Greenock Princes Pier railway station
{{short description|Closed railway station in Inverclyde, Scotland}}
{{for|Australian pier and station|Princes Pier}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2017}}
{{Infobox station
| name = Greenock Princes Pier
| status = Disused
| image = File:Princes Pier railway line - geograph.org.uk - 1165688.jpg
| caption = The site of railway sidings and engine shed on the approach, in 2009
| borough = Greenock, Inverclyde
| country = Scotland
| coordinates = {{coord|55.9564|-4.7636|type:railwaystation_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| grid_name = Grid reference
| grid_position = {{gbmapscaled|NS275771|25|NS275771}}
| platforms = 6
| original = Greenock and Ayrshire Railway
| pregroup = Glasgow and South Western Railway
| postgroup = LMS
| years = 23 December 1869
| events = Opened as Greenock Albert HarbourButt (1995), page 109
| years1 = 1 May 1875
| events1 = Renamed as Greenock Princes Pier
| years2 = 25 May 1894
| events2 = Original station closed and replaced extending 90 m further north
| years3 = 30 November 1965
}}
Greenock Princes Pier was a railway station serving Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland, originally as part of the Greenock and Ayrshire Railway. It was approached by a tunnel sloping downhill under Greenock's west end, with railway sidings before the line crossed Brougham Street bridge over the main road to Gourock. The station was set on an embankment on the approach to Prince's Pier, with a line curving down to serve Albert Harbour.{{cite web | title=View map: Plan of Greenock to accompany Directory. By J. Bartholomew F.R.G.S. 1873 - Town Plans / Views, 1580-1919 | website=National Library of Scotland - Map Images | url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/117744867 | access-date=8 September 2022}}{{cite web | title=Side by side georeferenced maps viewer - OS 25" map 1897 | website=National Library of Scotland | url=https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=16&lat=55.95554&lon=-4.76474&layers=168&right=ESRIWorld | access-date=8 September 2022}}
The area of the station, pier and the infilled Albert Harbour is now occupied by Greenock Ocean Terminal container port and cruise ship passenger terminal.
History
The station opened on 23 December 1869, as Greenock Albert Harbour. The station was set on an embankment, with an open path leading down to Prince's Pier. North British Railway through trains were advertised as running every week-day "between Edinburgh (Waverley and Haymarket Stations) and Greenock (Albert Harbour), carrying Passengers to and from Prince's Pier, Greenock, without change of Carriage, and thus placing them alongside the Clyde Steamers without walking through the streets."{{cite book | last1=Phillips | first1=J. | last2=Flintoft | first2=J.J. | last3=Foster | first3=M.B. | author4=Adam and Charles Black (Firm) | title=Black's Picturesque Guide to the English Lakes: Including the Geology of the District | publisher=Adam and Charles Black | series=Black's guide books | year=1872 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=988HAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA2-PA50 | access-date=27 August 2022 | page=2-PA50}} The station was renamed as Greenock Princes Pier on 1 May 1875. In 1877 the Glasgow and South Western Railway advertised that "Passengers are landed at the Prince's Pier Station, from whence there is a Covered Way to the Pier where the Steamers call, and Passengers Luggage is conveyed, free of charge, between the Stations and the Steamers."{{cite book | last=Miller | first=J.W. | title=Miller's royal tourist handbook to the Highlands and Islands | year=1877 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u7sHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PP2 | access-date=27 August 2022 | page=2}}
File:Prince's Pier, Greenock, Scotland-LCCN2001706009.jpg
On 25 May 1894 the original station was closed and replaced by a new station extended 90 m to the north.
On 2 February 1959,{{Daniels-NoMore |edition=2nd |page=57 }} stopping passenger services from Glasgow and Paisley ceased running beyond Kilmacolm; however, the {{stnlnk|St Enoch}} boat trains continued running, without stopping until 30 November 1965.Thomas (1971)
{{Historical Rail Start}}
{{rail line
|previous =
|next = {{stnlnk|Lynedoch}}
Line and station closed
|route = Glasgow and South Western Railway
Greenock and Ayrshire Railway
|col = {{G&SW colour}} |lightcol={{G&SW light}} }}
{{s-end}}
References
= Notes =
{{reflist}}
= Sources =
- {{butt-Stations}}
- {{Jowett-Atlas}}
- {{Jowett-Nationalised}}
- {{Thomas-History-VI}}
- {{Wham-SouthGlasgow}}
- [http://www.npemap.org.uk/tiles/map.html#227,677,1 Greenock Princes Pier on navigable OS map]
Category:Disused railway stations in Greenock
Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1869
Category:Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1965
Category:Former Glasgow and South Western Railway stations
Category:Beeching closures in Scotland