The Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway crossed this area on an embankment due to the low lying marshy ground. This junction, named for Southbar House to the north east, served a large tip. Waste was tipped on either side of the line to the north of the junction to reclaim the marsh by Glasgow Corporation. Tipping sidings, such as Southbar Siding (East) were moved as needed.
A curious siding from the junction travelled west, then south, then east to nearly rejoin the railway and entered a building. The line probably marks out the area of a tip. This siding was approached by reversal from the north.
These sidings were controlled by South Barr signal box (the spelling has since standardised as Southbar). This box was on the west side of the line in the 'V' of the junction for the curious siding. On the east side was a second siding approached by reversal from the south. The sidings in this area expanded to become Southbar Siding (East).
During the Shell Crisis of 1915 sites were chosen for new ordnance factories to be built rapidly to supply the neede armaments. No 4 National Filing Factory was chosen to be placed on the west side of the railway south of Southbar Junction and accessed by the junction.
The new layout was considerable. Following a visit by Lloyd George it was named for him Georgetown Filling Factory.
The signal box at Southbar Junction was replaced with a new building on a similar site. To the south a branch led off to Georgetown Filling Factory Yard from which the factory itself was reached. Sidings ran south and west to reach the different portions of the factory. The yard had looped sidings from the main line on its west side and a further set of looped sidings accessed at their north end from Southbar Junction.
A new Georgetown [NFF] station was erected just south of Southbar Junction (3/4 of a mile north of Houston station) with long platforms from which covered walkways extended west into the factory to reach offices and factory buildings. This station was on a loop immediately to the west of the main line with a second, island, platform added on the east side (see Georgetown [NFF] entry).
The site fell out of use in 1918-1926. The out of use signal box burned down in 1934.
The junction was reformed in the Second World War. It was a little to the north of the earlier junction. It was controlled by Barochan Junction signal box which was further south than the original junction. A new version of the Georgetown Filling Factory Yard was remade at the northern connection. It was accessed by a loop which began to the south at Barochan Junction and rejoined at the relocated South Bar Junction to the north. From the yard a line ran south west into the site. This area was used for storage in the Second World War, the main factory from this period was at ROF Bishopton to the north.
Barochan Junction signal box fell out of use in 1952 when the connections are likely to have been severed. Certainly these were removed by the 1967 electrification.
Caley to the Coast: Rothesay by Wemyss Bay (Oakwood Library of Railway History) |