(The Monklands)
Part 6 - Passenger Services 1922 - Present Day
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(The Monklands) Part 6 - Passenger Services 1922 - Present Day |
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| Early Days
As early as 1842 passenger services were being publicly advertised as
running to a regular timetable over the metals of the Ballochney, Monkland
and Kirkintilloch and Garnkirk and Glasgow Railways. The trains ran
between Leaend and Townhead, calling at Coatbridge (near the site of the
present day Sunnyside station), Gartsherrie, Gartcosh, Garnkirk and Stepps.
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Passenger Services
Follow the links to these three pages show the changing passenger traffic patterns for:
I have chosen these dates because, a) I have timetables from these years
and b) they are fairly representative of the various phases that passenger
services went through in the past century. In addition I have details of
the traffic through Coatbridge Central during the major disruption due
to electrification work.
By 1922 the Caledonian and North British Railways had completed and
fully developed all of their lines, and despite the Great War and the depression
of the 1920's, few passenger services had been withdrawn, so we can safely
say that this was the era when we reached a peak in the variety
of services available. However, as we can see from the tables below, despite
this variety most routes had considerably fewer services than today.
If 1922 was the peak then 1955 - 1959 was the nadir, with many routes
already having been closed, and a run down on others bringing the total
number of services to nearly half of that available in 1923. The
decade after showed further cuts in the variety of services, but with the
"Blue Trains" bringing regular interval services to the area for the first
time, the number of services soared, although this was pared back from
four to three trains per hour during the years before Strathclyde Passenger
Transport Executive was established. The final page shows the current
service pattern. with regular services re-established on the former Caledonian
lines, and the reopening of the section of line to Drumgelloch.
| Table 1 Number of Trains - North British Routes | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Edinburgh - Airdrie | Bathgate/ Caldercruix - Airdrie | Airdrie - Glasgow | Blairhill - Hamilton | Blairhill - Slamannan | Airdrie - Edinburgh | Airdrie - Bathgate/ Caldercruix | Glasgow - Airdrie | Hamilton - Blairhill | Slamannan - Blairhill | Total | |||||||||||||
| Sats | Mon - Fri | Sats | Mon - Fri | Sats | Mon - Fri | Sats | Mon - Fri | Sats | Mon - Fri | Sats | Mon - Fri | Sats | Mon - Fri | Sats | Mon - Fri | Sats | Mon - Fri | Sats | Mon - Fri | Sats | Mon - Fri | ||
| 1923 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 24 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 20 | 22 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 69 | 69 | |
| 1955 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 25 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 50 | |
| 1964 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 75 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 77 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 142 | 152 | |
| 2000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 65 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 109 | 129 | |
| Edinburgh - Airdrie (stops) | Airdrie - Glasgow | Coatbridge - Hamilton | Coatbridge - Slamannan | Airdrie - Edinburgh (stops) | Glasgow - Airdrie | Hamilton - Coatbridge | Slamannan - Coatbridge | ||||||||||
| 1923 | Average | 01:21 | 00:31 | 00:25 | 00:35 | 01:16 | 00:36 | 00:22 | 00:33 | ||||||||
| Slowest | 01:34 (13) | 00:37 | 00:27 | 00:40 | 01:39 (13) | 00:45 | 00:24 | 00:34 | |||||||||
| Fastest | 01:01 | 00:22 | 00:24 | 00:32 | 00:56 | 00:25 | 00:20 | 00:32 | |||||||||
| 1955 | Average | 01:03 | 00:31 | - | - | 01:03 | 00:33 | - | - | ||||||||
| Slowest | 01:15 (7) | 00:38 | - | - | 01:11 (7) | 00:37 | - | - | |||||||||
