SteamIndex

Highland Railway
locomotives

Image from Casserley's
Locomotive cavalcade

Locomotive development on the Highland Railway was interesting in spite of the very small number of locomotives supplied to this impoverished railway which operated a single track main line which ran from Perth to Inverness; a long extension northwards to Wick and Thurso; a straggling branch line to the Kyle of Lochalsh and a line which connected Inverness with Elgin and Keith where it connected (if that is the correct term) with the Great North of Scotland Railway. Its main passenger service to the south was a train which conveyed through coaches, including sleeping cars, for Euston, King's Cross and St Pancras.

Its locomotive superintendents included Stroudley, Jones (who introduced the 4-6-0 type to Britain), Peter Drummond (although his brother, Dugald, had the misfortune to begin married life in the squalour of Inverness), Smith (whose 4-6-0s were a cause celebre) and Cumming.

Some interesting developments not directly related to motive power also took place on the Highland: tablet exchange apparatus and the development of snowploughs.

The two RCTS volumes (by Cormack and Stevenson) are good, but further information has been provided by Atkins on the affair of the Smith 4-6-0s.

Highland Railway Society

Allchin, M.C.V. A history of Highland locomotives. Southsea (Hants.), Railway Hobbies Ltd., 1947. 72 p. incl. 36 plates. 106 illus., incl. 21 line drawings: s. el.), table.
A stock record. According to Ottley 9601 this was revised and extended by Tatlow..
Casserley, H.C. The Highland Railway since grouping. Railways, 1948, 9, 10-12; 24-6; 42-4; 58-61. 24 illus., table.
Casserley had a great affection for the Highland Railway and his Locomotive cavalcade also contains many excellent record pictures of Highland Railway locomotives.
Chacksfield, J.E. The Drummond Brothers: a Scottish duo. Usk: Oakwood, 2005, 168pp.
Dugald Drummond suffered severely during his stay in the impoverished Inverness whilst working in a relatively lowly capacity. This not deter his brother from becoming Locomotive Superintendent in same town..
Cormack, J.R.H. and Stevenson, J.L.. Highland Railway locomotives. Book 1. Early days to the 'Lochs'. Lincoln: RCTS, 1988. 160pp. 115 illus.
The Introduction clearly stated the authors indebtedness to both Vallance and to Tatlow. This part includes the very light locomotives (2-2-2 and 2-4-0) supplied under William Barclay, the influence of Stroudley, and the major contribution made under David Jones..
Cormack, J.R.H. and Stevenson, J.L.. Highland Railway locomotives. Book 2. The Drummond, Smith & Cumming classes. Lincoln: RCTS, 1990. 174pp. 149 illus.
Ellis, C.H. Highland engines and their work. London: Locomotive Publishing Co., 1930. 117 p. incl. 28 plates + front. 46 illus. (incl. 5 line drawings.)
K.R.M. Cameron published a long corrigenda: Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1930, 36, 358-9.
Essery, Bob and Jenkinson, David. An illustrated history of LMS locomotives. Volume 3. Absorbed pre-group classes Northern Division. 1986. 420 illus.
Excellent extended captions: especially good on former Glasgow & South Western Railway locomotives.
Geddes, Howard and Bellass, Eddie with Peter Tatlow. Highland Railway liveries. Easingwold: Pendragon in association with HMRS, [1995]. 108pp.
Includes colour illustrations from a variety of sources. P. 9 shows Stroudley on cab of one of his locomotives.
Highland locomotives and train working, L.M.S.R. Rly Mag., 1936, 79, 223-5.
Includes post-grouping modifications.
Jenkinson, David. An introduction to the Highland Lines in LMS Days. Backtrack, 2004, 18,. 23-7.
A photo-feature with generous captions. Unfortunately, the author did not see the Highland lines until after Diesel traction (KPJ was more fortunate travelling over the mainline behind steam, and watching the morning mail crossing the bridge below Carbisdale Castle Youth Hostel. Illus.: 45098 on freight at Achnasheen c1950 with WCJS sleeping car in siding (Eric Treacy); 8F 8322 with small snowplough on ash-pit at Inverness mpd in April 1946 (H.C. Casserley); 2-6-4T 2214 on turntable at Inverness mpd (as previous for date & phot.) (Kyle turntable was out of use); CR 0-4-4T 15103 at Lybster in August 1935, with HR 6-wheel third & LNWR brake compo; Halkirk station platform in July 1931 (HCC); Cumming "Clan goods" 4-6-0 17954 on up Hebridean at Dingwall in July 1939 (with GSWR dining car: see letter by Arnold Tortorella on page 188); HR 0-4-4T 15053 at Dornoch on mixed train in July 1945 (Ian L. Wright)..
Lowe, James W. British steam locomotive builders. Cambridge: Goose, 1975. 705pp.
Tables on page 333 list the locomotives which were built at Lochgorm Works under Stroudley, Jones and P. Drummond.
Nock, O.S. The Highland Railway. London: Ian Allan, 1965. viii, 177p. + col. front. + 32 plates. 66 illus. (incl. 6 ports.), 2 diagrs., 10 tables, plan, map.
Stephenson Locomotive Society. The Highland Railway Company and its constituents and successors, 1855-1955. London: S.L.S., 1955. [vi], 121 p. + 12 plates. 29 illus., tables, map.
Includes a chronological table of the locomotive stock.
Tatlow, P. A history of Highland locomotives. Oxford: Oxford Publishing, 1979. 120pp. many drawings, including some general arrangement diagrams.
Ottley 9601: now a copy has been inspected (3 August 2007) in a secondhand bookshop (the nearest things in Norfolk to being a library): it is much richer than its basis and includes more drawings (quite how many more is difficult to establish in a secondhand bookshop.
Tatlow, Peter. Highland Railway miscellany: a pictorial record of the Company's activities in the public eye and behind the scenes. Oxford Publishing, 1985. un-numbered, but 295 illus.
Vallance, H.A. The Highland Railway. Dawlish (Devon): David & Charles, rev. ed. 1963. 182 p. + col. front. + 16 plates. 62 illus. (incl. 4 line drawings: s. els.), 27 tables, 4 plans, 5 maps.
This is partly based on the work quoted below.
Vallance, H.A. The history of the Highland Railway. London: Arthur H. Stockwell, 1938. 224 p. plates, illus.

