The Cathcart District Railway was authorised on 7 September 1880. The eastern section to Cathcart opened to Mount Florida station on 1 March 1886. The line was completed through to the first Cathcart station on 25 May 1886. The Extension Line, which completed the western half of the line, was authorised on 10 June 1890, being completed on 2 April 1894.

It linked the Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway

Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway

The Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway was a railway co-owned by Caledonian Railway and Glasgow and South Western Railway and was an amalgation of two different lines: the Glasgow, Barrhead and Neilston Direct Railway and the Glasgow and Kilmarnock Joint Railway.-Glasgow, Barrhead and...

 and the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway

Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway

The Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway was a railway company in Scotland built in the late 19th century that provided services between Ardrossan and Glasgow, with branches to Irvine and Kilbirnie. The line was operated by the Caledonian Railway with an aim to compete with the Glasgow and South...

.

In the 1923 Railway Grouping it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway

London, Midland and Scottish Railway

The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...

 (LMS).

The original route

The route diverges from the link line between and the Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway

Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway

The Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway was a railway co-owned by Caledonian Railway and Glasgow and South Western Railway and was an amalgation of two different lines: the Glasgow, Barrhead and Neilston Direct Railway and the Glasgow and Kilmarnock Joint Railway.-Glasgow, Barrhead and...

 at Muirhouse North Junction, just north of Albert Drive. After , the line turns east passing firstly under the route of the Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway

Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway

The Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway was a railway co-owned by Caledonian Railway and Glasgow and South Western Railway and was an amalgation of two different lines: the Glasgow, Barrhead and Neilston Direct Railway and the Glasgow and Kilmarnock Joint Railway.-Glasgow, Barrhead and...

 running in cutting to Mount Florida. The line, now heading south reaches the complex of junctions at Cathcart where connection is made with the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway

Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway

The Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway was a railway company in Scotland built in the late 19th century that provided services between Ardrossan and Glasgow, with branches to Irvine and Kilbirnie. The line was operated by the Caledonian Railway with an aim to compete with the Glasgow and South...

. Within these junctions is the location of Cathcart railway station

Cathcart railway station

Cathcart railway station is a railway station serving the Cathcart area of Glasgow, Scotland. It is located on the Cathcart Circle Line south of Glasgow Central...

.

The extension line

The western extension heads east, mainly on embankments as far as . Beyond the line crosses over the Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway

Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway

The Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway was a railway co-owned by Caledonian Railway and Glasgow and South Western Railway and was an amalgation of two different lines: the Glasgow, Barrhead and Neilston Direct Railway and the Glasgow and Kilmarnock Joint Railway.-Glasgow, Barrhead and...

, turning north to reach . The final section through to heads east before joining the General Terminus and Glasgow Harbour Railway

General Terminus and Glasgow Harbour Railway

The General Terminus and Glasgow Harbour Railway was authorised on 3 July 1846 and it opened, in part, in December 1848.Its main function was intended to be the transportation of coal from collieries and Lanarkshire and Ayrshire, over other railways, to a coal depot on the south bank of the River...

 and the Glasgow Central line of the Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway

Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway

The Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway was a railway co-owned by Caledonian Railway and Glasgow and South Western Railway and was an amalgation of two different lines: the Glasgow, Barrhead and Neilston Direct Railway and the Glasgow and Kilmarnock Joint Railway.-Glasgow, Barrhead and...

at Muirhouse Central Junction.

Sources

• Cunnison, J. and Gilfillan, J.B.S., (1958). The Third Statistical Account of Scotland: Glasgow. Glasgow: William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd.
• Little, M., (1979). Greater Glasgow's Railway Network. In: Scottish Transport, 33, Scottish Tramway Museum Society. ISSN 0048-9808.
• RAILSCOT on Cathcart District Railway