MOTORWAYS and dual carriageways make for fast connections between Glasgow and the Lower Clyde and it is hard to imagine how difficult this journey would have been when the traveller’s only options were to walk or go by horse.

In 1841, however, long before cars would become reliable means of transport, something happened that revolutionised travel. It was the opening of the railway from Glasgow to Greenock’s Central Station. The line was extended to Gourock in 1889. In addition to horse-drawn coaches, boats plied between Glasgow and the Lower Clyde before then but the railway reduced the duration of the journey to an hour, according to the timetable.

The development of the railway and how it was linked with steamer and ferry connections to other parts of the Clyde is the subject of a new book from Amberley Publishing of Stroud, Gloucestershire, entitled ‘The Glasgow, Cowal & Bute Route’. It is the work of Chris Hogg, former curator of film photography and sound at the National Railway Museum in York, and Lynn Patrick, who was the museum’s photographer for more than 25 years.

The 96-page paperback has 180 illustrations showing railway, shipping and general scenes, including more than 50 taking in ‘then and now’ images of Port Glasgow, Greenock and Gourock.

The accompanying images from the book show a view looking down on Port Glasgow’s shipyards in 1918 and an early shot of Fort Matilda railway station.

‘The Glasgow, Cowal & Bute Route’ costs £14.99 and its ISBN number is 978-1-4456-2108-1. It is also available in Kindle, Kobo and iBook formats.