Whole of the Glasgow Tram big system (closed 1962)

[rjhowie]

Apart from my thread on my Irish railway big build i did this one some years ago and recently went on to it a month or so ago to sort a couple of thins out.

Glasgow had the largest tramway outside of London and the day of the last tram procession in 1962 the media said that a quarter of a million people came out to watch them trundling through the city. I was fortunate that at the annual Scottish Model Rail Show in Glasgow I got a really big sketch map of al routes and thought I would do the west side where I lived but just kept building off an on for two years. I have slide shows on West-City Centre-North-East-South East-South-South West. So have a look at the site and how big my project is and probably amongst the largest done on Trainz on what actually existed once. Someone has suggested that I contct the Glasgow Transport Museum but when I last did that before they moved all I got was a damn acknowledge card! Will try again although i don't like the new place at all. What I did feel annoyed about too was at myself. A while back the free newspaper the "Metro" had emailed me as they had done a tramway article and came across my website but as i hadn't been doing anything for ages I missed out on that. Only two got a copy one who got invited to my home and took copy and another man elsewhere in the UK who sent a for a copy.

Anyway the site is not on the DLS (yet!) but have a look at my Glasgow effort as there are hours of exploring on this giant system.....
www.glasgowtramsim.moonfruit.com

 

[curmudgeon66]

Very interesting looking route. Some images, such as maps, on your website are very difficult to read. Have you kept modernizing your version of trainz over time, or did you keep this in Trainz2006?

 

[rjhowie]

Moved it up over the years to TRS12

 

[rjhowie]

meant to say curmudgeon66 that I had not originally intended to do the whole former system..Thought would just do the west of the city where i have always lived but finishing at the end kept niggling so after a gap added the city centre then got the same which led to the north, east, south east, south and south west! Well overdue for tram fans to get a shot at it and they will spend hours exploring it. Was fortunate years ago to get that line drawing and did inherit a love for the trams as a wee boy living in tenement where I could look down on them. My mother never ever took me into the city centre on the couple of bus routes passing through our area and had been a conductress in the war. So I became a tram fan.

 

[rjhowie]

Carmudgeon, I do not understand how you find the maps hard to read as they seem clear when i am on the site??

You are the only one who reponsed though so that is something although it was a kind of passing encouragement that over 300 "looked.2 I*t took an awful long time to do after taking breaks so I trust it will eventually be worth my while uploading it?!

 

[Kennilworth]

Hi

I have looked at your site on a number of occasions in the past and think it would be worthwhile uploading the route. In the late 50s and early 60s I was a frequent visitor to Glasgow with my parents (my mother was Glasgow born) and have many memories of tram rides as we visited relatives scattered about the city. I would definitely download this route if it became available.

Regards

Brian

 

[Kennilworth]

Apologies for double post. Forum did not seem to work as normal.

 

[rjhowie]

Hello Brian.

It took me ages and I mean ages! Originally planned just to do the west where i live and got a wee bit more ambitious through the months and a couple of years adding the other parts. As a wee boy in the city and having 6, 9, 16, 17, 26, 26a all passing the front of the then tenement we lived in a truly great time for me! Trying the tramway was my first shaky steps at doing something on Trainz and a very great builder over the Border created the different trams - standard, Kilmarnock bogie, single-decker and the modern Coronation and Cunarders. Brilliant builds and even the Coronations hve working turning indicators. When also young fancied being a tram driver and the nearest depot wasn't that far away and getting into it with my tram driver uncle was another great thing. The trams have only driving at one end and i assumed it may have been that elsewhere in the UK the terminus may have been loops?? whereas here they had cross overs. Anyway I have included invisible loops ate every terminus for convenience.

It has been sitting on a pc for year sand I am being ridiculous as it was a very long builds as you can imagine just by the very extensive size. There are a small handful of files that have queries on them so I will check and show the wee list and see if there is a way round them although the system is operational. Tracing every terminus was vital and I did walk over a hundred miles off and on and even after repeated breaks never gave up. Sometimes I wonder to be honest how I finished it. Was good to hear that you not only enjoyed coming here to the centre of the Universe (!) but the trams as well. Between the two world wars the system was so brilliant that transport executives visited to look at it.. You are right that it should be made available as to date only two got it (!). One lived over the boundary in Duntocher where the last single deckers ran north of Clydebank. He phoned a few years ago and came to my house for a copy and another sent a dongle for the cdp.

So once I check the queries will be back on Wednesday and see about those queries that show up.

