Caledonian Railway

Opened: c1890

Closed: 1999

Location code: Sc16/02

Garnqueen North Junction is a fine example of what became the Caledonian Railway Southern Division standard design of box. Introduced in the 1870's alongside several other designs (see Kingsknowe), it was the only design used after 1890.

Notable features were the large overhang of the roof, and inset windows emphasised by the unduly large carved wooden brackets in the eaves. The window panes themselves were quite large, comprising just one small pane above a larger one in each section - this is most unusual in early designs. Around half of those built were of all-timber construction.

Many hundreds of boxes were built to this design, creating a distinctive brand on the Southern half of the Caledonian network. Few remain today, as there is very little of the Southern Division territory that has not been resignalled.

Garnqueen North Junction remained in use up until 1999. It is located on the north side of Glasgow, at the point where the routes from Queen Street and Motherwell join to form the main line towards Larbert, Stirling and beyond.

This view shows the Up Starting signals, which are mounted on a typical lattice-post structure. Additional support is provided by an extra post provided for that sole purpose.

The "X" affixed to the distant arm indicates that particular signal can be ignored by drivers as it is no longer functional. It had been Garnqueen South Junction's distant, but that box had recently closed when the photograph was taken.

The box closed on May Day 1999, when the area was resignalled and controlled from Cowlairs.