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TRANSITION FROM STEAM
BRITISH RAILWAYS SCOTTISH REGION (ScR)
In 1948, six new BR Regions were formed, their new boundaries corresponding closely to the lines
of the former 'Big Four' railway companies. Britain's railways was now made up of the Western Region, Southern Region, Scottish Region, Eastern Region, North Eastern Region and London Midland Region - the old LNER being divided amongst the two newly- formed Regions - Eas tern and North Eastern, whilst the Scottish Region was composed partly of the former LMS and LNER. Over the years, the Regional boundaries diminished significantly as many locomotives (from an operational standpoint) worked beyond their arbitrary Regions, so in many ways it is meaningless to classify any particular class of locomotive as belonging to any one of the six Regions during the transition from steam. For example, it was not unusual for the Stanier 'Black 5' and in particular the new BR Standard classes, to be found working hundreds of miles from the Region they were initially allocated.
John Stoddart's Scottish bash back in 1964 will evoke memories of the ScR long forgotten. In the late summer of 1964, John bought a Scottish Railrover pass, valid from Carlisle north - and armed with a box camera, a 1959 Ian Allan Combine and a Scottish Region Timetable, planned to travel behind the gaggle of Gresley A4s reported to be working the Glasgow-Edinburgh three-hour expresses. At that time, just about every ScR branch line north, east and due west of Inverness was under Beeching threat, and the Railrover pass gave John a chance to do some last minute branch line bagging before time ran out. 'Rail Cameraman' page on the new 'Extra' site.
NEW! This site receives a lot of requests for photos and enquiries from visitors seeking information on trains and railway, but since I can't deal with them all myself I've decided to launch a new 'Help' facility to help broaden the search to a worldwide audience. If you require assistance in your own search then drop me a line at - dheycollection(at)ntlworld.com - and I will add it to the relevant page. However, I am not in the business of brokering deals (I am not a middleman or agent in any form) therefore you must provide your own email contact address and deal with it yourself. Secondly it would help if you supplied a relevant photo on the subject to illustrate the request. After all, the 'David Hey's Collection' is primarily a website of railway photographs therefore an accompanying photo is conducive to all sides…
For example, Mike Dow from Stirling recently contacted the Guest Book page seeking photos of Causewayhead railway station on the ex-NBR line between Stirling and Alloa for a Local History Project - in particular, Mike is seeking photos of the Tram Station there. He sent 2 photographs to accompany his search, requesting information on the loco in the above shot (purported to be hauling the last passenger train prior to closure of the station). This isn't the case, of course, the loco in question is a Class D11/2, one of 24 post-grouping D11 Class 4-4-0s built to Scottish loading gauge, and the last of the D11/2s were withdrawn at the beginning of 1962. Six years later, local passenger services were withdrawn at Causewayhead station on 5th October 1968.
If you can help, please contact: webmaster@mikedow.co.uk
(Above-Below) A fine study of Brush Type 4 No D1577 at Berwick-on-Tweed in June 1964. In the background is the graceful 28-arch Royal Border Bridge which carriesthe ECML across the Tweed estuary. The viaduct was designed by Robert Stephenson and opened by Queen Victoria in 1850. Berwick station was built on the site of the former Royal Castle and part of the outer walls can still be seen adjacent to the sidings. Berwick is the most northerly town in England, though the actual Anglo-Scots border is situated at Marshall Meadows, some three miles north of the town. (Below) EE Co Type 4 No D362 passes the British Railways Anglo-Scottish border sign with a northbound express.
(Above) Across the country on the WCML, out of the ten BR Standard Class 6MT Clan Pacifics built at Crewe between 1951-52 Nos 72000-4 went to Polmadie (Glasgow) and Nos 72005-9 were assigned to Carlisle (Kingmoor) for duties previously worked by the Jubilee and Patriot classes in Scotland. However, their performance was hardly distinguished and withdrawal of the Polmadie five began as early as 1962, long before the withdrawal the ex-LMS types they had intended to replace. Here, sporting a Carlisle Kingmoor (12A) shed code on the smokebox door, No 72008 Clan Macleod shows its true mixed traffic capabilities h eading a loose-couple freight for Carlisle Kingmoor off t he Glasgow & South Western line at Gretna Junction on 14th April 1953. The train is crossing the River Sark, marking the Anglo-Scottish border, which is represented on the Scottish side by a sign displaying a Thistle above a Crown. Photo © ER Morten
(Below) Although fractionally less powerful than the Class 6MT Clan Pacifics, the new BR Class 5MT, numbered 73000-73171 in the series, were a more useful addition to the BR fleet. The Class 5 was a direct descendant of the well-known LMS 'Black 5' and, on the grounds of utility and proven excellence in service the BTC might well have been justified in adopting the Stanier design as one of the standard engines. Here, sporting a Perth (63A) shed plate on its smokebox door, No 73009 heads the 'up' 'The Saint Mungo' at Bridge of Allan between Dunblane and Stirling on 28th July 1952. Photo © ER Morten
(Below) On the same day, Stanier 'Black 5' No 45158 Glasgow Yeomanry - one of the four members of the class endowed with names of Scottish Regiments - heads an 'up' train at Bridge of Allan. Photo © ER Morten
In 1948, the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission (BTC) announced its preference for developing future steam power rather than dabbling with new, untried diesel traction. This led to the Locomotive Interchange Trials, supervised by RA Riddles, then member of the BTC's Railway Executive who was responsible for mechanical and electrical engineering. He was assisted by ES Cox, then executive member of the British Transport Commission for design - both ex-LMSR men, who doubtless had in mind their well intentioned plan for evaluating the relative performance of former companies engines in normal operating conditions. However it came as no great surprise that out of the twelve new BR standard classes (numbered in the 70-80,000s and 92,000s) many designs incorporated the latest features taken from LMSR practice.
