70 replies to this topic

[FS]

Anyone know if this wee bit of exposed tarmac next to Renfrew High is a bit of the old airport aprons and is that big bit of parking space off Cockels Loan next to the M8 footbridge also a bit leading onto the former runway which is now M8 at Arkelston...?

[chingford]

Firhill Saint, on Dec 13 2006, 12:25, said:

Anyone know if this wee bit of exposed tarmac next to Renfrew High is a bit of the old airport aprons and is that big bit of parking space off Cockels Loan next to the M8 footbridge also a bit leading onto the former runway which is now M8 at Arkelston...?

That's very interesting stuff - and views.

I recall the airport terminal and the road leading intae it - but my memory of the runway is that it was more to east and north of where the Tesco now is, you say.
Minbbe that was old 'parking' space down by the M8?

The auld heid is admittedly losing grasp of memory and reality, but I NEVER thought the old runway was anywhere near the M8.

[The Sandman]

chingford, on Dec 13 2006, 14:52, said:

That's very interesting stuff - and views.

I recall the airport terminal and the road leading intae it - but my memory of the runway is that it was more to east and north of where the Tesco now is, you say.
Minbbe that was old 'parking' space down by the M8?

The auld heid is admittedly losing grasp of memory and reality, but I NEVER thought the old runway was anywhere near the M8.

It is the M8, M8....................

[chingford]

As usual - wrong again - from a website I found.
Guess you've been there?
It shows a fotie of the new irport with the Renfra one in the bg.  And points out the M8, which is the old runway...  though that might just be where the rubble went...

The photograph below, shows Renfrew Airport from the air some time in the early 1960’s. The Scottish Aviation hangars are now Renfrew High School’s football pitches.

Attached Files

•  a_airport.jpg   106.91K   106 downloads

[Mrs SFS]

Quote

M8 motorway.
From the City Bypass, the road runs west to junction with the M9 motorway (for the Forth Road Bridge), bypassing to the north of Livingston and south of Bathgate. It continues across Scotland's central Belt before abruptly terminating at Newhouse. The next section begins on the boundary of the City of Glasgow at the M73 motorway junction (the main interchange for all routes south via the M74 motorway) before passing through the districts of Barlanark, Riddrie, Dennistoun and Townhead (following the route of the abandoned Monkland Canal) on the way directly into the city centre. The central section - which technically comprises two sides of an unfinished ring road - contains numerous junctions serving local communities including Cowcaddens, Garnethill, Kelvingrove and Anderston. It then crosses the River Clyde on the Kingston Bridge, runs west through Kinning Park, Bellahouston and Hillington before leaving Glasgow. Continuing west, it bypasses Renfrew and Paisley (carrying traffic directly atop what was the main runway at Renfrew Airport, closed in 1966) before serving Glasgow International Airport, running to the south of Erskine, and terminating at Langbank, around ten miles east of Greenock.[5]
[indent=1]taken from Wikipedia. (not always 100% reliable)

[chingford]

Quote

SFS:
M8 motorway.
it bypasses Renfrew and Paisley (carrying traffic directly atop what was the main runway at Renfrew Airport, closed in 1966)...
[indent=1]taken from Wikipedia. (not always 100% reliable)

I know, I know...   see above!
But I do have clear recall that the runway wisnae channelled along a gully... so how the M8 could be "directly atop what was the main runway" beats me...

Not nearly 100% reliable.

Edited by chingford, 13 December 2006 - 15:16.

[Mrs SFS]

I'm sure the control tower was there for years after the airport had closed, and that it was visible (hundreds of yards away) from the M8.

[ped]

The tarmac you can see near the high school was part of the airport. If you were to go down and look at it you would be able to see the runners for hanger doors still embedded in the ground.

I knew the old airport well as a wee boy although by that time it was derelict.
I used to play there regularly despite warnings from my mother, to a kid it was a wonderland ! I used to climb the old control tower and throw stones a stuff at the rats ! - they were huge as i recall. There was a huge amount of broken glass everywhere and a common dare was to climb the crows nest !  

I remember watching the day they blew the tower up , i was watching from within the confines of Arkleston primary school grounds where the teachers allowed us to watch the whole thing with our noses stuck through the fence.
I remeber it well being 11 yrs old i though it was the dogs !!

There used to be an arch at the entrance of the old terminal building which was listed but somehow still managed 'mistakenly' to be demolished. The whole building had a sort of ultra modern design ( for the time it was built)

Attached Files

•  PICTURE_9.jpg   51.07K   81 downloads

Edited by ped, 13 December 2006 - 16:50.

[ped]

as for the wee bit of ground near the footbridge i doubt it was left over taxi runway. the tar there was laid when they built cockles loan, the road used to come to a dead end there just where the primary school is. I dont know why they built it the way the did ( for turning maybe?) or for equipment when they built Arkleston.

[FS]

chingford, on Dec 13 2006, 15:01, said:

As usual - wrong again - from a website I found.
Guess you've been there?
It shows a fotie of the new airport with the Renfra one in the bg.  And points out the M8, which is the old runway...  though that might just be where the rubble went...

The photograph below, shows Renfrew Airport from the air some time in the early 1960’s. The Scottish Aviation hangars are now Renfrew High School’s football pitches.

Ah it all makes sense now, I have very vague memories of the old airport as a wean playing in Gallowhill. Even though I wasn't around til 1970, I seem to have a memory of the derelict site, which was there apparently until 1979 or thereabouts ?

