(17th January 1951)

HAMPDEN Garage Administrative Building was opened on 17th December, 1950. This is the first trolleybus garage owned by the Depart­ment, is a structure of modern design, and will deal only with trolleybuses, which are at present housed in Larkfield Garage and, again, this trans­fer will help the overcrowded position in Larkfield so far as diesel buses are concerned.

The site, approximately four acres in extent, acquired for Hampden Garage lies on the northern fringe of King's Park Housing Area between Aikenhead Road and Hampden Football Park. Undulating and rough, the ground rose from road level to a height of 20 feet and this had to be excavated and filled to give a formation grading upwards from Aikenhead Road at a ratio of 1 in 43, and conforming approximately to the varying gradient of Aikenhead Road. This necessitated the excavation by mechanical means of about 18,000 cubic yards of material, half of which was used for filling and the remainder removed from the site.    A layer of ashes was laid and rolled over the formation, the slopes being dressed for sowing with  grass  seed.

After necessary drains and services had been laid, the portion of the site (amounting to approx­imately 2 1/2 acres), required for present purposes was covered with 9 inches of concrete, reinforced with one layer of square mesh reinforcement and laid in 30ft. by 15ft. bays with expansion joints, reservations being left for buildings, servicing pits, etc. The plant used consisted of central batchers and mixers, the concrete being pumped through steel pipes to the part of the area in which it was being laid. The remaining 1 1/2 acres of the site is reserved for future expansion.

The Administrative Building is erected, with a North and South axis, on the Eastern portion of the site, having its main elevation facing Aikenhead Road. This elevation is 64 feet from the boundary fence, the intervening space being occupied by a plot for flowering trees and shrubs and a 34 foot roadway, which permits of a single access gateway for exit and entry of the vehicles and their free circulation  round  the  perimeter  of the  building.

Hampden Trolleybus Garage

The building on the main is on a single storey principle, with direct access to all departments from an open covered passage running the length of the Western or rear elevation of the structure. The staircase from the Southern end of this passage rises to a partial first floor which contains the Depot Superintendent's Office, Kitchen for supply­ing snack meals. Canteen and Recreation Room. The administrative unit is disposed on the ground floor and includes workshops which will cater for day-to-day maintenance of the vehicles. Tin's maintenance will be augmented by three temporary repair pits, which have been excavated and built of brick at the North end of the building. A bothy is provided, also vehicle cleaners' quarters with ample individual locker accommodation, along with ancillary drying rooms for cleaners' clothes.

For the functions of the Traffic Department, a large Depot Office and Ticket Office are provided with an intervening passage for the purpose of showing duty sheets, rotas, etc. These are special­ised units and are designed to supply all the needs of drivers and conductors for the service running of the vehicles.

The building is constructed on a 12in. concrete raft reinforced with heavy gauge square mesh rein­forcement, top and bottom, and the loading of the structure was calculated on a bearing capacity of 1-ton per square foot, due to the very poor con­dition of the ground which, according to local lore, had originally been the site of a farmyard or, pos­sibly, a farm pond. The structure itself is built on the multi-unit principle with 11 in. cavity brick walls externally and brick partitions internally. The floors and roofs are of Siegwart reinforced concrete sections, the roof slabs having a two-layer bitumen felt bonded finish topped with chips. The external finishes of the walls are Rustic brick and Dorset pea pebble dash, steel type horizontal sash windows and steps to entrances built of York stone.

Internal finishes are on a modern trend ; the general     floor     treatment,     excluding     lavatories, kitchen and workshops, is of Accotile in 9 in. square units in alternate colours of mottled green and red, with a black cove border. Lavatories and kitchen floors are finished in Terrazzo of a green and cream colour scheme, with ebonite expansion points forming an overall pattern on the floor. Paintwork is finished generally on a light tone, with ceilings pale green, walls light stone and dado blue ; the interiors of the windows, a tone darker than the walls. Radiators and piping finished  in bronze.

Doors are flush panel type, mahogany finish and the counter of the Depot Office is finished in mahogany, french polished with aluminium top and facings, all anodised and coloured metallic green. Furniture for the canteen is of the tubular type, table tops being finished in black Vitrolite and the chairs in red upholstery.

Electrical supply of 600 volts is obtained direct from the Department's Power Station at Pinkston. Water supply is from the City mains, along with a supplementary supply from a 5,600 gallons capacity storage tank, situated above the staircase of the building. Heating is by steam, from a vertical cross tube boiler, automatically stoked. The domestic hot water supply is designed as an indirect supply system, steam being supplied to the heating coil in the hot water storage cylinder at 140°F, maximum temperature. In summer, when the steam is shut down, hot water service is main­tained by the use of a sectional hot water boiler, fired by automatic stoker. The complete plant is fully automatic. Radiators throughout are " Cop-perad " convection type.

Further space is available for future development and it is intended that complete mechanical work­shops will be erected at an early date. This would then form a completely self-contained unit for the entire  repair  and maintenance of 90 vehicles.

An interesting feature is that the garage floor is graded to permit gravity parking. This system eliminates the use of numerous overhead junctions, thus greatly reducing the initial outlay on the over­head  line  equipment.

The main Depot office.

By E. R. L. FITZPAYNE,  B.Sc.,  M.I.E.E.,    M.I.Mech.E., General Manager, Glasgow Corporation Transport.