Opposite the old library is the site of the Hyde Park Works, founded in 1862 when Walter Montgomerie Neilson moved here from Finnieston.
The works occupied all the land between Ayr Street, the line of the railway track and Flemington Street. The works were later taken over by Hames Reid and in 1903 amalgamated with the Altas (Sharp, Stewart) and Glasgow Locomotive (Dubs) Works in Queens Park to form the North British Locomotive Company, said to be the largest firm of its kind in the world.
The decline of the railway industry was a painful process. A new square part of the old works was opened in 1988 as part of the Garden Festival celebrations. Focused around a sculpture by Vincent Butler, it demonstrated the recovering spirit of the community. |
