Some Early Lines, Old Railway Companies, Alloa Railway

Some Early Lines

Old Railway Companies

Alloa Railway

Authorised on 11 August 1879, this 3-mile branch ran from the Caledonian Railway’s South Alloa branch, across the river Forth to Alloa. The Caledonian Railway paid for the line, absorbing the Company with effect from 1 September 1884, the Act (14 July) also authorising extension. The line opened on 1 October 1885 – the North British Railway had running powers.

A glassy River Forth and a line of bridge stanchions, reflecting, perhaps, on times past. They once carried the Alloa Railway to the industrial town on the north bank.

The Alloa railway was connected to the Stirling and Dunfermline Railway by a connecting line from Longcarse Junction built by the North British Railway in exchange for reciprocal running powers.

British Railways added a second connection from Longcarse Junction to Alloa Marshalling Yard (parallel with the S&D line) in 1957. This made the turntable at Alloa passenger station redundant.

Alloa Swing Bridge
The swing bridge across the Forth was opened on 1 October 1885. It was subsequently closed twice due to storm damage in 1904/5 and 1920/1.

Old Alloa Station – early 1900s
http://www.scot-rail.co.uk

Some Early Lines, Old Railway Companies, Aberdeen Railway

Some Early Lines
Old Railway Companies

Aberdeen Railway

Aberdeen, Gateway to Royal Deeside. LNER/LMS Vintage Travel posters http://www.travelpostersonline.com  Frank H.Mason

The Aberdeen Railway was a railway that ran mainly along the North East coast of Scotland south from Aberdeen to Guthrie on the Arbroath and Forfar Railway. There were branches to Montrose and Brechin.

The sidings and railway lines Aberdeen railway station
View taken from near the top of College Street car park. The station itself is off to the bottom left of the photo.
Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved] © Copyright Lizzie and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Incorporated on 31 July 1845 for a line from Guthrie (Arbroath and Forfar Railway) to Aberdeen, with branches to Brechin and Montrose, it was promoted by  Great North of Scotland Railway supporters, who arranged for amalgamation should it be thought appropriate.  However, by the time half the capital was paid up and spent, the Companies had drawn apart.  It was worked by the Scottish Central Railway between 12 May 1851 and31 July 1854, and the Company amalgamated with the Scottish Midland Junction Railway on 29 July 1856 to form the Scottish North Eastern Railway, connecting Perth to Aberdeen. This latter company was absorbed by the Caledonian Railway on 10 August 1866, which in turn became part of the LMS on 1 July 1923.

Openings

1 February 1848 – Guthrie (Arbroath and Forfar Railway) to Montrose
1 November 1849 – Dubton to Portlethen
1 April 1850 – Portlethen to Aberdeen Ferryhill
2 August 1853 – Aberdeen Ferryhill to Aberdeen Guild Street

The station currently standing was built as Aberdeen Joint Station between 1913–16, replacing an 1867 structure of the same name, on the same site. The station and the new Denburn Valley Line enabled the main line from the south and the commuter line from Deeside to connect
with the line from the north. The lines from the south had previously terminated at the adjacent Aberdeen Guild Street. Even this had not been Aberdeen’s first railway station, that distinction belonging to a previous terminus a short way south at Ferryhill. After the construction of the Joint Station, Guild Street Station became a goods station. Some of its tracks remain, but the vast majority of the site was cleared in 2005.

This image was taken from the Geograph project collection. See this photograph’s page on the Geograph website for the photographer’s contact details. The copyright on this image is owned by Stanley Howe and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.

Some Foreign Lines – A Hotel on Wheels: Francisco de Goya -The Castles of Britain – Trans-Siberian Railway

 Some Foreign Lines

 

A Hotel on Wheels: Francisco de Goya

Renfe
Route: Paris to Madrid
Duration: 13 hours, 30 minutes
Leave Paris in the evening, enjoy a three-course dinner and the increasingly rural scenery, slumber to the soothing rhythm of the rails, and wake the next day as you arrive in Madrid, rested and ready to tour the third-most-populous city in the European Union. Grand class includes a welcome drink, gourmet dinner, breakfast, and an in-room bathroom with shower.