The following division is based mainly on that employed by Cormack and Stevenson

Inverness & Nairn Railway/Inverness & Aberdeen Junction Railway

2-2-2/2-4-0

Barclay Raigmore class: 1855/1857
According to Cormack and Stevenson these 6ft singles were designed by Alexander Allan (that is of the Crewe type) with outside cylinders and were built by Hawthorns of Leith (WN 129/130 and 146/161). They ran as singles until rebuilt by Stroudley as 2-4-0s. Figure 6 is a line drawing of the type. The remaining (photographs) are of the rebuilds as 2-4-0s.

2-4-0

Barclay Seafield class: 1858-9
Similar to Raigmore class, but with 5ft driving wheels. Supplied by Hawthorns of Leith (WN 163-5/175-7/209). No. 10 was fitted with Clark's patented smoke consuming apparatus and ran on the GNoSR whilst No. 7 was converted by Jones to a 4-4-0 for the Skye line in 1875. Cormack 1 pp. 25-9.

2-2-2

Belladrum class: 1862
Modified version of Raigmore class: supplied by Hawthorns of Leith (WN 258-9): intended for Inverness and Ross-shire Railway which opened to Dingwall in Jone 1862. No. 12 was rebuilt as a 2-2-2T bny Jones in 1871 to work the Aberfeldy branch.

2-4-0

Barclay 14 class: 1862
Similar to Seafield class: supplied by Hawthorns of Leith (WN 264-5): intended for freight working on Inverness and Ross-shire Railway. Illustrations show in later state with Jones modifications.

Findhorn Railway 0-4-0T: 1859
Neilson WN 422. Box tank worked Findhorn Railway between 1860 and 1869 (when the line was closed). In 1872 Highland Railway sold locomotive to John Scott acting for one of the contractors for the Sutherland & Caithness Railway.

0-4-0T/0-4-2T

Needlefield Tank: 1863
Hawthorns (Leith) WN 275 was deleivered to I&AJR for working Burghead branch: it had inside cylinders. Similar locomotives were supplied to the Dalmellington Iron Co. in 1856, and to the LCDR in 1860 (Magnus). Rebuilt as an 0-4-2T by Stroudley in 1867 and named Needlefield

2-4-0

Barclay 5ft 1½in Small Goods: 1863-4
Supplied by Sharp Stewart: WN 1416-17; 1426-7; 1436-1441. Running numbers 18-27. No. 21 suffered a boiler explosion on 4 January 1872 east of Fochabers station whilst working an Inverness to Keith freight. Fig. 25 of the locomotive after the explosion shows the position of the mid-feather in the firebox. Hewison Locomotive boiler explosions notes the event on pp. 79-80.

2-2-2/2-4-0

Barclay 6ft 1½in Glenbarry class: 1863-4
Eighteen constructed: two by Hawsthorns of Leith running numbers 28-9 (WN 299-300) and the remainder by Neilson: running numbers 30-5 (WN 966-710 and 46-55 (WN 1055; 1057; 1056; 1058-9; 1054; 1060-3). They were converted to 2-4-0s from 1871, but No. 35 Kingsmills was not converted until 1892. No. 31 Princess is illustrated in original condition and No. 32 Cluny is also illustrated still as a single: it was withdrawn in that state in 1898. Cormack: pp. 51-9.

2-4-0

Barclay 5ft 1½in Medium Goods: 1864
Built by Sharp Stewart: WN 1506-20: running numbers 36-45. Rebuilt by Jones between 1876 and 1889 with larger cylinders and larger boilers.

0-6-0T

Stroudley Lochgorm tanks: 1869-74.
All were constructed at Lochgorm Works and were very similar to what was to become the Stroudley Terrier design on the LBSCR. In 1902 No. 56 Balnain was renamed Dornoch for the opening of the Dornoch branch. No. 57 Lochgorm was not withdrawn until 1932 (as LMS No. 16119).

Dornoch Light Railway: an addition to the Highland Railway. Rly. Mag., 1902, 11, 82-6.
Opened 2 June 1902. Speaches by William Whitelaw and by Andrew Carnegie. Peter Drummond provided an 0-6-0T No. 56 Dornoch to work the line. It had 3ft 8in diameter wheels.

