Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway

Wallneuk Junction

Paisley Gilmour Street

Glasgow, Paisley and

Greenock Railway

Paisley Canal Line

Paisley and Barrhead

District Railway

Ferguslie

Elderslie East Junction

Elderslie

Elderslie West Junction

Johnstone Junction

Cart Junction

Johnstone

Bridge of Weir Railway

Milliken Park

Dalry and North

Johnstone Line

Glengarnock

Brownhill Junction

Dalry

Dalry Junction

Kilwinning Junction

Kilwinning

Dubbs Junction

Ardrossan Railway

Byrehill Junction

Irvine Junction

Glasgow, Barrhead and

Kilmarnock Joint Railway

Busby Junction

Kilmarnock North Junction

Gailes

Kilmarnock

Riccarton Junction

Kilmarnock & Troon Rly

Hurlford

Barassie

Hurlford Junction

Barassie Junction

Darvel Branch

Troon Loop Line

Troon (new)

Troon (old)

Lochgreen Junction

Prestwick Airport

Monkton

Monkton South Junction

Ayr to Mauchline Branch

Prestwick

Mauchline

Falkland Junction

Mauchline Junction

Ayr (original)

Ballochmyle Viaduct

Ayr & Dalmellington Rly

Brackenhill Junction

Catrine

(Catrine Branch)

Auchinleck

Auchinleck Junction

Ayr to Mauchline Branch

Cronberry Junction

Cronberry

Muirkirk

Muirkirk Junction

Muirkirk Branch (CR)

Spireslack Branch (CR)

The Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway (GPK&AR) was a railway in Scotland that historically provided services between Glasgow, Kilmarnock and Ayr. Most of the railway is still in use as part of the Ayrshire Coast Line and Glasgow South Western Line.

History

1839-50: Early days

The railway first opened on 5 August 1839 between Ayr and Irvine,^[1] to Kilwinning on 23 March 1840,^[2] to Beith on 21 July 1840,Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). allowing more direct passenger services from Kilmarnock to Ardrossan (via the Ardrossan Railway). On 16 July 1846 the GPK&AR took over control of the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway,^[3] and in 1847 the company bought the Paisley and Renfrew Railway,^[4]^[5] however the sale would not be completed until 31 July 1852.^[6]

The GPK&AR also co-owned the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway, which was operated as a joint undertaking with the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway (later part of the Caledonian Railway). This line allowed trains access to Glasgow Bridge Street railway station: the original terminus at Glasgow.

The last line to open by the original company was a branch to Muirkirk from Auchinleck on 9 August 1848.^[7] The railway amalgamated with the Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway (GD&CR) on 28 October 1850 to form the Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR).

Stations opened and closed during this period^[8]
Date	Stations opened
5 August 1839	Ayr, Barassie, Irvine, Monkton, Prestwick, Troon
23 March 1840	Bogside, Dalry, Kilwinning
21 July 1840	Beith, Cochrane Mill, Elderslie, Glengarnock, Howood, Johnstone, Paisley Gilmour St
12 August 1840	Lochwinnoch
4 April 1843	Busby, Dalry Junction, Stewarton
28 May 1848	Dreghorn^[9]
9 August 1848	Auchinleck, Commondyke, Cronberry, Hurlfold, Lugar, Mauchline, Muirkirk
20 May 1850	Cumnock
Date	Stations closed
11 August 1840	Howood
22 May 1848	Stewarton
15 April 1850	Busby

1850-1923: Glasgow and South Western days

Under the control of the Glasgow and South Western Railway, the former Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway had several of its stations closed, and several new ones opened. Some stations, such as Stewarton (later called Cunninghamhead) were closed and then reopened again some years later. A new station in Ayr was built in 1857 by the Ayr and Dalmellington Railway (who were absorbed by the G&SWR the following year), which became the new terminus for trains in the town, and as a result the original Ayr station was closed to passengers (but remained open for goods traffic).^[10]

Trains continued to run via the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Line (under the joint management of the Glasgow and South Western and Caledonian Railways) to Bridge Street station, which remained the Glasgow terminus of both companies until 1883. The City of Glasgow Union Railway opened St Enoch railway station in 1876; in 1883 it became the headquarters of the G&SWR, and a result all G&SWR passenger services were moved to St Enoch railway station. From Shields Junction, G&SWR trains traversed the City of Glasgow Union Railway to reach St Enoch railway station.

In 1892 a new Troon station was built much nearer the centre of the town. The original Troon station was closed and its line became a means of bypassing the loop built for the new station.^[11] The line was closed on 18 April 1966,^[11] with Glasgow trains being forced to use the newer line to reach Ayr, and vice versa.