 Reliving the Age of Chivalry: The Castles of Britain

BritRail
Route: Inverness, Scotland, to Gwynedd, Wales
Duration: 15 days
Discover the United Kingdom’s historic fortresses on this itinerary combining a two-week BritRail pass with the Great British Heritage pass. You’ll get entry to 580 attractions, as you hop off for local touring. Start in Inverness, Scotland, near Loch Ness, to tour Urquhart Castle. Continue south to Stirling Bridge, where William Wallace triumphed over the English in 1297, and on to Edinburgh Castle. English sights include Dover Castle, with its wartime tunnels. In Gwynedd, Wales, tour Caernarfon Castle, a World Heritage site where the investiture of Prince Charles was held.

The Epic Journey: Trans-Siberian Railway

Reuters
Route: Moscow to Vladivostok, Russia
Duration: 19 days
This fabled route, an icon of Russian culture, crosses eight time zones to connect the Russian capital with a port on the Pacific Ocean. On board, poor mingle with rich, young with old, foreigners with locals. Social barriers disappear as passengers share a unique rail experience and shots of $3-a-liter vodka. You can book a private car via a tour operator for added comfort; schedule any number of side excursions from trekking and scuba diving to city tours.

Steam Locomotives of a More Leisurely Era 1922 – 4-6-4T Glasgow & South Western Railway

No.540 when new

The last engines built for the G&SWR, five very fine 4-6-4Ts built by R.H.Whitelegg, one time superintendent of the LTSR and who had also designed some 4-6-4Ts for that railway.
The new engines were numbered 540-4, and renumbered by the LMS 15400-4. They did good work on the heavy shorter distance expresses, but being of non-standard type had no chance of survival under LMS policy, and were broken up in 1935 and 1936
Driving wheels – 6’ 0”, Cylinders (2) – 22”x 26”, Pressure – 180 lb., Tractive effort – 26741 lb., Weight 99 tons.

Some Early Lines – The Keith and Dufftown Railway (“The Whisky Line”)

Some Early Lines

The Keith and Dufftown Railway (“The Whisky Line”)

Class 108 diesel multiple unit “Spirit of Speyside” at Keith and Dufftown Railway

Image taken, August 2004.  Original uploader was Kcampbell at en.wikipedia  This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license.

 The Keith and Dufftown Railway (“The Whisky Line”) is a heritage railway in Scotland, running for 11 miles (18 km) from Keith Town, Keith (Ordnance Survey grid reference NJ429508) to Dufftown (NJ322414) via Drummuir (NJ378442).

Originally the former Great North of Scotland Railway Keith and Dufftown Railway which was part of the link Aberdeen with Elgin (with the Strathspey Railway and Morayshire Railway), the line was latterly a freight-only branch for British Rail, truncated at Dufftown, although in latter years it hosted a series of Northern Belle summer Sunday lunch specials from Aberdeen.

The line is open and a regular service runs throughout the Keith and Dufftown Railways operating season from March to September. Special events are also run including Santa Specials, Scots Nights. These services are run on the Class 108 DMUs.

Dufftown is the main centre of operation of the railway where there is a booking office, waiting room and licenced cafe called the Buffer Stop, which is open during operating season. There are two headshunts and a loop, work is being undertaken to install a new loop at Dufftown so that there can be two tracks going into the new engine shed.

There is nothing at Drummuir Station except the platform, although there may be something there in the future. At Keith there is a booking office and a shop which sells railway memrobilia, books, Thomas the tank engine items and model railway items which are sold by members of the association. This shop too is also only open during operating season.

At present there is no connection to the mainline, there are two 60ft sections of track uplifted. However there are long term plans to reconnect to the mainline but this is a long time away in the future.

