The Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway (GP&GR) was an early Scottish railway, opened in 1841, providing train services between Greenock and Glasgow. At the time the River Clyde was not accessible to sea-going ships, and the intention was to compete with river boats that brought goods to and from the city. In fact passenger traffic proved surprisingly buoyant, and connecting steamer services to island resorts in the Firth of Clyde provided a very great source of business.
The GP&GR merged with the larger Caledonian Railway in 1851.
The Greenock station was not alongside the steamer berths and as the trade developed, this became a significant disadvantage. The independent Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway built a branch line to a pier at Wemyss Bay, giving much closer access to Rothesay, and in 1889 the Greenock line itself was extended to Gourock. The work involved the building of Newton Street Tunnel, the longest railway tunnel in Scotland.
The line between Glasgow and Greenock and Gourock is active at the present day, as is its Wemyss Bay branch.
History
Before the GP&GR
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the City of Glasgow had long been growing in industrial and commercial importance. With that growth came the need for transport of manufactured goods and raw materials, and at first crude horse-operated tramways responded to that demand, particularly short lines built to convey minerals to waterways. The River Clyde itself was a major traffic artery, but difficult navigational problems made it impossible for large vessels to reach the city. Increasingly, sea-going ships berthed at Greenock, and goods were trans-shipped there to smaller boats that could navigate the Clyde. Passengers too changed at Greenock to reach the city.
Passenger traffic was heavy following the introduction of steam vessels: traffic density may be judged from the fact that in the years 1838 and 1839 there were 69 collisions on the river.
Greenock itself grew in importance; it had a harbour in 1710, and became a focus for international trade, and the town developed numerous industries, including shipbuilding, metal working, sugar refining and hat making.
A railway proposed
The successful operation of the "coal railways" in the west of Scotland, notably the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway, encouraged thoughts of a railway between Greenock and Glasgow, and in 1836 these thoughts took the form of a prospectus for a company. This led to a Parliamentary Bill, but at the same time another proposed railway, the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway was being presented; the two lines would have very similar routes between Glasgow and Paisley, and it became plain that Parliament would be reluctant to authorise two adjacent lines; moreover the landowners would be hostile to the double loss of amenity. The respective promoters responded to this by agreeing on a jointly made and operated line between Glasgow and Paisley.
In fact land acquisition was a significant issue for the company. Houston station was built only because Lord Douglas made that the price of his withdrawing opposition to the Bill, and although the Company was pleased to have obtained all the necessary lands without legal sanction (except in one case), it paid 18.1% of its capital for land, compared with 12 - 13% for comparable lines. Its Parliamentary costs were also much higher than for other lines.
Both companies were authorised by Act of Parliament of 15 July 1837.
The Glasgow, Paisley and Ardrossan Canal had been authorised by Parliament, but in fact was only built between Glasgow and Johnstone; Parliament wished to prevent partial construction of the new railways, and the authorising Acts required construction to be undertaken from both ends of the lines.
Construction and opening
The track gauge had not yet been decided; the coal railways already active in the west of Scotland used a gauge of 4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm) and for a time it was thought that this gauge would be adopted. At this stage the design of the line was in the hands of Thomas Grainger who had been largely responsible for the coal railways. However much thought was being given by others to a line connecting Glasgow and the English railways. The line was to become the Caledonian Railway; trunk railways in England were already established and standard gauge was in general use there. The implications of a railway network were now understood, and the Greenock line decided to adopt standard gauge. The GPK&AR followed suit.