North British Railway Study Group Newsletter

Issue 7 (February 1980)

The locomotive duplicate list. [7-8] (numbered 1 and 2).
In common with many other companies the :N.B.R. adopted the system of adding the letter A as a sutfix to the running number to denote engines on the duplicate list, the letter being placed under the number on both the number plate and on the front bufter beam. 'l'he first engines so done, in 1873, were No. 113, a Hawthorn 0-4-0 passenger engine of' 1847 inherited trom the Edinburgh, Perth & Dundee Railway and No. 255, a similar but even older engine from the same manufacturer supplied to the Edinburgh & Glasgow Railway. 'I'here were two engines which carried the number 321; firstly a 2-2-2 well-tank built at St. Margarets in 1856 and put on the duplicate list in 1874 but withdrawn the following year, and secondly a Wheatley 0-6-0 saddle tank buiit at Cowlairs in 1874 and duplicated in 1887. 'l'he number 312, however, had both an A and a B suffix, 312A being the famous "Cab" engine inherited from the E.&G. Rly but which had originated on the Caledonian & Dumbartonshire Junction Rly as an example of the Adam's patent locomotive-and-coach built in 18?0 by Neilson & Co. With the passage of time this system of denoting engines on the duplicate list became untidy and in 1895 it was decided to adopt a new system. The eight engines put on the duplicate list in that year (Nos. 211-18, outside framed 2-2-2s by Beyer Peacock for the E.& G. Rly) were renumbered 801-8, and the seventy four engines still in existance on the A list were renumbered 809-882, though not in any special order. In 1896 a further nine engines were added and six more in both 1897 and 1899 by which time the highest number in use was 903..
By 1899, however, the numbers required for engines on the capital list, in spite of filling vacant numbers lower down, were approaching the eight hundreds. Plans for the completion of the order for Holmes ' 0-6-0s (later L.N.E. class J36 ), a further six engines of the 729 class (D31) and 40 0-6-0 tanks (J83) to be built in 1900/1 would require running numbers up to 834, and so it was decided in 1901 that the entire duplicate list should be renumbered by the addition of 200 to the existing number so Nos 801-903 became Nos 1001-1103. 'l'hirteen engines numbered in the 800s had, however, been scrapped in tbe meantime and there is no evidence to show that a further 18 engines were ever actually rentunbered in the 1000s. After 1901, there:fore, all engines put on the duplicate list were numbered in the 1000s. While the numbers in the 800s were never used. for more than one engine, it was the practice between 1901 and 1910 to re-use lower numbers as these became vacant; thereafter it seems the idea was abandoned and numbers were allocated in continuous order. Between 1903 and 1922 a total of' 451 engines were put on the duplicate list, but about ten of these appear to have been scrapped before actually being renumbered. One engine, acquired in 1915, was put directly onto the duplicate list and in 1923 the North British handed over to the L.N.E.R. a total of 1074 steam engines, of which those on the capital list were numbered oetween 1 and 926 and those on the duplicate list (200 engines) between 1011 and 1471.
While it was the usual practice to transfer an engine to the duplicate list when it had been written off in the accountants' books, there were some glaring exceptions to this rule in the case of the 0-4-0 saddle tanks (later class Y9). Eighteen of these engines, varying between 5 and 18 years old, were put on the duplicate list between 1896 and 1899 to clear certain numbers on the capital list. Eleven of these now vacant numbers were subsequently filled by newer engines of exactly the same class, and in one case the replacement Y9 was scrapped by British Railways before the one which had been put on the duplicate list to free the number.
Most engines' on the duplicate list had the pre-Wheatley type of number plate which was cast brass with raised polished letters and numerals against a black background. Some numbered below 1122, however, had the Drummond type in which the letters and numerals were cut out and filled with black wax, thus reversing the contrast. In both cases the lettering was simple in outline but the numerals were heavily serifed. C.J.B.S.
Further details on the renumbering of N.B. engines can be found in Locomotl.ves of the North British Railway 1846-1882, published by the Stephenson Locomotive Society.

Issue 9 (September 1980)

Humshaugh station. C.J.B. Sanderson. front cover

Graham Dick. Leith Central station. 5 + drawing (side elevation)
Opened July 1903. Closed 1952. Train services, mainly suburban, but included the 13.20 train to Glasgow which included a Pullman car. Drawing of signal box on a separate page.
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Issue 14 (August 1982)

Tom Mann. Lochend Junction signal box. 5-11
Located on Abbeyhill/Piershill loop line. Very full description with maps, lever layouts. elevations and plans.

Alan G. Dunbar. The North British Railway 0-6-0 locomotives serving in France 1914-1918. 12
Includes thos given names and disputed Rheims or Reims for No. 676

Sandy Maclean?. East Coast Joint Stock carriages. 13-15
From F.A.S. Brown Great Northern locomotive engineers.

A.G. Dunbar. Some notes on the Stirling and Dunfermline Railway. 20-1

Marshall Shaw. N.B.R wagon page. 21-3
Diagrams (side & end elevations) of 6-ton open goods wagon; 8-ton open dropside goods wagon (4 plank) and 8-ton open dropside goods wagon (3 plank). 4mm scale

Issue 18 (December 1983)

Ray Kitching. Royal connectiobs: a glimpse of the regal career of two North British 4-4-0s. 9-12.
The Forth Bridge was formally opened by HRH The Prince of Wales on 4 March 1890. Holmes 4-4-0 No. 602 was selected and carried the Prince of Wales' feather on it splashers and a headboard stating ROYAL TRAIN. The Marchioness of Tweedale drove the train under the watchful eye of Driver James Aitken. From thence No. 602 was considered as the Royal engine until it was rebuilt in 1911. Before then it had hauled the Czar of Russia and The Shah of Persia. In May 1903 No. 594, driven by Driver Donald Marae of Cowlairs drove HRH King Edward VII into Queen Street (it remained attatched to the train as it descended Cowkairs Incline. The event was laying the Foundation Stone of the Royal Technical College.

Charly Loveland. Thoughts concerning N.B. permanent way. 15-