The Line

Headquarters and western terminus of the Railway, Dufftown Station, AB55 4BA, is located less than a mile from the town centre towards Elgin on the A941. The Station building has been restored by the Association from a near-ruined shell and now boasts a booking office, waiting room and information area. The Buffer Stop carriages provide excellent cafe facilities on the platform. Make sure you stop by for a hot snack, tea and coffee, and maybe even a slice of cake.

Loch Park is a man-made loch stretching just over a mile along the narrow valley at the head of the Isla. The line drops down to run along the shoreline, hemmed in by the steep pine-covered hillside, until the waters tumble into a circular weir beside the Loch Park Activity Centre.

Overlooked by Drummuir Castle, Drummuir Station is the one of the most tranquil spots on the line. Sheltered by the wooded valley sides from the village and road, there is often nothing but birdsong to disturb the natural silence.

One platform of the original two has so far been refurbished, and the remains of the goods yard loading ramps can still be seen. The KDR’s locomotive shed is under construction near the station, and a passing loop will be installed, in due course, to allow two trains to run.

Passengers are welcome to break their journey here to stroll through the walled gardens at the nearby castle.

Towiemore Halt has lost its platform over the years, but the former platform hut is now in use as a permanent way store and bothy for cold volunteers! One feature of this station was the use, for many years, of an ex-GNSR coach body as a waiting room. A similar body was acquired several years ago, and one wonders whether it might see similar use again.

The warehouses on the left as we leave the halt were once served by a large goods yard. Clearance work led to the discovery of original GNSR gates still in position amongst the undergrowth. From here the line bends to the left and enters a long straight, parallel with the Isla, now on the right. The landscape is changing as we leave the areas of dense pine forest and enter rolling open farmland.

As the line curves left once again, we pass under the Keith-Dufftown road once more and arrive at Auchindachy station.

Auchindachy (pronounced och-eye-nachie – soft “ch”, as in “loch”) Station building still stands, although it is now a private residence. One platform of the original two is intact – a fine stand of trees grows where the other used to be! Across the road from the station is the Mill of Towie, a Victorian watermill complete with waterwheel and internal fittings. It is, at present, empty, although an attempt was made to open it as a restaurant in recent years. Perhaps the return of the railway will provide the incentive needed to make the most of this location andprovide an additional attraction for passengers. It is possible that a halt to serve this complex could be constructed in preference to using the old platform at Auchindachy. This would be on the opposite side of the road bridge from the existing station.

This area has seen much work put into improving the trackside drains as the line here is very close to the level of the river, and numerous tributaries feed down from the surrounding hills.

AND DOWN TO KEITH

As we leave Auchidachy the river makes a wide sweep to the right, and the line crosses it twice as it follows round. The Keith-Dufftown road crosses for the last time as we descend through the picturesque valley towards Keith. The river meanders below us to the right before passing under us once more on the edge of the town.

Yet another distillery is passed to our left, with Strathmill siding awaiting its next freight traffic. We drop into the narrow cutting which passes under the main Aberdeen-Inverness road (A96) and out into Keith Town Station, AB55 5BR.

Located between the River Isla and the Church, Keith Town station, AB55 5BR is surprisingly secluded for a town-centre site. The main road crosses the platform end, but the high-walls of the bridge and pavements mean that there is little intrusion from the modern noise of traffic.

A new station building has been constructed here, based on the original and unique split-level GNSR station building which once stood at the station. The new structure was officially opened in 2003. For the time being, Keith Town is be the effective eastern terminus of the KDR, although the line continues for another half-mile down a steep 1 in 70 gradient to a junction with ScotRail and the Railtrack network at Keith Junction Station.

Steam Locomotives of a More Leisurely Era 1918 – ‘Clan’& ‘Clan Goods’ Highland Railway

Steam Locomotives of a More Leisurely Era

1918 – ‘Clan’& ‘Clan Goods’

Highland Railway

Clan Mackinnon as running in 1928

C.Cumming was the last locomotive superintendent on the Highland Railway and his contribution to the locomotive stock consisted of two large 4-4-0s in 1916, followed by two classes of 4-6-0s, each consisting of eight engines, which appeared between 1917 and 1921.

