^{North British Railway Study Group Journal Nos. 40-59}
Key to all Journal Issue numbers

Issue 40 (July 1990)

Scot with Midland Railay clerstory stock. front cover
Probably No. 400 The Dougal Cratur

John A. Smith. Index to the Journal to Journal 37. 4-19
KPJ on 3 May 2017 found this gem and will launch it into cyberspace in due course

A.A. Maclean. N.B.R. stores vans. 19-22
Built from 1893 onwards. Refers to Scottish Record Office files. Photograph of  No. 090779 in British Railways period. See also Marshall Shaw  in Issue 41 p. 41

Aberdeen service. 23.
Diagram of block train hauled by an Atlantic from Locomotive Mag Volume 12 page 109. See also Issue 41 p. 32.

A.G. Dunbar. N.B.R. engines repaired by North British Locomotive Co. 24
To assist recovery from WW1 in 1920: table based on Hydepark Cost Book

[J.M. Craig] Ile Inspector. North British footplate days. 25-8.
Jimmie Dobson originated in Tillicoultry where he started work in 1899, but moved to Cowlairs in 1901. In 1906 he was snowbound at Steele Road. In Falkirk Tunnel a rail displaced off another train pierced the cab narrowly missing Dobson. When driving A3 Spearmint in November 1939 he was seriously injured as the train was leaving Polmont by an open carriage door on another train. Working on Glen class on excurssions to Fort William, Fort Augustus and on Stores Train which took him all over NBR system. Also broken axle on driving wheel of Director class and complete failure of motion on another. Photograph of stores train at Earlson with J class No. 409 The Pirate taken by Driver Dobson. See also Issue 43 p. 4

J.F. McEwan. Random jottings. 29-30
Zone class tickets in Edinburgh in 1906. Dispute with Falkirk Burgh engineer over crossing Wallace Street to access Dalderse Goods Yard in June 1899, partly as recorded in Falkirk Herald; Zamorski notes on Wheatley 0-6-0 locomotives

John McGregor. [West Highland World War I train service]. 30
The only passenger train was the 07.05 Glasgow Queen Street to Mallaig and a 14.05 from Mallaig. There was a connecting train to and from Fort Augustus. There was an additional train from Mallaig to Fort William

George Robin. Aberfoyle branch memories. 31-4
Saturday passenger workings in 1951 from Glasgow via Lennoxtown

The North British abroad. 34
Photograph of NBR 0-6-0 No. 176 at Bergnette  (Berguette) on 3 October 1918: see also Issue 41 page 19

Issue 41 (July 1990)

Euan Cameron. The Beyer, Peacock locomotives of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway. 4-18.
Includes the 2-2-2 supplied in 1856 and 1861 (covered in greater depth in Journal 132) plus 2-4-0 of 1859 and 1861 and 0-4-2 of 1859-62. Based on Beyer, Peacock Archive held at the Greater Manchester Museum of Science and Industry. On page 15 there is a quotation from McKillop's Enginemen Elite wherein young Norman claims to have fired one as a pilot engine on the climb to Falahill. See also Ile inspector in Issue 43 and Issue 44 page 8

Ile Inspector. The North British abroad. 19
Corrects caption to photograph stating correct location Berguette and notes that former ROD locomotive became LNER No. 9176 and BR 65217. Also includes photograph of LNWR 0-6-0 as ROD No. 3408 with St. Margeret's driver Billy Haughan during WW1..

Ken Wildey. Unusual trips. 20
Locomotive workings from Carlisle Canal. See also Ile Inspector Issue 43 p. 4

Alan Cliff. Edinburgh & the North British in the Sixties. 21-2
Methodist Minister in 1960s Edinburgh who during efforts to seek his flock encountered the North British in all sorts of unexpected places, such as a sick call to one of his parishioners in a tenement flat looked down onto St. Margeret's locomotive depot and finfding Scotland Styreet Goods Depot. Illustration of tall signnals at Portobello led to a response from Ile Inspector on p, 5 of Issue 43.

Alistair F. Nisbet. From Leuchars Junction to Dundee Tay Bridge. 23-8
How many readers are aware that, when researching their own particular favourite stretch of line, there is a vast source of data to be found in B.Rs Sectional Appendix to the Working Time Tables. The WTTs themselves can also be a goldmine at times, not being confined solely to times of individual trains. Although marked PRIVATE and not for publication old copies may be had from Collectors Corner (near London's Euston Station), or from one of the many Society stands at events, like Open Days, Severn Valley Railway Gala Days, etc. I have in my possession a Scottish Region Appendix from 1960 which covers that part of the ECML from Tweedmouth to Kittybrewster plus a number of N.B.R. branches en route, as do the WTTs themselves, and fascinating reading it makes. My aim in this article is to take a look at a short stretch of line, in this case some nine miles between Leuchars Junction and Dundee Tay Bridge station, and to highlight some of the information to be found in the Sectional Appendix and WITs. As a sideline it is worth noting that although the Appendix was published some twelve years after Nationalisation, one could be forgiven for thinking that event had never happened because there appears to be little recognition that B.R. was now one unified railway system; for example ex-LMS lines (e.g. Perth to Dundee) are omitted, apart that is, from the one-time C.R. and N.B.R Dundee and Arbroath Joint and Kinnabcr Junction to Aberdeen sections.
The Appendix is divided into a number of Tables, each identified alphabetically and covering varying subjects, plus a series of detailed instructions relating to individual locations along the various 'routes. For instance, Table A is a list of all running lines showing features and all the signal boxes; this data isshown in no less than eight main groups, most of which sub-divide into two or more columns. Unless otherwise stated the Block signalling type is assumed to be Absolute Block, and Block Posts are indicated in the first column. Thus in our stretch Leuchars has two boxes at South and North, while others were at St Fort Junction, Wormit, Tay Bridge South and Dundee Tay Bridge (West, Central and East). The latter was in a particularly evil smoky location in the tunnels beneath Dock Street. All that remain nowadays are Leuchars (North), Tay Bridge South and the new Dundee Signalling Centre. Through Leuchars South Junction, for the St Andrews and Coast Line there was a permanent 55mph speed limit which increased to 60 mph by the North Junction. By 1960 this only led to a siding and the short branch into RA.F. Leuchars but until 1955 it had served the original main line across Tentsmuir to Tayport.
At Leuchars North box a hooter was installed to wam shunters and others of the approach of trains on the Up main line; adjacent to the inner home signal, it was operated when the track circuit immediately to the rear of the outer home signal was in the clear position. The hooter also operated when the track circuit between the outer and inner home signals was occupied. On the Down line there was a set of catch points situated 62 yards in the direction of St Fort which were controlled from Leuchars North Box. The 60mph speed limit applied most of the way to Wormit, including through the junction at St Fort, although trains from Dundee heading towards Luthrie on the old North Fife line were subject to 10 mph through the tumout. There were also catch points here but on the Down line, not separately controlled this time; those were found some 320 yards after passing the~1artingsignalandona 1 in l00rising gradient. 1brough the curving stretch of line leading to the Tay Bridge the speed limit reduced to 50 mph. On the Down side before Tay Bridge South box were a number of refuge loops and sidings [used for examining freight trains under Rule 129 (vi)(xii) and 131 (1) before they were allowed to cross the bridge. All Down freight trains except Class C irrespective of whether they were loaded or not, were required to stop for special examination by the guard and wagon examiner. The guard was responsible for ensuring that loads were in a safe condition and that all wagons sheets were properly secured and was not permitted to give the restart signal to the driver until the examination had been completed. Once he was satisfied the guard had to inform the signalman at Tay Bridge South, by phone from outside the shunters bothy, that the train was ready to depart. In turn the signalman advised the guard of the sequence in which trains would be allowed to leave the loops; only then could the driver be told to start in accordance with the signal mans instructions.
Very similar conditions applied to trains going south across the bridge. In the case of trains starting from, or calling at, the Tay Bridge yard the Yard Foreman was responsible for the safe condition of the loads etc. Through trains not calling at the Yard were to be checked by the guard and wagon examiner.

Letters. 29-32
P.A.T. Collar noted that during World War Two a lot of interesting operational details pertinent to our railways went un-recorded. Apart from feats of haulage there were sightings of locomotives far from their usual haunts. Herewith a few notes of the latter which stem from the article on the Gresley Mikado's in the Journal No.39, which may be of interest.
A number of writers have perpetuated the statement that when the 2-8-2s were withdrawn from Scotland in the autumn of 1941 they were 'rnothballed' at Doncaster while a decision was made as to their future. In the case of Cock o' The North this situation is definitely suspect. Circa 1975, through my then employment situation, I met a gentleman who told me that at that time he was pursuing an Apprenticeship at Stratford Works. He recalled that late in 1941 he was called upon to attend to a tender hot-box on this particular locomotive. Later in conversation with Bob Todd - a long time member of both the Stephenson Locomotive Society and the RC.T.S., he recalled seeing this locomotive traversing the North London line at that time. These two observations made by people unknown to each other are almost certainly related and it seems probable that this particular representative of the class made at least one revenue earning journey to London after its arrival at Doncaster.
A further interesting and personal observation was passed on to me by another R.C.T.S. member known to both our Secretary and myself. He told me that towards the middle of the war he was at Neasden Shed one winter's evening when out of the gloom arrived Windsor Lad to take coal from the coaling plant. To this day he has never been able to find out how this particular locomotive came to be there. The only plausible explanation I can offer is that it had been at Doncaster for overhaul or repair and was used to fulfill a duty whilst awaiting dispatch north. Pre-war Doncaster used to do this regularly, the locomotives being serviced before their return at Top Shed. For a locomotive of this type to appear at Neasden was not just unusual, it was unheard of
Editor was somewhat puzzled by the last sentence concerning the appearance of A3 Pacific locomotives at Neasden, so he contacted Eddie Johnson, who is the author of Locomotives of the Great Central and an authority on the G.C. main line between Manchester and Marylebone. He confirmed that A3 Pacifies regularly worked the line before and during the war although he did not know where Windsor Lad was normally allocated. Upon Johnson's suggestion, he contacted Chris Hawkins, who also confirmed Eddie Johnson's comment. This locomotive was allocated to Haymarket shed in 1947, and if this had been the same during the war, then the appearance of a Scottish Area Pacific on the former Great Central lines was unusual but certainly not unknown.
A further statement perpetuated by a number of writers concerns the Gresley Silver A4s and the fact that they are reputed to have been painted black early the war. Whilst this statement may be true of those class members at Top Shed it did not apply to the fourth member of the quartet based at Gateshead. I am sure other Group members will be able to confirm this, for my part I can say that I saw Silver King still in silver livery as late as early November 1944. On the day in question, a Saturday, it worked the normal Gateshead diagram commencing with the departure for Carlisle at 06.20. See also.
For North British enthusiasts there is another interesting observation concerning a 'Glen', while I cannot in this case confirm its authenticity I understand that in 1944 a member of this class was seen as far south as York.
John McGregor of East Kilbride takes me to task about an error in Issue 39, page 10 "The West Highland Line" when I inserted 'modem technology' instead of modern Inverlochy'.
He submits a selection of copies of telegrams of late July 1894 which illustrate what a rush it was to have the West Highland ready for opening that August. These extracts are by courtesy of the Scottish Record Office, West Register House, Edinburgh-
McDougall (NBR Goods Manager) to Conacher (NBR General Manager) 27 July. 'There are over 400 wagons ashes under load for West Highland Rly. Waiting your further instructions.'
'Loading has been stopped at all points'
Forman (Engineer) to Conacher 27 July 'Lucas & Aird (Contractors) report supply of ashes stopped.
Said to be by your orders.
Unless supply resumed immediately road will not be ready for Inspector on Thursday'.
Conacher to Forman 27 July
'Granger (Lucas & Aird's Engineer) asked me to reduce number of engines to five and loading of ashes has been reduced accordingly, and there are over 400 wagons now ready to go forward and you may have them if you want'.
McDougall to Conacher 30 July
'We delivered 142 wagons of ashes to the West Highland Rly. yesterday at their request have arranged to give them 100 wagons per day for the rest of the week'.
Forman to Conacher 31 July
'Blue (Lucas & Aird's Engineer) telegraphs Granger, wires me.
Can you possibly send 72 trucks ashes daily instead of 36.
To do this I want another loco.
Will you arrange'
Jim Page sent two photographs and requests assistance from members to pinpoint the locations. The first is a copy of an old picture postcard and comments that the type of structure used by the N.B.R. in such locations as St Fort and West Newport.He points out the gable just visible in the top right hand corner which might help identify the station. The second photograph shows Class G.9 No.9475 sometime in the 1930. He draws attention to the N.B.R. practice of laying wooden boarding as a platform surface, known examples being found at East Newport in North Fife.In the mid 1950s the boards were covered in an asphalt substance, which didn't wear well. He concludes with words of praise to Sandy Maclean and John Smith for the Journal Index, as indeed do several others, finding it useful. Replies to the locations care of this address.
Iain Rice was intrigued by the Aberfoyle Branch notes in Issue 40. He requests George Robin (or anyone) to come up with the relevant track plan. I have frequently found that this request is made after an article on a particular location stirs someone into action, and although photographs are extremely useful, they sometimes fail to show everything. I would appeal to anyone who supports these views to submit plans and details, particularly concerning the smaller stations and branch lines, for inclusion at a later date.
Marshall Shaw (page 31) writes at length about several items from recent Issues of the Journal, as follows:
'STORES TRAIN. My thanks to Sandy Maclean for an erudite article in response to mine in Journal 39, which answers many of the queries I had about original drawing references and where these can be viewed. I am. however, a little confused as to the reference to Stores Van No. 2., which I note was accorded the passenger Brake Van Fleet No.296, but which is subsequently referred to in the article as '239'. I was also puzzled as to the reference to 'vestibules' at the sliding-door end of these three vehicles. As there was no suggestion or reference to there being a linking corridor connection on the drawings viewed. I had assumed that the purpose of the end door was to facilitate end loading in bays at the Depot, and that these would be locked whilst "on the road" to prevent accidental opening and accidents. All off-loading would be carried out at the various ports of call through the side doors onto the platforms.
The suggestion that the first vehicle may have been intended as a postal vehicle is interesting, but as the N.B.R. had at least two (maybe more) vehicles specially built for this purpose running concurrently, I hardly feel that more would be required, especially as the designs were considerably different. Their use as newspaper vans would similarly be superfluous as a number of Passenger Brake Vans had been converted specifically for this purpose, and were so marked. As the original drawings viewed showed passen- ger type wheels, tie rods, long pattern buffers and screw couplings, one would assume that the vehicles were vacuum braked as well and hand-braked. but not having seen the relevant underframe drawings, I am unable to confirm this. I also wonder why safety coupling chains were fitted at this late stage while these were being phased out on passenger stock. Any further informa- tion would be gratefully appreciated.
Foreign Service (page 32) The photograph of locomotive 176 in wartime service in France or Belgium during the First World War was very interesting, and shows the engine after it was rebuilt in July 1913. Designed by Matthew Holmes, it was built at Cowlairs Works in April 1890, rebuilt in 1913 and, together with 24 sister engines of the class (N.B.R. Class C, later L.N.E.R. Class J.36) it was requisitioned by the Railway Operating Division (R.O.D.) of the War Department in October 1917, and was returned to N.B.R. service in May 1919, when it received a major overhaul to make good war damage and alterations. In commemoration of its service, it was named French after the General of that name. Other locomotives were similarly accorded commemorative names (see article "Class C Locomotives in France 1914-1918" by our late member Alan G.Dunbar in Journal 14, page 12 for full details). It became L.N.E.R. No.9176 in 1923, later 5217 in 1946 and 65217 on nationalisation in 1948, where it was classed as B.E. Class 2F, Route availability RA3., eventually being withdrawn from service in October 1962, after some72 years of hard work. They certainly built them to last at Cowlairs!
Brake Third Carriage. The photograph of the Bogie Brake Third on page 23 is of a vestibule three compartment corridor vehicle to Diagram 77 (1920 book) built during the Reid era at Cowlairs c1906. It had steel solebars and seating for 18 Third Class passengers and was built to G.A Drawing 689C. It originally became L.N.E.R Diagram 294B after modification, but the full history of No. 3414 (originallyN.B.R 414) is not known to the writer. I have been told that the location of the photograph -(my copy is Real Photographs Co. No.L2038, now issued by Ian Allan Ltd) is Queen Street Station, Glasgow, date not known.
Aberdeen Service The thumbnail sketches of carriages following the "Atlantic" locomotive depict carriages built specifically for the Aberdeen Block Trains, mainly in 1906/7 and are (left to right) Diag.72 Bogie Third Corridor, Diag.70 Bogie Composite Corridor, Diag.72 Third, Diag.71 Bogie Corridor Full Brake, Diag.70 Third, Diag.72 Composite and Diag.71 Brake. In later years, these carriages became more widely dispersed over the N.B.R and L.N.E.R. system. but remained mainly in the Southern Scottish Area of operations.

Iain Rice. Kit review.  32-4
Riceworks R Class kit: 4-4-0T

Book reviews. 34

An annotated list of British manufacturers of O guage ready-to-run toy and model locomotives anbd/or rolling stock 1890-1900. Alan Cliff. Author.

