Opening of the Glasgow & Garnkirk Railway, 1831

Opening of the Glasgow & Garnkirk Railway, 1831. The opening of the Glasgow & Garnkirk Railway, view at St Rollox looking south east, 27 September 1831 This was the site of the future St Rollox works, built by the Caledonian Railway. The Glasgow and Garnkirk Railway ran from Monklands coalfield to Townhead station in Glasgow. It was built to carry coal into Glasgow, and although it was used by passengers most of the company's income was earned from mineral traffic. On the opening day the locomotive St Rollox hauled a train carrying the company directors, while George Stephenson pulled a train of thirty-two passenger carriages. This lithograph was one of a series made by the pioneering photographer and artist David Octavius Hill, printed by W Day of London in 1832, and sold by Tilt and Ackermann. Photograph and text courtesy of the National Railway Museum. [Click on image to enlarge it.]

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[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the © National Railway Museum and SSP and (2) link to its webpage. It would be nice to cite the Victorian Web, too.


Last modified 14 October 2016