Westburn Viaduct

The Westburn or Carmyle Railway Viaduct crosses the River Clyde between Carmyle and Westburn.

The viaduct was built from 1893-1896 as part of a short mile & a half section of track to connect the new Glasgow Central Railway with the existing Caledonian Railway lines at Newton.

Westburn Viaduct from the north side of the River Clyde.

The last passenger train ran over the viaduct in 1964 and goods trains to the nearby steelworks ended in 1983.

Despite being fenced off it was apparently used as a short cut by locals for many years until serious gang related violence on the closed deck in 2012 led to three teenagers being hospitalised with knife wounds and stronger “fortifications” erected at each end to prevent all but the most determined access. Rudy stuck to the paths below.

As the viaduct is closed we took a 2 mile detour along the Clyde & back to reach the south end of the viaduct and continue our walk of the old railway line. Rudy wasn’t quite sure if it was worth it!

Sustrans hope to reopen the viaduct as a walking, wheeling & cycling route which will vastly improve connection between the communities either side of the river but there are very real concerns from locals that this will lead to a resurgence in territorial gang violence.

This short mile & a half section of railway from Carmyle to Newton was built when the Caledonian Railway took over construction of the Glasgow Central Railway. They added this extension to the plans to connect with existing lines at Newton. It ran on a sharp reversed S shape from Carmyle Junction across the River Clyde, through Westburn and into Newton station. (The straighter line to the south was added later.)

The Forgotten Relics web site has photos and more details about the viaduct at http://www.forgottenrelics.co.uk/bridges/gallery/westburn.html