The register of Scottish signal boxes. F. Alexander and E.S. Nicoll. Arbroath: Author [133 pp]
Very well received; slight criticism of lack of overlap in maps (copy in National Library of Scotland)

James F. McEwan. West Highland observations. 35-6
Referring to McGregors note about Invergarry Railway in 1918, whilst I cannot be definite, many years back I read that the Canadian Forestry Corps had been active in the district. They were felling trees to make pit props for the Ministry of Mines. I never heard anyone locally mentioning that mines were to be taken through the Caledonian Canal and would I fear be too slow a matter with the great urgency to make the Northern Barrage minefield, The article mentioned that timber was got from the Arkaig and the Letterfinlay areas of the latter possibly using the Invergloy station yard. In 1924 or 1925 there was in the goods yard, the appearance of one siding having been extended across the approach pathway which, if done, would be to give more loading space. The Arkaig timber was floated across the loch, hauled by motor boats, to a location near where the railway was almost at loch level. A look at the gradient profile suggests that this was north of Gairlochy station BUT the gradient diagram is none too reliable for the summit north of Aberchalder station (191 ft OD.) is higher than Spean Bridge which is given as 232 ft O.D.. yet the profile is interesting in that it shows an extension of the line as far as Invennoriston with the gradients shown in general terms, while the I. & F. gradients are shown in detail. I never have seen such an extension mentioned when the line was being promoted or built although it could have been part of the original scheme to take the line through to Inverness, an idea which Lovat got cancelled under the threat that he would oppose the I. & F. Railway Bill in Parliament. It may have been added to the gradient profile merely as a reference for the future.
Dobsons reference to the Sabbath Breakers on the West Highland awakened memories of those trips, and of some difficulties which arose after the first year of the operation of the trains. Initially the whole affair was an experiment but the popularity of the outing made the L.& N .E.R. decide to operate them each alternate Sunday during the summer timetable, with an occasional break. The first piece of trouble arose when the Fort Augustus drivers were required to come out to make the shed available for watering and coaling the visiting locomotives, and for which atten- dance they were paid for four hours at the ordinary hourly rate and not at the Sunday working one. As Dobson states one of the train engines went forward to Fort Augustus with some of the carriages but by the end of the first summer the Fort Augustus 4-4- 2T came down to Spean Bridge to collect the carriages and returned them in the early evening. This arrangement I understood was a Union agreement. Before the following summer excursions commenced the regular West Highland crews at Eastfield obj ected to being made to turn out regularly and other drivers at Eastfield wanted to know why they never got a bit of Sunday working, even if 'l"ey had never been over the line, resulting in a mixture of .perating crews over the season during the working period. Some crews listened to the advice of the regular men while others acted as they saw fit with the result that some trains had very poor time- keeping and firemen were refusing to go out with some drivers. One driver who was known as Hasher was removed from further adventures on the section, ~ treatment of the poor Glen related to his method of handling his goods engine. The average for the Sunday trains was two from Glasgow and two from Edinburgh with one of the latter travelling via Falkirk and the other through Bathgate and the Monklands district collecting passengers. When the four trains were run on the same day the Fort William people learned a lot about traffic control for Fort William was no Waverley or Queen Street for accommoda- tion. The carriages for the morning train on Monday, for Glasgow, were placed into the goods yard if accommoda- tion was available there, or taken out to Banavie goods yard. The last train away on the Sunday evening was placed onto the MaUaig branch until a platform was available with the departure of the first returning train. In general terms the restaurant cars did a good trade on the return jour- neys for while travellers to Fort Au- gustus could get a cup of tea and something to go with it, Fort William shops were closed, apart from the cafe. As time went on a few adventurous shops opened when it became realised that takings were sibstantial, eating places became quite common. The locomotive yard was taxed for acconmodarkn, all the local allocation was at home, and the coaling and watering of eight additional locomotives became a game of draughts.
During the first year of operation the timekeeping was good but during the second year it was poor, leading to many complaints about late arrivals at both termini and of course letters to the editor were common-place. From the third year matters improved with the train engine manned by either a regular West Highland driver (goods or passenger) or a passed fireman who knew the route and the leading engine manned by the odd men who had asked for work, with a code of whistles unofficially employed. The train engine frequently had to take a fireman who had no knowledge of the road and one of those firemen when back at Eastfield said that he would not be available for work on the Monday as he was stiff, sore with the coal shovelling and black and blue with catching the tablets. Some of the erratic running at times could be put down to the proximity of a hostelry near the old level crossing, and the drivers who frequented it were, under Scots law, bona fide travellers and were the required distance from home. Of some of the bad runs the less written the better, the brass hats locally had been ordered by their bosses in London to run the trains and could only shake their heads when reports reached them of train behaviour, resulting in some drivers being deprived of further Sunday work.
Illustrations:
Banavie Pia, with local stock in the loop. The goods yard was used to store stock when Fort William became congested with the Sunday excursion traffic.
Fort William locomotive depot and good yardin July 1937. Only one locornodve is visible in the yard, although a column of haze behind the water tank indicates the presence of another. The goods yard has collection of assorted wagons. Obviously this picture was taken during the week, for the motive power department would have been full 00 a Sunday, as described in the text. (both photographs from bill Rear Collection)
On th« next three pages (pp. 37-9) are extracts from the Programme of Half-Day Excursion Special Trains which will run on Sundays for July, August and September 193I. No. 64 ran from Glasgow to Fort William, No. 65 from Glasgow to Mallaig, No. .67 from Kilsyth to Fort William and No. 68 from Bathgate and Hamilton.Actually reproduced are working timetables for Excursions No. 61 (from Edinburgh with connecting trains to/from Haddington) and No, 62 from Bridgeton Cross via Queen Street Low Level to Fort William and Fort Augustus.

Issue 42 (January 1991)

Andrew Hujducki. By dandy car to North Berwick. 7-10.
Brief flirttation with horse power on a branch which was initially worked by steam. John Scott had been attracted to acquire a house in North Berwick under a fiancial deal to attract passengers and sued the Company for the substitution of horse haulage as breaching the agreement. Also the original line was to have terminated at the harbour and was originally to be double track.

Alan G. Dunbar. The "Glen" Class locomootives of the North British Railway. 11-13.
Mainly names applied and their meanings.

J.M. Hammond. Kenneth Wildey. 15-16.
Obituary of Carlisle Canal fireman and driver, whose father had also worked over the Waverley route: the following was written by him. See also Spareman contribution.

Kenneth Wildey. A V.2., the Waverley route and a load of trouble. 16-17
A load of 45 banana vans from Liverpool via  the Settle & Carlisle worked forward over the Waverley route in March 1958 when the gradients and sharp curvature caused the locomotive to stall, not due to shortage of steam. At Steele Road they stalled on the catch points and both he and the guard were nearly run down by an express in the darkness whilst attempting to reverse and restart. Theey obtained the assistance of a J35 as banker from Riccarton. Arrival at Niddrie yard about an hour late.

Riccarton Junction 1952. E.E. Smith (photographer)
With V2 No. 60953 on short freight

T.A. Cavanagh. An account of the activities of a Sunderland diver in the aftermath of the Tay Bridge Disaster. 21-4.
Henry (Harry) Watts gave his services free to search for bodies within the wreckage.

Alan Cliff. Edinburgh & the North British in the sixties. 24-6
Methodist Minister whose manse was in Morningside near the Edinburgh Suburban line from which he could hear trains being banked up the gradients

Issue 43 (April 1991)

A.W. Miller. W. Marshall Shaw. 3
Obituary of Archie Miller who lived in East Kilbride. Died in January 1991. Retired solicitor. Founder member of Study Group and drew up its Constitution. Native of Kirkcaldy. 4mm model railway.

The 'Ile Inspector'. 4-8
James Dobson, Driver, Eastfield.
The article North British footplate days was not written by 'Ile Inspector', but by J[ack].M. Craig who was a friend of Jimmy Dobson. David Dobson was the son of Jimmy and was a driver at Eastfield, then Running Foreman and latterly an Inspector in Glasgow,
The 7.2 p.m. Edinburgh and Hawick
Important for revealing name of Spareman: i.e. Driver Ken  Wildey of Carlisle Canal and of complex staffing arrangements
Portobello signals.
Incorrect citation for reference, but  notes importance of tall signals for drivers and information on adjacent signal boxes at Bonnington, Powderhall and Cairntown. Also photograph of Bridgeton Central with lattice signal post and raised ground signal.
The last N B R.single
The lenthy quotation from Enginernen Elite (Journal No.41 p.15) is incomplete insofar as an important sentence has been omitted, viz. "Jock and I did our best to remember whether it was or was not on one of these (N. B. single-wheelers) that we piloted the 4.45pm. Edinburgh to Hawick up the bank to Falahill". Now, if neither driver nor fireman clearly remembered what kind of engine they were working on this auspicious occasion, it is submitted that readers are surely entitled to have reservations in the matter. Incidentally, as stated by the author himself in Enginemen Elite he commenced his railway career as a greaser in Haymarket Yard in 1910, and was made a cleaner at the Shed in 1911 According to the N.U.R. Seniority Book published in 1925, his seniority date (i.e. date of entry into the grade of cleaner) was 3 July 1911. This seniority date was very important to footplatemen at that time, as it governed to and fireman to driver, also progress through the links.
Haymarket had housed a number of singles. but these had  all been withdrawn by 1911, except for No. 1006, which was staioned at Hawick, and worked regularly to and from Newcastle over the Border Counties line. The driver for many years was John Spiers, and he appears in photographs of this engine taken over a lengthy period with the numbers 216, 806 and 1006. Driver Spiers was killed at Newcastle Central on 10 September 1912, when he was knocked down by a rake of empty carriages being propelled into Platform 12, his own train (the 10.50am to Hawick) being in No.11, Some yearn ago a previously unknown photograph No.1006 was published in a local newspaper and showed the engine in  Hawick station with various railwaymen around it, This had been submitted by his daughter by then rather elderly, but when asked, she was able to identify the fireman (Wil! Fairholm) without  hesitation and she went on to volunteer his nickname {"The Rivet"), which was absolutely correct!
Of course, it cannot be said that that No. 1000; was not the engine on the job described by by Norman McKillop, but it is reasonable to suggest that it would be unlikely. It has to be remebered in this connection that the author. although undoubtedly a great raconteur, was most certainly not a historian. The question still remains —**if the engine was not a single —what then was it? Some kind of 2-4-0 or 0-4- 2 suggests itself, but there do not seem to be any strong dues from or records as to the The most likely candidate would be the rebuilt Wheatley 4-4-0 No.423. which was shedded at and is known to have been on the particular duty involved. However, it has to be admitted that No. 423 hardly matches the graphic description given by Toram Beg"!
The photograph of E. & G.R. No. 3 on the cover of Journal No.41 was published in the booklet Thiis Magnificent Line Litre by Allan PO. McLean Lang Syne Publishers, 1986).
The Silver King
How the  boys of Edinburgh responded to A4 No. 2511
P2 questions
Queries an assertion that P2s were withdrawn from service in the autumn of 1941 and mothballed at Doncaster [KPJ saw Cock o' the North at Dundee before being partiially scrapped after his sister was born in 1941: it was streamlined, painted black and magisterial] Photograph Issue 39 p. 7 alleged taken bt W. Potter, but according to Editor by G.H.  Platt

Euan Cameron. Thomas Wheatley's 224 and 264: a history in drawings. 12-17 
Includes the Nisbet tandem compound rebuild of No. 224
In 1885 224 was rebuilt as a four-cylinder tandem compound on the W.H. Nisbet tandem system. Tandem compounding was noy unique even in Britain. William Dean on the Gtreat Western Railway built two experimental 2-4-0s in 1886 with this system, and in Hungary some massive 4-4-0s thus arranged ran with apparent success for many years. The unique feature iof Nisbet's scheme was that it entailed four sets of Joy's valve gear (which derives the valve motion from a bearing amidships on the centre-line of the connecting rod) linked up in pairs for the high-pressure front (13jn x 24in) and low-pressure rear (20in x 24in) cylinders, There were two reversing levers and two reach rods in parallel, one for the high-pressure pair of valve rods and slides, another for the low-pressure. The effect of this ironmongery was that the engine could be 'notched up' to different degrees of cut off for high and low pressure cylinders: the idea must have been to use the steam expansively in the high-pressure cylinders, and then admit it to the low-pressure for the maximum part of the stroke. The system was desribed in The Engineer 22 October 1886, pp. 324 and 326., and accompanied by some excellent cross-sectional elevation and plan General Arrangements of 224 in this condition. These are in the style of contemporary Cowlairs G.A.s presumanly deriving from the lost originals drawn for the rebuilding, they have accordingly been used for all the drawings issued here. To house the small extra pair of cylinders an extension was riveted to the front of the mainframes, increaing their length by almost exactly a foot. Further mechanical details can be found in E.L. Ahrons's The British steam railway locomotive 1825-1925 pp. 259-62, though Ahron's drawing of the valve gear, derived from Nisbet's patent application of 1884, is not entirely consistent with the drawing of 224 published in The Engineer.
The article in The Engineer described and illutrated the driving wheel diameter of the rebuild as 6ft 7in as compared with 6ft 6in of the original. The same enlargement of driving wheels (though not reported in the diagram books) is evident in the Cowlairs G.A. drawn in 1887 for the rebuilds of 141 and 164. Because the rims pof Wheatley'swrought iron wheel-centres were of such filigree alenderness, fitting a normal tyre of the post-Drummond necessarily enlarged the wheel size. The splashers were accordingly also of larger radius (3ft 6in) than those fitted to Drummond or Holmes 6ft 6in) 4-4-0s. The details and platework were of typical Homes style, except for two details: the top section to 224's cab was rather shorter than usual, at approximately 2ft 8in long also, unusually large coupling-rod splashers were fitted, at least as capacious as the originals, to accommodate the tall projecting cotter pins securing the brasses on the original coupling-rods. The same large splashers were also fitted to the rebuilds of 141/ 164 and 264 later on, The later 4-4-0s and 2-4-0s of 1873 had by contrast round-bossed coupling-rods which did not require such ample clearances.
The article in The Engineer for 1886 claimed that 'the engine works with great freedom, and has shown excellent results in speed and power, as well as a marked decrease on its original consumption of fuel, The engine is at present working the passenger trains on the North British Railway between Edinburgh and Glasgow'. Nevertheless, after only two years or so the compounding experiment was abandoned. The drawings in The Engineer suggest a possible reason. Despite the large aggregate cylinder volume, Holmes fitted a comparatively small boiler, of no greater diameter than the original and with a short firebox. To clear the rising rear end of the valve-rod the boiler had to be pitched high (by 1885 standards), at approximately 7ft 6in from rail level. This design (measurements from the published drawing suggest) was one of Holrnes's 'standards', also used to refit some of Wheatley's 4ft 3in goods 0-6-0s, the 0-6-0STs 226 and 228, the Cowlairs 0-4-2s Nos. 329-34 of 1864-5, and some of the last R. & W, Hawthorn 0-6-0s of the late 1840s, It yielded a total heating surface of only 900.5 square feet, not 1059 square feet claimed by Hamilton Ellis The North British Railway p. 68 (which was actually the total for the 420 class rebuilds).
Presumably Holmes's cousin W.H. Nisbet so inflated his claims for the compound system that Holmes was persuaded that a small. more economical would suffice. In any case, large boilers at high pitch (and the bigger the boiler, the higher the pitch that would have been needed) were still viewed with suspicion in the mid-1880s, Holmes then aggravated e problems by fitting  a wide chimney of the Abbotsford' pattern (an inch larger than those fitted to the other Wheatley rebuilds), which might have reduced the 'choke' and spoiled the draught of the already sluggish low-pressure exhaust. Thus 224 could have managed the Edinburgh-Glasgow expresses, but not the harder work on more steeply graded lines. Moreover (remembering Drummond's problems in persuading C.R engincmen to expansive valve-settings around 1890 possibly the N.B. crews disliked the cornplexity of two reversing levers and refused to exploit the system properly. To crown it all: the complex ironmongery of the cylinders and motion must have added greatlyt to the non-adhesive weight ahead of the non-driving axle leading to slipping.

W.E. Boyd. Locomotive & train working in the Borders, 19-21
Fairly general indication of workings from outside (e.g. Dundee) or to outside (e.g. Anstruther) from 1874 to 1898.

