I managed to get out for a few hours to do some exploring. And thought I would go visit this old railway line in the middle of Greenock, just outside Glasgow. Getting on to the line was simple enough and then walking it submerged below ground level in the embankments and tunnels. Greenock has the second most disused tunnels after Glasgow, even more than Edinburgh, and most are on the Princes Pier line. Although some are more like large bridges, but were officially classed as tunnels. When you get to the end of the line, you come to Union Street tunnel, this a large tunnel, over 700 yards long. And Scotland’s longest tunnel stretching a mile long goes underneath it and still in use. I had seen a recent pic online with the fencing open, but getting to the bridge before the tunnel I could see a cherry picker underneath it. My hope died a bit seeing this, and as I got near the portal my fears were realised, the fence was fixed. This was the tallest fence I had seen, prob ten foot. I was on my own and really did not fancy the climb over it, I could not even manage it with out gear. I was initially gutted, as this tunnel has the most amazing vent shaft, plus two signal poles inside. But as I was heading back down the line, the more I thought about it, the more I realised how good this place was. So much railway infrastructure to see, a feeling of walking in the middle of nowhere till you see buildings up top and here cars. So that made me feel better about missing out on the main tunnel. I even see a couple of deer runnig around. This place is a great example of fantastic Victorian engineering, and the best thing, the stretch retains the track for most of the length. And anyone interested in railway infrastructure would love it here, I am actually surprised it’s not featured more on here. There is a sort of report from 2012 on here, but that’s all I could find.
The Princes Pier Line opened in December 1869 and was named after Prince Albert, the Duke of Edinburgh. The railway was built to ferry the public from Glasgow to Greenock to the paddle steamers to escape the daily grind of life in the cityand as a goods line. The line was run by the Glasgow And South Western Company, one of four railway companies in Scotland. At the end of Union Street tunnel you had the beautiful Princes Pier Station which passengers disembarked the train at. The line closed to passengers in 1959, but continued on for goods trains till 1965. With takeover of the harbour by the port authority, the line came back into use in 1971. The tracks were lifted and replaced with a central single track to allow larger containers to pass through the tunnels, the line continued till 1991 when it was shut for good.
We start our journey just past the old viaduct, the track is very overgrown, down this end, the actual rail are very overgrown. First of all is a small bridge that seems to carry water across. And then after that the Drum Krakow road bridge. This bridge had a seperate bridge section to the side.
Straight under the bridge is the remains of Lynedoch station. All that remains is the old platforms either side. But it’s really nice to see though, and adds to the completeness of the line.
Next is Lynedoch Street tunnel. This more like a bridge and less than one hundred yards. It has also got a spur that led to a large goods yard next to the station. This is now an industrial estate.
I see a lot of these marker plates which are really nice to see. The surprising thing for me down here, was the minimal amount of graffiti.
Next up is Mearns street bridge. The tunnels are nice, but was something about this bridge that was stunning, it was so tall. I am a sucker for Victorian railway bridges, and this is one of the nicest I have seen. The brickwork was lovely underneath,a nod it’s another great feat of engineering.
Coming underneath Mearns street bridge we have Trafalger street tunnel. This is a 420 yard tunnel that goes in a slight S shape. Various pics from the journey there and back on different lenses.
Coming out the other end.
The Princes Pier Line opened in December 1869 and was named after Prince Albert, the Duke of Edinburgh. The railway was built to ferry the public from Glasgow to Greenock to the paddle steamers to escape the daily grind of life in the cityand as a goods line. The line was run by the Glasgow And South Western Company, one of four railway companies in Scotland. At the end of Union Street tunnel you had the beautiful Princes Pier Station which passengers disembarked the train at. The line closed to passengers in 1959, but continued on for goods trains till 1965. With takeover of the harbour by the port authority, the line came back into use in 1971. The tracks were lifted and replaced with a central single track to allow larger containers to pass through the tunnels, the line continued till 1991 when it was shut for good.
We start our journey just past the old viaduct, the track is very overgrown, down this end, the actual rail are very overgrown. First of all is a small bridge that seems to carry water across. And then after that the Drum Krakow road bridge. This bridge had a seperate bridge section to the side.
Straight under the bridge is the remains of Lynedoch station. All that remains is the old platforms either side. But it’s really nice to see though, and adds to the completeness of the line.
Next is Lynedoch Street tunnel. This more like a bridge and less than one hundred yards. It has also got a spur that led to a large goods yard next to the station. This is now an industrial estate.
I see a lot of these marker plates which are really nice to see. The surprising thing for me down here, was the minimal amount of graffiti.
Next up is Mearns street bridge. The tunnels are nice, but was something about this bridge that was stunning, it was so tall. I am a sucker for Victorian railway bridges, and this is one of the nicest I have seen. The brickwork was lovely underneath,a nod it’s another great feat of engineering.
Coming underneath Mearns street bridge we have Trafalger street tunnel. This is a 420 yard tunnel that goes in a slight S shape. Various pics from the journey there and back on different lenses.
Coming out the other end.
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