This was an emergency port built during the Second World War. The port was intended to provide extra wharfage should London and Liverpool docks be destroyed.
To prepare the site a considerable amount of material was deposited in Faslane Bay to reclaim land for a marshalling yard, station, loading ramps and transit sheds. A long offshore quayside was built running south from the marshalling yards.
Approach to the site was from Faslane Junction (and Faslane Junction Yard), a long double track railway operated wrong line dropped down to a station and headshunts in the north of the site. The yards, ramps, sheds and quayside were reached by reversal. Quayside lines reached as far south as opposite Balernock House and onshore lines reached as far south as Carnban Point.
Elsewhere a re-opened and extended yard opened at Rhu, the loop at Helensburgh Upper was extended, and further yards laid out at Craigendoran Junction and Ardmore Yard (where an anti-submarine boom for the River Clyde was stored).
After the war, the northern part of the site was used to scrap surplus naval vessels by Metal Industries (Salvage) Ltd (later Shipbreaking Industries Ltd). Lines remained in use, the railway up to Faslane Junction was singled. The southern part of the site, which came to be in Naval use, had all of its sidings lifted and the long quayside was breached to separate the two portions of the port.
The whole site is now a submarine base.
HM Naval Base Clyde
A similar port was developed at Cairnryan served by the Cairnryan Military Railway.
Nearby stations Faslane Port Shandon Garelochhead Faslane Platform Whistlefield Halt Rhu Helensburgh Upper Helensburgh Central Helensburgh Ticket Platform Craigendoran Pier Craigendoran Upper Craigendoran Glen Douglas Halt Gourock Fort Matilda | Faslane Locomotive Shed Faslane Port Ramp Timbacraft Yard Garelochhead Viaduct Faslane Junction Yard Tourist/other Belmore Level Crossing St Michael^s Chapel High Balernock Level Crossing Balernock Pier Garelochhead Pier West Shandon House Laigh Balernock Level Crossing Shandon Castle Shandon House Gare Loch |
Location names in dark blue are on the same original line. |
27/04/1941 | West Highland Railway Military Port Number 1 Railway Faslane Junction junction and signal box opened with a loop on the main line, double track junction and exchange sidings for the railway to Military Port No 1, Faslane Military Port. |
21/12/1941 | West Highland Railway New signal box and longer loop opened at Helensburgh Upper to help with Faslane Military Port traffic. |
10/12/1949 | PS Lucy Ashton Sold to Metal Industries (Salvage) Ltd, Faslane Military Port. Deck structures removed. Hull used for resistance testing by the British Shipbuilding Research Association and fitted with jet propulsion. (The wheelhouse found its way to the garden of Graham Langmuir, noted steamer historian.) |