Westerton  

One of the striking landmarks of our area is the canal, which runs east to west alongside the railway to the south of Maxwell Avenue. This is the Forth and Clyde Canal which, stretching 35 miles across Scotland was originally built as a ship canal to link the Firth of Forth at Grangemouth with the Firth of Clyde at Bowling. The Great Canal, as it was often referred to, was officially opened for traffic on the 28th July 1790 (only 45 years after the Jacobite rebellion. Indeed during its construction when money ran out, it was funds from. estates forfeited after the rebellion which got the project under way again.)

The appearance of the Canal today gives us no indication of the dominant role it once played in the transportation of heavy goods across Central Scotland, before the days of the railway. Roads were in poor condition:

"The principal disadvantage (in New Kilpatrick} are the stubborn nature of a great part of the soil, and the want of good roads."

Statistical Account of Scotland 1791-99

Heavy traffic therefore travelled by water. In Scotland this meant travelling by sea to get from one side of the country to the other Obviously an inland waterway across the central belt of Scotland would save a great deal of time and money when transporting goods to and from major centres of population.

The canal was conceived as a ship canal and so for many years it was mainly used by sailing vessels. These ships could go through the canal under sail when the wind was favourable, but as a rule they had to rely on horses to track, .or tow, them through. The small boats which sailed in the Clyde estuary used the canal, as well as the larger sloops and schooners, with their international trading capability. Sir Archibald Campbell, seeing the canal as a good business proposition, became a shareholder in the Company of Proprietors of the Forth and Clyde Navigation. The canal was also used for internal traffic in coal, stone, manure and, later on, timber.
Indeed, according to an old estate map of 1807, the Garscube estate had a freestone quarry, a coal pit, a paper mill and plenty of farm land. All of these would have found the canal a far easier way of transporting their produce than existed before.

The canal was a profitable investment for its shareholders for many years and was a powerful stimulus to trade and manufacturing throughout central Scotland with many companies building their factories. along its banks. It was used by Robinson Dunn at Bearsden Road, Temple and Singer at Clydebank as well as many other industries near its route.

For many years the traffic on the canal would have been towed by horses. A few attempts at Paddle steamer tugs proved unsuccessful because of the erosion they caused to the banks. In the 1850s however steam screw lighters came into general service. Initially built of wood, over a short period they developed into sturdy iron- built vessels. The sound of the exhausts from their engines gave them the name 'puffers'.

By the early 1900s sixty to seventy' per cent of traffic was conveyed by these steam lighters but horses could still be seen pulling traffic up and down the canal past the village of Westerton.

The canal, linked with the Monkland and Edinburgh and Glasgow Union Canals, was for about 50 years the main mode of transport of heavy goods across central Scotland. Though the railways ended its dominant role, the canal remained prosperous for a further 25 years before being bought by the Caledonian Railway in 1867. Thus began a slow decline that lasted until its closure in 1962.

The main use for the canal at the beginning of the 20th century was still the shipment of coal, stone, timber and manure although the fishing boats and other less usual cargoes were to be seen passing our village on their way to the various manufacturers which were set up by the canal side. One such manufacturer was a margarine factory in Port Dundas whose regular supplies of monkey nuts pleased the children who lived near the canal a great deal.

"I don't know what kind of boat that was that had the monkey nuts. That was different from the rest of them. A barge ... the kids all round about the place got tae know which days the boats were comin... and they'd come down the street shoutin' "The monkeynut boat is comin," A' ye could see was legs flyin' up the road - couldnae get there quick enough...Ye used tae lift up yer dress and they'd fill it up wi' big shovel loads."  (Mrs Sarah Mcl'ntyre)

Although the canal was primarily intended for the carriage of freight its potential for passenger traffic was also appreciated. It was seen as a smooth comfortable and safer way to travel than the coaches it competed with. The canal company established a service of fly boats from Glasgow to Falkirk hauled by relays of horses. New high speed, horse-hauled, iron boats were introduced in 1833. The boats were hard hit by the competition the railways provided in the 1840s and quickly succumbed. A steam boat also worked the route from about 1860 to the early 1880s but the Canal Cruises are perhaps the most fondly remembered feature of the traffic on the canal. From 1894 the 'Queens' - Fairy', May and Gypsy - delighted Glaswegians by taking them along some of the most picturesque parts of the canal. With a band on board and refreshments served throughout, the cruises were justifiably popular until they were ended by the Second World Wan

In 1952 a considerable stir was created among people living in the area when a midget submarine XE14 commanded by Lt. W. Ricketts travelled through the canal from the Clyde to the Forth.

On the 12^th/13th October 1962 the last passenger trips were made by charter from Bowling to Kirkintilloch and back. A few weeks later some fishing boats were the last vessels to go through the canal and it was officially closed on the 1st January 1963.

The decay which has occurred since the closure has hopefully now been arrested. Growing interest in the improvement of the canal for recreation purposes has seen a large clean-up campaign. Some of the locks have been restored to working order and there have been major towpath improvements carried out by Glasgow, Strathkelvin and Falkirk District Councils in co-operation with the existing owners, the British Waterways Board. In April 1982 a new 'Queen', this time the Ferry Queen was launched at Hungryside Bridge, near Torrance, and regular sailing's were soon started from the new base at the stables at Glasgow Road bridge. There soon followed the Caledonian, formerly a Clyde ferry, now fitted out with a full-length cabin and restaurant, launched in 1982, with other vessels soon following. This re-introduction of trip boats is perhaps the most encouraging sign that the canal is not finished yet.

Excerpt from Westerton. A Village Story.  ( ISBN 0 9521386 0 3 )