How does this work when the map appears to show some island platforms and some 'outside' platforms? Or were new platforms constructed when the railway was updated?
I worked on the project briefly in the 1970s, the station buildings rebuilding! I actually reported to the chief architect on the buildings side and did a few details on the drawings.
Until 1977 every station was a central island platform. Some were notably small and narrow (as a few of the lesser ones still are).
There were no points at all, probably unique for a railway of this scale.
The original depot building is still very much there, on the depot site, here :
12 Broomloan Rd - Google Maps
The scale of the depot, sidings, etc has gone from one extreme to the other. Originally, with no points, everything was lifted on and off with a large crane; the two circles ran through a large pit under the depot, which just had a series of stub tracks for vehicles to be placed on. Everything was contained within the single depot building, the cars never saw daylight. No test track, nothing. I really don't believe there was enough space for all the vehicles on the stub tracks in there, most were left on the running tracks either side of the pit overnight. This was especially an issue towards the end when they had a lot of non-runners and a minimal service. There was an old small paperback book I used to have, probably bought at the old Glasgow transport museum, which I recall had a depot plan and thus showed the various stubs. Nowadays there seems far more siding space than the fleet they have, the new stock seems to have been readily accommodated alongside the 1970s vehicles without issue.
Contrary to much local belief the vehicles were painted the same red all over; one heard many times the old joke that the offside, never visible from a platform, was not painted at all, or painted black. It didn't have the decals applied of course. Towards the end the wooden bodies had really deteriorated, they could be seen to be visibly flexing at the joints as you went along, and I wouldn't have been surprised if the window glass had fallen out.
The old thing about alternate side usage and wheel wear was also not correct, they didn't consciously bother and it was never an issue. The overall curving of the circles was so large radius as to be of no consequence, and there was this complete lack of points and tight turnouts which is what wears squealing wheels the quickest.
We have discussed the old Subway here before here, use the Search. There are also some characteristic YouTube videos. Most of the staff until the 1977 closure, invariably elderly, were ex-Glasgow tramways, which last ran 15 years beforehand in 1962.
