When the rival Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire Railway[a] proposed a line to Balloch running close nearby, agreement was reached to make part of the former C&DJR line jointly owned, and this was done in 1896, forming the Dumbarton and Balloch Joint Railway.

William Stirling established a textile dyeworks at Cordale, near Renton in the valley of the River Leven, in 1770.

Other industrialists in textile finishing established nearby and the area between Balloch and Dumbarton quickly became a centre of the industry.

During the lengthy period of planning and then during the parliamentary hearings to obtain its own authorising act, the Caledonian had determined on an expansive scheme of bringing as many independent railways under its influence as possible.

Bowling was at the western extremity of the Forth and Clyde Canal, which gave access to the industries of the northern margins of Glasgow and to Edinburgh; the railway was built to the canal basin for exchange of goods; the Bowling passenger and goods station was a short distance to the west, close to the Clyde pier.

Coal from the Monkland pits was brought to Bowling on the Forth and Clyde Canal, substantially reducing costs in the area served by the railway and on Loch Lomondside.

It fell to the promoters of the Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway (GD&HR), to close the gaps; the authorising Act for the line was granted on 15 August 1855.

[5][6] The GD&HR paid the Caledonian and Dumbartonshire half the original cost of the River Leven bridge in Dumbarton.

[4] The C&DJR had found its original destiny by joining with the GD&HR, and tourism developed as the public started to enjoy the landscape of Loch Lomond.

That status as a worthy but unexciting backwater was changed somewhat in 1889, when the promoters of a nominally independent Dumbarton, Jamestown and Loch Lomond Railway proposed a line up the east side of the Leven to Aber Bay, near Ross Priory on Loch Lomond.

The L&DR would serve many industrial sites in the shipbuilding areas of the north shore of the Clyde and it was heavily supported by industrialists.

By running round the north of Glasgow to join the line out of Buchanan Street the L&DR would link in the Caledonian Railway network for goods and minerals, and the Glasgow Central Railway would be connected too, giving through journeys across the city.

This was not to the liking of the NBR but it was forced to acquiesce, and the arrangement was ratified by the Dumbarton and Balloch Joint Line, &c. Act 1892 (55 & 56 Vict.

When the L&DR completed its line to Dumbarton, the onward route to Balloch would be transferred to Joint Railway status.

Railway operated pleasure steamers on Loch Lomond also transferred to the Joint Company; the NBR received £30,000 for them.

The steamers were lavish and there was an excellent service to points on Loch Lomond, with good connections to the trains at Balloch Pier.

[d][16] The enhanced access to the industry of the Leven Valley, promised by the NBR, was provided in the years following the 1892 act.

Only a limited number of trains ran as far as Balloch Pier, and the weekend peak of journeys was no longer in existence, as throughout transport by road from Loch Lomondside settlements and farms became increasingly dominant.

[17] Steam trains continued running (as a planned arrangement) throughout the Caledonian route until 1964, when that line was closed.

At the present day electric passenger trains run from Balloch to Glasgow and beyond, on a broadly half-hourly interval service, operated by ScotRail.

From the earliest days steamers on Loch Lomond had operated in connection with the trains, and for much of the period were owned by one or other of the railways.