J. Bruce Murray. End loading ramp, Cupar station. 21. diagram

J.F. McEwan. 'A stikkit train'. 22-3
In 1923 a football excursion  from Alloa to Armadale was routed via the Forth Bridge and Manuel and up to Blackstone via the steeply graded (1 in 23) Causewayend incline where it stalled and the safety measures had to be over-riden for the train to reverse down and take another route. Kipps Control was involved. The locxomotive was a West Highland Bogie

Arnold Tortorella. 'A tin box of salmon from Peebles', 24-5.
Legal action brought by Miss Margaret Boswell of Peebles against the North British Railway concerning an illegally caught (out of season) salmon conveyed to Edinburgh Wavverley on 19 October 1901 where it was seized by an officer of the Eddinburgh Fishery District and not delivered to a Mrs Eaton, The case went to the Court of Session in the shape of Lord Kincairney judged on 30 January 1902 that the railway was not in beach of it contract (by which time the dsalmon must have stunk) 

Hawick South signal box in 1965 (photograph). 25

Letters received. 26-8

Allan R. Cameron sends a snippet from the Lennox Herald under the heading '100 Years Ago' which comments:
New Railway Station -
The new station which the North British Railway Company are about to construct at Milton, will be situated immediately to the east of the bridge at the junction near Dumbuck. Locally th proposed site is known as "Puddock-hole", but it is probable that the name- Dumbuck will be adopted for the new station'. See also further communication. Allan also writes:
'With reference to the article in the January 1991 issue, I was surprised to find no mention of Bridge of Gaur, at the western end of Loch Rannoch, as the most likely place from which the NB.R. locomotive name was taken.
The correct spelling of place names is notoriously difficult, and not being a Gaelic Scholar, the meaning of names is a matter upon which I am not qualified to comment. However, I would wish to take issue with regard to some of the locations given. briefly describing the nature of each glen.
Glen Ogle appears twice. located at either the head or Loch Katrine or at the head of Loch Lomond. The former is the correct location. it being about. two and a half miles long with an axis line running roughly northwest-southeast
Glen Fruin lies roughly parallel to the Gare Loch. and. at the nearest, is equidistant by approximately one and a half miles from either Shandon or Garelochead stations.
Glen Luss, at the nearest, is three and a half miles east of Whistlefield, and its neighbouring. roughly parallel, glen to the north, is Glen Douglas. Rounded hills give Glen Luss an open spacious appearance for the first mile of its length as its floor rises above and to the west of the village of Luss. Thereafter it narrows as it rises towards the moorland area to the west GJen Douglas is particularly impressive, especially from its eastern end overlooking Inverbeg, where It affords a commanding view across Loch Lomond towards Ben Lomond. Almost straight throughout its five mile length, Glen Douglas' head lies close to the rock cutting through which the West Highland line escapes from the north end of Gleanne Culanach, to emerge dramatically high above Loch Long and, from above Ardmay, affords the traveller cl glimpse up Glen Croe on the opposite, west side of the loch, before the line swings round and down. to cross the narrow neck of land between Loch Long and Loch Lomond.
Glen Croe, two miles from Arrocher station, and some 4 mile in length, rises from sea level at Ardgartan to 860ft at its head.
Glen Falloch lies beyond the head of Loch Lomond. It soon has both road and railway compressed into a light rocky gorge, in which the tumbling water of the Falls of Falloch make an impressive noise: among the trees. By the time the floor of the gorge reaches the 500ft, contour, about six miles from Ardlui, trees have given way to scrub. Suddenly, the river performs a sharp right angle turn, the glen opens out, and there follows about one and a half miles of open moorland before the line curves over the summit to Crianlarich, before dropping across Glen Dochart towards Tyndrum,
Glen Dochart lies mainly to the east of Crianlarich. Over twenty miles in length, the eastern end of this wide and scenic glen is at Killin, thus it is nrostly within the territory of the Callander and Oban Railway. Even more surprising was the N.B.R. choice of Glen Ogle, for it is located totally within C. & O.R territory, lying between Glen Dochart and Lochearnhead, The choice of Glen Orchy is rather similar to that of Glen Dochart. Admittedly Bridge of Orchy station affords a fine vantage point from which to view the receding glen, but fourteen miles to the southwest. near its head. the rival company built Dalrnally station.
Glen Spean contains three West Highland stations. The line follows this most scenic and generously proportioned of Scottish glens for about the first eight miles of its length, from Spean Bridge, through Roy Bridge to Tulloch; from which station the line swings southwards to labour up the east side of Loch Treig, and onwards towards the Corrour Summit. To be fair to Glen Spean, at over twenty miles in length, with the station near its westerly end. it cannot be described as "near Spean Bridge".
Gten Mallie and Glen Long lie between the roughly parallel lochs Arkaig and Eil. Neither glen physically connects with Loch Lochy. Glendessarry, one word, as also Glenaladale, lies west of the head of Loch Arkaig,
Glenaladale runs roughly northwards from about halfway down  Loch Shiel, while Glenfinnan roughly continues the main axis of Loch Shiel, a northeast- southwesterly tine.
Unfortunately, as a small boy I was not properly organised for train spotting, and thus the opportunity for recording loco numbers, dates, etc., which data would now be of considerable interest, has been forever lost. I cannot therefore add to the information about the Stores Train.
Alan wrote again in February and sent a cutting from The Glasgow Heraid dated 4 February 1991, which refers to the Leaderfoot Viaduct, which spans the river Tweed at Drygrange near Melrose, and was gifted to the nation as an industrial monument and opened as a visitor attraction by the British Rail Property Board, together with a dowry of £50,000 towards the cost of providing visitor facilities, including the refurbishment of two 1930s railway carriages.
This Victorian viaduct, opened in 1865, has 19 semi-circular arches, was built for the Berwickshire Railway wlnch ran from a junction on the Hawick branch of the North British Railway, just south of Drygrange to Duns. A programme of masonry repairs will be carried out over the next year with financial assistance from the Railway hentage Trust and Historic Scotland, and once this work is completed, the viaduct will be formerly handed over to the Secretary of State,
Track will then be bid along a short stretch of the south embankment and over the viaduct, Two Gresley carriages will be placed on the embankment, one fitted out as a tearoom and ticket office whilst the other coach will be laid out as an exhibition coach. It is hoped to open the visitor centre in 1992.

J.F. Aylard, who is a member of the North Eastern Railway Association and who sees our 'Journal' under the reciprocal arrangement between the Groups, comments about Pacific No.2511 and its livery in 1944. He comments: 'Part 2A of the Locos of the LN,E.R. published by the R.C.T S. shows that 2511 had silver livery up to 8/ 38, was blue up to 4/43 when it was painted black. There are plenty of pre-war photos of 2511 in blue livery so it seems this story isn't supported by published sources. The Silver Jubilee stock silver until 1945/6 and was seen in use in 1941. at Lincoln,

Keith Fenwick joined us recently, and advised me that the photograph of a coach on page 22 of issue 40 was one of a batch of six built by Metropolitan Cammell in 1882 for the Great North of Scotland Railway. They were classified as Diagram 53S in the Northern Scottish series of the LN.E.R. Three of the vehicles were withdrawn in October 1914 and became permanent way coffee vans, Later these were marked as 'Stores' and became 880025-7, later 983001-3. Of the remaining three, two went to Keith for the accident train and the other was used as a coffee van, being still marked that in 1939. He adds that there is a good LG,R.P. photograph - No.7255 - of 880026 showing windows right across the end which can not be seen in my photograph. Thank you Keith for this information. I must confess that I had received some of this information from others and in my ignorance, had failed to acknowledge it.

W.S. Sellar commented Edition 41 had a photograph of North Leith taken in 1963 (page 21) and he would be grateful for any comments members can offer as to whether or not locornotiveis) were stabled in any area shown on the extreme right hand side of the photograph (just.outof sight) in B.R. days, i.e. after 1948. Recollection from a colleague is that locomotives were stabled in a siding in the centre of the photograph, Just short of the level crossing gates but these were moved to South Leith during the war in case of air raid. Sellar also offers an explanation for the signals at Portobello, and confirms the information on the G.N. of S. van mentioned above. He admires Euan Carnerori's courage in taking on the construction of an N.B.R 2-4-0 and looks forward to seeing the finished article. He endorses Carneron's findings on the minor (and major) dimensional errors with Martin Evans N.B. Atlantic finding these out by personal experience after nearly five years work. He saw the Tyneside model of Glen Falloch at the Edinburgh Society of Model Engineers layout recently and had high regard for the model, even if it did have Joy valve gear. He comments that Don Young's scale of 1 in to 1 ft instead of 11/16 in to l ft might account for the appearance of being out of scale when compared to other models must be borne in mind
He comments on my own query about Enginernen from the Edinburgh sheds working over the 'Waverley' route and points out that in the early 1960s, men from both sheds were diagrammed to work over the route to Carlisle, whilst on the East Coast Main Line, St.Margarets men only had the 12,42 (00.42)am Joppa-Heaton "Venlo" (present day E.C.S.) which took them beyond Berwick and Tweedsmouth

Issue 44 (June 1991)

Glasgow Model Rail 1991. 4

A. Simpson. The Kingborn or Pettycur Bottleworks Branch. 5
Includes track layout diagram

G. W. M. Sewell. Yet more about tbe Stores Vans. 6
Referss to Drawing No. 336C . Postulates on internal layout of shelves and drawers. Notes sliding doors and argues that operated as a train. Illustration: photograph  of MODEL TRAIN.

D. Dunn and J.A. Smith. An interesting locomotive. 7. illustration
Midland & South West Junction Railway 2-6-0 No. 14 built by Beyer, Peacock for New South Wales. Sold to John Casmore of Crdiff in 1914. Found its way to Cowlairs in 1915 on two trucks. Boiler was replaced by a Wheatley one with mofdifications to chassis to accommodate it. Fitted witha Reid chimney and smokebox and sent Rosyth Naval Dockyard. Acquired by Cramlington Coal Co. via J.F. Wake of Darlington. Withdrawn and scrapped when owned by Hartley Main Collieries in 1942/3.  

Euan Carneron. The Beyer, Peacock locomotives of the Edinburgh & Glasgow Railway.: some postscripts. 8-10
See allso Issue 41 pp. 4-18. 2-2-2 and 0-4-2 and 2-4-0. Table attempts to show inconsistancies in numbering and reasons for them between Cowlairs records and Beyer Peacock's records and some of the causes for them. The lack of photographs is a major problem, but Beyer Peacock did not fit Works Number plates

J. F. McEwan. Assorted notes. 10-11
NORTH BRITISH ENGINE NAMES
Seeing the article regarding the names used for the Glen class made me think of augmenting the subject of the names given to the North british engines. Although Reid did make the suggestion to the board he was prompted by the Traffic Committee chairman. Reid was like all other senior officers out with the rank of Secretary and General Manager treated as small fry by the board. This applied generally on all railways save when the incumbent was a friend of a director.
There had been talk of placing names on the "superheated intermediates" and Reid asked if this was intended for he had engines almost ready and would require the stores people to order up the necessary transfers. However the story of naming goes further back. to 1905, and the first notion of naming took place at a lunchtime chat between Or John Inglis (an important N.B.R. director) and William McInnes a personal friend (and a shipowner in Glasgow and a shareholder) when Inglis mentioned about the forthcoming debut of the Atlantics which would make the "Caley" sit up and take notice. Since they were intended for use between Carlisle and Aberdeen McInnes suggested that since steamers carried names why not do so with the new engines. With Sir WaIter Scott's novels having a revival at the time names associated with the territory were suggested. This story can be taken as factual for McInnes's younger brother was my uncle and I heard the story several times.
Some thirty years back a retired L&NER man used to join the lunch table one day each week and on one occasion when he and I were the only diners I learned that he had been an accountant and had for a number of years been the district accountant which got us more open in our interest in railways. It transpired that about 1912 or 1913 the North British auditors reported to the board that their accountancy methods were far outdated and to meet the new shareholders reports required by law far too much time would be involved in extracting details from all the various accounts being operated. The board instructed the auditors to study the entire system and make suggestions as to improvement which was duly done. The outcome was a request by the board to oversee the changes and provide staff to assist in the work while reorganisation was taking place. What took place behind the scene is unknown but four or five of the auditors staff were transferred to the North British accountants office permanently as North British employees. In L&NER days all were located in very senior posts as time went on, one to London and another to York. On one occasion he showed me a note which he had copied when searching for something in the Secretary's office, it was a list headed (all in pencil) Provisional List of Names for the New Engines. The list read:- Aberdeen, Dundee, Dunfermline, Burntisland, Edinburgh. Glasgow, Berwick, Carlisle, Perth, Melrose, Hawick, Galashiels, Jedburgh, and then Jedburgh was crossed out and Eskdale substituted with Jedburgh altered to Gala Water. Nos. 868 to 881 were allocated in the above order. The naming was a reversion to Drummond's day but as members know very few of the above names were utilised with some altered in style and description.
When the adopted final list was agreed is unknown but presupposes that it was after the first few engines came out for the only official photograph taken at Hyde Park works shows the engine minus any name, also - and here older Edinburgh members may be able to assist - in the "assembly hall" of Waverley station there hung a large photograph of an Atlantic on the Aberdeen train and the name on the engine was painted on to the print. The bad perspective of the painted name was no credit to the artist who did the job. This print was located on the rear wall of the room, and being studied by the Walker statue at the other end. It would therefore appear that naming commenced after the first one or two were delivered and whether or not N.B. 'Loco did any of it is un traced, but their participation is doubtful based on present knowledge.
Turning now to the Glen names the article is fairly complete but Glen Murren has been found to be a common word, and not solely Scottish. On the south coast of England the name is spelt both as Marran and Marram and refers to the sea-mat weed so Murran is either an imported name to Scotland or there is the corruption of some unidentified Gaelic or Norse word, but which? Being so far inland the sea grass idea seems wrong, could it be an anglicising of maghan, magh a plain with an as a diminutive?
As for running a Stores Train over the West Highland line I doubt very much that this was ever done, who would want to send a train over 300 miles of track which served a meagre population en route. From yarns heard I think that there was a stores xan attached from time to time to the goods train which left Sighthill about 9.00 am. Since this did not call at every station it may have been off-loaded at one of its stops for the requirement of another station to go forward by a train which did stop along the line beyond that place and stopping arrangements would be covered by the Weekly Notice. From memory this goods reached Fort William about S.OOpm and the Mallaig line "wants" would travel by the mixed train which left Fort William around 6.30am and possibly return in time to connect with the night goods homeward. I think the mixed train had its time altered about 1939 for there was a late morning goods put on from Fort William around that date.
In the October 1990 issue I cast doubts on Mr McGregor's comment that mines had passed through the Caledonian Canal; well Mr McGregor WAS CORRECT. A friend's holiday photograph awakened a memory that in 1921 near Dochfour on Loch Ness a number of redundant ships were tied up awaiting sale. Some 20 were ex Canadian trawlers which had been used as mine sweepers and around a dozen of motor driven craft somewhat akin to the Clyde puffer but evidently built to make use of the maximum limits of the canal. They probably had a carrying capacity of about 100 tons. It was said that they ran a shuttle service between Corpach and Muirtown, Inverness where the mines were prepared for despatch to minelayers lying off Inverness harbour, other motor driven craft doing the work. From an old local guide it is stated that the mine traffic commenced about March 1918 and ceased at the time of the Armistice in November of that same year,

John A McGregor. The West Highland Line. 11-12.
The following notes were abstracted by John McGregor from documents held in West Register House, and were written by a Cowlairs inspector to Matthew Holmes, Locomotive Superintendent, after the first severe snow on the West Highland, dated 11 January 1895. 'According to your instructions, I left Cowlairs at 10.40am on Monday 7th inst. for West Highland line, with engine 672 having snowplough fitted to it. On reaching Ardlui at 12.40pm found that Goods train had stuck in the snow, between Ardlui and Crianlarich. I waited there until the Goods train had been drawn back by Ballast engine, then went on and cleared the line to Crianlarich, left there at 2.12pm and proceeded to Gortan, arriving there at 3.15pm. but was delayed there unti14.20pm the Ballast engine and carriages having returned from within three quarters of a mile from Rannoch station, where the snow was heavy, and on arriving at this place, we had some difficulty in clearing snow away, but got through it and cleared the line to Rannoch station; but the two carriages and van forming Ballast train left the rails and had to be lifted on with 'Jacks', there being no ramps in Ballast van, as there should have been....

A. A Maclean. North British Railway Wagons. Part 1. 12-20
Part one. Pre history. One of the oldest mineral waggonwaays was the Tranent and Cockenzie recorded in 1722 as laid with wooden rails the pits with Cockenzie Harbour. Claimed to have been used by Sir John Hope at the Battle of Prestonpans in 1745. Parrt of the original trackbed was used by the NBR and this lasted into the BR period. Early wagon sizes were defined either by the ability areas of the laminated wood or iron rails to carry the loads, or by the haulage capability of the 'horse power'. A small number of independent early railways such as the Fordell in Fife, survived until relatively recent times, enabling industrial archaeologists to define railway and rolling stock development based on fact and measurement, particularly where other evidence has not survived. If one was to define an early 'standard' wagonway vehicles then it would have a 1½ ton capacity, flared sides with one fixed and one hinged end, fixed square axles with rounded ends and loose wheels held on the axles by pins or wedges. Wagon sides would be of horizontal wood (probably larch) planking, with trams and buffers of oak. about 8-inch square. Wheels would be iron with curved or open spokes, and from days, 2 feet to 3 feet diameter, set at about three feet 6 inch wheelbase Later, steel tyres were shrunk on iron centres. Includes 1864 request from Key & Son of Kirkcaldy for a rulley wagon which survived in use until 1915.
Expansion was the keynote, and when the main line (Edinburgh to Berwick) opened on 18 June 1846, construction was will in hand for the Hawick 'branch' which opened as work progressed until complete in October 1849, and passed through rich mineral Lothian heartlands, to the textile country of the borders. On 18 May 1849, a census showed that wagon fleet had risen to 1601, comprising:
Platlorm Goods Wagons 288
Round End Wagons 269
Hopper Wagons 116
Low Platform Wagons 165
Cattle Wagons 86
Ballast Wagons 20
4 Ton Coal Wagons 300
Sheep Wagons 12
6 Ton Coal Wagons 343
Powder Vans 2
This was the first statistical analysis of the fleet. The absence of goods vans will be noted although these may be included under the heading of 'round end goods wagons', 4 of which were converted in 1850 into Guards 'Break' Vans, this being the first mention of the latter type. TIle distinction between 'cattle' and 'sheep' trucks is interesting, and it appears from consultation of old photographs that the former was equipped with a roof, whereas the latter was not, although otherwise they were similar in design. Actually around this time, a new pattern of cattle wagons had emerged for the London traffic with separate stalls.
Early ballast wagons appear to have been side discharge by pivoting the bodies along the underframe centre lines, a system not uncommon on mineral waggonways elsewhere in the period, and still in operation today. At the time of the census, the number of 'luggage vans' was 26, Horse Boxes, 16 and Carriage Trucks 21. On 31 March 1852 the Loco Superintendent reported unfavourably on original fleet quality, and as wagons arrived for repair, they were being rebuilt to give 'more service at less cost'. However, by late 1852, there was a growing disquiet with a continuing short- age of coal wagons and plans for 8 and 9 ton capacity wagons were considered.
During 1853, 25 covered vans were taken into stock, the first specific mention of the type, at least as 'vans'. Before then, sheeted open wagons of various types, or the 'luggage' vans (by then standing at 35) ap- peared to provide covered transit facilities. At the lst July, 1853 Board meeting, all new wagon building was recommended to be undertaken at St. Margarets where capacity was considered to be available. Each wagon then cost £55.15. 9d and van £58.14. 0d.
At the same meeting, a Board sub-committee reported on the condition of the NBR rolling stock generally, and confirmed previous reports as they had found most of the original plant in an inferior condi- tion, attributable to the mid 1840's demand outstripping the supply of properly seasoned and prepared wood. There were also shortages in fleet size and in wagons with spring buffers. A request for 150 more wagons and 50 vans was considered justified, all with spring buffers, with another 100 old wagons recommended for fitting with spring buffers when rebuilt. On 27 September 1853, a request was made for 150 wagons and 50 vans, but there was a growing unrest that wagons under and awaiting repair at St.Margarets were excessive and a monitoring com- mittee was set up, although tenders were invited for the 200. Begbie of Haddington meantime offered 7 wagons at £72 each, and this was accepted.On 25 November 1853, contracts were placed for the 250 with Begbie of Haddington, Dads of Airdire, Wallace of Perth and Croplands of Bradford, the last named including all the vans.
Construction details of these wagons has not survived, but it is unlikeJy that the open wagons varied much from those described in D.K. Clark's tome of 1855, Railway Machinery. One drawing (of a Great North of Scotland Railway wagon), could have replicated the design of many railways basic open wagons for years to come. As Clark commented, it was logical to have a form of standardisation.
During WW1 the North British did not loan any wagons to the War Office for service overseas, but it did send some dead buffered wagons (by then redundant on main line service anyway) to Salonika as part of a request for 600, the balance being met by the Caledonian and Glasgow & South Western railways. However, old dead buffered wagons which had been sold for scrap prices of between £5 and £8 each before the war were to take on a new value from collieries and factories with private sidings, and dur- ing the war the price rose substantially to around £40. The war brought its own problems in wagon types of suitable designs and adaption of existing stock was necessary to meet circumstances. Examples were the fitting up of ordinary goods as gunpowder vans and of implement, etc. wagons to convey tanks until custom built government 'rectanks' became available. Con- tractors engaged in building or extending factories engaged in war work required, in addition to normal building materials, that more finished steelwork be conveyed to avoid assembly delays on the sites. Natu- rally, this required larger dimensioned loads and the complexities of 'out of gauge' operations. The nor- mal steel movements to shipyards and heavy engi- neering factories increased prodigiously, and new factories required machinery and raw materials, as well as facilities for despatch of the finished products. New heavy traffic flows for the duration, such as munitions from Bearmores for testing at firing ranges at Gavell over single lines used for coal, coke and other mineral traffic or light passenger traffic were handled with locomotive numbers and manpower shortages, created problems in wagon availability. For both mineral and merchandise traffics, the closing of East Coast ports engaged on coastal shipping meant that large quantities of hitherto waterborne loads passed by rail,' and hitherto short haul coal traffic for export was found other comparatively long haul rail borne destinations where it could be dispensed in the war effort.
The Railway Executive Committee met at the Railway Clearing House on 31 December 1919 to discuss and agree on the future standard for both open and covered goods wagons. The North British voted for the 12 Ton type, as did the majority of other lines. A complete physical wagon census was undertaken on 4 July 1920, when from a hook stock of 59884, the remarkably high figure of 58404 (97.53%) were located. The greatest number of 'lost' vehicles were in the service and' miscellaneous' fleets with 13% and 29% of their respective stocks being unaccounted for. The fleet at 31 December 1922, was claimed to total 58970, of which 3164 (or 5%) were allocated for the railway's own domestic uses, such as ballast and loco coal. On 12 August 1921, the Board decided that all new mineral wagons would be put in storage and not into traffic. to meet financial requirements. Consequently, over the next year large dumps of brand new wagons were formed, specific mention being recorded at Longtown, Stobs Castle and Meadowside, where a combined figure of over 600 were noted. However, by December 1922, all appeared to have been released to traffic. On the other hand. condemned dead buffered wagons continued to be stored awaiting sale for scrap merchants and in November 1921, 400 were on the Bo'ness branch awaiting disposal. A normal scrap price was between £8 and £10 each. There was, of course, a continuing disposal to private firms for internal use, such as collieries and iron and steel works.
The average age of former North British wagons in January, 1923, was the highest on the new London & North Eastern Railway system at 21.69 years, the next being the Great Eastern at 21.48. with the Great North of Scotland third at 17.64.

