Older residents may recall there was another footbridge over the railway at one time, at the end of Marywood Square. It was erected between 1895 and 1910 (it first appears on the 1910 OS Map). The gate and foundation are still visible on the embankment. It was latterly the property of Strathclyde Regional Council, but was closed due to metal fatigue in the summer of 1993, and was taken down on Sunday 8th May 1994. (Strathbungo News, 1994)

The only known photographs of it are the one above, courtesy John Robin, and this one.

Railings after fence and concrete repair and painting, circa 1990. Courtesy John Devitt.

Below, in 2016 all that remained were the gate to the footbridge, and a short length of spiked railings, in the undergrowth at the end of Marywood Square. Some of this disappeared in 2017 when Network Rail replaced the fencing. The footings of the bridge can just about be seen the other side of the fence, as can the bricked up exit on Darnley Road.

Remains of Strathbungo Footbridge, November 2016

The Darnley Road/Moray Place footbridge at Regents Park Square was built by the Paisley engineering firm of Hanna, Donald and Wilson in 1877.

The footbridge is an elliptically arched, cast-iron girder bridge with lattice railings which originally had steps down to the platforms of the station, which opened the same year. The steps down to the platform have been removed and the deck replaced with steel durbar plates.

Curiously, for the first 85 or so years of its life it never actually reached the other side!

Originally it only provided access from Strathbungo to the platforms of Strathbungo Station; there was no Darnley Road when the station opened, just green fields. Even the OS Map of 1951-52 shows no extension to Darnley Road at that time, and so it seems likely the extension to the other side was only built when the station closed in 1962, perhaps using materials from the dismantled steps to the platforms.

OS Map 1951-2, showing footbridge

The bridge was C listed in 1995 , shortly after the other footbridge was removed, and apparently after one Moray Place resident asked that it be taken down for security reasons and other residents took a different view! None the less its ownership has been recently disputed as no one wanted to be responsible for its likely future maintenance costs. In 2015 Network Rail accepted that it was responsible for the bridge, and agreed to refurbish it. Restoration commenced in October 2018, and was completed in February 2019 .

Footbridge restoration October 2018

After restoration, April 2019

Maker’s Badge

Hanna, Donald & Wilson

The manufacturer worked from the Abbey Engineering Works, and the Abercorn Foundry and shipyard, adjacent to the White Cart between North Croft and Niddry Streets, but was wound up in the 1910s . The Abercorn works is now the site of the Wallneuk North Church (1915), while in the 1920s Glasgow Corporation Transport built a transformer on the site of the shipyard to provide power for the tram network. The transformer building survives as the Housing Department.

Hanna, Donald & Wilson built ships, including a couple of underpowered and unsuccessful naval torpedo boats, HMS Fervent & Zephyr . The ships were launched sideways into the White Cart. They also constructed gas holders, boilers, and a variety of other engineering products.

HMS Zephyr

Abercorn Foundry Site, now Wallneuk North Church, and the site of the shipyard, now Housing Offices, with the slipway to the White Cart behind (Google Maps)

Their work on bridges included the Albert Bridge beside Glasgow Green, recently restored. They were evidently proud of their bridges, using several in one of their advertisements. And pride of place top left is Strathbungo’s very own footbridge!

Hanna, Donald & Wilson advert (University of Glasgow Archives) – click to enlarge

Strathbungo Footbridge (enlargement)

Strathbungo Station a year after closure. The Strathbungo footbridge is visible in the distance. Clan 72006 “Clan Mackenzie” heads parcels train on 13th June 1963.

Now, where do you think the photographer was standing? That’s for another posting. Photo courtesy John Robin .

(Article updated 23 May 2019)

References