This article is about the Caledonian Railway station. For the Glasgow & South Western Railway station originally called Eglinton Street, see Cumberland Street railway station.
Sources published in the late 20th century claim that this station opened on Sunday 28 February 1909,[2] which would have been highly unlikely given Scotland's sabbatarian culture at the time. Contemporary sources, such as railway notices, timetables, maps, and Post Office Directories, show that the station existed nearly 30 years before that date.
When the station opened on 1 July 1879, it allowed Caledonian Railway trains from Edinburgh and Lanarkshire, which had previously terminated at Southside to reach Bridge Street to connect with trains for Greenock and Wemyss Bay, with through carriages being provided from Edinburgh to stations on the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway and Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway.[1] These continued to terminate at Bridge Street even after Central Station had opened on 1 August 1879.[3]
On 19 March 1883, there was a collision between two trains at Eglinton Street station in which four people died and many more were injured.[4] The crash involved the 6:15pm train from Central Station to East Kilbride and the 5pm train from Edinburgh to Glasgow Central, which had stopped at Eglinton Street Station. The driver of the Edinburgh train failed to heed the signal against the train leaving the station. The East Kilbride train had left Central on time and had a clear signal to proceed. It was slowing down when it collided with the Edinburgh train which was getting up steam. The drivers and firemen of both trains survived the crash, having been violently thrown from their engines.[5]
Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC22311137.
Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC228266687.