Clydebridge Junction [Rutherglen]

Location type

Junction

Names and dates

Clyde Junction [CR] (1892-1897)
Clydebridge Junction [Rutherglen] (1897-1973)

Note: text in square brackets is added for clarity and was not part of the location's name.

Opened on the Dalmarnock Branch (Caledonian Railway).
Opened on the Glasgow Central Railway.
Opened on the The Switchback (Caledonian Railway).
Opened on the Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire Railway.

Description

This junction was replaced by the present Rutherglen North Junction, the present junction being south of the former Clydebridge Junction (the original Rutherglen North Junction [1st] was further south).

This junction was north of Rutherglen station. This was where the line from Rutherglen West Junction, to the south west, and Rutherglen Central Junction, to the south east, met. To the north the line crosses the River Clyde.

The original 1861 Dalmarnock Branch (Caledonian Railway) line here ran from Rutherglen Central Junction to Bridgeton [1st] crossing the Clyde Viaduct [Rutherglen] [1st].

The junction opened in 1892 when a curve opened between Rutherglen West Junction and Clyde Junction. The signal box was on the west side of the junction.

In 1897 there was a major rebuilding. A new Clyde Viaduct [Rutherglen] was opened to the east of the original and by Clydebridge Junction the original line was diverted over the new bridge. This left the older bridge to be used by the new Glasgow Central Railway. Clydebridge Junction was now a four way junction - the two bridge routes and the forks to Rutherglen West and Central. A new signal box was built on the west side of the junction.

The Glasgow Central Railway closed in 1969 here and the old bridge fell out of use. By the early 1970s the two forks had reduced to single tracks. The Rutherglen carriage sidings were still in operation and the line over the Clyde reduced to a single line. It redoubled at Strathclyde Junction.

In 1973 the signal box closed, control taken over by the Glasgow Central Power Box.

The Argyle Line, the re-opened Glasgow Central Railway, opened in 1979. It uses the newer Clyde Viaduct [Rutherglen], approaching it by a rebuilt alignment.

Tags

Junction
04/07/2019


Books


A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Scotland - The Lowlands and the Borders v. 6 (Regional railway history series)

An Illustrated History of Glasgow's Railways

The Vanished Railways of Old Western Dunbartonshire (Britains Railways/Old Photos)