The passenger type (the ‘Clan’ class) were Nos. 49 and 51-7, four of which came out in 1919 and the other four in 1921.  The smaller-wheeled variety were intended for freight work, but in later years were used for passenger work on the Kyle road.  These were Nos. 75-82, the first four built in 1917 and the remainder in 1919.  All of both classes were built by Hawthorn Leslie & Co.  At the grouping they became LMS Nos. 14762-9 and 17950-7.

The ‘Clans’ did good service over the Highland main line, and after the grouping several were transferred to the Oban line of the Caledonian.  They were taken out of service from 1943 onwards.  The last to survive was ‘Clan Mackinnon’, withdrawn in 1950 as BR No. 54767.  The ‘Clan goods’ were withdrawn between 1946 and 1952.  Five of them survived to carry BR numbers 57950-1 and 5794-6.

‘Clan’ – Driving wheels – 6’ 0”,  Cylinders – 21”x 26”,  Pressure – 175 lb.,  Tractive effort – 23690 lb.,  Weight – 62¼ tons,  LMS classification – 4P,  BR classification – 4P

‘Clan goods’ – Driving wheels – 5’ 3”,  Cylinders – 20½”x 26”,  Pressure – 175 lb.,  Tractive effort – 25800 lb.,  Weight – 56½ tons,  LMS classification – 4F,  BR classification – 4MT

Some Early Lines – Great North of Scotland Railway

Some Early Lines

Great North of Scotland Railway

The last of the Great North of Scotland 4-4-0s was No.62277 Gordon Highlander, nick named ‘The Soldier’.  Before being retired for preservation and resorted to its original green livery, No.62277 spent its remaining days in regular service working the goods between Keith and Elgin, and over the Speyside branch. – Photo: W.J.V.Anderson

Dates of operation 1854–1922

Successor London and North Eastern Railway

Track gauge  4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)  Length 334 miles (538 km)

Headquarters Aberdeen

The Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR/GNoSR) was one of the smaller Scottish railways before the grouping, operating in the far north-east of the country. It was formed in 1845 and received its Parliamentary approval on 26 June 1846, following over two years of local meetings. The GNoSR’s eventual area encompassed the three Scottish counties of Aberdeenshire, Banffshire and Moray, with short lengths of line in Inverness-shire and Kincardineshire. The railway operated its main line between Aberdeen and Elgin via Keith. There were connections westward with the Highland Railway at Boat of Garten, Elgin, Keith and Portessie and southward with the Caledonian Railway and North British Railway at Aberdeen, where the three shared a station.

In 1921 the railway comprised 334 miles (538 km) of line, the company’s capital was £7 million, had headquarters at 89 Guild Street in Aberdeen and works at Inverurie. The company also owned hotels in some of the towns and resorts served by its stations. In the early 20th century it also developed a network of feeder bus services. In 1923 it was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway as its Northern Scottish area. Although the line had several branches its remoteness has resulted in only its main line remaining today.

The Great North built a branch from its most easterly terminus at Fraserborough to the little town of St. Combs.  The LNER imported some Great Eastern ‘F4’ class 2-4-2 tanks to work the service and these stayed until well into BR days, when they were replaced by Class ‘2’ 2-6-0s.  As the line is unfenced for a considerable part of its length, engines are fitted with ‘cowcatchers’.  Nos. 67151 and 67157 make their way towards St. Combs near Golf Course Halt in August 1950.  (C. Lawson Kerr

