English: Dismantled railway line at Old Kilpatrick station
Even in winter, when this photo was taken, the dense tree cover ensures that very little can be seen of this channel (compare NS4672 : The Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway, Old Kilpatrick), whether looking from the footbridge that passes above it, or from the adjacent canal path; I had to scramble down the steep embankment for a slightly better view.

This now sadly litter-strewn and partly water-filled channel once carried a railway line; the part of the line shown here was where Old Kilpatrick railway station was located, and the resemblance to a modern station platform is clear enough when examining this area at close quarters. (To highlight the effects of almost half a century of neglect, compare the older photos at the Canmore link in the end-note.)

In addition, just a short distance ahead, the walls on either side of the (former) line still show some tiled sections, which would have been on the interior of the original station buildings: NS4672 : Remains of Old Kilpatrick railway station.

A footbridge, mentioned above, is still in use, crossing this channel to provide access to the Saltings (a nature reserve) from a path alongside the adjacent Forth and Clyde canal, but it was originally the footbridge associated with the railway station; the photograph was taken from beneath that bridge, which is shown at NS4672 : Footbridge of Old Kilpatrick Station.

The book "History of the Parish of West or Old Kilpatrick", by John Bruce, published in 1893, but reprinted in facsimile form in 1995, describes the opening of the NBR railway line through Bowling; that line is the one that is still in use. The book then adds: "The Lanarkshire and Dumbarton Railway Company, having obtained Parliamentary powers in 1892, are now constructing a railway which will prove a serious competitor to the existing Line, but it is hoped that both Companies will find the traffic in passengers and goods sufficiently remunerative."

That did not prove to be the case; the second line, which is the one shown in my photograph, opened on October 1, 1896, but it was eventually to prove unsuccessful, and passenger services were withdrawn on February 5, 1951. The now derelict station that was located here was known as Old Kilpatrick, like the town in which it is located. For a while, it coexisted with the station that was located on the earlier NBR line; that station, which opened in 1858, and which is still in use today, is simply called Kilpatrick station.