Jones designs

Detailed design

Counter pressure brake

Carling, D.R. A brief history of the counter-pressure brake for steam locomotives. Trans Newcomen Soc., 1983, 55, 10-32.
P.N.D. Porter noted a Railway Magazine article (incomplete citation: 1933 p. 43) by S.R. Yates: notes on Scottish locomotives and railway working wherein it was noted that Jones used the Chatelier system of counter-pressure water braking on his 4-4-0s.

Louvred chimneys

Holcroft, H. Smoke deflectors for locomotives. J. Instn Loco. Engrs, 1941, 31, 462-89. Disc.: 490-509 + 3 folding plates. 31 illus., 8 diagrs. (Paper No. 430).
Pp. 473-84 (17 illus.j : Includes an abstract of a National Physical Laboratory report by F.C. Johansen on experiments with models of the U and V classes: mainly the latter. Both the paper and the discussion range far beyond the U and V classes and considerable attention is paid both to the successful smoke-lifting propensities of the streamlined A4 Pacifics and their precursors, as well as to the height of the chimney (possibly why the GWR did not require smoke deflectors) , to the louvres fitted to the Jones locomotives on the Highland Railway, and to the predominant direction of travel (it is argued that strong head winds caused the greatest problem and that is why the London & South Western Section caused greater problems than the Brighton mainline).

4-6-0

Big Goods: 1894
Two major sources: Brian Reed (who shows links with locomotives designed for India) and Cormack 1 pp. 126-36.. Furthermore, No. 103 is preserved in Glasgow. The locomotives were constructed by Sharp Stewart: WN 4022-36.

Reed, Brian. Jones Goods & Indian L. Windsor: Profile Publications, 1971. (Loco Profile No. 17) .
This attempts to show that the Jones Goods was probably designed by David Anderson Hendrie, who had been Jones' pupil, had worked at Lochgorm as a draughtsman, then as a leading draughtsman at Sharp Stewart in Glasgow thence with Dubs, before becoming chief draughtsman at Inverness in 1893. Reed argues that whilst in Glasgow Hendrie must have been aware of the L class, especially a development of it for the Nizam's Railway. Reed was not convinced that counter-pressure braking was fitted to this class, nor did he know the reason for the louvred chimneys.

Nock, O.S. Historical steam locomotives. 1959. Chapter 9.
States that Jones was a Welshman and probably overplays reliance upon "Allan" design: claims that origin of chimney louvre was mentioned in discussion on Nock ILE paper

Preserved locomotive No. 103
The livery has been the subject of considerable discussion:
Rutherglen, David. Colour of No. 103 in 1957-1965. Highland Rly J., 2006 (76), 22-3.
Sinclair, Neil. Colour of No. 103. Highland Rly J., 2006 (79), 23-5.
Both via RCHS Bib. 2006 No. 743

4-4-0

Duke class: 1874-1888.
These 6ft 3½in locomotives were relatively early British examples of the type, although it should be noted that Cowan had introduced the type over ten years earlier on the Great North of Scotland Railway. They were fitted with the Chatelier counter-pressure brake. They were constructed by Dübs: running numbers: 60-9 and WN 714-23; and at Lochgorm Works: No. 4 in 1876; 71-5 between 1883 and 1886 and No. 84 in 1888. According to Cormack 1five became LMS property (probably for Highland's accounting purposes), but these do not appear to be listed by Essey and Jenkinson. Cormack illustrates (Fig. 50) No. 84A Dochfour at Aviemore in August 1924.

Skye Bogies: 1882-1901
One of the Seafield class 2-4-0s No. 7 was converted to a 4-4-0 for working the Skye line. They were a small-wheel (5ft 3½in version of the Duke class. They were all constructed at Lochgorm Works. The last was not withdrawn until 1930. Cormack 1 pp. 92-100. One works plate has been preserved: Cormack Fig. 67.

Stirling, David. When Skye was the limit. Rly Arch. 2006 (13) 54-7.
Skye Bogie No. 48 on up midday mixed train east of Achnasheen c1910; Skye Bogie No. 33 on freight at Achnasheen showing McKenzie & Holland signals, c1910; Skye Bogie No. 34 with double deck cattle trucks for sheep near Kyle of Lochalsh c1910; Strath 4-4-0 No. 100 Glenbruar on heavy passenger special excursion train near Kyle of Lochalsh in 1907; Strome Ferry Pier c1880

Clyde Bogies: 1886
This class of 6ft 3½in locomotives was constructed at the Clyde Locomotive Works and formed the works numbers of 1 to 8, but very soon afterwards the Works was acquired by Sharp Stewart which transferred its business from Manchester to Glasgow. Following WW1 most of this class was placed in store, although they were not cut-up until after the formation of the LMS. No. 82 (sometime Fife) did become LMS 14278 and lasted until 1930..