North British Railway three plank wagon No.9559. 20
Standing in yard at Penmaenpool. The small crescent with '22' on the lower left hand side indicated tbe year when the wagon was outshopped. Bill Rear collection. See also Issue 45 page 19.

Sandy Gorski. Pauchelin' The Fife Coast Line. 21-4.
Wee Eckie was a porter at Kinghorn, Inverkeithing and at North Queensferry here he paucheled the trains, sold tickets, collected tickets and had been told to keep the keys to the station on him at all times. Distracted he managed to leave the keys within the office and lock himself oout, but with great effort retrieved them via the hole left for conversation. Finally, his own DMU to return home was held up by a report of fighting drunken sailors ftom whom he gathered their tickets

Charlie Meacber. A locomotive inspector's tale. 24.
Lady off London train arrival hoped to meet former boy friend, a driver at Haymarket: this rendezvous was negotiated by Meacher

Alan Cliff. Edinburgh & the North Britisb in tbe Sixties. 25
1960s: author was a Methodist Minister who organised Sunday school trips to North Berwick using the diesel railcar service and visiting his rural parishioners outwith the City which provided the opportunity to see railway activity. He visited a very ill parishioner at Longniddry whose wife was distraught with anxiety. On the way home he paused at Seton Crosssing where the signalman, sensing his weariness, invited him in for a cup of tea. The Ormiston branch was open to Smeaton Colliery and traffic wasd worked by Clayton Type 1 diesels which his sons called crocodiles. In 1974 he was moved to Wrexham where he encountered the LNE R again.

Letters Received. 26

Ashbury carriages. Marshall Shaw.and Euan Cameron. 26
Diagram (side & end elevation & plan) of remains of one on Tanfield Railway near Newcastle of 28-ft first on four-wheel underframe; also Scottish Railway Presservation Society Ashbury retrieved from Saltoun station site. See next Issue page 19

Gresley Pacifics. Alan D. Butcher. 26
When staying with grandmother at Biggleswade remembered seeing Gresley Pacific hauling 24 Gresley coaches at speed

Milton station. Allan R. Cameron. 27
Cancelled due to potenntial electriuc tramway competition

Issue 45 (September 1991)

A.A. Maclean. North British Railway wagons. - II. 6-9.
Vehicle type requirements
The North British handled many diverse industries such as coal; coke, tar and gas; textiles; chemicals; brickmaking; brewing and distilling; iron and steel; shipbuilding and heavy engineering agricultural requirements; shipping traffic; road vehicles etc., each with special operating and design requirements. Coal traffic, although outwardly simple, could require the provision of end, side or hopper door discharge. or any combination of these, and limits on the types of wagons could be placed by the colliery designs for loading. and the customer for discharge. Coking plant required high capacity, but low load limit vehicles. Security was paramount for certain forms of vulnerable transits, and protection against inclemencies of the weather was just as significant for some commodities as adequate ventilation — or indeed refrigeration — was for others. Smooth transits were essential for goods ranging from the eosseted and valuable seed potato (0 dangerous goods, such as explosives.
Loading and unloading could be from ends, top. side doors or folding sides. or by valves for liquid. Hopper discharge for minerals was also significant; and for some exceptional and out of gauge items, such as single deck tramcars an adequate depth of wagon for maximum height clearance was essential. Large or unwieldy loads, such as large steel plates or assemblies such as ships propulsion units, railway locomotives or large components thereof, all required some form of special handling and wagons to cope. In addition to the 'custom built' stock, there were in- stances of modifications to existing wagons, such as the rebuilding of a 20 Ton Rulley Wagon under Drawing 316W of 14 February 1901, to carry circus elephants!. As 'common carriers', the railway was unable to turn away tmfficjust because it did not want to handle it. unlike road competition, although obviously there were exceptions which loading gauge restrictions made' impossible.
Statistics of vehicle types
Much of the NB geographical area generated colliery and other mineral traffic, and these wagons farmed the greater bulk of the fleet. The trend was evident as early as January 1850, and even in January l870, Goods and Mineral Open Wagons accounted for 92% of the fleet. covered vans for 2%, and cattle wagons 4%. The rest were ballast wagons, brake-vans, etc. In 1890, 94% were opens, 3% vans, 2% cattle wagons and 1% domestic. At the close of 1912, from 60359 revenue earning wagons, 39049 (65%) were for minerals, and 14078 (23%) open wagons for ordinary goods. Adding 2% for Rail and Timber Wagons. this resulted in a gross open wagon figure of 90%. Covered vans totalled 3795 vehicles (6%), the balance being Cattle Vans (2%), Brake Vans (1%) and miscellaneous. (1 %).
Operating restrlctions
All railways had fleets of 'special' vehicles. Operationally, these created such problems as end or centre overhangs on curves or through platforms and tunnels, clearances where third rail (or overhead) electrification was involved etc. In one example, a Board of Trade requirement (1914) stated that facing points were to be fitted with a locking bar to prevent movement when a train was passing over them. This bar was to exceed the longest distance between any two pairs of wheels of wagons in use on the line. Locking bar lengths were not standard between the companies and the Midland lodged a protest with the N .B. in March 1920 as the former's maximum locking bar length was 37'0" (the NBR was 41'0") and some NBR wagons exceeded this. Restrictions could also be applied on axle Ioadings,
Adequate braking was significant where speeds were involved. with, power brakes on goods wagons very mu h the exception. most goods engines only having steam brakes. Most NBR wagons until the turn of the century had brake revers operating one block on the same side of the wagon. It was not unknown for flames to emerge from wooden blocks when descending severe grades 'with brakes 'pinned down'.
Goods & Marshalling yards
As with most early railways, most North British stations were multifunctional, although some were for goods traffic only in basically agricultur:al areas with little local population. The main site had buildings for passenger traffic, with freight being handled at an adjacent location. Goods and mineral traffic growth forced some relocations to the equivalent of 'green field' sites where spare for sufficient facilities and/or specialised equipment could be mstalled or where one large depot could better serve  growing locality than a number of smaller ones.
Private sidings developed in parallel with the main networks. and in some cases developed into yards, or even branch lines in their own right. often. as in the case of collieries, with their own internal engine power and privately owned wagons for both internal and main line operations. As wagons rarely moved in complete train loads. they required much intermediate shunting, so that the best use of main line railway resources could be allied to the need of the customer to have as rapid a transit as possible, Jmt as large specialised goods handling depots. such as Sighthill and College (later High Street) in Glasgow developed, so did independent marshalling yards, where the only goods facility could be a single platform to transfer freight from defective to sound vehicles. Portobello Yard was authorised by the Board in October 1906 to deal with the Carlisle and Berwick traffic, and in the west. Cadder Yard on the outskirts of Glasgow was established for west.of Scotland and West Highland line flows
Inter yard movements became part of the railway scene in the quest for maximum cost effectiveness and some vehicles were allocated to cater for this such as circuit brake vans, perhaps with a specialised form of automatic braking systemn. In effect., they were goods wagons which like barrier wagons for oil tanks, etc, had no revenue earning role. but were nevertheless essential,
Wagon workshops
All railway companies operated domestic repair facilities for rolling stock, which could vary from a simple 'sheerlegs' or pit in a yard to a full workshop capable of buflding or rebuilding. The NB inheritance provided an adequate number of major workshops, although by 1923, there was evidence of over provision. The main works were at Cowlairs, acquired from the Edinburgh & Glasgow Railway and developed as the main company workshops latterly had a capacity for building 1000 wagons per annarn, and repairing an estimated. 36000. This was achieved by 740 men under 8 supervisors, St. Margarets, the original North British works was next with 151 workmen under 2 supervisors, the wagpn, shops being on the 'Up' side of the line. Kipps, formerly of the Monkland Railway, employed 120 men and 2 supervisors at a site across from the locomotive shed:. Burntisland Workshops of the Edinburgh & Northern Railway (later Edinburgh, Perth & Dundee) occupied 53 men and 1 supervisor. The other three main locations were at Ladybank (38 men with 1 supervisor). Thomton (23 under 1) and Stirling (12 men)'.
After the intensive use of its resources with little adequate maintenance during the Great War, the North British entered into contractual agreement with four Lanarkshire Wagon builders in August 1919, for the repair of its goods wagons. The firms concerned were Hurst Nelson of Motherwell, R. & Y. Pickering of Wishaw, the Motherwell Wagon Company of Flemington and the Hamilton Wagon Company.
There was almost another wagon works. Backlog pressure on wagon repairs at the St.Margarets shops in March 1902 led the Locomotive Superintendent to propose a move to open ground at Portobello where a modem wagon repair depot could be built, but that scheme never materialised. It was not until the 1980s that Portobello got its 'modern repair shop' as an adjunct to Craigentinny Carriage Depot.
Couplings
Generally coupling lengths related to buffer lengths. wagons with dumb, or dead, buffers being 6-in to 9-in shorter overall than those with spring buffers with the same length over headstock. The three link coupling in several forms, initially supplemented by sprung side chains, was the mainstay of wagons not fitted with automatic power brakes until about 1914, when the 'Instanter' type appeared for close coupling without the difficulty of the screw type. The main types were: Where, the centre link was marginally smaller than the other two. (12-in/10-in/12-in)
Where the eenrre link was much shorter than the other two. (12-in//6-in/12-in)
Where all three links were oj different.sizes. (12-in//6-in//7-in)
The link dimensions shown the maximum link internal size and were exclusive of coupling link thickness, usually  1¼ or 1½ inch diameter. It was not uncommon for the centre link to be 'crimped' inwards, The lop link was dropped into an open slot on top of the drawbar; as an alternative to its being hung from a pin through a hole in. the drawbar behind the coupling hook, or simply sealed in the drawbar, Drawbars were normally sprung.
Buffers,
Solebars  of early wagons were wood.about 12in deep and 4¼-in or4¾-in wide, and the extension of this for 15-in beyond the headstock of wagons gave a framework for the dumb or d ead buffers. This was built out by attaching on the dtawbar side of lhe solebar a block of wood 15-in long, 12-in deep and between 6-in and and 8½-in across, by bolts and/or iron. binding to the solebar and plates to the headstock. In some early wagons. the buffer 'head' was padded.
On 17 June 1853, fifty of the best goods wagons were authorised to be equipped with spring buffers to let them work in passenger trains, but this was an exception, 'dead' or 'dumb' buffers remained the standard. In several periods, starting from the 1870s, large numbers of dead buffered vehicles were rebuilt with self contained spring types, using cylindrical or conical shanked Turtons designs.
Later, spring buffers had long tailrods through the headstocks connected to leaf springs which extended over the width between the solebars, between wheels and vehicle centrelines, (unless frame design made this impracticable, as in hoppers) with one spring serving a pair of buffers at each end. Another vari- ation used in brake vans, where requirements for weight betweensolebars produced buffers with short tailrods, buffing arrangement with steel spring wash- ers and rubber discs.
Between 1911 and 1914, when the Board of Trade made spring buffers mandatory for main line stock, many old dead buffer wagons had been disposed of, either sold for scrap, to collieries or private owners, or relegated to internal or ballast train use. Main line stock was latterly fitted with Spencer's buffers, which although self contained in appearance, had art auxil- iary spring bolted on the inner solebsr surface behind the headstock and connected to the buffer by.a short tailrod.
Axleboxes and springs
Early axleboxes were designed for grease lubticarrts, and held in 'W' irons, with elliptical springs taking the load. It was not unknown for different axleboxes to be on the same wagon following repairs. Oil axleboxes came into general use from the turn of the century [1899/1900] although some had been in use before that date, usually on wagons for express goods service rated traffics, such as fish.
There were some 68 aslebox designs listed in the NB Wagon Drawing Register between 1880 and 1923, but grease boxes known as Nos. 1,31 4.5 and 8 (these references appearing on the axlebox surface)seem to have been the most common.
Early vehicles had springs centrally bolted, but normal practice was for springs to be bound and secured by plate buckle, Spring hangers varied in design by period and vehicle function.
Liveries
As far as can be determined, up to about 1860 North British (and certain future constltuents) vehicles carried little or no bodyside insignia but over the next 20 years an open 'quatrefoil' illiteracy mark and an inverted crescent appeared. The 'quatrefoil' was usually placed about the centre of the vehicle, and the crescent which carried the last two figures of the year built, or last heavy repair, was usually on the left hand lower bodyside,
After the main amalgamatious of the early 1860s the Board decided in a Coldstream Hotel on 26 October 1865 that mechandise wagons be painted red- brown, in lieu of the lead colour then in use, but this instruction does not appear to have gained much effect It does, however, confirm the previous colour scheme. although the term 'lead colour' offers plenty of interpretative scope.
There were variations, however. in that Refrigerator Vans, Yeast Vans and Fish Trucks were brown with yellow lettering, Gunpowder Vans, and some Brake Vaus and Service Vehicles were painted red oxide at various times, and ballast wagons are claimed to have been pale blue which could have shown in photogmphs as similar to light
After about 1880 the letters 'NB' appeared on body sides, with some vehicles cmrying 'NBR' although the latter appears largely to been confined to brake vans and special traffic vehicles. When the full 'NBR" was used, the letters were about 6 or 7 inches high. but the bolder 'NB' lettering was about 18-in high, sizes being scaled from photographs. Most bodywork and solebars were lead grey in colour, with black being used for axleguards, wheels, buffing and drawgear and also before about 1914 for some metal bodywork strapping. White was used for lettering. tyres and insignia. A number of ordinary goods wagons were painted light grey with black letters. Roofs were white when first painted, and brake Van ends; veemillion.
Serviqe Department vehicles for example for locomotive coal traffic carried the appropriate bodyside lettering above the large company letters, and some restricted user, or circuit working mineral wagons, were also lettered on the top planks. Vehicle numbers did not normally appear on bodysidea until about 1906, identities being indicated by plates on the solebars which bore the fleet number with the word 'NORTH' above and 'BRITISH' below. The plates which were normally rectangular with cut away corners had raised lettering and border and also usually curved cut away corners. Service and Internal User wagons had oval plates which also indicated the owning department, and on some plates the home depot. Lettering and borders were painted white on a black background. A small cast iron oval plate was fitted to the right hand end of the solebars giving, for Cowlairs built vehicles. their and date of construction, and the load capacity. but for other stock, the plate showed only tonnage capacity. the contractor's build plate being elsewhere on the solebar, There was a period between January and 7 May 1923 when former 'company' wagons, sheets and ropes. although technically under the control of the new company, were not considered as being in a general LNER 'pool' and therefore not available for that which was described in an LNER circular as 'indiscriminate use',
Before October 1924 there were several 'hybrid' paint schemes. most featuring the lettering 'NE' in the old company style but NBR number, build and load plates on aolebars were removed, or replaced by an interim L&NER style. Standard liveries were specified from October l924. but it took time for the new livery schemes to come into full effect and pre-grouping wagons could found in old liveries into the 1930s. L&NER numbering was effected by adding 7000000 to the NBR number., although this did not include some departmental and internal user stock.
Wagon Diagram Books
The North British Railway Wagon Diagram Book appears to have evolved from the issue of sheets of 'Diagrams' of vehieles, the first (Drawing 163W) being on the 2 December 1889. A second sheet (170W) was added on l0 May 1892, but there is no further mention of more until 1 June 1915 when a drawing (1026W) of special wagons was issued. A final issue was made (Drawing 1026W) during 1922. 'The North British Railway Diagram Book, as distinct from sheets, is. indeterminate in date and was of an early 'loose leaf' format. binding being at the recipient's discretion. In this several wagon types were covered by one outline sketeh, which could or (as was common) did not carry a General Arrangement Drawing Number. Amendments were made by pen alteration. Some diagralns were allocated separate, Diagram Book Numbers because they had different builders. There was no logical grouping of Diagrams by type, function. dimensions. or even dates. of introduction.
The LNER Southern Scottish Area Wagon Diagram Book is much more detailed. has many drawings claimed to have been to a scale of 1/8-in to the foot, and follows a form of sequence by types. although naturally lacking types withdrawn between NBR and LNER Issue. The book also defined Area wagons which were introduced, built or rebuilt after 1923, not all of NBR origin. to a common degree of detail. Some 'standard' LNER designs were included for Area Specific builds covering all SSA stock, this Wagon Diagram Book was generally found at headquarters, or within maintenance functions. A similar but separate additional book was produced for former NBR 'Special Wagons' only, these pages containing details of the vehicle numbers. In drawing up the LNER book, certain vehicles classified by the NBR as freight stock, but carrying passenger rated traffics such as fish, motor cars or luggage were transferred to the Coaching Stock Diagram Book. some subsequently returning as freight stock. In some cases, vehicles to one General Arrangement Drawing had more than one Diagram Number, in more than one Diagram Book, in entirely different painted number ranges, according to the traffic conveyed. To complicate matters even further, some former NBR coaching stock vehicles were designated and numbered as freight stock and included in the Wagon Diagram Book.
The L.N.E.R. 'Standard' Wagon Diagram Book was to a similar scale, but unlike the passenger coaching stock equivalents (with a few exceptions) were not included in the S.S.A. volume.
A separate LNER all line 'Specially Constructed Wagons Book' was published in 1926 in several forms, listing individual painted vehicle fleet numbers with dimensioned outlines of stock. This book was updated periodically and assisted in selecting suitable vehicles for exceptional dimensioned traffics. Diagrams included in this book were given separate 'Telegraphic Codes' for identification, a practice continued subsequently by British Railways.
In 1938, with wagon record computerisation on the Hollerith Punch Card system, a revised Diagram Numbering scheme was introduced in the 7000 range for existing NBR wagons and other vehicles specific to the Southern Scottish Area fleet, the L.N.E.R. post 1923 revenue earning fleet (including such specially constructed wagons) retaining L.N.E.R. Standard Diagram Book numbers. There were variations, however, in certain Service Stock retaining. former Revenue Fleet Diagram numbers, although most service vehicles ceased to be shown with a Diagram Book number, identificanon being by painted number and coded type. or function.
In defining Diagram Numbers in this book for identifying wagons. it was decided to use the LN ER (Southern Scottish Area) Diagram Book, due to the random nature of the NBR document and to the abridged LNER 1938 Hollerith Coding structure, but the references to these are also shown, as is the General Arrangement Drawing Number.

