Watch: Veteran Glasgow Subway carriages saved and reinvented at new homes - including a nursery

Some of the 44-year-old coaches will become artists’ studios and a cafe/exhibition space elsewhere in the city. Another is heading for a school in Northampton and three others have been bought by fans in Morpeth and Cambridge.

The carriages have been found new homes after being replaced by a new fleet that has been phased in since December. The replacements will eventually operate with no drivers or other staff on board.

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Swiss firm Stadler, which was responsible for disposing of the old carriages as part of its contract with Subway operator Strathclyde Partnership for Transport to build the new trains, is understood to have initially received little interest.

This is thought to have been because of the cost of transporting the carriages running into thousands of pounds, with the Riverside Museum in Glasgow the only recipient, where one went on display in June.

However, rail enthusiast Ben Denton-Cardew put out an appeal to others interested in acquiring a carriage and co-ordinated their delivery to the new owners.

He said: “I used to travel in the carriages to Glasgow University and love them. It’s a bit mad, but I love trains.”

A total of 11 carriages have been acquired by Joe Mulholland, who owns the Hidden Lane shops, studios and cafes in the Finnieston area of Glasgow at a cost of £100,000.

The former Scotsman columnist plans to spend a similar amount refurbishing them to become studios for artists and designers in the former Finnieston rail station building off Argyle Street. Two of the carriages have been earmarked for an extension to a restaurant he hopes to open nearby.

Alan Govan, director of Ivy in the Park childcare centre in the Carntyne area of the east end of Glasgow, where a carriage arrived on Friday, said: “We will consult with parents on how best to use the space, but I imagine it will be used as an outdoor classroom.

“It will be a fantastic resource for our nursery, and the children are all very excited for its arrival.”

Another carriage will be converted into a community cafe and exhibition space by Make It Glasgow beside the Stockingfield Bridge over the Forth & Clyde Canal.

Beatroute Arts in the Balornock area of north east Glasgow is getting another.

Glasgow Labour MSP Paul Sweeney, who helped Mr Denton-Cardew with the project, said: “After a number of months of persistence and negotiation, we have successfully averted half of the fleet of 1980s Metro-Cammell Glasgow Subway cars from being condemned to the scrap yard.

“These old carriages are adored by Glaswegians and are a central part of our social history. It would not have been right to allow these carriages to be discarded.”

A Stadler spokesperson said: “The disposal of the Glasgow Subway legacy trains is well under way.

“In line with Stadler’s pledge to undertake this process responsibly and sustainably, the majority will be re-used and remain in and around Glasgow, underscoring our commitment to the environment and social value.”