Establishment and construction

In 1845 the Great North of Scotland Railway was formed to build a railway from Aberdeen to Inverness. The proposed 1081⁄4-mile (174 km) route, which needed few major engineering works, followed the River Don to Inverurie, via Huntly and Keith to a crossing of the River Spey, and then to Elgin and along the coast via Nairn to Inverness. Branch lines to Banff, Portsoy, Garmouth and Burghead would total 301⁄2 miles (49 km). At the same time the Perth & Inverness Railway proposed a more direct route south from Inverness to Perth across the Grampian Mountains, and the Aberdeen, Banff & Elgin Railway proposed a route that followed the coast to better serve the Banffshire and Morayshire fishing ports. The Aberdeen, Banff & Elgin failed to raise funds, and the Perth & Inverness Railway was rejected by parliament because the railway would be at altitudes that approached 1,500 feet (460 m) and needed steep gradients. The Great North of Scotland Railway Act received Royal Assent on 26 June 1846.

Two years later the railway mania bubble burst and no investors could be found. At meeting in November 1849, the company estimated that whereas approximately £650 thousand was needed for a double track railway from Aberdeen to Inverness, only £375 thousand was needed for a single track railway from Kittybrewster, 11⁄2 miles (2.4 km) from Aberdeen, to Keith, half way to Inverness. The meeting recommended that the bridges and works would be wide enough for a second track when this was needed. Construction began in November 1852, albeit to Huntly, 121⁄2 miles (20 km) short of Keith, with William Cubitt as engineer. The following winter was severe, delaying work. Between Inverurie and Aberdeen the line took over the Aberdeenshire Canal, and the sale of the canal to the railway company became complex as it was necessary to settle the claims of each shareholder individually.

The Speyside branch train from Boat of Garten terminated at Craigellachie.  No.62275 Sir David Stewart pauses for refreshment at the shed before being turned for the journey back over the single line with the afternoon train. – Photo: J.D.Mills

Opening

After an inspection by the Board of Trade in September 1854, the railway opened to goods on 12 September and approval for the carriage of passengers was given two days later. The railway was officially opened on 19 September, two locomotives hauling twenty-five carriages with at least 400 passengers left Kittybrewster at 11 am. The number of passengers had grown to about 650 by the time the train arrived to a celebration at Huntly at 1:12 pm. Public services began the following day.

The railway was single track with passing loops at the terminii and at Kintore, Inverurie and Insch; the loop at Kittybrewster was clear of the platform to allow the locomotive to run round the carriages and push them into the station. Initially there were three passenger services a day taking two hours for the 39 miles (63 km). A daily goods train took up to 3 hours 40 minutes, the goods to Aberdeen also carrying passengers and mail. Two classes of accommodation were provided, fares being 1 3⁄4 d a mile for first class and 1 1⁄4 d for third; on one train a day in each direction it was possible to travel for the statutory fare of 1 d a mile. Although these fares and the charges for the transportation of goods were considered high, they were not reduced for thirty years.

Pickersgill-designed ‘D41’ class 4-4-0 No. 62248, late of the Great North of Scotland Railway, leaves Craigellachie with the afternoon goods for the Highland line at Boat of Garten.  The line to the right of the picture is a siding and the track is single for the whole journey, closely following the windings of the River Spey, as it threads its was between the hills of Cromdale.  Many of the wagons will probably be dropped off at various distillery sidings en route.  (W.J.V.Anderson

Steam Locomotives of a More Leisurely Era 1903 – 4-6-0 ‘Cardean’ Class Caledonian Railway

Steam Locomotives of a More Leisurely Era

1903 – 4-6-0 ‘Cardean’ Class

Caledonian Railway

No. 14750 as running in 1932

The first two engines of this celebrated class were Nos.49 and 50, turned out in 1903.  At the time of their appearance they were the most powerful engines in the country.  Five more of them came out in 1906 to slightly modified dimensions, Nos. 903-7, No. 903 being the well-known ‘Cardean’.  No. 50 was ‘Sir James Thompson’, but both of these lost their names at the grouping, when they became LMS Nos. 14750 and 14751 (49 and 50), and 14752-55 (Nos. 903-6).  All were superheated in 1911 and 1912, but otherwise remained practically unaltered except for the removal of the smokebox wingplates on the first two engines.  Nos. 14752-5 were scrapped between 1927 and 1930, but the original pair lasted until 1933.