Location survey of known surviving North British Railway wagon & miscellaneous drawings. 10-16.
Mainly Scottish Record Office; also Oxford Publishing Co.

Euan Cameron. Thomas Wheatley's 224 and 264: a history in drawings. Part 2. 17-19.
As promised in the earlier article on the rebuilds of these locomotives, a drawing is offered here which represents the best approximation of their appearance in the late 1870s that he had been able to manage with the sourceds at his disposal. In general. as remarked before. 224 and 264 were simply repeats of the 2-4-0s 141and 164 built in.1869, drawing on the experience gained by enlarging the bore of the latters' cylinders from 16-in to 17-in. However, the bogies were a significant and important improvement. Until William Adam's patent spring-controlled bogie was made public in 1865 moat British locomotive bogies were of the short-wheelbase fixed-pin type and were notoriously prone to derailment: they normally lacked any cutouts in the frames to allow for the angular movement of the wheels when rounding corners, and any proper side-control, With Wheatley's bogie engines we encounter at once the full Adams system with a relatively long wheelbase (6-ft 0-in), lateral control springs. and cut-away mainframes. As a result the engines seem to have given little trouble in the matter of riding: two years later the 420 class had bogies with 3-ft 4-in wheels and 6-ft 6-in wheelbase fitted, very close indeed to the later Drummond standard. ln this respect 224 and 264 were actually more of an advance than the more numerous G.& S.W.R. 6 class 4-4-0s buiIt by James Stirling from 1873, which still used the archaic fixed-pivot short-wheelbase bogie design.
It is likely that 224 and 264, like the 2-4-0s 141 and 164. originally relied on the tender handbrake and had no brake gear on the locomotive. However, all the early illustrations show them with Westinghouse brake fitted in the late 1870s so, to avoid stirring up any controversy, the drawing here depicts this. It also shows a Drummond pattern clack-valve as fitted to 224 before the Tay Bridge disaster. The brake air-pump on the right-hand side of the engine was fitted just ahead of the box splasher; the handrail on its front edge was then removed.
Source. for the Main Drawing (on page 18) Dimensions of the frames and wheels, along with the boiler heating surfaces, were supplied in the earlier article. Apart from these figures no official working dimensions of 224 and 264 as built seem to have survived. Therefore the chassis details have been adapted from the drawing in an 1886 issue of The Engineer showing the Nisbet compound rebuild; the superstructure has been estimated from photographs, extrapolation from other surviving Wheatley drawings, and guesswork.
For contemporary evidence of the nearly original state of 224 and 264, the following have been used: the illustration of 224 in E.L. Ahron's The British Steam Railwtly Locomtive1825-1925, p.196, (based on a painting, but correct in details); and a fine photo of No.64 published in the magazine Locomotives and Railways, 1909, 4, (39 March) . Several details are also confirmed by the John Valentine right-hand profile photograph of No.224, taken after its recovery from the bottom of the Firth of Tay early in 1880 (Valentines no.74707). A contact print made from the original glass-plate negative has been particularly helpful: this was supplied many years ago through the kindness of the archivist at St.Andrews University Library. The picture was published in this Journal, Issue No.28, p.21, as well as in many other places; note also the corresponding left-hand profile view of 224 at the same time, in the Photomatic collection (No.7986). See also the sketch of 224 with its train as marshalled on 28th December 1879. in the diagram which is reproduced inside the dust-wrapper of John Thomas's The North British Railway Vol .l, Certain dimensions seem to have been typical of Wheatley's style: for instance the tops of the rear box splashers were 3-ft 6-in above the running plate, while the driving wheel splashers were of a radius 3-in greater than their wheels, centred 1¼-in above the axle centres. Moreover, the replacement top section to the cab (shown on page 19) seems to have been 3-ft 3-in high. the same height as that fitted to the later series of 5-ft 1½-in goods engines. 224/264's boiler is estimated to have been pitched 7-ft 15/8-in above rail level.
Cross-sectional dimensions
It would have been desirable to offer a front elevation as well as the side view. However, clear front view photographs of these engines are so rare that any such drawing would be largely guesswork. Modellers may wish to know that the standard Wheatley running-platform width was 7-ft 7-in; the box splashers and weatherboard would have been the same width as the tender tanks at 6-ft 4-in; while the 'paddlebox' driving wheel splashers were considerably narrower, at about 5-ft 8-in-5-ft 10-in wide. Buffers were spaced 5ft 8-in - 5-ft 8½-in apart. For the height and spacing of spectacle-winand were remarkably slender and light in construc- tion, though no ill effects seem to have resulted from that fact. The 'grainy' structure of wrought iron gave it a strength not to be found at that period in a casting of similar size. Within these stated limitations the drawing is believed to be accurate, and should not be 'out' by more than a scale inch or so on any significant structural dimension. However, it would (as always) be vastly appreciated if anyone who knows of any dOM one would have to make a sensible guess. The View of the PO$t-1880 Modifications (on page 19. opposite)
In respect of the guard-irons. lamp-blocks. and weatherboard the main drawing differs from most of the well-known. photographs of 224 and 264, for instance AGE no.9922 (of 224) and AGE 00.10292 (of 2:64). These show the post-Tay Bridge disaster condition of 224. and 264 after it had received some Drummond modifications. The attractive painting of 224 on Cowlairs incline on thedust-wrapperofJolm Thomas's The North British Railway Volume 1 also portrays 224 after its Drummond alterations, though with Wheatley bright green livery. After reconstruction under Drummond'g aegis 224 carried not only a larger cab topsection with a distinct "lip' at the very top (a feature adopted from Wheatley's post-1Sn designs); this new top section was fitted flush with: the side-boxes. the rear section of the beading curving continuously from the handrails up to the roof-line. Besides this 224 also had a new dome- cover with a taller. more pronounced 'trumpet' on top. replacing the original lost in the Tay Bridge disaster. 264 received the enlarged cab (slightly later than 224. 1 suspect, since a photograph of its unmodified state survives) and also received a Drummond-type smokebcx with wing-plates. countersunk rivets. and an external blower-valve controlled bya rod running through the left handrail. However, there was no reason to alter 264's original dome-cover. In addition, the front ends of the engine were modified by attaching new smaller guard-irons to the bogie rather than the mainframe and by substituting Drummond pattern lamp-irons for hollow blocks. The minor post-1880 modifications to 224 are illustrated by the view of the looomotive's rear end. It is a matter of taste, but for me the shorter, shallower weatherboard made the engines much better-balanced and more symmetrical than the post-1880 form with an enlarged cab.
These are conjectural drawings: responsibility for any inaccuracies which they may be found to contain is very firmly disclaimed. Life is too short (I feel) to draw either rivets or wheel-spokes: making. twenty .mahogany spokes for the pattern of 418's driving wheels, now safely cast, was quite enough. thank you! So photographs must be consulted for the abundance of snaphead rivets on the front. sides and rear of the smokebox and of bolt-heads around the bogie stretcher. No official drawing of a Wheatley engine shows rivets in any case. The driving wheels had twenty-two rectangular section wrought-iron spokes and were remarkably slender and light in construetion, though no ill effects seem to have resulted from that fact. The 'grainy' structure of wrought iron gave it a strength not to be found at that period in a casting of similar size. Within these stated limitations the diawingis believed to be accurate, and should not be 'out' by more than a scale inch or so on any significant structural dimension. However, it would (as always) be vastly appreciated if anyone who knows of any further information, or has any specific criticisms of these articles could share their knowledge.
Boiler Heating Surfaces:
Addition and Correction
Since the first article was published I have realized that some information in Campbell Highet's Scottish Locomotive History was inexplicably ignored when compiling the table of boiler heating surfaces. The corrected data is supplied below. Although it was quite true to say that the boiler fitted to 224 in 1885 was a Holmes 'standard', I failed to notice that in this case (as the G.A. shows) seven of the tubes were replaced with longitudinal stays between the tubeplates, reducing the number from the usual total for a 4-ft ¾-in boiler of 171 to 164. This staying of the tubeplates is not normal practice. It can also be seen in the published drawings of the 592 class 7-ft 0-in 4-4-0s as first built in 1886, but not in Drummond's designs, nor in the 18-in goods of 1888, nor yet in the 633 class 4-4-08 of 1890. The effect of this is to confirm yet further the impression that., as rebuilt in 1885, 224 was seriously deficient in evaporative heating surface. If 224's boiler was felt to be in need of more than usual staying perhaps it was intended to operate it at higher than usual pressure, as was then normal for compound-expansion locomotives. However, no firm evidence is to hand to confirm or deny this speculation. The extra stays may just have been one more of Holmes's design 'foibles'.

The Tanfield railway coach. 19
Regrettably some of the details supplied relating to the Ashbury 28-ft 0-in four-compartment First Class carriage body now at Marley Hill on the Tanfield Railway, near Gateshead in the last issue were not quite correct The notes referred to carriages Nos. 707-25, to Diagram No.100 in the diagram book of c.1908. t07-25 were in fact five-compartment second-class Ashbury carriages, later downgraded to third class; nevertheless, in body dimensions and wheelbase they were very similar to the Tanfie1d Railway Carriage. According to the c.1908 book the four-compartment firsts were in fact Diagram No.115, with 3-ft' 5-in wheels and a 16-ft 0-in wheelbase (as shown on t.he published drawing). The diagram book lists for this class the numbers 73, 194, 220, 269 and 279; it is not clear whether these were the only examples ever bought by the N.B.R., or whether others had been withdrawn hy the time the diagram was issued.

Letters received. 21

Glasgow Show. Robin Boog.
Questions decision not to exhibit at the 1992 Glasgow model railway exhibition.

A4 No. 2511 Silver King. P.A.T. Collar  21-2
Re comments from two members (NB J.F. Aylard) on Collar's own observations of No.2511 running in silver livery in 1944. Collar feels that the additional information would prove useful He also points out that having worked on R & D. activities for many years, he would only report such an observation without qualification if he was reasonably certain that the information was correct and that it could be corroborated. He writes:
'To set the scene I have to go backward in time to 1943 when a considerable amount of military training was in progress in the area around Hexham preparatory to the invasion of Europe. In October that year the town witnessed a spectacular display of pyrotechnics which commenced at approximately 17.30hrs. and lasted nearly two hours. It transpired that a train loaded with starshell had caught fire whilst being shunted in Hexham yard. The staff had endeavoured to take appropriate action and split the train to minimise the effects; in the process so far as I am aware, three railwaymen lost their lives. This event was recorded in a brief note in the Daily Telegraph "Late News" the following day. To my knowledge this event is not recorded in any other publication and will be unknown to the majority of the Group's Members. It was this event which got me interested in railway activities. prior to it I took no particular notice of such things.
As a result I, and a number of school friends, commenced making observations of the local railway scene. We had no-one to advise us, consequently we had to find out things for ourselves and we built up a communications network whereby if one of us saw something of interest the others were advised. At that time the passenger train service between Newcastle and Carlisle was operated by L.N.E.R. Classes K.3., D.49 Pts. 1 & 2 with the occasional ex North Eastern Atlantic or B.16. To see a Gresley Pacific was a rare event and the first such memory I have concerns Sir Visto which was observed on the 14.20hrs. departure from Newcastle in August 1944. The next observation of a Pacific concerned No.2511 Silver King and it has remained etched on my memory as it was the first A4 I saw. The circumstances concerning the observation were as follows:
On the morning in question. a Saturday, (l am firmly convinced it was in early November 1944) I was up early and decided to go down to the station to see what locomotive was on the 06.20hrs. departure from Newcastle. There was a thick fog and it was only half light. I heard the locomotive's chime whistle before I got to the station, a sound I had not heard previously, and I was expecting to see something unusual. I couldn't believe my eyes when tile locomotive pulled out from under the road bridge at the west end of the station. As a result I passed the word round to my friends that if possible they should get down to the station at 12.00hrs when the locomotive would return on the train arriving at 12.10hrs. and depart at 12.12hrs. Five of us were duly present at the time in question and we observed the train come round the curve at Tyne Green signal box and proceed down the straight into the station where it stopped almost opposite us. For the record, the names of those present were Ken and Don Hill, Peter Allan and my brother Richard who is more commonly known as Dick. I have not seen or heard of the first three for some twenty plus years but my brother now lives in Milngavie and is on the engineering staff of Strathclyde University. Whether or not he remembers this event I couldn't say as I have not discussed railway matters with him for many years. Finally some of us were also present to see the locomotive return on the working which departed Newcastle at 16.20hrs. This particular event was discussed with some of the station staff at the time but the only person I can name was Joe Bainbridge who was the booking office clerk. I heard from my late father that he was still alive and living in the town a few years ago.
I certainly saw this locomotive in Garter Blue livery and I would put the first date as being sometime in 1945. In that year the other two Gateshead AA's also worked this particular diagram and both were in this livery. My last memory on this particular route of No.60016 as it became, was in September 1951 when I observed it on a Sunday, working the eastbound passenger train which arrived in Hexham at 15.10hrs. The livery was the B.R. lined Brunswick Green and I believe the locomotive was ex works condition on this occasion. What we need are further observations from other recorders made at about this time. I am of the opinion that No.2511 did not carry black livery and I can put forward what appear to be plausible reasons for this situation. If individuals wish to believe what is written in various books. so be it, that is their prerogative.

Marshall Shaw wrote in June giving details of the late Archie Miller Bequest to the Group. The book and photograph collections and drawings presented are held by Marshall in his capacity as Group Archivist and will be made available to Members under the conditions of loan outlined. He will post or deliver books or photographs requested and will keep a register of who has what and marking them off when they are returned to his safe keeping. Most of the drawings are large 30in x 21in) and many are irreplaceable, consequently these will be retained by the Archivist at all times. However a firm in Newcastle will be able to photocopy this size for between £1.50 and £2.00 per copy, so any member requiring copies will be able to obtain them for this price plus the cost of post, packing and any other expenses incurred. Set out below are details of books and photographs in the bequest together with the conditions attached to the loan of this material, The list of drawings is extensive and for reasons of space I have decided not to include it here but Members interested can write to Marshall or myself and a copy of the Drawings list will be sent provided a self addressed and stamped envelope is enclosed.