Various extensions and additional lines were added to the former GPK&AR during the Glasgow and South Western era: a line between Ayr and Mauchline was opened on 1 July 1870,^[12] with a connecting line to Cronberry opening on 1 July 1882;^[12] a branch to Darvel was opened south-east of Kilmarnock on 1 June 1896,^[13] a short branch to Catrine from Mauchline was opened on 1 September 1903,^[14], and an alternate route from Johnstone was Dalry was opened on 1 June 1905.^[15]

In 1923, the Glasgow and South Western Railway merged with six other major companies (and several other smaller companies) to form the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.

Stations opened and closed during this period^[8]
Date	Stations opened
November 1850	Stewarton (later Cunninghamhead)
5 August 1859	Gailes, Monkton
1 September 1872	Crosshouse (previously Busby)
1 December 1876	Howwood (previously Howood)
1 February 1878	Montgreenan^[16]
1890	Springside^[9]
2 May 1892	Troon (new)
Date	Stations closed
1 July 1857	Ayr
2 January 1860	Dalry Junction
2 May 1892	Troon (old)

1923-48: 'LMS' days

Stations closed during this period^[8]
Date	Stations closed
28 October 1940	Monkton

1948-94: Nationalisation and line closures

With the advent of nationalisation in 1948, ownership of the former Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway fell to British Railways. Two years later the first of several line closures began with the line between Auchinleck and Cronberry closing to passenger traffic on 3 July 1950.^[17] However in 1951 services were reinstated for two weeks to accommodate trains travelling from Edinburgh to Ayr.^[17] The entire line from Auchinleck to Muirkirk then closed to regular passenger traffic on 1 October 1950,^[18] however the line was used up until 1976.^[18] Muirkirk station remained open on other lines until 5 October 1964, when it was closed as a result of the Beeching Axe.

Muirkirk was not the only casualty on this line from the Beeching Axe: the link between Irvine and Crosshouse, which had provided a direct link to Kilmarnock from Ardrossan (via a loop at Byrehill Junction) was closed to local passenger traffic on 6 April 1964 and closed completely in October 1965.^[19] The loop between Byrehill Junction and Dubbs Junction, which allowed Ardrossan trains to bypass Kilwinning, was also closed on 6 April 1964,^[20] however it remained open to passenger traffic until June 1977.^[20]. During AyrLine electrification, this link was electrified.

The Dalry to Kilmarnock line had provided the G&SWR with a link between Kilmarnock and Glasgow (via the Paisley Canal Line) without having to use lines that were jointly operated with the Caledonian Railway. Again a result of the Beeching Axe, the line was closed to local passenger traffic on 18 April 1966.^[21] Despite this the line remained open for long distance passenger services such as an overnight train from Glasgow to London via Paisley.^[22] Some of the final passenger trains ran when the Cook Street bridge was replaced on the West Coast Main Line (WCML) approaches to Glasgow Central railway station resulting in London Euston trains already diverted from the WCML to the former Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway due to electrification works being further diverted during the Glasgow Fair weekend of July 1973.^[23] The line closed to all traffic on 23 October 1973,^[21], was singled and later removed.

In during the mid-1980s the line between Paisley and Ayr was electrified, with full electric passenger services beginning on 19 January 1987.^[24] The line between Kilmarnock and Cumnock was not electrified, and remains so to this day.

See also: Ayrshire Coast Line

Stations closed and reopened during this period^[8]
Date	Stations closed
3 July 1950	Commondyke, Lugar
4 June 1951	Beith North (previously Beith)
10 December 1951	Cronberry
1 January 1955	Cunninghamhead
7 March 1955	Howwood, Hurlford, Montgreenan
6 April 1964	Dreghorn, Springside
5 October 1964	Muirkirk
6 December 1965	Auchinleck, Cumnock, Mauchline
14 February 1966	Elderslie
18 April 1966	Crosshouse, Milliken Park (previously Cochrane Mill)
2 January 1967	Bogside, Gailes
Date	Stations reopened
28 October 1988	Howwood
15 May 1989	Milliken Park

1994-present: Privatisation and current operations

Privatisation resulted in the former Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway being under the ownership of Railtrack, and then from 2002, Network Rail. The line between Paisley and Ayr is now part of the Ayrshire Coast Line (which also incorporates the former Ardrossan Railway), and the remaining line from Kilmarnock to Cumnock is part of the Glasgow South Western Line. Services are now run by First ScotRail on behalf of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport.

Stations opened during this period^[8]
Date	Stations opened
5 September 1994	Prestwick International Airport

Connections to other lines

Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway

Diagram of the railway c.1850
(stations with * are presently open)