The Garnkirk & Glasgow Railway , Scotland, was granted its Act of Parliament in 1826 and opened in 1831 . It was the first railway in Scotland to work independently of a canal. It was built to transport Monklands coal from Garnkirk, North Lanarkshire, Scotland into its Townhead terminus in Glasgow. From the beginning the line used steam engines to pull the coal wagons and passenger carriages.
In 1843 the Garnkirk & Glasgow Railway opened a branch line from Gartsherrie, North Lanarkshire, to a new station in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire. The following year the company obtained an Act of Parliament to change its name to the Glasgow, Garnkirk & Coatbridge Railway and extended the branch line to Whifflet, North Lanarkshire, where it linked with the Wishaw & Coltness Railway. In 1844 the line leased for a period of 7 years the Caledonian & Dunbartonshire Junction Railway that linked Glasgow with Balloch, West Dunbartonshire and Helensburgh, Argyll & Bute. The Caledonian Railway acquired the Glasgow, Garnkirk & Coatbridge Railway in 1845 , along with the lease of the Caledonian & Dunbartonshire Junction Railway.
From the guide to the Records of the Glasgow, Garnkirk & Coatbridge Railway, Scotland, 1844-1845, (Glasgow University Archive Services)