The late A.W. (Archie) Miller Bequest. Following the passing of our colleague, as notified to Members in the April Journal, and the knowledge that Archie had left in his will his collection of items pertaining to the North british Railway to the Group and its members, Bill Lynn, Ray Kitching and Marshall Shaw called on Mrs. Miller by appointment and were given carte blanhe to select from Archie's large collection of Rail orientated items. Therre is then a list of the material received which included books

Issue 46 (December 1991)

Lucas &  Aird (Contractors), outside-cylinder 0-4-0ST  locomotive at Fort William, front cover
On page 27 of this Issue it notes that this was Manning Wardle WN 6625/1875 and that the photograph was taken in 1894 or 1895: information supplied by James Annand

Alan Simpson. The Kirkcaldy & District Railway: an overlooked line. 7-11
The only intermediate station was at Auchtertool. Line opened iin 1896 and closed completely in 1960.

G.W.M. Sewell.  Some early North British brake vans. 12-17.
Design went back to Wheatley (without any form of heating) and was modified by Drummond, Holmes and Reid.. Contains diagrams and photograph of ones used on Kipps Incline.

Bill Lynn. Goods train alterations, Border Counties Section. 1918. 18-19
From 22 July 1918: actual timetable.

Alan Simpson. N.B.R. trader's wagon register. 20-1
Lists held in Scottish National Archives in manuscript form only partially transcribed: cover from 1885

David Goodwin. Model kit review. 22-3
Parkside Dundas four-plank open wagon with side doors

Book reviews.  23-4

Scottish steam album. Brian Morrison. OPC/Haynes. Reviewed by Arnold Tortorella.
271 black & white photographs

Early railways of the Lothians. M.J. Worling. Midlothian District Libraries. 64 pp, Reviewed by Bill Rear.
Well received.

Bob Read. How the N.B.R. was still remembered. 24
North British names recycled by British Railways on steam, diesel and electric locomotives

4-4-0T No. 1429. 28 upper
See letter in 81 page 29 which relates to No. 1427!

0-6-0 with 10-ton brake van No. 166. 28 lower
See letter in 81 page 29 which notes that 0-6-0 was a Holmes 17-inch Goods

Issue 47 (March 1992)

 Reid's inspection saloon. front cover

James F. McEwan [Obituary]. 3
Death of Jim McEwan on 8 December 1991. He passed away peacefully in his chair that Sunday and we in the North British Railway Study Group have lost a good friend and a man who contributed considerably to our knowledge of the Railway. Jim had worked with  a firm of Steel Stockholders in Coatbridge for many yeas. His knowledge about the railways of Scotland and Ireland and the output of the Scottish locomotive works was encyclopedic, and if you were a true enthusiast there were no lengths that Jim would not go to give you assistance in research and information. There are no books on Scottish Railways worth reading that do not have grateful acknowledgement to Jim McEwan. In fact one such book was dedicated to him.
He was one of the gradually diminishing band who could remember precisely the liveries of them old pre-grouping companies. He was always welcome amongst the Management of the.railway installations and workshops, and had many friends over many years amongst professional railwaymen.When Jim McEwan put something on paper, then you could accept it as gospel. His one great contribution to the written word was the series he did for The Locomotive which gave the detailed history of the Locomotives of the Caledonian Ry. These articles are like gold and many people regret that they have missed out one or two issues.
He was a contemporary of Alan Dunbar, John Thomas and David Smith and our own Tom Lindsay, who knew Jim before the war.
Jim was not only a father, but a grandfather and a great grandfather. He had been a widower for several yearn. He had a lifetime interest in that great Glasgow Institution the Boy's Brigade and had been for many years a Captain in that Organlsation. A lot of younger people in the various Societies and Groups have good reason to be thankful for the help so freely given. There was a considerable turnout from the Caledonian Railway Society and the North British Railway Study Group, to pay their last respects to a man who is mourned and will be greatly missed. Our respects and condolences go out to his family. John A. Smith.

G.W.M. Sewell.  Reid's inspection saloon. 4-5.
See front cover for illustration. Built in 1909/10 on 49 ft coach frame with gas lighting and cooking.

Andrew Hajducki. Luffness Golf Platform. 6
Gullane branch

Arnold Tortorella. Goods to Berlin. 7-9.
In 1884 Keddie, Gordon & Co., a Galashiels tweed manufacturer despatched a bale of tweed to Berlin via Grimsby. The shipping agent, John Sutcliffe & Son refused to accept the bale for onward transhipment as it had been damaged in transit and returned it to Galashiels for repair. It was then sent to the customer in Berlin. Oppenheimer & Grabowsky who refused to accept it due to ther delay. Keddie, Gordon & Co. sought recompence from the railway company, but had to take their case to.appeal as the North British one the first case.

Jim Binnie. North British Railway locomotive headlamp codes. 9-16.
Clearly illustrated by diagrams. Arrangements as from 1 March 1898; from 2 March 1914; and from 2 October 1922. Arrangements for North Eastern Railway locomotives working over NBR; and for working over West Highland line and the Mallaig Extension in hours of darkness.

Euan Cameron. Early brake vans. 17-25;

G.W.M. Sewell. Livestock traffic on the N.B.R. 18-25.
Page 18 appears to be missing from pdf copy (mentioned in contents listing) but most of diagrams are present. One of the diagrams shows cattle wagon modified to carry army horses for troopers: officers' horses were conveyed in horseboxes.
wagon.
Loeding facilities at stations were essential and, countrywirle. most country station trackplans would include a cattle dock with two or three pens. Not so on the North British; handling facilities did exist but many small stations. including all the Northumberland area, managed the job by using portable hurdles - issued and repaired by Cowlairs works - and loaded animals from any convenient platform or dock. It was not the best system. Complementary to the main thrust of livestock traffic was thecarriage of small animals by Road Vans, Where timings were suitable, inward and outward pick up goods. trains carried an Animal Road Van on market days and these, of course, ran regardless of demand. Livestock conveyed had to be suitably re- strained which meant, as a rule, poultry in crates and calves etc. in a sack (with head protruding). Charges were about 1/- for 8 to 10 miles. High value small animals (dogs. pets etc.) could also be despatched by passenger train - guards and station staff making the necessary ccnnections.
At the other end of the spectrum there was a service for high value livestock and these were carried in vans variously described as Special, Pedigree or Prize Cattle Vans. Conditions were more akin to horse box travel and the vehicles were usually louvred instead of open andoften included personnel doors for the attendants. Not all companies had these vans and not all stations could deal with the traffic - it depended very much on the prosperity of the agriculture in the area served. Thus the Great Central, which had rela- tively few cattle wagons. had at least four large Prize vans while the North British with about. five times as many ordinary cattle wagons, had none. Their small demand was probably met by using horse boxes. By the early :1900's the cattle wagon situation was untenable and. although the three sizes persisted, most companies elected to standardize on one size most related to their average demand. The North British chose the medium size as their standard and were joined by most other Scottish companies and the North Eastern. However the Great Northern and others settled for the large size, The North British brought out their standard cattle wagon design in 1887 (Dg.No.101 W) but many other types remained in use for a long period. Small wagons were with- drawn as soon as practicable but many large wagons remained in service and these were eventually altered to medium size by permanently blocking off one end. The large design (76 W) of 1881 was retraced in 1910 to show this alteration,
Cattle wagons as a whole had few visual attributes, having a standard wagon chassis and running gear and a superstructure which involved only simple carpen- try and made great use of butt joints with bolts. cleats and strapping. However, study of the detail drawing shows that they were. in fact, good examples of the vehicle builders craft which produced a wagon of considerable longevity with good structural integrity and a degree of flexibility. This type of construction is well suited to agricultural and site work and, ill the railway context, produced a vehicle able to absorb some of the shock loads encountered ~ to the benefit of the occupants. A potential weakness concerned the door posts and these were bolted and braced directly to the solebars and chassis crossmernbers by heavy iron "knees" - the position of the crossmem- bers determining the siting of the doors. Ai! compo- nents - end stanchions, cant rails and roof played an essential role in the design. Floors were generally 21! ~n thick and side and end planks Il/2in,. roof hoards were usually around l.in thick.
Brakes were mostly one shoe per side, directly oper- ated by a lever at first but. later modified to a simple linkage. However some wagons were fitted with the continuous brake and used for urgent traffic when they could be used with specified passenger trains as laid down in working time tables. These arrange- ments go back to the early 1890's and perhaps earlier. Cattle wagons generally had a screw' or instanter coupling. in order to bring the drawgear springs into play and provide a steadier ride but, paradoxically, the drawing of thelarge wagon (67W) shows ordinary 3 link couplings.
The standard design continued to be huilt in large numbers - being modified in 1892 when the internal width was increased by 2in. to 7ft 6in. and in 1895 when the size of brake shoe was increased and a simple linkage added. The design was cancelled around the middle of 1893 in favour of drawing number 186W. This was for a very similar wagon but introduced the option of steel frames and stanchions together with oil axleboxes. Many hundreds of both designs were built. with both steel and wood under- frames, and some wagons of each type had an extra ventilation slot across the top of each end. It is worth noting that there were no partition mounting points so one may conclude that the majority of the traffic was for fun or near full loads.
The conveyance of horses was kept quite separate from other farm livestock. From the start they were carried as individuals in horse boxes which provided better conditions than cattle wagons. Figure 4CW shows a typical North British horse box with grooms compartment and harness/feed store. The vehicles were in the coaching stock register and were an amalgam of coach and wagon practice — having full coach brake and running gear. The ends were fin- ished in the NB style of wide planks with vertical beading and this persisted up to the last design (by Reid) which had narrow planked ends and a degree of tumblehome to the enlarged end compartments. Horse boxes had no end stanchions and the ends were quite lightly built being only ½in. hoards on a 2in. frame. However the corner posts were rebated, bolted and strapped to the headstocks and the main strength of the vehicles came from the heavier horse compartment framing which was anchored directly to the chassis. Floors tended to be lighter than in cattle wagons and were usually 2:in. thick. The example shown has been recorded elsewhere as being built in 1908 but the drawing number. 106C, places the design around 1884/85 and the box was probably current for many years. A feature of horse box design was that the stalls were wen padded with horsehair cushions and this extended to the roof lining in the head area.
Early North British wagons and four and six wheel passenger croaches ran with grease axleboses with the bearing centres being set at 6ft 6in. apart Journals were usually 71/Zin. by 311:}n. but were increased Where heavier duties had to be met such as oc-curred in brake vans. This led to a standard "between frames" measurement of 6ft l½in. with the W irons (axleguards) being bolted to the inner face of the solebsrs. The introduction of oil axle boxes would seem to have required different clearances and coaching traffic cattle vans and horseboxes had ¼in. wood racking inserted between the solebars and axleguards
One of the largest owners and users of horses was the army and large numbers were moved by rail in peacetime (for exercises) and in war. The War Office laid down strict specifications for the vans used and these regulations were upgraded from time to time. Figure 3CW shows a North British "cattle" van for coaching traffic built to War Office requirements in 1889. The van was louvred instead of open and had four sliding windows for extra ventilation. Side boards were tongued and grooved instead of open spaced and the middle rail carried rings to which the horses were tethered to stand transversely- 8 to a van. There are many records of the use of these vans in special military trains and it would seem that the appurtenances of rank extended to the horses; officers chargers were carried in horseboxes while the troop horses were conveyed in the War office type vans. The army still had some equine units in the early 1930s but by then the troop horses were carried in the LNER OXFIT (standard fitted cattle wagons). 'The threat of war in the late 1930's hastened the motorisation of the remaining units and army horse traffic virtually ceased.
Livestock traffic was an important element in North British revenue right up to the grouping when they handed over more than 1,700 wagons but the trade generally declined from around that time. The reason was the increase in road transport where the railways had no answer to the "door to door" convenience of motor transport. The LNER had around 7000 cattle wagons in 1930 but was fighting for trade and, except for long distance work during the 1939-45 war, the usage. fell rapidly. BR took over only about 2,500 LNER cattle wagons and the livestock traffic abandoned in the 1950s

Issue 48 (June 1992)

McKenzie & Holland signal at Kirkcaldy Harbour. front cover

Alan Simpson. The Francis Colliery branch. 3-5.
Should be Frances Colliery at Dysart  Mentions local name for the Francis Colliery: the Dubbie and the "White gates" for the level crossing. Further article on the branch see Issue 124 page 10 et seql  See also letter from Andrew Arnot in Issue 51 page 26

Stewart J. Clinton. North Queensferry Goods Station. 6. plan
Reached by tunnel under St. Margarets Hope, now home of Flag Officer for Scotland and Northern Ireland, but would form excelllent potential for a model railway. Asks several questions as to origin. See short article in Issue 53 by Rd. Nicoll.

G.W.M. Sewell. Early brake vans: comment, correction & caution. 7; 15
Refers back to contribution from Euan Cameron and to article by Sewell

Norrie Monro. British Army Mobilisation, 16th August 1914. 8-15.
North British official documents: Special Traffic Notices and timetables covering both routes to England with trains off Highland Railway via GNoS from Inverness and even Dingwall

G.W.M. Sewell. North British horse boxes. 16-19
Includes diagrams and photograph of one vehicle damaged in an accident

Alan Simpson. The railway signal at Kirkcaldy Harbour. 20
See also front cover photograph

W. Marshall Shaw. Midland Scottish Joint Stock Carriage 1879 to 1898. 21-4
Much of information from R.E. Lacy and G. Dow Midland Railway carriages. Wild Swan, 1988.

John A. McGregor. Crossings on the West Highland. 24-6.
Booked crossing points on the long single track line at Ardlui, Criamlarich and Spean Bridge

John A. McGregor. Lucas & Aird Pug at Fort William, 26
In the final stage of constructing the West Highland 27 contrsactor's locomotives were in use

Staffing Levels at NBR sbeds. 1909. 27.
Drivers, firemen and cleaners: most at Eastfield; then St. Margarets.

Letters received. 27-8

Marshall Shaw, Group Archivist listed documents donated by Alan Simpson

Issue 49 (September 1992)

Raymond M. White. Marshall Shaw. 3
Obituary of member in Newcastle who was a model railway enthusiast. He had been born in Bristol and was a linguist who worked at Newcastle University.

Alan Simpson. The Scottish floorcloth and linoleum industry. 4-12
Michael Nairn founded the industry in Kirkcaldy in 1828 basing it on heavy canvas used for sailcloth and tarpaulins. Linoleum was first produced in England in 1863 by Frederick Walton, but when his patent expired Nairn & Co. took up production. The North  British Railway built special six-wheel wagons for transporting floorcloth. There were also special linseen oil tank wagons. . Nairns became sufficiently large to generate its own electricity at a power station in Sinclairtown and the coal was brought in by rail. Barry Ostlere & Shepherd, Nairn's main competitor also built its own power station. 

Norrie Monro. Further notes on military traffic over North British lines. 13-14
Official instructions relating to mobilization in August 1914. WW1.

A.A.  MacLean. Rolling stock arrangements for the Volunteer Review, which took place on Thursday 25th August 1881. 15
In Holyrood Park, Edinburgh

A. Noble. Locomotives of the North British Railway – a classification system. 16-20.
NBR Study Group classification which is more detailed than that adopted by LNER

[Linseed oil tank wagon owned by Michael Nairn & Co. and built by Hurst Nelson & Co.]. 20

David Stirling. A Monkland survival. 21-3.
These single lines were worked by block instruments but without tablets or tokens.

A. Noble. 7mm wagon kit review. 23
Of NBR dumb buffer 6 ton coal wagon, 10 ton timber truck and small hopper wagon; supplied by George Dawson of Majestic Models of Braunstone. Main criticism hopper too wide and white metal couplings weak. See also Issue 50 page 39

A.A.  MacLean. North British Railway gas tank wagons. 24
All of the twin tank variety.

Ed. Nichol. Early days on the Montrose & Bervie branch. 25-7.
The Arbroath & Montrose Railway  was incorporated on 13 July 1883, and worked in perpetuity by the NBR. The junction with rhe Montrose & Bervie line transgressed Caledonian territory and led to acrimonious correspondence on the rate of tolls due and to other disputes at other pllaces. Single line signalling on the Bervie branch had to be modified by the installation of electric train staff to accommodate Caledonian workings over it.

Issue 50 (December 1992)

D30 No. 62423 Dugald Dalgetty at Humshaugh on passenger train in 1950s (colour). front cover
P.A.T. Collar argues location Kielder

Alan Simpson. The East Neuk of Fife Line. 4-17.
Formed from independent railways which were gradually acquired by the NBR. The St. Andrews Railway opened on 1 July 1852 and connected St,. Andrews to the Edinburgh Perth & Dundee Railway (which worked the line) at Leuchars, The EPDR was acquired by the NBR on 29 Jly 1862. The line was absorbed into the NBR on 1 August 1877. The Leven Railway connected Leven with Thornton. It opened on 3 July 1854 and was worked by the EDPR. The East Fife Railway extended the railway to Kilconquhar on 8 July 1857. On 22 July 1861 the lines amalgamated. and became known as the Leven & East Fife Railway. Anstruther was reached on 1 September 1863. The line merged with the NBR on 1 August 1877. The Anstruther & St. Andrews Railway opened to Crail and Boarhills in September 1883 and through to St. Andrews on 1 August 1877. It was not absorbed into the NBR until 1897.

G.W.M. Sewell. Observations on the design of North British coaches. 18-23
Part 1: the four-wheel era. Three diagrams (side & end elevations & plans) depicting contractor-supplied third class of 1867; Drummond first class of 1877 and Holmes design tghird of 1888

John M. Hammond. The trials, travels and travsails of Wartime service. Longtown signalbox in World War II. Part III. 24-8.
Engine failure as recorded by the signalmen R. Graham, F. Blythe and D. Stewart in the Occurrence Book. Notes that Vince Parker was the Shed Foreman at Canal. Locomotives were mainly LNER (K3, D49, A1), but also WD 2-8-0 and LMS 8F 2-8-0

A.A. Maclean. North British Railway locomotive list - 1920. 29-31.

