Temple Gasworks were located on the opposite side of the Forth and Clyde Canal, and in later years a direct link from them to the Caledonian Railway (including yet another rail tunnel) was established.

In 1891 Glasgow Corporation acquired Temple Gasworks and the following year a rail tunnel was built to connect them to Dawsholm. This tunnel is still in existence, as are the cuttings leading to it at each end. We are uncertain of the exact length of the tunnel, but estimate it from maps to be about 300m.

The gates at the Dawsholm portal, found padlocked on our first visit, were wide open by the time we returned to the site.

The initial tunnel section from the Dawsholm end, shown in this photo, has vertical brick walls and a ceiling of concrete slabs which are presumed to have been laid considerably after construction of the tunnel. We are not sure whether this section was originally a deep cutting, or whether it was roofed by some other means. It is clear from the photo that the tunnel is still in use for piped gas; and there is a gentle humming sound, probably of a pump, permeating it.

The gas pipes are supported on girders, some of which are only 170cm above floor level; fortunately the taller members of the Milk Crate Gang were not present on this expedition!

The main tunnel is conventionally built of brick with the arch lining apparently four courses thick. It is, however, narrow with eaves a maximum of only 3.25m above the rails, an abnormally restricted structure gauge relative to the 1435mm (4' 8½") gauge rails currently found running the length of it, and is thus unsuited to conventionally proportioned standard gauge locos. There is a large collection of wall-mounted brackets and pulleys which were possibly associated with a signalling system. The floor is ballasted throughout and, surprisingly, we found virtually no litter on it; this could perhaps be because the gates had only recently been unlocked.

We found no refuges in the tunnel. There were however a number of low, arched refuge-like structures varying in width between 70 and 160cm and with a maximum height of between 25 and 50cm; we do not know the purpose for which they were constructed.

Contrary to what is depicted on Ordnance Survey maps, there are two sharp bends, the first to the left and the second to the right, each of approximately 90 degrees, where the tunnel swings under the Forth and Clyde Canal. Check rails are present on these curves.

Near the first bend we encountered, there is a full width ventilation shaft now capped by concrete slabs resting on timber with a course of air-bricks below; further below these are two diagonally placed riveted box girders which may have supported the original cover.

There are severe gradients inside the tunnel; we estimated these to be up to 1:15 on the central section which is now flooded apparently to a depth of nearly a metre. Note the floating discarded polystyrene cup shown in this photo. The water prevented us from walking the entire length of the tunnel even though we were wearing wellies. It appears that, some time in the past, an attempt had been made to waterproof the roof of this section to protect it from incursions of canal water; this defence might have been successful in the past, but is clearly inadequate now.

The tunnel emerges into a cutting inside the Temple Transco gas storage facility, on the site of Temple Gasworks.

Germiston: access to Provan Gasworks

The approach cutting to the tunnel is now filled in but not yet (1998) landscaped. Adjacent to the tunnel portal, the brick wall is falling away in places to reveal the stoneface behind. The portal and surrounding ground are, perhaps surprisingly for the edge of a housing estate, completely unfenced.

The tunnel is a generously proportioned single-track construction with a plain brick portal and brick lining throughout.

It is flooded for the first 30 metres from the portal, as infilling of the cutting has obstructed natural drainage - the visitor is welcomed by evil-smelling rubbish-filled slimy mud about 15cm deep, and wellies are essential here. The surface in this photo is far from solid!

The remainder of the tunnel is however completely dry. The floor still shows clearly the undulations caused by the now lifted sleepers, and there is some rail-related debris including lots of wooden sleepers scattered around.

Refuges of standard appearance are provided at regular intervals. There is no sign of any ventilation shaft or construction shaft. The tunnel is sharply and continuously curving to the right through about 120 degrees from its entrance; the track originally emerged after passing under Royston Road and headed into the site of Glasgow Corporation's Provan Gasworks.

The length of tunnel we walked ends abruptly in a relatively recently constructed brick wall, with no associated shaft to the surface. As the tunnel was built with very plain portals, it is not easy to tell whether this brick wall marks the far portal or whether the tunnel originally continued beyond. We found recently applied distance markings every 10m along the wall, from which we were able to determine that the total length of the remaining accessible tunnel is almost exactly 480m.

Inside the Provan Gasworks site, now lying derelict, the tunnel portal and its surrounding area have been covered by a steep grassy bank. The only signs marking the site of the tunnel exit are two small wooden posts, one of which is shown here, driven into the ground. Anecdotal evidence of a local witness suggests that the portal was hidden in about 1990.

Provan Gasworks were once home of a 2'6" gauge railway with a stock of steam locos such as Dougal, built by Andrew Barclay of Kilmarnock in 1946 and seen here in gasworks livery on the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway. There is no remaining sign of any narrow gauge railway on the gasworks site.