(Below) Yet another direct derivation of a former LMS engine is the 'BR4' 2-6-4T which came from the Stanier and Fairburn Class 4MT 2-6-4Ts introduced in 1945. The 'BR4' retained the familiar Stanier tapered boiler, trapezoidal-shaped smokebox and other detailed designs, but the cylinders had a smaller diameter, and the coupled wheels were also fractionally smaller. This gave a higher tractive effort of 25,100lb than the 24,670lb of the Stanier engines.
BR's Scottish Region inherited a network of lines built by companies best known prior to grouping in 1923. For example, the LMSR was made up of the Caledonian, the Glasgow & South Western and the Highland Railway, whereas the LNER was comprised of the North British and Great North of Scotland Railway. All lines north of the border were amalgamated to form the new ScR, and the gallery shows some of the former pre-grouping company's engines that entered British Railways stock. For further information on this subject you'll find all you need to know on the LNER Encyclopedia website - it's a cracking site listing all LNER locomotive classes from A to Z!
Most steam enthusiasts remember the transition from steam north of the border with mixed emotions. The high point was the relocation of seven Gresley A4 Pacifics to Scotland and their final fling on the 3hr schedule Glasgow-Aberdeen expresses, two in each direction, the last hauled by No 60019 Bittern on 3rd September 1966. Another high
light was the amazing sight of preserved engines from the GNSR, NBR, Caledonian and Highland Railways, decked out in their respective pre-grouping liveries for hauling steam specials on the main line. The downside was the Beeching cuts which had a devastating effect on the ScR's rail network. In particular, the closure of major routes between Aviemore and Forres; Dunblane to Crianlarich; Dumfries to Stranrear - and, of course, the Waverley route between Edinburgh and Carlisle was typical of Beeching's excesses. Miraculously, despite proposals for the complete closure of the Far North line from Inverness to Wick and Thurso, and the Skye line from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh, both routes remained stubbornly intact.
On the modernisation front, the introduction of the new AM3 3-car 'Blue Trains' (Class 303) in 1960 on the 25kV electrified Glasgow Suburban services was most welcome, which is more than can be said for the ScR's troublesome NBL Type 2 and Clayton Type 1s, a s both types became early candidates for withdrawal. But then, there was a huge swing towards road haulage in the Sixties and the nature of work for which the early diesels had been designed (hauling light medium freight) was in rapid decline and the demise of both classes was inevitable.
(Below) In an attempt to rationalise the use of different diesels in different areas, the ten North British Loco Co's pilot-scheme Type 2 Nos D6100-9 (allocated initially to Hornsey for working Kings Cross suburban services) were transferred to the ScR in April 1960. They were accompanied by the BRCW's ten pilot-scheme Type 2s D5300-D5309, joining the first production models which had arrived on the ScR during May the previous year for working Edinburgh-Aberdeen services. During manufacture of the NBL Co Type 2, the makers utilised some original tools and aluminium castings devised for the company's earlier pilot-scheme 'Warship' class A1A-A1A's Nos D600-D604, which led to the rather odd front-end shape of the D6100s - odd, because the driver's visibility was impaired by the accentuated curve of the cab windows. These were designed to accommodate the central gangway door in the nose end as stipulated by the BTC to allow crew movement between locos when working in multiple. Eventually all the NBL Type 2s were transferred to Scotland. Here, Nos D6124/27 head an Inverness-Edinburgh train through Gleneagles in August 1962.
In order to maximise web space the ScR diesel photographs have been moved. A link is provided here.
LINKS BELOW TO RAILWAY SITES WITH A SCOTTISH CONNECTION
The Scottish Railway Preservation Society
(SRPS) was founded in 1961 to preserve and display Scotland's Railway heritage. The Society's Core Collection - recognised by the Scottish Executive as one of national significance - can be found on the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway, just west of Edinburgh, on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth.
The Eastbank Model Railway Club's
Website includes an interesting page on the North British Type 2 Class 21 and 29 diesel electrics; another page about the overnight Fort William-London Euston 'Caledonian Sleeper' service, and a page on the Clydeside Class 303 and 311 'Blue Trains'. The site is maintained by Allan Trotter
The Waverley Route Heritage Association
(WRHA) is intending to reopen part of the Waverley route, built by the North British Railway Company from Edinburgh to Carlisle through Midlothian and the Scottish borders. The first section from Edinburgh to Hawick was opened in 1849 and the Carlisle to Hawick section opened in 1862. The entire line fell victim to the Beeching axe in 1969.
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