Hurst Nelson & Co. Ltd. 31
Advertisement which includes illustration of NBR bogie first class passenger coach. Not dated

Euan Cameron. The Abbotsfords and their stepchildren. 32-6
In the last letter which  Cameron was privileged to receive from James F. McEwan, discussing some of these points, there was an interesting piece of hearsay. McEwan wrote on 23 August 1991: "Your comment about the NBR 574 class brought to mind a remark made hy an uncle to the effect that when the Coast Bogies [=the Drummond CR Class 80 4-4-0s] were being designed at St Rollox a Cowlairs drawing was used as a basis and this could wel! have been the same one of the tender version of the three Helensburgh 4-4-0T. " The CR 80 Class was described fully in The Engineer for 13 April 1888. Comparison of the CR "Coast Bogies" with the "Museum" drawing does reveal some very obvious differences: the Caledonian engine had 5' '9" wheels, and its 18" x 26t" cvlmders were inclined at 1 in 10 rather than horizontal. Its boiler was smaller by an inch each off the diameter and barrel length than the type used on the NBR 17" cylinder classes. However, there were similaritics too: the wheelbase of 6 '6" + 6''7" + 8'0" was identical to that of the "Museum" 4-4-0 and the 494 Class tanks; the firebox was the same length at 5' '5". The smokebox at 2' 10½" long inside was nearly identical. In this respect at least Drumrnond had not forgotten the idea of the smaller 4-4-0. It seems quite reasonable then to trace the ancestry not only of the Holmes 574 Class, hut also of the CR "Coast Bogies" and their descendants the LSWR KlO Class, back to these Cowlairs drafts of c.1880 It is ironic, though, that the model in the Royal Museum of Sotland, such a splendid relic of the otherwise extinct Drummond N.B.R. designs should 1n fact depict a locomotive class which was never built at all in full size.

Norrie Monro. Origins of the North British Railway. 37-8
A chronology listing the companies which formed, or were absorbed by the NBR

Letters received. 39.
Allan R. Cameron had written about colour used on cover and hoped that it would revert to NBR bronze green. Also criticised clarity of lettering used on maps. George Dawson of Majestic Models had written about 7mm wagon kits  noting that brass had replaced white metal for the couplings and further observations on the kits.

Christmas book review. 40

The North Berwick.and Gullane branch Lines. Andrew Hajducki. Oakwood Press. 192pp, 114 photographs, 15 maps, 11 drawings. Hardback cover with two colour laminated jacket.
Andrew Hajducki is one of this Journal's regular contributors, and has given some indication to members as to the quality of his scholarship. This book has been eagerly awaited, and I was not disappointed with first impressions, which were of a first class work. Consequentially the schedule for the day was thrown out of the window and attempts to communicate with yours truly were given up by mid-day. I was hooked.
Over the years I have read a fair number of line studies, and have acquired distinct likes and dislikes in the differing forms of presentation of this type of work. Whilst most line studies deal adequately with the main historical and operational detaiIs, the tendency has been to assume that the reader has detailed knowledge of the geographical area and consequently skimps over this aspect. It is an unwise assumption but Andrew has not fallen into this trap, and consequentially the background is very thoroughly covered, to the extent of informing of the various changes of county names, and fine detaiI on less important matters, such as to which was the 'Official' interpretation of the Up and Down direction. Similarly so with the historical side, and the book is an object lesson to us all. Neither is it confined to the standard gauge and connections with the main line, for it coves two little-known lines, namely the West Fenton narrow gauge line, and the tramway on the island of Fidra.
Each branch line is investigated in depth, the text ably supported by photographs, and detailed extracts taken from large scale Ordnance Survey maps. Every page without exception is used to the full — no white spaces in this work — a gimmick exploited by some publishers who use every trick to expand the work for some obscure reason, explained away as a method of 'not detracting from the value of the individual photograph/drawing! poster, etc. Within the work are snippets of peripheral interest — advertisements for the North Berwick Advertiser & Visitors' List newspaper, The Royal Hotel and The Marine Hotel —a rival establishment etc, giving us background insight into the everyday life of the community, directly and indirectly affected by the presence of the railway line, and the same is true for some of the photographs, which make one aware of the atmosphere of the place. The photographic content covers the usual range showing passenger and goods trains at every location but also includes detaiIs of over and under-bridges, stations, signal boxes, footbridges and outline drawings of locomotives which worked regularly over both lines are included. Wherever possible, Andrew has tried, successfully in my opinion, to include a range of photographs taken at various periods in time, so that the potential modeller has most of the available source materi al necessary to undertake the chosen project without the necessity to have to undertake basic research for himself. Drawings of proposed station and other buildings at North Berwick are included which give sufficient information to enable modeller to have a sound knowledge of what is required.
A Chronology of important dates, mileages and facilities are included within the appendices, taken from Official sources, and acomprehensive range of public and working time table extracts. Also given are statistical returns f the individual stations. The work concludes with a bibliography and index, which round off the work nicely. This is one of the best books I have ever come across. Both author and publisher are to be congratulated on the high standard of presentation, comprehensive coverage and meticulous attention to detail. I have learnt a great deal about how to present a definitive study, and look forward to further work from this team. I would stick my neck out and say that this is probably.the best book on Scottish branch lines ever. I cannot imagine any North British Railway enthusiast being without a copy of this work in his library, and far from worrying about the cost, wonder how on earth Oakwood manage to publish this work for such a reasonable figure.

The North British Railway in Northumberland. G.W.M. Sewell, Braunton: Merlin Books Ltd.,
Bill's work is well known to readers of this Journal, and in this issue will be found another welcome contribution. This forthcoming book relates to an area of the British Isles which has been neglected in the past, by researchers. Sadly due to delays at the printers, this work has not been available in time for a proper review in this Journal, but will be available in good time for Christmas. A review and a description will be included in the March issue. The book gives an accurate and detailed history of three branch lines, namely the Border Counties Railway, the Wansbeck Rail way and the Northumberland Central Rail way, all of which passed into North British ownership. This A4 size work includes 150pp of text and 40pp of illustrations, photographs and maps.

Issue 51 (March 1993)

Andrew Hajduki. From Smeaton to Hardengreen. 4-9.
See allso contribution on Victoria Viaduct Map also shows route of Buccleugh Tramway

Bill Rear. Three North British journeys. 10; 11
Based on John Maxwell Dunn's Notebooks. Dunn's 1920 hholiday was spent in Scotland with his male friend Joe Shervington and they timed trains on which they travelled. On 4 August 1920 on 09.30 from Carlisle to Edinburgh hauled by Atlantic No. 901 St. Johnstoun; then onward to Dundee behind No. 874 Dunedin; and on 7 August on 09.33 from Dundee to Glasgow Queen Street on stopping train which ran via Dunfermline Lower and Forth Bridge hauled by Scott No. 423 Quentin Durward.

G.W.M. Sewell. Observations on the design of North British coaches. 12-18.
Six wheel stock was built under Drummond and Holmes. Includes diagrams (side and rear elevations and plans) of Holmes six wheelers with flexible central axles and Mansell wheels; some with corridors and lavatory accommodation; and the first class with luggage lockers and some of the third class with lavatories

Paul Rees. Memories of a country stationmaster. 19-22.
At Belses.

Edinburgh Waverley Station in 1925. 23
LNER Publicity Department plan with key,

A.A. Maclean. Norrth British floorcloth wagons. 24
Includes a side elevation diagram

Book review. 25
North British Railway in Northumnerland.  W.G.M. Sewell. Merlin Books

Letters received. 26

Andrew Arnot
Motive power on the Frances Colliery branch:: noramlly Class J37 from Thornton including Nos. 64549, 64550, 64578, 64616 and 64618. The footplatemen preferered them to J38. Doubted whether WD could negotiate curves on branch. Diesel required two Class 20 and Class 17 was utterly unsuitable. J37 performed their task with great exhaust note

J.M. Hammond
Wee Eckie

P.A.T. Collar. (26-7)
Cover photograph of Issue 50 more likely to be Kielder than Humhaugh. Memories of travel over Border Counties line in 1948 and difficulty of pursuading booking clerk ti issue him a ticket via Hawick rather than via Newcastle. Station staff at Hexham refferred to trains as North British or Border Counties. Notes names of Scott class at work on the line. KPJ: lady who worked for him, and whose father was a forestry expert from Eastern Europe who developed Kielder Forest travelled over Border Counties line initially on Scottish side, but later to school in Bellingham].

Issue 52 (June 1993)

No. 878 Hazeldean NBR Atlantic. front cover

W. Marshall Shaw. North British Railway wagon stock. 4-8
The NBR did not possess a Diagram Book but did produce individual sheets which are housed in the Scottish Record Office. The LNER was more organized and produced records for the Scottish Southern Area which in 1938 were transferred to Holerith punched cards. Tables enable conversions between the systems to be made.

G.W.M. Sewell. Observations on the design of North British coaches. Part 3. Unusual vehicles. 9-15.
First British railway to use sleeping cars, albeit known as sleeping carriages as shown on drawings. The first was introduced in 1873 — the conversion at Cowlairs of an Ashbury's carriage. There was a lack of privacy and bedding was not provided. In 1885 Holmes introduced two sleeping carriages Nos, 471 and 472. They were conversions of Wheatley saloons and were evntually fitted with gas lighting and the Westinghouse brake. Holmes built three corpse vans which were more like four wheel goods stock, but with Mansell wheelsa and improved buffers and drawgear to enable operation on passenger trains. The prison van was intended for traffic to Peterhead and had spartan accomodation for the inmates and better seating for the warders. The three six-wheel Post Office tenders were fitted with apparatus for picking up and dropping off mail bags

Alan Simpson. Collieries in Fife, Kinross & Clackmannan in 1921. 16-17
Information (data) extracted from North British Railway publication List of goods stations, mineral weighing stations, also collieries, works & sidings.

Arnold Tortorella. Livstock to Newcastle. 18-21
Action by Anderson, a trader of Granton, against NBR, in respect of loss of market for consignments of pigs in 1872 and 1874: legal action was heard by Lord President on 18 February 1875: the trader lost.

Charlie Meacher. 'Nicknames'. 22
Names mainly of cleaners and their foremen acquired at former NBR sheds: some were due to loss of limbs whilst at work

Scottish Industrial  Heritage Society, Innocents at work: a recording exercise on the former Edinburgh & Dalkeith Railway. 23-7.
Detailed field work on St. Leonards Tunnel, with Mason's marks on its walls and the Braid Burn skew cast iron girder bridge. Very full list of sources Page 27 G.H. Platt 1963 photograph of Braid Burn skew cast iron girder bridge from above mouth of St. Leonard's Tunnel. See correspondence in Issue 54.

Letter received. 27
Alan Mackie on Frances Colliery branch

George R. Barbour, Esq., Scottish Records Office: an appreciation. Marshall Shaw. 28
Was due to retire in October 1993. Joined the SRO in the mid-1950s after National Service in the RAF, having qualified as a lawyer. Responsible for acquition, sorting and cataloguing railway records when they were ejected from Waterloo Place.

Issue 53 (September 1993)

4-4-0T No. 1429. front cover

Ed Nicoll. The North Queensferry branch. 7-8.
See plan with notes by Stewart Clinton in Issue 48 pagre 6. Dunfermline to North Queensferry branch. Information is bas ed on report of inspection by Major Marindin on 17 October 1877. The official opening date was 1 April 1878, but trains were already listed in the timetable. There was an intermediate station at Inverkeithing and part of the route of the Earl of Elgin's railway to Charlestown was used. The line closed on 10 October 1954. Illustration: taken from a DMU entering Dunfermline Lower statiom (formerly Comely Park) in 1961. .

G.W.M. Sewell. Observations on the design of North British coaches. Part 4: bogie coaches, standard stock. 9-16.
The NBR introduced bogie coaches in 1866, but continued to build four  and six-wheel passenger stock for a considerable time. Holmes limited coach length to 49 feet and this remained standard until the end, albeit latterly with steel underframes. Reid replaced gas lighting with electricity and steel wheels replaced Mansell wheels from 1911. Vestibuled corridor stock was introduced in 1906. Diagrams (side, end and cross sections & plans are given for representative types).

Bill Rear. The closure of Berwick Marshalling Yard. 17-27.
Closure from 19 March 1939. Tables  show alterations to services; many of which must have dated back before the Grouping

Issue 54 (December 1993)

0-6-0 Nos. 563, 647 and 378 at Cowlairs, front cover

David Stirling. Passengers on the East Fife Central line. 4.
War Office in 1910 wished to send troop trains to Largoward and Major Pringle was requested to investigate the state of the line.

Steve Daly. The police of the North British Railway and its constituents. 5-8

North British Railway Company. M No. 5152. 9-11
Notice to Station-masters, Inspectors, Engine-drivers, Guards, Signalmen and others. Raids by hostile aircraft—warning and lighting arrangements. Circular from W.F. Jackson, General Manager dated 9 March 1916. Cnncelled M 5065 of 15 June 1915. Facsimile

Euan Cameron. Thomaas Wheatley' 420 class 4-4-0s: notes and a drawing. 12-15.
Between February 1872 and February 1874 the North British Works at Cowlairs produced, amongst others, a sequence of 44 consecutively numbered new locomotives, which were charged to capital. They comprised twelve 5-ft 1¾in 0-6-0s (Nos.406-17), eight 6-ft 0-in 2-4-0s (Nos. 418-19, 424-9), four 6-ft 6-in 4-4-0s (Nos.420-3), and twenty 4-ft 3-in 0-4-0s (Nos.430-49). These 44 engines marked Thomas Wheatley's emergence as a designer, rather than a rebuilder and adapter of locomotives. In his early years Wheatley had built engines in a range of styles, often varying design features to suit the scrap components available in his works. By late 1872, however, signs of a standard pattern were emerging. The new engines all had deeply slotted, substantially made inside single frames. They had round-topped boilers with a large, dome-cover concealing both dome and safety-valves. The cab spectacle-plates, in which the round windows were spaced unusually close together, were bent over to form a short roof, then curled vertically upwards again at the very back. The side-sheets were cut away into sweeping curves. Below the running-plate, the coupling-rods had rounded bosses, doing away with the old-fashioned gibs and cotters. Wheatley used wheels of wrought iron for passenger engines only; goods engines and tanks increasingly had wheels made substantially of cast iron with T-section spokes and no balance weights of any kind.
The four 4-4-0s of the 420 class entered service in May-June 1873. They were of Wheatley's second set of bogie passenger engine, having been preceded by Nos.224 and 264 of 1871 (see the drawings and articles in this Journal, Nos 43 and 45). Those first two engines, well-known as the first inside-framed, inside-cylinder4-4-0s to run in Britain, had been as it were "prototype" 4-4-0s. Nos.420-3, on the other hand, were production engines, using a slightly larger boiler shell which was by that time standard on the 5-ft 1¾in 0-6-0s. Nearly every constructional detail was slightly different from 224 and 264. They had a longer-wheelbase bogie with larger wheels to smooth the riding and cornering, and were evidently intended for the winding route to Hawick and Carlisle.
2. A shortage of evidence!
Though long-lived and frequently to be found in Edinburgh, the 420 class was, in its early days, comparatively neglected by photographers. No photographic agency, to my knowledge, advertises a photo of the class in its original condition. An appeal for the loan of such pictures in this Journal produced no response from Study Group members. However, this summer Mr. C.P. Atkins, the Librarian of the National Railway Museum, kindly invited me to examine some copy-negatives in the NRM library. These turned out to include an old photograph of one of the 420 class, in a right-hand broadside view taken on Edinburgh Haymarket nmning-shed turntable. This photograph resembles in style, period, and location other better-known pictures of 2-4-0 No.164 (A.G. Ellis collection No.10285) and of 4-4-0 No.224 (printed in later editions of C. Hamilton Ellis's The Trains We Loved), both of which were taken in the early l880s. The 420 class shot is, unfortunately, in too poor a condition to reproduce: its original was poorly exposed and crudely retouched many years ago. Nevertheless, it shows enough detail for one to establish the relative position of the components.
No General Arrangement drawing from Cowlairs in Wheatley's period has survived. Neither does any General Arrangement of the 1887/1890 Holmes rebuildings, although those do remain for other Wheatley classes. Therefore this conjectural reconstructed drawing has been pieced together from various sources, all of them authentic, and reliable in varying degrees. This article is offered in the belief that some drawing, even if partly based on guesswork, is better than none at all; and in-the hope that anyone who has additional information may be prompted by this piece to offer it to the group.
3. Sources for the drawing
This drawing has been compiled from the following data:
i) The wheel-spacings of the locomotive, the size of its wheels, and the outline of'the mainframes, have been taken from a Cowlairs diagram book sketch of the rebuilt version of the class, dating from 25 May 1907. Although roughly drawn to the scale of ¼-in to 1 foot, these diagram book sketches were scaled down from G.A. originals, and are invaluable when the latter have been lost.
Note that the bogie wheels of the 420 class were 3'7" in diameter, as confirmed by the diagram, and not 3-ft 4-in as is frequently claimed. The figure of 3-ft 4-in was, I believe, first cited by E. L. Ahrons (in The British Steam Locomotive 1825-1925 (London, 1927),p. 195, and in Locomotive and Train Working in the Latter Part of the Nineteenth Century, Vol. 3 (Cambridge, 1952) p. 59, and is demonstrably wrong. I have tried drawing this class with both bogie wheel sizes, and am quite certain which matches the photographic evidence!
ii) Various details and dimensions characteristic of Wheatley practice survived rebuilding or were otherwise included in Cowlairs GAs which still exist These include:
buffers
lamp-blocks
the length of the smokebox
sandbox
splasher dimensions
main axle springing
coupling-rods
Westinghouse brake-rigging (as fitted after 1876)
reversing rod
cab handrails
the whole of the 1,800 gallon tender (Cowlairs G. A. No. 213B)
iii) The list of engines replaced and built at Cowlairs, compiled from 1867 onwards and now kept in the Scottish Record Office (No. BR!NBR/5/19), notes against this class that they had a "standard goods boiler". The dimensions of the standard boiler of the 5-ft 1¾-in 0-6-0 goods engines were noted down at Cowlairs long ago, and are published in the RCTS Locomotives a/the l.NER, volume 5, p. 190. These dimensions include the barrel length and diameter. iv) The remaining details have perforce been esti- mated from the photograph of the engine on Haymarket turntable. Where appropriate, information from better- quality photographs of other Wheatley engines in their original condition has been drawn upon.
This means that the pitch ofthe boiler, the boiler fittings and the top section to the cab must be regarded as conjectural approximations. Nevertheless, some trouble has been taken to make these as consistent with the surviving evidence as possible. I believe that this drawing is for all practical purposes (and certainly for most modelling purposes!) accurate. Lack of time has prevented me from preparing a front view; however, standard cross-sectional dimensions are supplied at the end of the article. 4. The engines in service
Wheatley seems to have taken some trouble over the 420 class. The solid cast steel disc bogie wheels were ordered from Vickers rather than from Germany as in the case of 224 and 264. The dome was not placed over the mathematical centre-point of the boiler, but slightly to the rear, for what can only have been reasons of appearance. The complex slotting of the driving-wheel splasher allowed an engine of some visual interest to be produced without the use of expensive brass or copper, and without complex plate-working techniques.
They are believed to have been ordered for the Waverley route traffic to Hawick and Carlisle.