A shame they knocked down a smart looking 'art-deco' building to build a tin shed Tesco store on top of it. Seemingly the new arch thing they'be built between the cheap terminal and the main terminal at Glasgow Airport is some sort of tribute to the Renfrew Arch...

Great pictures on that link there of the old planes and the golden era of aviation in Renfrew. A shame they never called the new airport 'Paisley' but there ya go...

Attached Files

•  Renfrew_Airport.jpg   56.74K   56 downloads

[FS]

Aha... And the names of the streets in Arkelston estate make sense now too...

Quote

There are various reminders of Renfrew’s aviation background, such as Arkleston Housing Estate, where the place names reflect aircraft of the time i.e. Viscount, Vanguard, Caravelle, Dakota, Convair etc.
A monument to Renfrew’s existence is displayed on the grass area directly in front of where the Terminal Building once stood. A Cairn also exists between Newmains Road and Sandy Road which celebrates the Air Ambulance service, where the base is inset with stones from the Northern Isles of Scotland, served by the Air Ambulance Service. If you look even closer, there are many reminders of Renfrew Airport’s past such as the Dean Park Hotel, which was once ‘Renfrew Airport Hotel’, and within the grounds of Renfrew High School, are the original tarmac apron slabs and the door runners for the Lockheed Hangar.

[FS]

Found this shot which settles the M8 argument, that's Arkelston cemetary and farm on the right hand side. And it looks like there's another runway crossing north/south at the eastern end of the main runway as Chingford recalls it...

[chico]

is the 08 thing on the runway not a compass bearing or direction thing.   i'm sure someone knows that sort of stuff.

i'd reckon the m8 is directly on top of that tarmac runway as there's a long straight between hillingon and arkleston junctions and when you place the locations of broadloan, the arky cemetry and farm together it makes sense.

there are photos somewhere on thwe web of the renfreshire section of the M8 in construction.

another suggestion is that there are the county series Ordinance Survey maps from the late 1950's that would show renfrew airport, but whether that's available on the web i dunno. Renfrewshire Council's GIS system may have layers that show current and past OS data, but that'd need a cooncil bod to confirm i guess.

[ped]

Firhill Saint, on Dec 14 2006, 01:14, said:

Found this shot which settles the M8 argument, that's Arkelston cemetary and farm on the right hand side. And it looks like there's another runway crossing north/south at the eastern end of the main runway as Chingford recalls it...

Must have been an inspiring site landing in an old prop job at Renfrew, in bad weather, and looking out to see the Arky Cemetary !!

My parents took off from Renfrew once on thier honeymoon ( no i wasn't there) but i cant remember where they went, must ask the old boy.

[FS]

chico, on Dec 14 2006, 03:00, said:

is the 08 thing on the runway not a compass bearing or direction thing.   i'm sure someone knows that sort of stuff.

Got my researchers hat on for this: The 08 is a magnetic compass bearing and is the runway designation as is the case at airports worldwide. The runway at the other end should have a large 21 painted as it ought to be 21 degrees off magnetic north or something like that. The runway(s) at Glasgow are numbered 05 and 23 at either end. with the easterly 23 approach being most commonly used.  

And I remember my old man telling me a story about flying out of Renfrew with a mate when he was 17. They were going to Donegal for a weekend and flew an old prop 'Dakota' plane with Emerald Airways. Seemingly one of the engines conked out as they taxied towards the runway. The captain apologised and ensured everyone they'd have techinical help on the way whilst sending the stewardess round with a complementary dram to help settle the nerves.

My da told me he looked out the window to the site of an elderly mechanic in flat-cap and brown overalls riding a 'hovis' bike with a tool bag hanging off the handlebars. Jogging along side was 'the boy' carrying a short ladder...

When they reached the plane, the boy got sent up the ladder and was passed a huge wrench from the bag (Father Ted fans may have seen something similar in the 'Pat Mustard' episode?) The boy was instructed by the auld fella to batter the engine cowling with said apparatus and hey presto the engine fired back into life !  

My faither said they finished the bottle of Jamiesons fairly quickly and made off for a successful weekend in Bundoran !     

[davidg]

Firhill Saint, on Dec 14 2006, 01:14, said:

Found this shot which settles the M8 argument, that's Arkelston cemetary and farm on the right hand side. And it looks like there's another runway crossing north/south at the eastern end of the main runway as Chingford recalls it...

This picture shows that the runway went all the way past the David Lloyd club.

Attached Files

•  Renfrew_Airport.jpg   91.5K   115 downloads

Edited by davidg, 14 December 2006 - 09:22.

[CalvinHobbes]

davidg, on Dec 14 2006, 09:21, said:

This picture shows that the runway went all the way past the David Lloyd club.

From what I remember being told in the past, the other runway ran through Dean Park, to where the hotel was.

[FTOF]

Cheers for all the info. dug up.

The old airport building used to fascinate me.

A very interesting thread.

[cockles1987]

davidg, on Dec 14 2006, 09:21, said:

This picture shows that the runway went all the way past the David Lloyd club.

Wonder if thats the runway under the grass behind the david lloyd club, alongside the M8

[FS]

cockles1987, on Dec 14 2006, 21:49, said:

Wonder if thats the runway under the grass behind the david lloyd club, alongside the M8

In that Google shot of David Lloyd club you can see a thin brown straight line in the grass which roughly tallies with the runway's parallel taxiway in the old aerial photo. I suppose that could just have been turfed over and is visible from the air, like those old Roman roads and stuff you get on Time Team ?  

"Ere Toneee, we've found an old aiiirpoert ere, so we arve ! "