| Fastest | 00:55 | 00:22 | - | - | 00:56 | 00:26 | - | - | |||||||||
| 1964 | Fastest | - | 00:26 | - | - | - | 00:27 | - | - | ||||||||
| Slowest | - | 00:26 | - | - | - | 00:27 | - | - | |||||||||
| Average | - | 00:26 | - | - | - | 00:27 | - | - | |||||||||
| 2000 | Fastest | - | 00:20 | - | - | - | 00:23 | - | - | ||||||||
| Slowest | - | 00:25 | - | - | - | 00:26 | - | - | |||||||||
| 2002 | - | 00:26 | - | - | - | 00:26 | - | - | |||||||||
| Table 3 Number of Trains - Caledonian Routes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Airdrie - Glasgow Central | Glenboig - Coatbridge Central | Coatbridge Central - Glasgow Central | Coatbridge Central - Hamilton | Coatbridge Central - Holytown | Buchannan St. Coatbridge | Glasgow Central - Airdrie | Coatbridge Central - Glenboig | Coatbridge Central - Glasgow Central | Hamilton - Coatbridge Central | Holytown - Coatbridge Central | Coatbridge Buchannan St. | ||||||||||||||
| Sats | Mon - Fri | Sats | Mon - Fri | Sats | Mon - Fri | Sats | Mon - Fri | Sats | Mon - Fri | Sats | Mon - Fri | Sats | Mon - Fri | Sats | Mon - Fri | Sats | Mon - Fri | Sats | Mon - Fri | Sats | Mon - Fri | Sats | Mon - Fri | ||
| 1923 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 11 | |
| 1955 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 1964 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1972 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Coatbridge - Glasgow Central | Cumber
nauld - Coatbridge |
Whifflet - Glasgow Central | Coatbridge Central - Hamilton | Coatbridge Central - Motherwell | Glasgow Central - Coatbridge | Coatbridge - Cumber
nauld |
Glasgow Central - Whifflet | Hamilton - Coatbridge Central | Motherwell - Coatbridge Central | ||||||||||||||||
| 2000 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 35 | 35 | 13 | 15 | 31 | 29 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 35 | 35 | 15 | 16 | 30 | 31 | |||||
| Airdrie - Glasgow Central | Coatbridge Central - Glasgow Central | Coatbridge Central - Hamilton | Coatbridge Central - Holytown | Buchannan St. Coatbridge | Glasgow Central - Airdrie | Glasgow Central - Coatbridge Central | Hamilton - Coatbridge Central | Holytown - Coatbridge Central | Coatbridge Buchannan St. | ||||||||||||
| 1923 | Fastest | 00:40 | 00:31 | 00:23 | 00:13 | 00:23 | 00:36 | 00:37 | 00:24 | 00:13 | 00:26 | ||||||||||
| Slowest | 00:46 | 00:39 | 01:09 | 00:15 | 00:39 | 00:45 | 00:41 | 00:41 | 00:15 | 00:38 | |||||||||||
| Average | 00:44 | 00:35 | 00:28 | 00:13 | 00:30 | 00:41 | 00:38 | 00:31 | 00:13 | 00:35 | |||||||||||
| 1955 | Fastest | - | 00:28 | 00:19 | 00:11 | 00:25 | - | 00:25 | 00:20 | 00:09 | 00:24 | ||||||||||
| Slowest | 00:35 | 00:23 | 00:12 | 00:26 | 00:34 | 00:22 | 00:11 | 00:26 | |||||||||||||
| Average | 00:33 | 00:20 | 00:11 | 00:24 | 00:29 | 00:20 | 00:10 | 00:22 | |||||||||||||
| 1964 | Fastest | 00:28 | - | 00:28 | - | ||||||||||||||||
| Slowest | 00:34 | 00:37 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Average | 00:30 | 00:31 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Coatbridge - Glasgow Central | Cumbernauld - Coatbridge | Whifflet - Glasgow Central | Coatbridge Central - Hamilton | Coatbridge Central - Motherwell | Glasgow Central - Coatbridge | Coatbridge - Cumbernauld | Glasgow Central - Whifflet | Hamilton - Coatbridge Central | Motherwell - Coatbridge Central | ||||||||||||
| 2000 | Norm | 00:48 | 00:11 | 00:29 | 00:23 | 00:13 | 00:45 | 00:14 | 00:32 | 00:19 | 00:11 | ||||||||||
| 2002 | Norm | - | 00:10 | 00:29 | 00:36* | 00:14 | - | 00:12 | 00:31 | 00:36* | 00:11 | ||||||||||
Overal Statistics
| Airdrie - Glasgow | Coatbridge - Glasgow | Whifflet - Glasgow | Coatbridge Hamilton | ||||||
| 1923 | 36 | 47 | 23 | 16 | |||||
| 1955 | 25 | 35 | 1 | 5 | |||||
| 1964 | 75 | 80 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| 1972 | 65 | 80 | 35 | 15 | |||||
Although the Motorail services did not originate or stop in the district,
mention is made here of the traffic as it made up a large proportion of
the passenger service on the Caledonian main line from 1964 until 1988.
