Glasgow Subway trains join 'forgotten' station in history

This fleet spent over four decades carting the people of Glasgow from Cowcaddens to Kinning Park and everywhere in between.

So many of us will have fond memories of the journeys made, the maroon-patterned cushioned seats and that familiar roaring sound as we raced through the tunnel from station to station.

(Image: SPT)

Now the ‘clockwork orange’ has been taken over by a new modern fleet of cool grey carriage interiors, bright lights and electronic screens displaying the inner and outer circles and the names of the 15 stations.

As this marks the end of an era for the Subway, we remember a similar transition over 40 years ago.

READ MORE: The story of Glasgow's 'forgotten' Subway station which survived a bomb

The Glasgow Subway opened to the public in 1896 after years of demand for a mode of transport that would keep passengers dry from our typical weather and never be affected by road congestion.

(Image: Herald and Times)

It may be hard to imagine, but in its 128 years, the Subway’s trains have only been modernised twice – so you’ve probably travelled on a train that your grandparents used regularly as well.

Plans were put in motion for new trains in the mid-1960s when the Greater Glasgow Passenger Transport Executive took over the management of the Subway and pushed for a more modern system.

It began earlier than anticipated as cracks began to show – some literal, in the case of Govan Cross station – and the new fleet was fully introduced in 1980.

(Image: Herald and Times)

Before that, the BBC took a trip around the clockwork orange with presenter Peter Purves marvelling at how impressive the system was to be running for so long.

In 1975, Purves took a ‘wee hurl’ round the Subway after buying his ticket at the old St Enoch ticket office – which is now a Caffé Nero.

READ MORE: Unearthed BBC clip from 1970s shows old Glasgow Subway before modernisation

Speaking about the Glasgow Subway's 70-year stretch, Purves calls it a "great tribute to the skill of the drivers, the staff and the engineers for managing to keep it all going for so long."

Peter Purves taking a 'wee hurl' in 1975 (Image: BBC Archive)

With the second modernisation, we’re saying goodbye to a fleet that carried multiple generations, but it’s not the first time an aspect of the Subway has disappeared into the history books.

There are only a few subtle hints that it ever existed, but Glasgow’s Subway once had another 'forgotten' station.

Merkland Street opened in 1896 as one of the original stations in the city and was located about 25 metres southwest of where Partick station stands today.

Old Subway map featuring Merkland Street (Image: Herald and Times archive)

It was a very busy station in its heyday, especially during the height of Glasgow’s shipbuilding era as workers would use it to go from one side of the Clyde to the other.

The station survived a bomb landing on the tunnel during the Second World War but apart from being temporarily closed after this for repairs, Merkland Street stayed in operation until the 1970s.

In the new modernisation plans, the Subway was to be linked to the national rail network's newly reopened Argyle Line at Partick via an interchange station, so Merkland Street closed and Partick was built. 

(Image: Herald and Times archive)

READ MORE: Subway carriage from 1980s moved to new home at Glasgow museum

There is still evidence of Merkland Street station if you can spot a long straight and humped stretch on the underground with large diameter tunnels, and passengers are still able to see the chamber just before or after Partick.

The iconic trains are no longer running on our Subway lines and have been replaced. But while Merkland Street exists no more, passengers wanting to take a more nostalgic ‘trip’ can do so at the Riverside Museum where car 128 proudly sits as a symbol of the last 44 years.

(Image: Riverside Museum)