Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway

The Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway (GP&GR) was an early Scottish railway, opened in 1841, providing train services between Greenock and Glasgow. At the time the River Clyde was not accessible to sea-going ships, and the intention was to compete with river boats that brought goods to and from the city. In fact passenger traffic proved surprisingly buoyant, and connecting steamer services to island resorts in the Firth of Clyde provided a very great source of business.

The GP&GR merged with the larger Caledonian Railway in 1851.

The Greenock station was not alongside the steamer berths and as the trade developed, this became a significant disadvantage. The independent Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway built a branch line to a pier at Wemyss Bay, giving much closer access to Rothesay, and in 1889 the Greenock line itself was extended to Gourock. The work involved the building of Newton Street Tunnel, the longest railway tunnel in Scotland.

The line between Glasgow and Greenock and Gourock is active at the present day.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the City of Glasgow had long been growing in industrial and commercial importance. With that growth came the need for transport of manufactured goods and raw materials, and at first crude horse-operated tramways responded to that demand, particularly short lines built to convey minerals to waterways. The River Clyde itself was a major traffic artery, but difficult navigational problems made it impossible for large vessels to reach the city. Increasingly, sea-going ships berthed at Greenock, and goods were trans-shipped there to smaller boats that could navigate the Clyde. Passengers too changed at Greenock to reach the city.

Passenger traffic was heavy following the introduction of steam vessels: traffic density may be judged from the fact that in the years 1838 and 1839 there were 69 collisions on the river.

Greenock itself grew in importance; it had a harbour in 1710, and became a focus for international trade, and the town developed numerous industries, including shipbuilding, metal working, sugar refining and hat making.

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