Strath or Glen class: 1892
Constructed by Neilson: WN 4428-39. 6ft 3½in driving wheels and intended for passenger duties. Although whole class was extant at Grouping, only six were taken into LMS stock. Cormack 1: 113-119

Loch class: 1896-1917
Constructed by Dübs: WN 3392-3406 (1896) plus three in 1917 from NBL: WN 21456-8 which were ordered by the Railway Executive Wae Committee.. 6ft 3½in driving wheels and intended for passenger duties.The LMS rebuilt nine with CR-type N51 boilers .The names suffered from some incorrect spellings: Loch an Dorb ran as Loch andorb for a time and Loch Laoghal became Loch Laochal in 1925 presumably due to a decline in the Gaelic in Inverness.. Cormack 1: 141-54.

2-4-0

Raigmore II class (renewals): 1877
These had 6ft 3in driving wheels and were constructed at Lochgorm in 1877. They were originally No. 3 Ballindalloch and No. 1 Raigmore. They lasted until 1910 and 1912. Fig. 53 shows Raigmore (by then No. 29) on a branch passenger train at Fort George, probably in 1899.

Jones tank engines

0-4-4T

2-4-0T/4-4-0T

Jones 4ft 9½in tank engines: 1878-9.
Three constructed at Lochgorm Works for use on branch lines. Converted to 4-4-0T type in 1885-7 as the rigid leading axle was not suitable for use outside shunting yards. No. 58 was named Burghead and No. 50 was named Aberfeldy. The class was associated with station pilot duties at Perth. The figures cited by Cormack and Stevenson are different from those in the Locomotive Magazine below..

Early tank engines, Highland Ry. Locomotive Mag., 1908, 14, 155. 2 illus.
Jones built three tank engines at Lochgorm Works in 1878/9. These were 2-4-0Ts Nos. 17, 58 and 59. No. 17 Breadalbane was renamed Aberfeldy and transferred to the Aberfeldy branch where it was found to be unsteady and was converted to a 4-4-0T in 1885. No. 58 was named Burghead and No. 59 Highlander (it worked on the Keith and Buckie section). Illustrations show No. 17 as rebuilt and as renumbered 50 in 1901. No. 59 is shown as a 2-4-0T. The Class O had 16in x 24in cylinders, 5ft 3in coupled wheels, 913ft² total heating surface and 16.3ft² grate area.

0-4-4ST/0-4-4T

Strathpeffer Tank: 1890
Built at Lochgorm for obvious specific duty: in original state looked somewhat archaic with its saddle tank: Cormack 1 Fig. 75 shows it at is home terminus in original condition. Locomotive was rebuilt by Drummond with side tanks and typical Drummond boiler in 1901. In this form it acted almost as prototype for series of 0-4-4Ts built in 1905. In 1903 it was renamed Lybster: Cormack 1: Fig. 77 shows it on arrival at the terminus on the opening day of 1 July 1903 with a huge train (by the standards of that railway) and a great throng on the platform.

4-4-0T

Yankee Tanks
Constructed by Dübs for Uruguay Eastern Railway, but left on manufacturer's hands and sold to Highland Railway for a bargain price: the first two for £1500 each following a trial for one year. A further three were then completed and sold to the HR. Their works numbers were 2778/9 and 3077-9. They all entered LMS stock and the first two survived until 1934. One (ex HR No. 102/LMS 15014) achieved a total mileage of slightly over 750,000 miles. No. 54 (ex-14) worked on the Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway: Fig. 90 shows it at Fort Augustus in August 1906. Fig 88 shows No. 102 Munlochy at Fortrose in 1813. Cormack 1: 120-5.

Rebuilt tank locomotive, Highland Ry. Locomotive Mag., 1907, 13, 88. illus.
4-4-0T No. 102 rebuilt for Aberfeldy branch, originally built by Dubs for Uruguay in 1893 ('Yankee'), rebuilt with drummond boiler with safety valves on dome..

Highland Railway Society. Highland Railway tank locomotives. Backtrack, 1998, 12, 673-5.
4-4-0T No 50 Aberfeldy at Perth c1900; 4-4-0T No 54 at Fort Augustus in August 1906

2-4-0T

Special Tank: former Dunrobin (1)
The third Duke of Sutherland acquired Dunrobin from Kitson (WN 1706) in 1870 when it was used to haul ducal trains for himself and his regal visitors and to take his serfs from Golspie to Wick or Thurso. In 1895 the new Duke upgraded his steam limo and sold the Kitson to the HR for what appeared to be a nominal sum, but £1364 had to be spent on it at Sharp Stewart to make it useable. It was then named Gordon Castle and numbered 118. Cormack 1 Fig. 101 shows it in this state at Burghead complete with wee canine terrier on the running plate. During WW1 it was on loan to the GNoSR for working Admiralty traffic at Aberdeen Harbour. Fig. 102 shows it dumped on Culloden Moor in 1923.

Highland Railway Society. Highland Railway tank locomotives. Backtrack, 1998, 12, 673-5.
2-4-0T No 118 Gordon Castle at Burghead around 1900.

0-4-4T

The Duke of Sutherlands second engine: Dunrobin (II)
Unlike the earlier Dunrobin this Dunrobin never entered Highland Railway stock yet was designed at Lochgorm, but was constructed by Sharp, Stewart WN 4085/1895. The cab was designed to accommodate visitors, many of whom were Royals, notably King Edward VII

Snell, J.B. One man's railway. 1983.
Page 64 (book unindexed): the Duchess of Sutherland bequeathed Dunrobin to Howey in 1950 as the Duke had been a friend of Howey at Eton.

