Around 1870 an isolated pocket of industrial activity formed on the north bank of the river Clyde at Whiteinch, Glasgow, Scotland. The site was surrounded by rural estates and was without railways. Local industrialists, estate owners and even the United Presbyterian Church contributed finances to two separate companies to take a line down through the estates to the riverside factories and yards. The Whiteinch Railway Co was to construct a short branch off the Stobcross line, Glasgow, and the Whiteinch Tramway Co was to continue the line across the road and through the fields to the river. Both companies received Acts of Incorporation in July 1872 and the complete system came into use in September 1874 . The North British Railway Co worked the traffic down to the Dumbarton Road where it was taken over by James and William Wood who conveyed it over the tramway to the various yards and works. At first this was done using horse haulage, but capacity was enough in 1875 to justify the purchase of a locomotive. The North British Railway Co had a covetous eye of the Whiteinch line and after several attempts, purchased the line in 1891 . By this time Whiteinch had become a residential and industrial suburb of Glasgow and the intention was to turn the line into a passenger branch. In 1897, passenger traffic opened to the Victoria Park station at Whiteinch.
Source: David Thomas,A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Scotlandvol 6(Newton Abbot, 1971)
From the guide to the Records of the Whiteinch Railway Co, Glasgow, Scotland, 1857-1881, (Glasgow University Archive Services)