Dimensions as superheated:

Nos. 49 and 50

Driving wheels – 6’ 6”,  Bogie wheels – 3’ 6”,  Cylinders – 20¾”x 26” (orig. 21”),  Pressure – 175 lb.  (orig. 200 lb),  Tractive effort – 21348 lb. (orig. 24990 lb),  Weight – 71½ tons,  LMS classification – 4P

Nos. 903-7

Driving wheels – 6’ 6”,  Bogie wheels – 3’ 6”,  Cylinders – 20¾”x 26” (orig. 20”),  Pressure – 175 lb.  (orig. 200 lb),  Tractive effort – 21348 lb. (orig. 22667 lb),  Weight – 74¼ tons,  LMS classification – 4P

McIntosh ‘49’ class 4P No. 14750 leaves Perth with the 5.30pm Aberdeen-Glasgow, the one-time ‘Grampian Express’, in July 1926.  As can be seen from the Caledonian route indicator the train is routed via Coatbridge into Glasgow Central in order to provide good connections with the night trains to the south.  There were only two engines built to this design, forerunners of the ‘Cardean’ class and when built at Saint Rollox in 1903 they were the most powerful express engines in the country.  Withdrawal of both took place in 1933.  The first coach is one of the well-known CR ‘Grampian’ twelve-wheelers first introduced in 1905 and is a brake third whilst the second coach is a CR eight-wheel composite.  The third is a Pullman dining car, one of an eventual total of sixteen Pullman cars which ran on CR routes from 1914 onwards.  All were sold to the LMS in 1933 and the author observed one still in use in 1959 on an Inverness-Kyle of Lochalsh train.  (Locomotive Publishing Co.

No. 907, here shown on a southbound West Coast express near Elvanfoot, had a sad end in the Quintinshill disaster of 1915, when she was struck head-on by a 4-4-0 No.121.  (H. Gordon Tidey.

John F. McIntosh’s Caledonian Railway ‘Cardean’ class No. 904.  (C. Hamilton Ellis

Some Early Lines – The West Highland Railway

Some Early Lines

West Highland Railway

Not to be confused with West Highland Line.

Coming out of Fort William beyond Spean Bridge and on to Tulloch the railway is always close to the cascading River Spean.  Here, deep down in the Monessie Gorge, the dark peaty waters rush on their rocky way towards the sea, whilst the morning train from Fort William to Glasgow storms its way up the bank towards Tulloch, where both engines will take water.  On August Bank Holiday Monday, 1953, there are still signs of LNER ownership as a very dirty ‘K1’ No. 62012 leads a cleanish ‘Glen Mamie’ southwards.  (P.B.Whitehouse

West Highland Railway,  Scotland

Dates of operation 12 August 1889 – 21 December 1908

Successor line North British Railway

Track gauge  1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)

The West Highland Railway was one of the last main lines to be built in Scotland. It is one of the most scenic railway lines in Britain, linking Fort William on the west coast to Glasgow. It was originally operated by the North British Railway.

History

Construction was authorised in 1889, with the Act of Parliament being passed on 12 August and construction starting 23 October. The following year the branch line to Banavie Pier was authorised. The line was publicly opened to Fort William on 7 August 1894.

The line was extended to Mallaig by the Mallaig Extension Railway. Authorisation was obtained on 31 July 1894 and the Mallaig Extension Railway opened on 1 April 1901.[1]

The West Highland Railway was absorbed by the North British Railway on 21 December 1908.[1] The North British Railway was then absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923.

Brief description of line

The West Highland Railway begins at Craigendoran Junction heading towards Garelochhead and emerging alongside the northwesterly shores of Loch Lomond. Significant points on the journey include Crianlarich, an important Highland junction of both road and rail where the line crosses – and is linked to – the Callander and Oban Railway and Tyndrum, the smallest place in Scotland to boast two railway stations. After Tyndrum, the line climbs onto Rannoch Moor. The station at Corrour on the moor is one of the most remote stations in Britain. Carrying on northwards, the final stop before Fort William is Spean Bridge. A branch line was constructed from Fort William to Banavie Pier at the southern end of the Caledonian Canal.

