Springburn Virtual Museum

Railway industry

Modernisation work at St Rollox works, 1965

Springburn's industries had been collapsing since the mid-1950s, with the closure of the Craigpark cable works in 1955, Braby's in 1960, and the North British Locomotive Company in 1962. The Saracen Foundry was also in trouble and would close in 1965.

There was another blow in 1962 when the British Rail workshop plan proposed closing 13 of their 29 workshops and modernising the remaining 16, placing Cowlairs and St Rollox under threat. St Rollox was reprieved, and modernisation went ahead in 1965 at a cost of £1.5 million. Despite protests, Cowlairs was eventually closed.

In 1984, St Rollox again came under threat and demonstrations were staged against proposed cuts of 1191 jobs. Twelve years later, on the day of the opening of Springburn Museum, thousands more job cuts were announced, effectively the death blow of the last remaining railway works in Springburn.

Source: Glasgow City Archives