page_title: Paisley and Barrhead District Railway
section_title: Opening and route
hierarchical_section_title: Paisley and Barrhead District Railway / History / Opening and route
caption_attribution_description: Map of Barrhead in 1923
context_page_description: The Paisley and Barrhead District Railway was a railway in Scotland that ran between the towns of Paisley and Barrhead. It was intended to serve industrial premises and develop local passenger and goods business.
  The Caledonian Railway managed the construction, but when the line was nearly complete, tramway competition had become obviously dominant for local passenger journeys, and the Caledonian decided not to start the intended passenger service. The line opened for goods trains only in 1905 and 1906, and served industrial sites on the route. Most of the line had become moribund by the 1950s, but when the Linwood motor car factory opened in 1961, a rail connection to it was provided from the line, becoming the only part of the network still in use. That link was closed in 1984.
context_section_description: The tramway was authorised, and the desperate struggle to compete for local passenger business was obviously lost; the Caledonian reviewed its position, and although the passenger stations were substantially complete, it decided not to open the line for passengers. The western section, from Paisley St James to Blackbyres and Lyon Cross was opened in 1905 for goods traffic only. The eastern section suffered a similar fate; it was opened in 1906 from Paisley East station, some distance south of the Joint Line at Gallowhill, to Blackbyres. The west and east curves that would have linked to the joint line were formed, but never connected.
  The line of route was therefore:
  Western section; single track from a triangular junction at Paisley St James; the western arm, facing Greenock, was known as the Walkinshaw Fork; from the apex at Walkinshaw South Junction, the line ran through stations at Ferguslie (in the angle between the Gilmour Street and the Canal line east of Elderslie), Stanefield and Glenfield, to Blackbyres Junction; from there the line was double track to Barrhead (New) (on Mill Road directly opposite the G&SWR terminus), and Barrhead South. The line continued to the junction with the L&AR line at Lyon Cross, and the line was laid out there to incorporate an extensive junction station; there was a short branch to Meikleriggs goods depot from Ferguslie, and a connection to Inkerman Brick Works north of that station.
  Eastern section; double track; from a triangular junction with the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway (not actually connected), turning west towards Gilmour Street and east to Gallowhill Junction. It had stations at Paisley East and Dykebar, where there was a short goods branch line serving the Dykebar Asylum.
  Paisley East station was chiefly used as a coal depot for Paisley.
  Barrhead South station may never have been fully formed, although the goods yard was in use; it would have been a basic conventional two platform station, located close to the present-day Deanston Avenue. Barrhead (New) was a conventional two-platform station, but Dykebar was an island platform station. Paisley South was also a two-platform station. Ferguslie, Staneley and Dykebar were to be island platform stations forming passing points on the single line, but the loop at Staneley was never connected.
caption: 1923 map of central Barrhead showing the railway lines
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