Peter Drummond designs
An Appendix to Cormack (2) p. 148 et seq prepared by C.P. Atkins describes and illustrates through diagrams Drummond unfulfilled projects, notably an enlarged Small Ben (Fig. 136); a proposed large 6ft 4-4-0 of 1901 (Fig. 137); a proposed medium 0-4-4T with 5ft driving wheels of 1902 (Fig. 138); a proposed large 0-4-4T with 5ft 9in driving wheels of 1904/5 (Fig. 139); a proposed 0-8-0 of 1902 (Fig. 140); a proposed steam rail motor car (railcar) of 1904 (Fig. 141); and a proposed 5ft mixed traffic 4-6-0 (Fig. 142)

4-6-0

Castles: 1900-17
Cormack (p. 43) notes that the Drummond Castles had many features which unmistakably mark them as being a Jones design, notably the uneven spacing of the coupled wheels, the Allan link motion, Richardson slide valves and the boiler dimensions. Neverthless there are several Drummond features: chimney, cab, steam reverser and double bogie tender. In part the initial order was a switch from the Barney type and this is reflected in the Dübs Works Numbers: 3848-53/1900; 4244-7/1902. The NBL series were 19011-119012/1910-11; 20160-3/1913 and 21459-61/1917. Cormack 2 pp.42-60 includes the locomotives constructed for Chemins de Fer de l'Etat Francaise by NBL in 1911

New Highland Railwy locomotives. Rly Mag., 1900, 7, 424. illus., diagr. (s. el.)
Leading dimensions listed.

Highland Ry. Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1910, 16, 112
No. 146 Skibo Castle was tested against NBR "Intermediate" 4-4-0 No. 867 between Blair Atholl and Dalwhinnie.

Atkins, Philip. Locos from scratch. Rly Mag., 1989, 135, 516-17.
Locomotives built within a limited time scale including the supply of fifty Highland Castle type 4-6-0s to the French State Railways by NBL in 1910. The design and construction of two British classes (the Royal Scot and the A4 Pacifics) are also considered in some detail.
Atkins, [C.] Philip. The Scottish 4-6-0 classes. London: Ian Allan, 1976. 123pp.
Written before Author became Librarian at NRM and it shows as the bibliography is poorly constructed, and there is one infuriating incomplete reference. Notes that Drummond Castle class was derived from Jones Goods. Notes order placed by French State Railways for fifty of the type. Probably main source for information on 1910 tests between Castle: 146 Skibo Castle and NBR Intermediate No. 867 between Blair Atholl and Dalwhinnie and between Perth and Kinross which the 4-4-0 "won"

0-6-0

Goods (Barneys)
Dübs supplied WN 3842-7 of 1900 and 4240-3 of 1902; NBL WN 17896/7 in 1907. Four were constructed with what Cormack incorrectly calls water tube boilers, but which were water tubes in the fireboxes (as per the senior Drummond). These boilers lasted well into LMS days and No. 17702 is illustrated with the LMS No. 17702 (former HR No. 21).

Contemporary
New goods engines for the Highland Ry. Locomotive Mag., 1900, 5, 42.
Peter Drummond supervised Dubs 0-6-0s WN 3842-7: running numbers 134-9

4-4-0

Small Bens: 1898-
Typical inside cylinder 4-4-0 with 6ft driving wheels which would not have looked out of place west of Exeter Central, except for the names of mountains. Dubs supplied WN 3685-92 in 1898/9; Lochgorm Works constructed running numbers: 9-17 and NBL built a further three running number 38/41/47 WN 17398-17400 in 1906. Ben Alder was a sorry tale of neglect: it was taken out of service in 1953, set aside for preservation, but cut-up in 1967. (Cormack 2 pp. 7-26).

Highland Railway Society. 4-4-0s of the Highland Railway. Backtrack, 1999, 13, 104-5.
Photo-feature with extended captions: No. 91 Strathspey (Jones 4-4-0); No, 10 Ben Slioch (Peter Drummond 4-4-0); LMS no 14418 Ben Mheadhoin (Big Ben); No. 61 Ben na Caillich and No. 70 Loch Ashie (delivered March 1917 to cope with WW1 traffic.
[McKillop, N.] Toram Beg, pseud. Highland interlude a footplate commentary. Trains ill., 1957, 10, 429-30 + illus.
Included a short trip on the footplate of Ben Alder
Parkes, G.D. The last of the Highland "Bens". Trains ill., 1953, 6, 188. illus., table.

Big Bens: NBL: 1908-9
According to Coarmack 2 pp. 76-86 designed for working North Mails. Built by NBL: WN 18269-72/1908 and 18803-4/1909. Last withdrawn March 1937. Note that Atkins in his appraisal of the Smith River class affair notes that this Drummond class had a higher axle load..

Tank engines

0-6-4T

Banking Tanks: NBL: 1909-12
WN 18805-8/1909 and 19013-16/1910-12. First four were constructed for assisting trains from Blair Atholl to Dalnaspidal, and the second series for assisting trains on either side of Slochd (for which they were not found to be suitable) and from Forres to Dava. Also used briefly for banking from Helmsdale to County March. Sometimes used on passenger work. LMS fitted some with N55 boilers, but all withdrawn by end of 1936. Cormack 2 pp. 87-95.