W. Marshall Shaw. Midland & North British Joint coaching stock. 16-19
When the Passenger Superintendents of the three participating companies in the Midland Scotch Joint Stock agreement (see article in Journal 48 page 21) met in February 1898 to discuss the impending need to renew some of the earlier Joint Stock vehicles in the near future, it transpired that all three companies, the Midland, the Glasgow & South Western and the North British were in favour of replacing the arrangement with two separate concerns, namely the Midland & South Western Joint Stock, and the Midland & North British Joint Stock undertakings.
Accordingly plans were made on the basis of the two new concerns, each estimating the stock that would be required initially, and the Midland Company setabout drawing up the designs of the completely new coaches, which they would build at their Derby works, and after several more meetings, the initial orders for each undertaking were placed in december 1898, for delivery in the following two years.
The new stock differed completely from the M.SJ.S. vehicles in that all were to be clerestory roofed bogie vehicles with corridor connections, lavatories and were to be fitted with the Westinghouse braking system. Even the 31-ft 0-in Brake Vans, eight in number so far as the N&NBJS were concerned, were to have the clerestory roof and these, of course, were six-wheelers. One peculiarity of the initial building was that three of the 31-ft 0-in Brakes and three of the 50-ft 0-in Full Brakes were at first fitted with the corridor connection at one end only, but these were soon altered in service to both end connections. The three Composite Dining Carriages ofthe M&NBJS were actually ordered against a Midland order in June 1898, but were transferred to the M&NBJS fleet on completion in 1899.
Delivery of the new vehicles for the new undertakings were effected concurrently during 1899 and 1900 and, for/ a while, the new stock could be seen in trains with some of the remaining MSJS vehicles, but the last recorded sighting of one of the latter in its original livery was in March 1900.
Although developments of the two undertakings ran on similar lines, there were differences, and as it is not proposed to discuss the M&GSWJS in this article, we shall deal solely with those vehicles that comprise the M&NBJS henceforth.
The initial, and subsequent, stock of Midland & North British Joint Stock vehicles are tabulated.

William E. Boyd. The Diver. 20-1. illustration
Cowlairs numberplate for No. 1871, the Wheatly 4-4-0 which fell into the Tay when the bridge collapsed, Writer saw the plate when visiting Doctor Marwick at his home on Liberton Brae. Eventually following the deaths of Marwick and his wife the author was able to obtain the plate and hoped to place it in  a Museum.

Book review. 21

Great North memories: the LNER era 1923-47. GNSR Association. 60pp.
Eighty photographs: well received

Andrew Hajducki. The Victoria Viaduct revisited. 22
Earlier contribution on Smeaton to Hardengreen

Alan Simpson. Railway tunnels on the NBR. 23
Length: taken from Scottish Records Office BR/GEN (S) 3/16

Letters received. 27-8

Dalkeith branch. Mike Worling. 27
Bridge had been filled in, but was at station throat of Dalkeith station.

Dalkeith branch. Charlie Meacher. 27
Steep gradient and sharp curve made propelling wagons into Dalkeith Colliery difficult. NBR Appendix of 2 October 1922 made specific instructions

Issue No. 55 (June 1994)

John McGregor. The Glasgow & North Western Railway. 4-9
The planned railway started from a junction at Maryhill, with a branch from Milngavie, ran by Mugdock and Craigallian to Strathblane; thence croassed the Forth & Clyde Junction Railway near Drymen reaching Balmaha on a causeway and embankment yhen ran up the east side of Loch Lomond cutting a relatively straight route through bay and headland. At Inversnaid it began to climb thus easing the ascent through Glen Falloch. The proposed junction with the Callaner & Oban Railway was not at Crianlarich, but at Tyndrum. From there in followed what has become the A82 to Bridge of Orchy znd then along the southern shore of Loch Tulla and via the rivers Tulla and Ba across the western edge of Rannoch Moor to Kinghouse and through Glen Coe where avalanche shelters would have been required. Loch Leven was crossed at the Dog Ferry Narrows Fom here the shore of Loch Linnhe was to be followed to Fort Wiiliam. Initially, the railway was to round the back of the town, but the Burgh wished the railway to go along the shore. The railway would then have followed the southern edge of the Great Glen. including Loch Ness, to terminate in the Highland Railway station in Inverness. There was pressure to adopt the northern shore of Loch Ness, but the wole scheme failed to reach maturity, although parts were evident in the eventuual West Highland Railway

G.W.M. Sewell. Observations on the design of North British coaches. Part 5. Bogie coaches, West Highland and allied stock. 10-16
Includes both the original Holmes saloons and the Reid vehicles of 1911: regarded as a prestige line which required high qulaity rolling stock

Ed. Nicoll. Proposed economies on the West Highland Railway. 17-19
Long Section Tablets to enable some signal boxes to be closed for part of the day. Locations identified included Row, Spean  Bridge North, Banavie Junction and Fort Augustus. C.H. Stemp instigated these measures from 1911, and in 1921.

John McGregor. Lord Burton's journey over the nearly completed West Highland Railway, on 6th March 1894. 20-3.
Written by William Walters of Burton-on-Trent describing Lord Burton's journey courtresy of the contractors Lucas and Aird wiith the latter in attendance

Ed. Nicoll. 1894 Inspection Reprt by the Board of Trade of the West Highland Railway. 23-8
Full report by F.A. Marindin

Book review.  28

The Haddington, Macmerry and Gifford branch lines. Andrew M. Hajducki. Oakwood Press. 248 pp. (OL 90). Reviewed by Bill Rear
Excellent quality of production: 'must' for any North British historian

Issue No. 56 (September 1994)

John McGregor. Notes on the construction of the West Highland Railway. 4-8.
Communications between the contractors, Forman and McCall, and the North British Railway including Conacher and  Mogg and Colonel Marindin, the Inspecting Officer for the Board of Trade

Nigel Digby. Some comments on N.B.R. locomotive livery from an outsider. 9-10.
Nigel Digby is an authority on the Midland & Great Northern Railway and had been requested to supply colour paintings of North British Railway locomotives for the British Railway Modeller. The MGNR like the NBR had an unusual livery (KPJ enjoyed the too brief vision of a Coast Hopper bus in MGNR livery, and the preserved Glen and they shared much in common: he has not seen the British Railway Modeller).  Nigel notes the difficulties of interpreting contemporary observers' remarks and the relatively limited range of materils used to paint locomotives prior to WW1. Digby observes that A.W. Miller's contributions to researches on NBR liveries are comparable with those of Alan Wells for the MGNR

W. Marshall Shaw. The first N.B.R. locomotives. 10
R. & W. Hawthorn engineering drawings for NBR 0-4-2 tender locomotive No. 26 supplird in 1846. Drawing held in Newcastle Central Library in the Local History  Colllection

G.W.M. Sewell. Observations on the design of North British coaches. Part 6. Chassis and running gear. 11-15

G.W. Hewit. Stone sleepers on the E&GR. 16.
Near Ratho (forming part of wall)

Ronald J. Cockburn. North British Railway peaked roof wagons. 16-19
Drawings (diagrams) of wagon No. 762607: 8 ton mineral wagon converted to refuse wagon (or lime or offal wagon). See also letter from John Smith

Alan Simpson. Camping coaches & camping apartments in Scotland:- 1959. 20
Locations on former NBR and the other pre-grouping companies

Piershill Junction and other accidents July to September, 1929. Ministry of Transport Report. 21-5
Whole document reproduced: hence begins with fatality of guard at St. Margarets in Hertfordshire on 22  August 1929; followed by collision at Piershill Junction on 7 August 1929 between a light engine and a passenger train caused by the failure of the light engine to obey signals: Colonel E.P. Anderson reported. Charles Campbell reported on three accidants to staff, one of which was a fatality: all were on LNER lines in Scotland.

Letters. 25-6
John Rapley request for information on Thomas Bouch
Andrew Munro: Frances Collier branch: worked by J35, J36, J37 and J38: last slipped badly due to salt spray from Firth of Forth. J37 best suited due to lever reverse. Sometimes Colliery pug had to assist
East Neuk of Fife Line. Sometimes largest LNER engines worked as far as Leven including A3, A4, V2, B1, D49 and Stanier Class 5 

Issue No. 57 (December 1994)

R.W. Lynn and G.W.M. Sewell. Military logistics on the Northumberland branches. 4-9.
Ottersburn artillery ranges served via Reedsmouth

Euan Cameron. The Edinburgh - Glasgow brake trials of 1876. 10-17.
The trials were conducted under a committee chaired by Willam Cowan, Locomotive Superintendent of the Great North of Scotland Railway, and members: James Stirling, Locomotive Superintendent of the Glasgow & South Western Railway, J. Haswell chief locomotive assistannt  North Eastern Railway and W. Barton Wright, Locomotive Superintendent of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway. D.M. Yeomans represented the Smith simple non-automatic brake and George Westinghouse his air brake system. Dugald Drummond was also associated with the trials. Mentions the Newark brake trials of 1875 and Caledonian Railway experiments ith Westinghouse air brake. The NBR rapidly adopted the Westinghouse automatic air brake after the trials..

Haymarket engine shed in mid-1870s. 17
Photograph of Wheatley 2-4-0 No. 418

G.W.M. Sewell. Observations on the design of North British coaches. Part 7. Brakes. 18-24.
Adopted Westinghouse automatic air brake from 1870s, but gradually movved towards dual fitting with vacomm brake from 1900s and stiched to vacuum brake from 1928.

Jim Greenhill. Nominally North British? 24
Personal reflections on his own surname and that of his Mother's maiden name Waldie noted on a wagon at Haymarket. Greenhill Junction is between Glagow Queen Street and Falkirk and linked to the Caledonian towards Larbert. The Caledonian had a Greenhilll station.

W. Martin Shaw. Enquiries. 25
From Murray Hughes, Editor H.M.R.S. Journal
Cattl;e wagon cleaning stations: list based upon LNER General Instruction relating to goods and cattle wagons dated 1 September 1837. List does not include any locations for the Northern and Southern Scottish Areas and whether such lists existed
LNER Traffic Committee Minute No. 1470 of 24 October 1929: East Lothian and Berwickshire Districts of Southern Scottish Area: three depots at which cattle wagons were cleaned: St. Boswells, Reston and Longniddry. Due to inadequate and poor water supply proposed to close Reston and concentrate cleaning at other two stations and to erect a cleaning stage at Longniddry capable of handling 38 wagons.
From Richard Davidson in South Australia query re photograph on page 14 of Sandy MacLean's North British album.it appesars to show lettering on wagons, but it had previously considered that lettering not applied at the time of the photograph.

Letters received. 26

West Highland Centenary book. Jim Greenhill
Photograph of B12 with a feed water heater (page 54). Unlike Dabeg system fitted to LMS 4-4-0

Refuse or offal wagons. John Smith
Lime wagons tended to be converted/used

Issue No. 58 (March 1995)

R.W. Lynn and G.W.M. Sewell. A serious accident on the  Northumberland Central. 4-9.
On 3 July 1875 a Rothbury to Morpeth mixed train hauled by an 0-6-0 became derailed near a culvert near Scotsgap due to a broken drawbar in one of the wagons which were ahead of the passenger coaches. There were four deaths and ten passengers were seriously injured. The inquest attempted to place blame on the guards for not suffiiciently inspecting the wagons, but Col. F.H. Rich who reported on 12 July did not support this and only recommened that wagons should be behind the passenger vehicles.

Martin Smith. The Waverley route in the 1950s. 10-12
Gleaned from Trains Illustrated there were many unusual locomotive workings which included Stanier Pacifics when Beattock was closed and the more routine use of former LMS classes on freights, including Jubilee class, Horwich 2-6-0s (Crabs) and even 2P 4-4-0s

G.W.M. Sewell. Observations on the design of North British coaches. Part 8. Bogies. 13-21.
To some extent the design of bogies as such is considered especially on the Great Western Railway and in the USA. Holmes only made limited use of bogie vehicles, but Reid adopted  the bogie widely albeit with his own form of bolster suspension which tended to be replaced by the LNER. Six-wheel bogies were restricted to catering vehicles.

Alan Cliff. A tale of two rule books. 22.
Comparison on the North British Railway Rule Book for 1921 with that of the Midland Railway for 1920. There are marked differences in the signal diagrams, in spelling and in the titles for those ho managed

Francis Voisey. Two accidents. 23
Reports in The Times of 10 June 1876 of accident on 9 June when derailed wagons, due to a broken drawbar, led to them being struck by the  08.35 express from Edinburgh at Queensferry Junction. The Times of 25 September reported an accident which occurred early on 24 September when a freight was derailed due to a broken axle between Cockburnspath and Innerwick. Trains had to be diverted via Kelso.

Reviews. 23; 24
First four Issues of Archive reviewed and found to be "a high class journal which cotains a wealth of knowledge and information" and is "very well planned and thought-out".

Arthur Tortorella, Storage fascilities for the LNER. 24
On 15 July 1924 the LNER sought to  arrange accommodation at Paisley Canal goods sstation for the storage of old books and papers in pursuance of an agreement reached between the NBR and G&SWR (the latter made during its amalgamation Acts of 1865 and 1869)

Letters received. 25-7

G.W.M. Sewell
Wrote about how coach and wagon drawings were prepared at the largest practical size (A0 or A1 for bogie vehicles) and reduced to A4 size for disemination

Francis Voisey
Compared the NBRSG with the Great Eastern Railway Society Journal and På Sporet (Journal of the Norwegian Railway Society)

Des Norman
Compared the NBRSG with the Great Eastern Railway Society Journal and Information Sheets

I.D.S. Chalmers. 26
Bruce, Lindsay Brothers: livery of wagons; sources of coal and coke; other firms taken over. Also livery of Waldie. Also question about a branch line from Morningside to the Royal Edinburgh Asylum; also sketches of private owner (trader's) wagons reproduced on p. 27

Ian McKay.
B12 class: ACFI feedwater heaters, livery; Roche drawings; McGowan model kits.

Ian Macissag. 26-7
Corporal punishment (birching) administered to those who placed stones on track or threw stones at train on Cowlairs Incline

Jim Greenhill 27
Book by David Swinfen The fall of the Tay Bridge: notes failur e to attribute some of blame onto NBR rather than Thomas Bouch. Also observes that John Thomas spoke about disaster to the G&SWR Association; and limitations of Prebble's contribution

Issue No. 59 (June 1995)

Alan Simpson. The West of Fife Section of the North British Railway. 4-14
The West of Fife Mineral Railway was incorporated on 14 July 1856 and served pits most of which closed in the 1920s and 1930s when coal mining was concentrated at larger collieries. Townhill, Muirheath and Rosebank Collieries closed. Lilliehall Junction. Branches to Gask and to Balmule

Cathel Kerr. Cowdenbeath to Perth. 15-18
Closed to cheapen the cost of an excessively expensive motorway (M90): greatly limited railway travel from Fife to Perth and the Highlands and subsequently ameliorated by redeveloping the railway from Kinross Junction to Perth

G.W.M. Sewell. Observations on the design of North British coaches. Part 9. Carriage trucks. 19-27
Four and six wheel vehicles to be capable of operating as part of passenger trains to convey private road carriages. End loading was an important feature and the need to provide chocking.

Letters received. 27-8
Alistair F. Nisbet abstract of train schedules on Lochty branch from Scottish Region Sectional Appendix and Working Time Tables for Class K train to operate only during daylight hours
Jim Greenhill. Post Office sorting tender in Fife. East of Fife Record 28 September 1888. Agreement had been reached with NBR which should accelerate delivery of letters in Fife
Jim Greenhill. Glasgow & South Western Railway fog signal detonater container
John Ropley. Carriage bogies. Cites Ross Winans as inventor of passenger car bogies (via Marshall) and Richard Boyse Osborne as instigator of such to British Isles (via Captain Simmons of the Railway Inspectorate and the Waterfiord & Limerick Rly (since overtaken by Grace's Guide!))

Book review. 32
British Railway Bridges and Viaducts. Martin Smith. Ian Allan Publishing. 176 pp.
Martin is to be congratulated on producing an excellent work covering an under-documented area. The bridges and viaducts are listed in chronological order, spanning the years 1825 (Gaunless Bridge, West Auckland, County Durham) to 1981 (Queen Elizabeth II Bridge - Newcastle Metro). Usefully there is also an alphabetic index.
In most cases each structure featured contains details of the design, cost and original ownership, together with key details regarding the type, materials and length. This is followed by a narrative containing much interesting detail and often giving other principal dimensions and statistics.
It is to be noted however that contrary to the claims on the dust-jacket there are no line drawings or plans of any of the structures featured.[The recommended work for modelling purposes therefore remains Bridges for Modellers by L.V. Wood. OPC 1985