When Glasgow nearly lost its famous 'Clockwork Orange' subway for good

It’s the third-oldest underground railway system in the world and is one of the simplest, as it’s based on a circuit (later nick-named the Clockwork Orange...) This largely covers the West End and city centre with eight stations to the north of the River Clyde and seven stations to the south.

The story of the subway starts in the late 1880s. It was during this decade that a bill was presented to Parliament with a proposal for a system of mass underground transport in Glasgow.

This method of public transportation would have two key advantages over others. First, it would keep passengers dry from the often-inclement Glasgow weather. Second, it would never be affected by road congestion and, by extension, the inevitable delays in journey times caused by it.

The proposal suggested the twin tunnels would be arranged in a circle of locations in which a large percentage of the population lived, studied or worked. These included the independent burghs of Govan, Partick, Hillhead and Kinning Park.

• New subway cable being moved from Bowie’s Wire Rope Works in Avenue Street, Bridgeton, 1935 (Image: Glasgow City Archives)

This geographical coverage also included businesses, Glasgow University, the city’s docks, railway stations and many of its industries. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Clyde Navigation Trust, which was responsible for managing the river, objected to the proposal. This was on the grounds that the presence of the subway’s river tunnels would prevent any additional deepening of the Clyde.

Despite the Trust’s opposition, the bill was eventually passed in 1890, leading to the creation of the Glasgow Subway Railway Company (GSRC). One of its original five directors was James Parker Smith of Jordanhill whose family papers are held in the City Archives.

The GSRC was a private company and their historic records form part of our transport archives including Directors’ Reports from 1890 to 1924 as well as a company prospectus of 1890.

Work on this immense undertaking began at the St Enoch Station site in 1891. It would include the construction of fifteen stations as well as the tunnelling work required before the construction of the twin tunnels could commence.

Cable power was chosen to move the subway trains through the system. Two cables, one and a half inches in diameter, were laid between the tracks. These cables were connected to two massive steam-engines located in Scotland Street which powered their movement.

The driver used a piece of equipment known as the grip to connect the train to the moving cable and start the train’s journey. It was delicate, precise work as just the right amount of pressure was needed to ensure a smooth motion and pleasant journey for the passengers.

Copland Road subway station (now called Ibrox) (Image: Glasgow City Archives)

The construction work was not without its troubles. There’s a series of photographs in our Clyde Navigation Trust collection which document the damage done at various points on the Clyde by the construction of the Glasgow District Subway during 1894 and 1895.

The subway opened for service on 14 December 1896. Its original stops will be familiar to current passengers with several exceptions: St Enoch, Bridge St, West St, Shields Rd, Kinning Park, Cessnock, Copland Road (now Ibrox), Govan Cross (now simply Govan), Merkland St (now Partick), Partick Cross (now Kelvin Hall), Hillhead, Kelvinbridge, St George’s Cross, Cowcaddens and Buchanan Street. The simple circle set-up of the system ensured that passengers couldn’t go far wrong even if they missed their stop. Anyone who did so had only to stay on board and wait for it to come round again.

The subway proved popular, so much so that it sounded the death knell for the Cluthas. These were passenger ferries which operated up and down the Clyde until their demise in 1903. However, the subway struggled throughout the years to compete against the ubiquitous tramcar. Despite transporting close to a million passengers every year by 1918, the GSRC closed the system on 25 March 1922. Luckily, it did not remain inactive for long.

Glasgow Corporation had unsuccessfully attempted to take over the subway before its closure. They raised their offer which was accepted, and the system resumed service in July 1922.

The subway’s legal transfer and formal re-opening took place on 1 August 1923.  It officially became a part of Glasgow Corporation Tramways Department which was renamed the Transport Department to reflect this change in mass transit responsibility.