0-6-0T

Shunting Tanks: 1903-4
Constructed at Lochgorm from parts (wheels, cylinders and motion) from withdrawn 5ft 1½in 2-4-0 goods engines and boilers purchased to reboiler these locomotives, but not used. Known variously as 5ft 2½in engines and yard engines.Lasted until displaced by Standard LMS 0-6-0Ts in early 1930s. Cormack 2 pp. 61-5.

Highland Railway Society. Highland Railway tank locomotives. Backtrack, 1998, 12, 673-5.
0-6-0T No. 22 built from bits and pieces at Lochgorm at Inverness in 1905.

Highland Railway Society. Highland Railway tank locomotives. Backtrack, 1998, 12, 673-5.
4-4-0T No 50 Aberfeldy at Perth c1900; 4-4-0T No 54 at Fort Augustus in August 1906; 2-4-0T No 118 Gordon Castle at Burghead around 1900; 0-6-0T 22 built from bits and pieces at Lochgorm at Inverness in 1905; 0-6-2T No 66 for banking from Blair Atholl to Dalnaspidal.

0-4-4T

Passenger Tanks (25 class): Lochgorm: 1905-6
No. 55053 is the only Highland Railway locomotive which KPJ ever saw other than the preserved canary yellow Jones goods. He saw this at Dornoch as part of a cycling holiday in the Northern Highlands in 1954: sadly he did not travel on the train from The Mound, but he did cross the Dornoch Firth with his bicycle via the Meikle Ferry. They were very small locomotives, but well worth the long cycle ride, and had a superficial similarity to the Adams O2 0-4-4T class. Cormack 2 pp. 66-75 states that the actual design was based on that of the solitary Strathpeffer as rebuilt by Drummond. Cormack notes that these locomotives were specifically designed to meet the needs of the light railways at Lybster and at Dornoch, but both Drummond and the Board had considered both petrol electric and steam rail motors.

Farr, Keith. By the shores of Loch Fleet. Backtrack, 2004, 18. 199-205.
Dornoch Light Railway was a product of the Light Railways Act of 1896 and was greatly assisted by financial assistance from the Duke of Sutherland. The line was officially opened on 2 June 1902. The line closed on 11 June 1960. Some mention is given to the proposal made in 1985 to divert the Far North Line over the road bridge across the Dornoch Firth, but this failed to materialize. The motive power was originally a Stroudley 0-6-0T No. 56 Dornoch, but this was eventually replaced by the Peter Drummond 25 class of very light 0-4-4Ts introduced in 1905. 15051 and 15053 were closely associated with the branch following WW2, but two 16xx class 0-6-0PTs replaced the HR design for the final few years: 1649 hauled the final train. Illus.: colour: 55053 (in full lined black livery) at Dornoch with mixed train for The Mound in July 1955 (T.J. Edgington) and shunting a former-LMS restaurant car at The Mound (gas tank wagon in background) in May 1956 (J.M. Jarvis) (passenger vehicles in carmine & cream livery in both illus.); 1646 with older passenger vehicle than Stanier shown in TJE illus and two vans waiting at Dornoch to leave for The Mound in May 1957: b&w: 55053 crossing Telford's causeway on approach to The Mound in October 1956 (W.J.V. Anderson); The Mound station shortly after branch opened; 15052 in LMS red livery at Dornoch with Cathedral behind on 19 May 1928 (H.C. Casserley); The Mound in HR days; 55051 lettered "BRITISH RAILWAYS" at The Mound c1954 with gas tank wagon (Rolt observed smell of gas when eating in dining car as recorded in Lines of Character) and tablet exchange apparatus also visible.

Smith designs

4-6-0

Rivers: Hawthorn: 1915-16
Cormack 2 pp. 96-109 considers this design at length and even includes a diagram of a projected Smith 4-6-0 design of 1913, but Atkins is the authority on this design and on its designer,. although cormack has made use of Atkin's earlier work. The Rivers were constructed by Hawthorn, Leslie: WN 3095-3100, bur designed by the North British Railway at Cowlairs.

