So, you can see from the title this is a historical visit but I thought it would still be relevant since these pics are quite old now (I didn't realise just how old until I came to write this) and show the changes in the site. My visit in 2007 pre-dates some of the alterations I’ve seen in other posts, most notably the reinforcements on the walls inside the station and the change of outer protections from a standard gate to steel sheets (though that doesn’t seem to have stopped people getting in).
So, some history to start. The line was opened in 1896 and ran right through the town and out to the west, underneath the Botanic Gardens. The line was finally closed in 1964 and has been derelict ever since. The portion of the line in question here is that from Kelvin Bridge to the end of the Botanic Gardens. The line ran over the River Kelvin at Kelvin Bridge, going underground and down Great Western Road and into the gardens at the Great Western Road Junction, emerging from the ground right at the back of the gardens and exiting over a bridge. The botanics station was at the front of the gardens but this was destroyed by fire in 1970. Despite limited damage to the building in this fire, it was decided to demolish it anyway, though they weren’t overly thorough in those efforts. In the right conditions, you can actually still see the old flooring from the station building if you look in from the street.
As this was a steam line originally, it contained vents and there are 2 along this stretch; 1 just as the train goes under ground and Kelvin Bridge and 1 within the site of the gardens (which is how most people know of the station).
The first image here is a satellite view of the area from google maps to give you an idea of the area. The red box at the top of the picture is the platform where the train exited the gardens and is the site of the entrance now. When I visited the gate was a more traditional style and it had been pried open. The pics I’ve seen show a newer steel sheets style gate now so it’s probably more difficult to get in. There’s no access via the original station building (although the old floor is still there, the area is now part of the gardens buildings so you’d be hard pressed to find the part where they covered over the old stairs).
From this platform, there’s a short walk through the empty tunnel to the main station. Another gate guards this but it was also pried open when we got there. The station itself is a mess, as you would expect after decades of abandonment. It’s remarkable looking at some of the recent pictures because it does look worse… there’s certainly more growth. The second box shows the vents that are within the gardens and these are fenced off from above but you can freely look in and see the area from above (it should go without saying that going in via these vents is an awful idea… you’ll get in relatively easy but getting out is another issue).
The line then runs out of the gardens and right up one of Glasgow’s main artery roads, Great Western Road, and then up to Kelvin Bridge, where its then above ground for a period. When I was there you could still walk all the way up to this part of the line where a very large gate bars the way. This is the third box and there’s a picture from the outside of the gate too. This is also the site of one of the vents which is actually right behind a block of flats! The line then runs along the river and goes underground again at Kelvingrove Park and exits again behind the Kelvingrove Art Gallery where you can still see where the line ran and platforms. The fourth box shows the gate that bars the Kelvingrove section of the line. I’ve never seen this open and, to my knowledge, theres no exit there so its basically a dark empty tunnel.
Don’t judge the pictures too harshly… they were taken with my old Sony Erikson W800 which had a cutting edge 2mp camera… I remember thinking how amazing that was at the time
I hope this was interesting for some people as well.
So, some history to start. The line was opened in 1896 and ran right through the town and out to the west, underneath the Botanic Gardens. The line was finally closed in 1964 and has been derelict ever since. The portion of the line in question here is that from Kelvin Bridge to the end of the Botanic Gardens. The line ran over the River Kelvin at Kelvin Bridge, going underground and down Great Western Road and into the gardens at the Great Western Road Junction, emerging from the ground right at the back of the gardens and exiting over a bridge. The botanics station was at the front of the gardens but this was destroyed by fire in 1970. Despite limited damage to the building in this fire, it was decided to demolish it anyway, though they weren’t overly thorough in those efforts. In the right conditions, you can actually still see the old flooring from the station building if you look in from the street.
As this was a steam line originally, it contained vents and there are 2 along this stretch; 1 just as the train goes under ground and Kelvin Bridge and 1 within the site of the gardens (which is how most people know of the station).
The first image here is a satellite view of the area from google maps to give you an idea of the area. The red box at the top of the picture is the platform where the train exited the gardens and is the site of the entrance now. When I visited the gate was a more traditional style and it had been pried open. The pics I’ve seen show a newer steel sheets style gate now so it’s probably more difficult to get in. There’s no access via the original station building (although the old floor is still there, the area is now part of the gardens buildings so you’d be hard pressed to find the part where they covered over the old stairs).
From this platform, there’s a short walk through the empty tunnel to the main station. Another gate guards this but it was also pried open when we got there. The station itself is a mess, as you would expect after decades of abandonment. It’s remarkable looking at some of the recent pictures because it does look worse… there’s certainly more growth. The second box shows the vents that are within the gardens and these are fenced off from above but you can freely look in and see the area from above (it should go without saying that going in via these vents is an awful idea… you’ll get in relatively easy but getting out is another issue).
The line then runs out of the gardens and right up one of Glasgow’s main artery roads, Great Western Road, and then up to Kelvin Bridge, where its then above ground for a period. When I was there you could still walk all the way up to this part of the line where a very large gate bars the way. This is the third box and there’s a picture from the outside of the gate too. This is also the site of one of the vents which is actually right behind a block of flats! The line then runs along the river and goes underground again at Kelvingrove Park and exits again behind the Kelvingrove Art Gallery where you can still see where the line ran and platforms. The fourth box shows the gate that bars the Kelvingrove section of the line. I’ve never seen this open and, to my knowledge, theres no exit there so its basically a dark empty tunnel.
Don’t judge the pictures too harshly… they were taken with my old Sony Erikson W800 which had a cutting edge 2mp camera… I remember thinking how amazing that was at the time
I hope this was interesting for some people as well.
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