In 1953 there were still some solid reminders of the North British days at Fort William, though not many;the station signals had not been changed to upper Quadrants, the odd NB 0-6-0 still worked the occasional goods, and the ‘Glens’ still made rare appearances on the passenger turns from Glasgow Eastfield.  Such was the situation on August Bank Holiday for No. 62482 ‘Glen Mamie’ had come down on the afternoon train on the Saturday and was returning on the morning Glasgow train on the Monday.  (P.B.Whitehouse

Engineman’s eye view from the cab of  ‘Glen Loy’ as she climbs up beyond the Monessie Gorge towards the hills on her way home to Glasgow.  (P.B.Whitehouse

By November, the West Highland line settles down in earnest to think about winter, and this means fitting some of the engines with small snow ploughs.  LMS Class ‘5’ 4-6-0 No. 44702 piloting a ‘K2/2’ leaves Arrochar & Tarbet with the morning passenger train for Glasgow in November, 1957.  (W.A.Camwell

It was not until 1959 that the last regular West Highland passenger train allocated to a North British locomotive disappeared.  This was the push-and-pull service between Craigendoran Junction and Arrochar, on the banks of Loch Lomond, later operated by a railbus.  With Loch Long and the Cobbler behind her, ‘C15’ class 4-4-2 tank No. 67474 of 1911 heads the 12.50pm from Arrochar.  (W.J.V.Anderson

Fort William shed in 1936 contained both ‘K2’ 2-6-0s and ‘Glen’4-4-0s.  The peak of Ben nevis can be seen beyond the smoke haze.  (W.A.Camwell

Perhaps the most exciting filming ever done for the BBC ‘Railway Roundabout’ programme was that on the Glasgow to Fort William section of the Scottish Region during May, 1959.  To bring back some of the atmosphere of the old West Highland the General Manager generously agreed to run two ‘Glens’ in tandem on the regular 5.45am train from Glasgow and the 2.56pm return journey.  Bothe engines, Nos. 62496 ‘Glen Loy’ and 62471 ‘Glen Falloch’, performed well, showing no signs of faltering on the heavy banks with all but 300 tons hanging on behind them.  Clean as new pins, steaming well and going all-out, the two old ladies near the County March summit on the Horseshoe bend, during the evening of the first day’s filming.  (W.J.V.Anderson

 

Some Early Lines – Perth and Fife Lines

Some Early Lines

Perth and Fife Lines

Once the Scottish compounds had been displaced from main line duties many of them were relegated to easier branch lines, though with their 6’ 9” driving wheels they could scarcely be considered ideal engines for this class of work.  1924-built No. 40939 with reduced boiler mountings nears Collessie with the evening train from Ladybank to Perth.  (W.J.V.Anderson

In 1924 many of the best Scottish expresses were being handled by the new ‘D11 2’ 4-4-0 type, which was a GC ‘Director’ modified to suit the Scottish loading gauge; all carried names painted on the splashers.  No. 62677 Edie Ochiltree nears Lumphinnans Junction on the 5.45pm Thornton to Dunfermline train on 8^th August, 1959.  (W.J.V.Anderson

Somehow the BR lined black livery seemed to suit the Pickerskill 4-4-0s of the ex-Caledonian Railway.  No. 54476, one of the older Pickerskill engines, introduced in 1916, makes her way from Crieff to Gleneagles with the evening train. (W.J.V.Anderson

Newburgh and North Fife Railway

An alternative southern route between Perth and Dundee. It was used by the North British Railway; the more direct route north of the Tay belonged to the rival Caledonian Railway. Much of the trackbed has gone now, returned to farmland, but this cutting is still pretty obvious.  © Copyright Richard Webb and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.