Bobby

 

[helian43]

Hi RJH,
My wife Helen was born in Glasgow (1943) and we often visit as we now live in ANGUS. Her Aunt was a driver on the system and she recalls Auntie dinging the bell as she went past Byers Road...
Please bring the tramways onto the DLS for many of us to enjoy.
Thanks Helian 43 aka Ian

 

[rjhowie]

Hi there and great to hear from you on my old project!

Hello Ian,

It did take me an wful long time off an on and you can imagine that by what you seen on the site and the maps along with slide-shows for every part of the system. Have still to catch up with the tiny handful of queries I have that show up so WILL check them again and list them here to see what help I need with them. They don't however stop me from using it mind you and when I gave a copy a few years back to a man who visited me seemed okay with hm. Good to hear of the family hero who worked in the "caurs" and I was chuffed as a wee boy when my mother told me she stopped working before I was born as a cook in a big hose of a professor and became a tram conductress in WW2. Only wish my mother was still alive to have seen what I created as my love and remembrance of a great system. Even as an office boy in my teens with a big travel agency when I had to deliver tickets and holiday packs I had a Corporation tramway map and routes list and tried to ignore buses!

Must get this as you hint up on to DLS before the festive time as a Christmas gift for tram fans and people like you and I who had relations who worked on them. My one special surprise is that I ever managed to finish the thing and never thought i would and remember this too - I worked every former route and double checked where every terminus used to be. Should you ever be down here on one of your visits feel free to be in touch and you chase me up if time is being dragged getting access to Glasgow as it brilliantly was with the biggest system apart from London!

ps Will check the queries on Saturday and expect a PM by the way. Remarkable to b the way usingRJH because that is what I often do myself....

 

[rjhowie]

When checked I get this showing up....

In the Asset Dependencies...

7 unknown

2:102657:10:127
2:70030:25004:127
2:70030:25006:127
2:70030:25007:127
2:70030:25008:127

? Container 1:68787:250096
? gras1 2:687:22021:2

In the errors and warnings section get this...

Dependency 2:70030:25004:127 is unknown
Dependency 2:70030:25006:127 is unknown
Dependency 2:70030:25007:127 is unknown
Dependency 2:70030:25008:127 is unknown
Dependency 2:102657:10:127 is unknown

Apart from the above when I go into the tramway it loads up and works.

 

[KenGreen]

I think this would be of general historical interest, I've never visited Glasgow but if it was on the DLS I would definitely download it and I'm sure many others would too.

Ken

 

[rjhowie]

Well that is another encouragement there and even though it was closed away back in 1962 it was as i indicate Ken a big system as the maps of each area show. I know our main them on trainz will be trains although there are tram fans about too! It took ages to build and was my first attempt at doing anything on trainz a while back and it did encourage me to attempt my other largest Trainz modern thing for N and S Ireland I mention elsewhere here. Getting to having it up on the DLS is I have to be admit makes me guilty of it hiding on a pc! As only 2 people actually got copies a while back it is not a good thing for me to have spent so much time and effort doing that project not to have it for wider use. That really is a positive move by me.

 

[twins]

Hi Bobby,
We remember well when you were working on the Glasgow Tram Route and we did encourage you to contact the old Transport Museum to see if they would be interested in it.
It was a shame that you had no response and that you did not put it onto the DLS. Now is the time and it would be interesting to see how it would run on TANE.
We have had our Glasgow North Electric route working well on Tane and hope to put an update onto the DLS in the months to come.
John & Peter.

 

[rjhowie]

Ah, John and Peter. Good to hear from you!

had noticed when I went back into the old project from years ago that there were some roads south of the river with traffic running both ways on one side of the tram tracks! That went back to my very early days. Spent some time changing them and hope most of those probs are gone. They also existed on non middle line ones across bridges over rail lines and canals so trailed round all the bridges removing and doing the road lanes to suit. It is all now on TRS12 and you are very right in that it should be made generally available. I wasn't lon into discovering Trainz years ago and realised that doing something on the long gone tramway system in Glasgow could be tackled (even if not all as I mused to myself). However off and on over a couple of years managed that and them moved to my present north and south Ireland thing once knew more about Trainz!

Being such a massive system and taken so long and there are Glasgow tram "caurs" to run on it of all types that used to be there until sadly scrubbed in 1961 is a must. After all it is the largest tramway done here based on an actual ine and there are hours and hours for people to explore. The only negative is that I used Australian tram stop signs to be more obvious!

Bobby
ps Expect a PM so watch out for it you Dumbarton folk.