The station was opened on 15 July 1850 by the
Caledonian and Dumbartonshire Junction Railway on their route from to , where travellers could join steamships on the
River Clyde to get to Glasgow. Connections with the
Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway at Dalreoch Junction and at Bowling put the station on a through route between and by 1858. The company was subsequently absorbed by the
Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway in 1862 and eventually became part of the
North British Railway three years later. However, in 1891, the North British was forced to come to an agreement with the rival
Caledonian Railway to give the latter access to Balloch (and the
Loch Lomond steamships) over C&DJR metals in order to prevent the building of a competing route by the Caledonian company - this resulted in the
Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire Railway arriving from via in 1896. Trains on the
West Highland Railway also began serving the station following its completion on 1 August 1894 and these continue to call here to this day. The station was built with two
island platforms to permit convenient interchange between the various services that called, although only three faces remain in use (the former down loop on the southbound side having been removed). The Helensburgh and Balloch lines were electrified by
British Railways as part of the 1960
North Clyde Line electrification scheme, but most of the L&DR route was closed (other than the short section through neighbouring ) when passenger services to Possil via were withdrawn on 5 October 1964 as a result of the
Beeching Axe. As of 2022, the loop platform on the south side of the station receives no regular services. == Building ==