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list in 1874 but withdrawn the following year, and secondly a Wheatley 0-6-0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.
.
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-