Atkins, C.P.. More light on the Highland 'Rivers' - the mystery solved? Rly Wld., 1978, 39, 75-7.
Notes that the Cowlairs design work includes the very low reciprocating balance which was similar to the NBR Atlantics. Other design influences eminated from the Urie H15 type which Atkins states "had evidently inspired the whole design". The blame for the clash between Smith and Newlands, the HR Chief Engineer, appears to have stemmed from a failure to have ensured that Newlands was aware of the detailed design which had stemmed from Cowlairs, in which thee width over thhe cylinders was greater and the estimated weight was higher than that shown on the original drawings prepared by Hawthorn, but Atkins does point out that the weight did not exceed that of the Drummond 0-6-4Ts. The axleload of the large Bens was also higher..
Atkins, C.P. The Highland 'Rivers' who or what was really to blame? Rly Wld, June 1985, 300-302
Based on the discovery of a North British Locomotive Company drawing in the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, for a superheated 4-6-0 dated 26 August 1913. There is also a suggestion herein that the River class was drawn up in the Cowlairs drawing office of the NBR and the design shows similarities with the NBR superheated Atlantics. Atkins hints that the first locomotive to be delivered may have fouled the platform edge at Dunkeld en route north from Perth. He also reports that one River class locomotive was seen at Aviemore. It is suggested that Smith had little to do with the actual design of the locomotives (which were very similar to contemporary products supplied for export to India): the external Walscharts valve gear is highly indicative of this.
Atkins, P. The Highland Railway 'River' Class 4-6-0 affair, September 1915. LMS Journal, 2004 (7) 52-69.
Author cites his considerable previous literature on this sad affair: namely the rejection of the locomotives due to "excessive weight" and their sale to the Caledonian Railway. The affair of an incorrectly dimensioned turntable for Inverness mpd supplied by Cowans Sheldon may have been a contributory factor in the failure of Frederick G. Smith. Locomotive Superintendent, and Alex Newlands, Chief Engineer, to communicate fully over the locomotives. This is a very full account and includes the involvement of William Whitelaw, Chairman of the HR and Deputy Chairman of the NBR; the involvement of the NBR in the design of the River class, including a justification for his acceptance of his cautious Civil Engineer's approach to the problem. The life of Smith is covered at length, but Newlands receives briefer treatment.
Atkins, Philip. Hawthorn, Leslie and the Highland Railway. Backtrack, 1998, 12, 141-4.
Involvement by Hawthorn. Leslie in the design and manufacture of the final HR 4-6-0s and 4-4-0s, especially the ill-conceived River class and Clan class. Article includes notes on the staff at Hawthorn Leslie who actually produced the designs and interesting biographical material on Brian Reed. See letters by Donald Massey and C.J. Panther on page 289: these add to the account of the Clan class (especially their restriction to working north of Perth in LMS days, but not after being drafted to the Oban line), and to the status of the Hawthorn Leslie "group". illus.: The final HR/CR in LMS livery no 14761; Ex HR no 73 Snaigow as LMS no 14522; Highland; Ex HR as LMS 17951 at Achnasheen; HR no 80 about to climb the 1 in 13 incline to the NER above; Interior of Forth Banks erecting shop; Extract from the Hawthorn, Leslie drawing register; Still in HR livery no 53 Clan Stewart pauses at Aviemore;
Carling, E.R. What was wrong? – three studies in design failings –. Rly Wld, 1984, 45, 350-3.
Considered that the failure was due to the lack of communication between Fredrick Smith and Alexander Newlands.
Dunbar, A.G. The 'Hielanmen' at work. Rly Wld, 1981, 42, 481-4.
Experience of the F.G. Smith 4-6-0 River class on the LMS mainly on freight workings between Balornock and Perth and Carlisle. Main problem was the steam reverser. Dunbar was critical of the decision to remove the drop gates. The feed water heaters were also removed, although No. 136 was fitted with an improved feedwater heater in 1921, and this remained in use for several years. The Perth allocated locmotives were used on passenger work, but this was deprecated by CR management, probably because they were better than CR designs. One of the illus. shows No. 14756 at Aviemre on a Pullman express in 1928..

Cumming designs
Cormack 1 p. 7 regards Christpher Cumming as a shadowy figure and it would seem that "his" designs (the 4-4-0 and two 4-6-0 types) were the work of Hawthorn, Leslie at Newcastle, notably by one of their draughtsmen: J.E. Armstrong and his team.

Superheated Goods: Hawthorn, Leslie: 1918-19.
Sometimes incorrectly known as "Clan Goods". They had Works Numbers 3286-9/1918 and 3371-4/1919. They had 5ft 3in coupled wheels. Cormack (2 pp. 117-28) lists the primary data. Three lasted until 1952.

Clans: Hawthorn, Leslie: 1919-21.
Cox (Chronicles of steam) considered that they were not only good looking, but were the "best small 4-6-0s to be turned out before the days of long travel valves" and remained one his favourite designs. Is it too much of a coincidence that the later BR Clans owed more than their names to this class? Cormack pp. 129-41 considers the class, but there is more in the work by Atkins. Tatlow included general arrangement drawings for this class..

