A wonderful colourised postcard from 1906, depicts Glasgow Road near the bottom of Victoria Street. Looking eastwards towards Hamilton, on the right is Annfield Terrace (in front of Hasties) and beyond it on the right is Stonefield Parish (or Primary) School. The photo celebrates the growth and development of Glasgow Road and shows the relatively new tramlanes, put down just 3 years before.
Whilst until 1907, the tramlanes were in a single line along Glasgow Road, at this particular point though was an exception, where they doubled up to form a passing place. The tram lines doubled up in about nine or ten places in Blantyre, but one or two these were merely passing places. The stops, from Hamilton side, were Limetree, Whistleberry Bridge, Hastie’s Farm, Dunallan (the loop), Priory, and Dalton just before Dechmont.
The houses and tenements on the left are also no longer there today, but are now the public park. At the time this photo was taken, there was no park behind the houses, only fields.
There are around 35 figures in this scene, many of them children. However, this beautiful postcard, contrary to what you may have read elsewhere does not represent the first day of Stonefield Primary School or a parade by Headmaster Ness. That happened in October 1875.
Today, the scene looks like this.
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