British Railways recognised fairly early on a potential for services
where passengers could complete the trunk part of their journey in the
comfort of the train, with their car loaded on a wagon or van for
the initial and last stretch of the journey. Europe’s first car-sleeper
began in 1955 between King’s Cross and Perth, using existing bogie vans
fitted with end doors for car loading. This developed into the "Anglo-Scottish
Car-Carrier", and used purpose built vans attached to the rear of sleeper
services from Perth and Aberdeen to London (See photograph below).
As the services evolved, the Motorail brand was adopted in 1964 and open
flat wagons, converted from the frames of redundant Mk 1 coaches, augmented
the vans. Also tried at this time were the "Cartic-4" articulated double-decked
wagons still used for car deliveries, but these were found to be inflexible
for the Motorail traffic as there was restrictions on the size of car that
could be carried.
The holiday market was the main target, and this was reflected in daytime
all first class trains being introduced between Scottish terminals at Edinburgh,
Stirling and Perth and English terminals at London (Kensington Olympia),
Sutton Coldfield, Newton Abbot and Newton Le Willows. Before electrification,
the Newton Abbott services were usually worked throughout by Western
Region class 47's, which would be fuelled and stabled at Stirling or Perth
before returning south, and a good variety of locomotives could be expected.
For a while before the improvements to the notorious A9 between Stirling
and Inverness, there was even an experimental service between these two
towns (now cities!)
Unfortunately the trains became a target for vandalism, with car windscreens
being smashed by objects thrown from overbridges, and for a while blue
plastic protective covers were attached to the windscreens. Eventually
the service, which was failry costly to use, declined with fewer people
taking holidays in the U.K. In 1988 the use of open car flats came
to an end with the 1M69 11:40 MWFO Stirling to London Euston being the
last service to use them. The fleet of vacuum braked Motorail flat
wagons was withdrawn and replaced by a much smaller pool of converted parcels
vans, which were then attached to normal passenger trains, the Clansman
being one.
Today there are no Motorail services to and from Scotland, the only
company operating such trains is First Great Western, between London and
Penzance.
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In 1961 Newton Chambers Ltd built a series of 14 double-decked
car carriers, which although were taken into BR stock well after nationalisation,
carried an "E" suffix, normally denoting ex-LNER stock. This was
probably applied because the coaches had very few standard components
compared with the other Mk1 stock being introduced at that time.
E96294E is seen here awaiting disposal at Thornton yard in 1990. |
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By 1988 all Motorail traffic had reverted to using converted GUVs such as 96189 seen here at Edinburgh Waverley, and were terminating at the main city stations at Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness. Where there were no end loading facilities a converted well wagon was used. I have a picture of this wagon in use on the Glasgow Central Page |
Services passing through Coatbridge Central were as follows
Up Trains
The 23:26 to Kensington Olmpia stopped on the Up Slow platform from 23:15 to allow other traffic (not passenger) to pass |
Down Trains
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