Glasgow’s lost Bridge Street station that was city’s grandest railway …

There’s a certain ‘faded glory’ quality to the few remaining Victorian-era buildings dotted along Glasgow’s ^[1] Bridge Street that points to a more illustrious past for the famed Laurieston thoroughfare.

Certainly, back in the 19th century ^[2], Bridge Street was considered one of the most important avenues into the city centre south of the Clyde. It even had its own grand railway terminal – and what a sight it was to behold.

Opened in 1841 ^[3] and fronted with a magnificent Doric-pillared portico, Bridge Street Station, which replaced an older temporary wooden structure, was Glasgow’s first custom-built passenger railway terminal, predating the likes of Glasgow Central and St Enoch Station by decades. Its booking hall was situated behind the portico, while a designated station hotel was opened on the corner of Clyde Place.

With nothing else yet built in the vicinity to rival it, it’s estimated that more than 21,000 passengers used the station, which boasted five tracks and four platforms, during Glasgow Fair Week in July 1841.

The terminal predated Glasgow Central by decades. Picture: Gerry Blaikie.

Initially operated by several different railway companies, the station eventually became jointly-owned by the Caledonian Railway Company and their rivals, the Glasgow & South Western Railway Company.

But with the city’s population growing exponentially in the latter half of the 19th century, it soon became clear that a much larger terminal was required for Glasgow’s city centre on the north side of the Clyde.

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In 1873, the Caledonian Railway Company were granted powers to build their own new station – Glasgow Central – that would connect with Bridge Street via a multi-line railway bridge over the river. Opened in 1879, the huge new Central Station ultimately proved to be the death knell for Bridge Street.

As Central Station underwent a massive expansion in the early 1900s, Bridge Street Station became surplus to requirements and was closed as a terminal. The former station’s fate took a different turn, as the buildings found new purposes. The colonnaded Booking Hall was transformed into offices, surrounded by shops and public houses, while the upper floors of the corner building continued to function as a hotel.

Bridge Street Glasgow February 1954 Clydesdale Supply company building just before demolition showing massive Greek columns

Having been closed as the station’s booking hall for decades, the grand portico at Bridge Street Station, which was now occupied as offices by the Clydesdale Supply Company, was torn down in 1954. The remaining station buildings were finally demolished in 1971 and the area, now given over to landscaping, has remained bereft of buildings ever since.

The same stretch of Bridge Street looks very different today. Picture: Google Street View.

For further information on Glasgow’s Bridge Street Station visit here ^[7].

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References

^{^} Glasgow’s (www.glasgowlive.co.uk)
^{^} 19th century (www.glasgowlive.co.uk)
^{^} 1841 (www.glasgowlive.co.uk)
^{^} The ‘witch-like’ spirit that haunted a Glasgow family out of their tenement home (www.glasgowlive.co.uk)
^{^} Glasgow cult band hits top 10 more than four decades after breaking up (www.glasgowlive.co.uk)
^{^} Glasgow Live’s Whatsapp Community here (chat.whatsapp.com)
^{^} visit here (www.gerryblaikie.com)
^{^} Glasgow Live nostalgia newsletters (www.glasgowlive.co.uk)