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Jules Verne at Stirling railway station 1859.

From: <ian.thompson~at~ges.gla.ac.uk>
Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2007 18:50:56 -0000 (GMT)
To: jvf~at~Gilead.org.il

When Verne and Hignard travelled by train from Stirling to Glasgow in July
1859 they accidentally re boarded the train going back to Oakley from
where they had just arrived. (Backwards to Britain/ Voyage à Reculons,
Chapter 29)
He blamed this on the confusing number of trains in the busy station and
the unhelpful station staff. They managed to scramble aboard the Scottish
Central train to Glasgow (fortunately, as the timetable shows that it was
the last train of the day). I had assumed that Verne was confused by the
large number of platforms at Stirling. At present there are nine platforms
and at a maximum there were ten before one was converted in to car parking
space.However, looking at the town plan for 1859 it is clear that at the
time of Verne's passage there were only two platfoms, one of which was an
"island" platform with tracks on two sides....ie a total of three
platforms, joined as Verne observed by an overhead covered bridge.A
maximum of three trains would have been in the station...the Scottish
Central Railway trains northwards to Perth and another southwards to
Glasgow, then on the outside platform, the Stirling and Dunfermline
Railway train ready to head back to Dunfermline via Oakley. Judging by the
layout of the tracks, the Dunfermline locomotive would have "run round"
its carriages ready to depart on its return journey.
It is likely that by rushing across the bridge to buy tickets to Glasgow,
probably not understanding the instructions of the railway staff,
disorientated by crossing the bridge twice and alarmed that three trains
were preparing to depart, it is not surprising that in panic they boarded
the wrong train initially. By matching Verne's account, of leaving Oakley
in the afternoon and arriving in Glasgow after dark, with the summer 1859
Scottish Central Railway timetable, we can establish that he caught the
7.36 pm train from Stirling making stops at five stations before arriving
in Glasgow at 8.55pm. This would account for Verne booking into the first
hotel he saw on George Square (The Royal Hotel adjacent to the railway
station) since they had travelled by coach, steamer, on foot and by two
trains for approximately fourteen hours!
As compared with this hectic experience, the return from the Highlands two
days later via Stirling station was without stress. Leaving their hotel
early in the morning and after a brief tour of the Castle Esplanade, Verne
and Hignard had a leisurely walk downhill to the railway station. From his
 account of passing the Royal Train which was heading north, arriving in
Edinburgh in time for lunch in their favourite inn on the High Street and
stating that the journey lasted 1 hour 15 minutes, it is clear from the
Scottish Central Timetable that they caught the 10.35 am express at
Stirling, arriving in Edinburgh at 12.00. This gave them ample time to
visit the port of Leith in the afternoon and to be entertained aboard a
French naval vessel (more on this vessel in my next posting).
Once more, we can verify that Verne's account can be totally verified by a
little factual research
Ian Thompson.
Received on Sat 10 Feb 2007 - 20:52:01 IST

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