Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway
| Dates of operation | 1831–1844 |
|---|---|
| Successor | Caledonian Railway |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
| Previous gauge | 4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm) |
The Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway was an early railway built primarily to carry coal to Glasgow and other markets from the Monkland coalfields, shortening the journey and by-passing the monopolistic charges of the Monkland Canal; passenger traffic also developed early in the line's existence.
It opened officially on 27 September 1831 using horse traction, and had the track gauge of 4 ft 6 in that had been adopted by the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway, with which it was to connect.
It was dependent on the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway for access to the best areas of the coalfields, but eventually it by-passed this constraint by extending its line southwards through Coatbridge, enabling a direct link with another coal railway, the Wishaw and Coltness Railway. Widening its horizons it changed its name to The Glasgow, Garnkirk and Coatbridge Railway.
The track gauge originally chosen was now a limitation and it altered its gauge to the standard of 4 ft 8½ in. When the Caledonian Railway advanced on Glasgow, the Glasgow, Garnkirk and Coatbridge provided a ready-made access route, and the Caledonian company purchased the Garnkirk line.
Most of its original route remains open today.
In the eighteenth century, the city of Glasgow experienced increasing demand for coal, both for domestic and industrial purposes; the most convenient source was the Monkland coalfield, south of Airdrie, but the distance of over ten miles incurred considerable expense in the absence of an efficient means of transport. The Monkland Canal was opened in 1791, reducing the price of coal in Glasgow considerably. However a cartel of some of the coal owners attempted to keep prices artificially high, and from 1813 they managed to achieve a near-monopoly of the supply of Monkland coal, with the canal also charging monopolistic prices for carriage.
By 1823 the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway (M&KR) was being promoted, connecting the coalfield with the Forth and Clyde Canal at Kirkintilloch. Although this provided a route to Glasgow by-passing the Monkland Canal, "there seems little doubt that the principal intention of the M&KR promoters was the provision of a convenient route for Monkland coal to the Edinburgh market. Accordingly it was the principal coal consumers in Glasgow who were dominant in proposing a railway to convey coal directly to Glasgow. The chief sponsors included Charles Tennant & Co, who had their St. Rollox chemical works at Townhead, Glasgow, adjacent to the Monkland Canal.
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