Introduction

There have been several rail lines through Paisley since the mid nineteenth century. Today there are the Glasgow to Ayr and Gourock via Gilmour Street and Glasgow to Paisley Canal services. In the past, the Canal line extended to the coast and there were three other lines; the Paisley and Barrhead District Railway (the dummy railway), the Barrhead Branch of the Glasgow and South Western Railway through Potterhill and the Paisley and Renfrew Railway .

It is the dummy railway this site is principally about. Click on the second top link on the left to discover the fascinating story how it got it's name.

Many of the routes can be seen today on Google Satellite because the disused tracks are still there, in particular the trees that grew along the edges are still visible. This site is basically a collection of the many fascinating old photographs which are available online and in David Rowand's books along with the aforementioned satellite images and a little background history. There are a lot of photographs so it may be slow to load on a dial up connection .

Point the mouse at the pictures for a description, click for a full size version (opens in new window). If the text disappears, move the mouse to another picture then back again.

The map above from 1923 shows all the railways mentioned on the site

Click on the railway map below and zoom in to see the whole area. Thanks to Ian Duff of Barrhead.

There are links to other old Paisley pictures near the top of the 'Links' page.

Choose from the menu at the side to continue.