Atkins, Philip. Hawthorn, Leslie and the Highland Railway. Backtrack, 1998, 12, 141-4.
Involvement by Hawthorn. Leslie in the design and manufacture of the final HR 4-6-0s and 4-4-0s, especially the ill-conceived River class and Clan class. Article includes notes on the staff at Hawthorn Leslie who actually produced the designs and interesting biographical material on Brian Reed. See letters by Donald Massey and C.J. Panther on page 289: these add to the account of the Clan class (especially their restriction to working north of Perth in LMS days, but not after being drafted to the Oban line), and to the status of the Hawthorn Leslie "group". illus.: The final HR/CR in LMS livery No 14761; Ex HR No 73 Snaigow as LMS No 14522; Highland; Ex HR as LMS 17951 at Achnasheen; HR No 80 about to climb the 1 in 13 incline to the NER above; Interior of Forth Banks erecting shop; Extract from the Hawthorn, Leslie drawing register; Still in HR livery No 53 Clan Stewart pauses at Aviemore;
Hawthorn, Leslie and The Highland Railway. Donald Massey
Writer (Hon. Secretary, Highland Railway Society) refers to caption for photograph of Clan Slewart. The 'Clans' were unique in Highland passenger tender locomotives working south of Inverness in not having one or more examples dual-fitted; all the Highland's neighbours (GNoS, NBR, CR) were Westinghouse lines and in addition to through services, stock was sometimes borrowed for special occasions. The LMS fitted the 'Clans' for through locomotive working from Inverness to Glasgow, but while they were excellent locomotives for their native gradients, they were not so happy on the flatter, faster sections south of Perth; no doubt the 6ft driving wheels were a factor. The practice was therefore abandoned, and surprisingly was never re-introduced when in turn the 'Rivers', 'Crabs' and Black 5s came to be the standard motive power, even in BR days. The 'Clans' did have moments of glory when they were drafted to the (ex CR) Oban line after 1933, when they seemed to cope with the Stirling-Glasgow section.
Hawthorn, Leslie and the Highland Railway. C.J. Panther.
Atkins described Hawthorn, Leslie's as a "small" locomotive builder. The combined production of R&W Hawthorn's and Hawthorn, Leslie's totalled 2,771 locomotives, definitely putting them into "medium" size. It is true that from the demise of Black Hawthorn's/Chapman & Furneaux in 1902 when Hawthorn, Leslie took over the goodwill and the amalgamation with Robert Stephenson's in 1937, the majority of production was "small" as in the industrial locomotive sense. Secondly, the extract from HL's drawing register is wrongly captioned. Hawthorn, Leslie's Works numbers 3286-9 are for the first, not second, batch of 4-6-0 'Clan' goods locomotives. The complete list is given. (Registers are held in Tyne & Wear Archives).
Topham, W.L. The application of oil as a fuel for the modern locomotive. J. Instn Loco. Engrs., 1935, 25, 684- Paper 345,
Describes test of Scrarab system of oil firing on 8 April 1921
Warren, Alan. Four locomotive biographies in David St John Thomas The romance of Scotland's railways. Nairn. 1993..
HR No. 55 Clan Mackinnon built Hawthorn Leslie in July 1921. Briefly used on through workings to Glasgow, but the men did not like lodging in Glasgow. Later used on Callender & Oban line Note on liveries. Withdrawn 4 February 1950 and sent to Kilmarnock for scrapping.

4-4-0

Snaigow and Durn: Hawthorn, Leslie: 1916
These two locomotives established the style of the next two classes: the superheated goods and the Clans. Although thery were manufactured by Hawthorn, Leslie (like the ill-fated River class) there was a marked change in overall style. The Rivers could have been constructed for the Great Central or the North British. Snaigow and its successors set a new style, and one which one associates with locomotives built for export. All had external Walschaerts valve gear and the 4-4-0s were the only British two-cylinder locomotives of this type. Cormack (2 pp. 111-16) lists the primary data and noted that they were withdrawn in 1936 and 1935. Like the Big Bens they were intended for the North Mails.

Contemporary
Four-coupled bogie express locomotive, Highland Railway. Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1920, 26, 262-3. diagr. (s. el.)

Snowploughs

Ferguson, Niall. Snow in the Highlands. Br. Rly J., 1993, (49) 398-407: 1994, (50), 38-44. (also 22/3 centre pp)
Design of snowploughs: severe winters on the Highland Railway. Stroudley designed three sizes of snowplough to be fitted to the front of locomotives. The largesr sizes required a special bracket on the chimney to assist holding the plough in place. The largest plough was normally out-of-gauge. Conditions were especially severe at Dava on the original route between Inverness and Aviemore and at the Fairy Hillocks between Forsinard and Wick. Sometims trains were traped for days. The winter of 1880/81 was especially severe. The mid-1890s also produced very severe weather. Illus. four locomotives with leading locomotive fitted with Stroudley large snowplough; engraving of large snowplough; Jones goods? fitted to modified form of large snowplough; action picture of flying snow and smoke and steam at Fairy Hillocks (no direct evidence of railway activity), second size of snowploughs fitted to Small Ben trapped at Ardullie, and as fitted to Jones goods and to a Peter Drummond 0-6-0 (Barney), and small snowplough on Smith superheated Loch 4-4-0. See also interesting letter by Keith Fenwick in Issue 51 p. 87 on early snowplough on Morayshire Railway in 1854, and a minor quibble from Paul Strong in same issue..
Part 2:
The LMS imposed the Caledonian Railway's designs upon the Highland section, and in general these were inferior to those extant there. The LMS did not experience probelms with snow until 1941 when serious incidents occurred on the Far North line at Forsinard and Kinbrace. This led to the diversion of aircraft to assist in provisioning stranded trains at Altnabreac. Tells how the "Standard" class 5 required a special Number 6 snowplough to be developed for it. Also describes development of snowploughs for operation with diesel locomotives. These began with one based upon an LMS standard 3,500 gallon tender but later LNER standard 4,200 gallon tenders were used to construct over forty snowploughs. Subsequently a self-propelled rotary snow blower was acquired. Illus. fixed snowblower at Forsinard; class 5 5083 fitted with welded version of class 5 snowplough.

2011-07-14