Since having our little girl we've spent loads of time in the Botanics and we love it. I had planned a hide in Kibble Palace but then remembered that there used to be a cache at the old station which has since been archived. We know lots of people who didn't know this piece of history so thought we'd replace this in the hope of bringing more people here. Hope you'll visit Kibble as well while you're here.
All the information/ description is courtesy of Big Rab who had the original hide. Thanks!
The station was opened on 10 August 1896 by the Glasgow Central Railway. Although the station building was on ground level, the actual station platforms were underground, beneath the Glasgow Botanic Gardens. It was closed between 1 January 1917 and 2 March 1919 due to wartime economy, and closed permanently to passengers on 6 February 1939, with the line being closed on 5 October 1964.
INITIALS ONLY PLEASE IN LOG
The station building was as ornate red brick structure with two towers sporting a clock and Caledonian Railway monogram and topped by domes reminiscent of a Russian orthodox church. The extant, but disused, station building at Possil are of a similar design. It was a well known landmark along Great Western Road and was designed by the renowned Glasgow railway architect of the period, James Miller.
Miller also designed the next station on the line at Kelvinbridge and went on to design the main buildings for the 1901 Glasgow International Exhibition in nearby Kelvingrove Park and the interiors of the famous Clyde Built ocean liners, the RMS Lusitania in 1907 and RMS Aquitania in 1914.
The building was converted into shops after the station's closure and by the late 1960s was occupied by a popular cafe called 'The Silver Slipper', a nightclub called 'Sergeant. Peppers' and a plumbers shop. It was ravaged by fire on the night of 22 March 1970 and was subsequently demolished. The platforms still remain underground where they can be seen from above through the still open airvents in the Botanic Gardens and the floor of the building is still visible within the fenced-off section of the gardens marking where it stood. An abandoned tramway kiosk designed in the same style as the building in 1903 is still present at the site.
In September 2007, it was reported plans are under consideration to redevelop the site as a Bar/ Restaurant/ Nightclub/ Exhibition Space and miniature railway which would involve completely rebuilding the station building to its original design on its blueprint, almost 40 years after it was destroyed. The plans have met considerable opposition from local people however.