St Rollox Locomotive Works, 130, Springburn Road, Glasgow

St Rollox Works is a substantial range of adjoining and interconnected former railway locomotive workshops located in Springburn, Glasgow. The works were first constructed in 1854–6 for the Caledonian Railway Company and were enlarged and remodelled by the company between 1884 and 1886.

The current building consists of 12 adjoining workshops with pitched roof spans, dating largely from the 1880s, and covering approximately 5.5 acres. The workshops mainly run parallel with each other on an east-west axis, having an irregularly stepped plan form that diminishes in length from north to south. The three longest halls to the north, each being over 152 metres in length, are the former machine shop, wheel shop and locomotive erecting halls. Adjoining to the south are the former boiler and tender shops, coppersmiths, pattern shop and stores. A truncated section of the former forge and smith's shops (orientated north-south rather than east-west) runs to the west side of the building. Four shorter workshop ranges to the far south of the building housed the former brass and iron foundries.

The St Rollox Works building is largely of iron and brick construction. The walls are of red brick with rounded white brick dressings at the corners, windows, doors and cornices. The gable ends of each workshop span are shouldered, having round-arched doors and windows to the east gables, some having later modifications and apex roundel openings to the west gables. The side elevations have pilastered bays topped by a parapet with a dentil course and sandstone cornicing. The openings to the ground floor are predominantly round-headed arch, and there is a mix of round-arched and roundel windows at the upper level.

Window units are largely later 20th century replacements with some metal-frame windows with multi-pane glazing retained at the ground floor. The roof has a covering of metal sheet cladding (formerly grey slate in diminishing courses, interspersed with long horizontal glazed sections).

The interior was seen in 2021. An internal refit was carried out during the 1960s. The structural iron and steel elements of the building remain intact. The internal brick walls have piers to support the overhead cranes. There are several round-arch openings connecting the various workshop ranges. The roof valleys of the long workshop ranges are supported on wrought-iron girders and rows of two-stage, cast-iron circular columns with curved brackets supporting the steel I-beams and wrought iron rails of the high-level travelling crane system. The embedded tracks, engine inspection pits and wheel turning plate fixtures within the concrete floors demonstrate the continued use of the building for rail vehicle repair over a 160-year period and are therefore included as part of the listing. The roof structure is predominantly of wrought iron with narrow angle beam and tie rod support construction. The principal beams are covered by timber lining. There are also some sections of metal latticework within parts of the roof structure.

The former St Rollox Works Offices of 1887 occupies the northwest corner of the site and is listed separately at category B (LB33906).

17 February 2023: Member of the public reports increasing signs of dilapidation since the closure in 2019.

6 July 2023: External inspection finds the site to be vacant. Assessment of the south and east of the site is limited due to access. The visible sections of roof appear to be intact with some weathering and a patchwork of previous repairs. The vent stacks and chimneys appear to be stable. There are some signs of cracking of joints in the brick masonry at the southwest corner of the workshops facing onto Springburn Road. There is vegetation growing in the brick masonry, especially on south and west elevations. The north elevation is covered with metal cladding. There is safety signage indicating danger due to a fragile roof posted on the north elevation. On the west elevation, there is some broken glazing and windows have been boarded up. The visible doors appear to be secured. Dense vegetation is growing around the northwest corner of the site, with signs of fly-tipping and antisocial behaviour in the area as well. The site is surrounded by fencing and appears to be secure. There are marketing signs posted but it is uncertain it still available at this time. Move to At Risk. Condition set as Fair and Risk as Low.

Post-survey update (04/08/2023): According to the Registers of Scotland, the site appears to have been purchased most recently in April 2021. The listing on the website NovaLoca indicates that the site is no longer available.