Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway

It was constructed and operated jointly by two competing railway companies as the stem of their lines to Greenock and Ayr respectively, and it opened in 1840.

In the 1830s promoters in the west of Scotland considered the potential for railway construction, and in the 1837 Parliamentary session, supporters of two schemes presented bills.

At the time Parliament was hostile to permitting closely parallel construction, and it became clear that the only way forward was to combine to build and use a shared line as far as Paisley.

[4][5] In 1840 the Bridge Street terminus on Clyde Place was adequate; it was a temporary station, replaced by the imposing permanent structure on 6 April 1841, handling passengers and goods.

St Enoch station became the main Glasgow passenger terminal for the G&SWR, although they continued to use Bridge Street for some time.

The Caledonian Railway (CR) became the successor to the Glasgow Paisley and Greenock Railway, and it too wished build a larger passenger terminal on the north side of the Clyde; on 31 July 1879, the CR opened a new terminus called Glasgow Central, fronting Gordon Street; the line was extended across the Clyde from Bridge Street on a four-track bridge built by Sir William Arrol & Co. Bridge Street station was also improved to include two new through platforms leading to Central Station and four bay platforms: two for the CR and two for the G&SWR.

The G&SWR ceased using it on 1 February 1892, and "the Joint Line now started at the bridge over Cook Street and its mileposts had to be reset for the purpose of mileage calculations.

[1] The Joint committee had obtained Acts of Parliament in 1891 and 1894 to build a line off the Govan branch to the Cessnock Dock then being planned by the Clyde Trustees.

These plans included a number of capacity enhancements for the joint line in order to allow for the extra trains that would serve the airport, including the provision of a bi-directional third track in the centre of the existing two tracks between Shields and Arkleston Junctions, the restoration of the four-track layout between Arkleston and Wallneuk Junctions, and extensive replacement of life-expired signalling along the whole line.

Although the airport link itself was subsequently cancelled in 2009 as a result of public spending cuts, the joint line works were continued as the Paisley Corridor Improvements Project and completed in 2012.

[9] On 22 February 1855 the 6.00 a.m. Dumfries to Glasgow train was brought to a stand on the Joint Line by a derailment due to a broken tyre.

When it stopped the guard attempted to unlock the doors of an overturned coach, and a platelayer started back to warn any following train.

139, an 0-4-2 of Patrick Stirling's design ... Two Hurlford men were in charge, driver James Lauderdale and fireman Andrew Gilchrist ...

After about twelve minutes, the Penilee signalman waved them back, intending to put them on to the Up Passenger Line, to resume their journey on that.

But the guard had spotted the down signals all off; thoroughly alarmed, he began running forward and shouting, and presently Lauderdale heard him and stopped.

[14] It collided head-on with an Ayrshire Coast Line special service from Ayr, which had left Platform 2 against a red signal.