Greenock Princes Pier railway station

Closed railway station in Inverclyde, Scotland, UK

55°57′23″N 4°45′49″W / 55.9564°N 4.7636°W / 55.9564; -4.7636Grid referenceNS275771Platforms6Other informationStatusDisusedHistoryOriginal companyGreenock and Ayrshire RailwayPre-groupingGlasgow and South Western RailwayPost-groupingLMSKey dates23 December 1869Opened as Greenock Albert Harbour[1]1 May 1875Renamed as Greenock Princes Pier[1]25 May 1894Original station closed and replaced extending 90 m further north[1]30 November 1965Closed[1]

Greenock Princes Pier was a railway station serving Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland, originally as part of the Greenock and Ayrshire Railway. It was approached by a tunnel sloping downhill under Greenock's west end, with railway sidings before the line crossed Brougham Street bridge over the main road to Gourock. The station was set on an embankment on the approach to Prince's Pier, with a line curving down to serve Albert Harbour.[2][3]

The area of the station, pier and the infilled Albert Harbour is now occupied by Greenock Ocean Terminal container port and cruise ship passenger terminal.

History

The station opened on 23 December 1869, as Greenock Albert Harbour.[1] The station was set on an embankment, with an open path leading down to Prince's Pier.[2] North British Railway through trains were advertised as running every week-day "between Edinburgh (Waverley and Haymarket Stations) and Greenock (Albert Harbour), carrying Passengers to and from Prince's Pier, Greenock, without change of Carriage, and thus placing them alongside the Clyde Steamers without walking through the streets."[4] The station was renamed as Greenock Princes Pier on 1 May 1875.[1] In 1877 the Glasgow and South Western Railway advertised that "Passengers are landed at the Prince's Pier Station, from whence there is a Covered Way to the Pier where the Steamers call, and Passengers Luggage is conveyed, free of charge, between the Stations and the Steamers."[5]

The new station buildings were extended to the edge of the quayside, with curved covered ramps on each side.

On 25 May 1894 the original station was closed and replaced by a new station extended 90 m to the north.[1][3]

On 2 February 1959,[6] stopping passenger services from Glasgow and Paisley ceased running beyond Kilmacolm; however, the St Enoch boat trains continued running, without stopping until 30 November 1965.[7]

Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Terminus   Glasgow and South Western Railway
Greenock and Ayrshire Railway
   Lynedoch
Line and station closed

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Butt (1995), page 109
  2. ^ a b "View map: Plan of Greenock to accompany Directory. By J. Bartholomew F.R.G.S. 1873 - Town Plans / Views, 1580-1919". National Library of Scotland - Map Images. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Side by side georeferenced maps viewer - OS 25" map 1897". National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  4. ^ Phillips, J.; Flintoft, J.J.; Foster, M.B.; Adam and Charles Black (Firm) (1872). Black's Picturesque Guide to the English Lakes: Including the Geology of the District. Black's guide books. Adam and Charles Black. p. 2-PA50. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  5. ^ Miller, J.W. (1877). Miller's royal tourist handbook to the Highlands and Islands. p. 2. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  6. ^ Daniels, Gerald David; Dench, Leslie Alan (May 1973) [1964]. Passengers No More (2nd ed.). Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 57. ISBN 0-7110-0438-2. OCLC 2554248. 1513 CEC 573.
  7. ^ Thomas (1971)

Sources

  • Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
  • Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
  • Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
  • Thomas, John (1971). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain. Vol. VI Scotland: The Lowlands and the Borders (1st ed.). Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-5408-6. OCLC 16198685.
  • Thomas, John; Paterson, Rev A. J. S. (1984). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain. Vol. VI Scotland: The Lowlands and the Borders (2nd ed.). Newton Abbott, Devon: David & Charles. ISBN 0-9465-3712-7. OCLC 12521072.
  • Wham, Alasdair (2000). The Lost Railway Lines South of Glasgow. Wigtown: G.C. Book Publishers. ISBN 1-8723-5008-9.
  • Greenock Princes Pier on navigable OS map