Bowling Harbour

The tanker SS Invertest heads west past Bowling Harbour in the late 1950s (pre 1959 as Bowling Basin box is still standing) with the old entry to the Forth and Clyde Canal out of shot to the right. The Invertest was a bunkering vessel, bringing oil to larger ships all over the Clyde including those which had just been built at the various shipyards. She was to founder off Dunglass, just a little west of this view, in 1961 and was scrapped. The photograph was taken from one of the Clyde passenger steamers. A long westbound train looks to be coasting into Bowling (NB) station in the left background and to the right oil wagons are standing by the small quayside yard, with its travelling cranes, at the east end of Bowling Harbour. These sidings were accessed by both the NB (from the west) and Caley (from the east). The Caley approach involved a swing bridge over the canal to the south of, and at a lower level to, the substantial but disused railway swing bridge which is still in place. The main Caley line cannot be seen in this view but was on the wooded hillside above the NB line. The long wooden quay seen here no longer exists although its remains can be seen at low tide.

Location: Bowling Harbour

Original line: Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway

Photographer: A Snapper (Courtesy Bruce McCartney)

Contact photographer: A Snapper (Courtesy Bruce McCartney)

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Image number: 30981


Other photographs of Bowling Harbour on RailScot