In 1811, William Dixon Ltd , coal and iron master of Govan, Glasgow, purchased land from the Glasgow Corporation to build a tramway on which to convey coal from his Govan works to the Ardrossan Canal Basin at Port Eglinton. Nearly 20 years later Dixon promoted the Pollok & Govan Railway which was in effect a partial realignment of the tramway and its extension to Rutherglen, Glasgow in one direction and to Windmillcroft on the south bank of the river Clyde in the other. Although there was opposition to the railway from Glasgow magistrates, the line opened in 1840 . The line was extended from Tradeston to Windmillcroft Quay and finally extended by the Clydesdale Junction Railway on to Motherwell, North Lanarkshire.
The Clydesdale Junction Railway was opened in 1849 with William Dixon being a major shareholder. The line linked the Polloc & Govan Railway with the Wishaw & Coltness Railway at Motherwell and offered a direct route into Glasgow.
The Caledonian Railway purchased both the Pollok and Clydesdale companies in 1847 . The lines now forms part of the West Coast Main Line.
From the guide to the Records of the Pollok & Govan Railway, and the Clydesdale Junction Railway, Scotland, 1830-1845, (Glasgow University Archive Services)
