a loop, with the platform on the north side, and a goods yard to the north, all approached from the west where Kilsyth Shed was located.
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Kelvin Valley Curve

A short curve ran from Kelvin Valley West Junction to Kelvin Valley East Junction. This allowed trains from [[Glasgow Queen Street] to run via Lenzie and the Lennoxtown Branch before joining the Kelvin Valley route.

This was the junction between the Campsie Branch (Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway) of 1848 and a spur from the Kelvin Valley Railway of 1878.
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Campsie Branch (Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway)
The SLS 'Strathendrick Express' has just taken the fork for Kilsyth at Kelvin Valley West Junction and is about to cross over the Glazert Water. The ...
G. H. Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow. 03/05/1958
Kelvin Valley West Junction looking north to Milton of Campsie. The line was double track and a double track line branched off to the right to meet ...
Ewan Crawford //1987
Looking from Kelvin Valley West Junction to Kelvin Valley East Junction. A few viaduct piers remain. ...
Ewan Crawford //1987
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This junction was between two parts of the Kelvin Valley Railway. The railway ran east to Kilsyth [1st] and could be approached from Kirkintilloch [2nd] to the south and Maryhill to the west.
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Looking east towards Kelvin Valley East Junction. The Campsie Branch passed under this missing bridge and the River Kelvin below another span just ...
Ewan Crawford //1987
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Kilsyth Gas Works

This was the junction where the Kilsyth and Bonnybridge Railway met the Kelvin Valley Railway. Kilsyth Shed was located to the north, approached from the junction to the east.
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See also
Bairds of Gartshore^s Railway
Kilsyth and Bonnybridge Railway
Kilsyth Junction looking east in 1991. The Kelvin Valley Railway came in from the bottom right and ran to a station, distant centre. To the left is a ...
Ewan Crawford //1991
1 of 1 images.