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Locomotives of the North British Railway

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The North British Railway was opened in 1846 as the line from Edinburgh to Berwick-upon-Tweed, and its workshops were initially situated in St. Margarets, Edinburgh. Gradually other railways were acquired, including in 1865 the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, whose works at Cowlairs, Glasgow were better than that at St. Margarets, which were reduced to repairs only and all production moved to Cowlairs.

As is customary, engine classes are organized according to the man who was locomotive superintendent when the class was introduced, and to whom the design is often attributed. The NBR was rather unfortunate in its choice of locomotive superintendents, the first five of whom were sacked or forced to resign either for alleged incompetence or financial scandals.

The NBR's locomotive classification system (introduced in 1913) is not very helpful because the same letter has been applied to several different classes. The North British Railway Study Group has developed its own classification system and a list can be found here.[1]

These are not complete lists, as most engines acquired second-hand and from absorbed companies are not included.

Robert Thornton (1846–51)

Numbers Wheel arrangement Number
built
Builder Date Notes
1–16 0-4-2 16 R & W Hawthorn 1846 Original NBR locomotive order (on formation). 10 locomotives for passenger services. One rebuilt in 1857 as 2-2-2
17–26 0-4-2 10 R & W Hawthorn 1846 Original NBR locomotive order (on formation). 6 locomotives for freight services. One rebuilt in 1859 as 2-2-2, 2 in 1867-8 as 0-6-0T
27–32 0-6-0 6 R & W Hawthorn 1846 Original NBR locomotive order (on formation). 6 locomotives for heavy coal freight services.
33–38 2-2-2 6 R & W Hawthorn 1847 Two rebuilt 1868–69 as 2-4-0
39–46 2-4-0 8 R & W Hawthorn 1847 Two rebuilt 1868-70 as 0-6-0
47–54 0-6-0 8 R & W Hawthorn 1848
55 4-2-0 1 E. B. Wilson & Co. 1849 Crampton locomotive. Later rebuilt as 2-2-2
57 2-2-2 1 R & W Hawthorn 1849
56, 58–63 2-4-0 7 R & W Hawthorn 1851
64–71 0-6-0 8 R & W Hawthorn 1850

William Smith (1851–54)

No new locomotives were built during his term of office

No new locomotives were built during his term of office

William Hurst (1855–66)

Hurst came from the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, to which he returned after being sacked from the NBR.

There were many variations within the classes listed here, both as built and after subsequent rebuilding.

1st built Wheel
arrangement
Number
built
Builder Date Notes
72 0-4-2 4 W. Fairbairn 1855 Originally intended for Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway
90 2-4-0 24 Neilson (18)
Dübs (6)
1861–68
109 0-4-0 3 NBR St. Margarets 1865–66
76 0-6-0 4 NBR St. Margarets 1860–61
80 0-6-0 58 Hawthorn of Leith (6)
R. Stephenson (16)
Dübs & Co. (36)
1861–67
31 2-2-2WT 2 NBR St. Margarets 1856 1877 sold to Wigtownshire Railway
20 0-4-2WT 14 NBR St. Margarets 1857–64
282 0-6-0ST 3 Dübs 1866–67

Thomas Wheatley (1867–74)

1st built 1913 Class Wheel
arrangement
Number
built
Builder Date LNER Class Notes
141 2-4-0 2 NBR Cowlairs 1869
418 P 2-4-0 8 NBR Cowlairs 1873 E7
40 2-4-0 2 NBR Cowlairs 1873
224 4-4-0 2 NBR Cowlairs 1871
420 4-4-0 4 NBR Cowlairs 1873
17 0-6-0 1 NBR St. Margarets 1868 Built from parts of earlier locos
251 E 0-6-0 38 NBR Cowlairs 1867–74 J84 20 rebuilt as saddle-tanks from 1889–94
396 E 0-6-0 26 Neilson & Co. (12),
Dübs & Co. (14)
1867–69 J31
56 0-6-0 8 NBR St. Margarets 1868–69 "Longback" class.
115 E 0-6-0 62 NBR Cowlairs 1869–75 J31
226 E 0-6-0ST 2 NBR Cowlairs 1870 J86
220 0-6-0ST 1 NBR Cowlairs 1870
130 E 0-6-0ST 9 NBR Cowlairs 1870–73 J85
229 E 0-6-0ST 15 NBR Cowlairs 1871–73 J81
32 0-6-0ST 6 NBR Cowlairs 1874
394 0-4-0 2 Neilson & Co. 1867 Second hand
357 0-4-0 2 NBR Cowlairs 1868 Y10
18 0-4-0ST 2 NBR Cowlairs 1872

Dugald Drummond (1874–82)

1st built 1913 Class Wheel
arrangement
Number
built
Builder Date LNER Class Notes
474 2-2-2 2 Neilson 1876 Sometimes designated "Berwick" class, after the name of locomotive 475. Two built, for Edinburgh-Glasgow express services.
476 M 4-4-0 12 Neilson (8)
NBR Cowlairs (4)
1877–79 D27/D28 "Abbotsford" class.
494 P 4-4-0T 3 Neilson 1879 D50
72 R 4-4-0T 30 NBR Cowlairs 1880–84 D51
157 P 0-4-2T 6 NBR Cowlairs 1877 G8 All rebuilt as 0-4-4T in 1881
100 C 0-6-0 32 NBR Cowlairs (12)
Neilson (20)
1876–77 J32
34 D 0-6-0 13 NBR Cowlairs 1879 J34 "Wee Drummond" class.
497 D 0-6-0 88 NBR Cowlairs (83)
Dübs (5)
1879–83 J34 "Wee Drummond" class.
165 R 0-6-0T 25 NBR Cowlairs 1875–78 J82
546 G 0-4-0ST 2 Neilson 1882 Y9

Matthew Holmes (1882–1903)

1st built 1913 Class Wheel
arrangement
Number
built
Builder Date LNER Class Notes
574 M 4-4-0 6 NBR Cowlairs 1884 D31
633 M 4-4-0 24 NBR Cowlairs 1890–95 D31
729 M 4-4-0 18 NBR Cowlairs 1898–99 D31
592 N 4-4-0 12 NBR Cowlairs 1886–87 D25
693 N 4-4-0 24 NBR Cowlairs 1894–96 D35 "West Highland Bogie" class.
One superheated in 1919, became NBR L class / LNER Class D36.
317 K 4-4-0 12 NBR Cowlairs 1903 D26
586 P 0-4-4T 12 NBR Cowlairs 1886–88 G7
566 D 0-6-0 36 NBR Cowlairs 1883–87 J33
604 C 0-6-0 168 Neilson (15),
Sharp Stewart (15),
NBR Cowlairs (138)
1888–1900 J36 673 Maude preserved
795 D 0-6-0T 40 Neilson (20),
Sharp Stewart (20)
1900–01 J83
32 G 0-4-0ST 36 NBR Cowlairs 1887–99 Y9 same as Drummond 546 class. Of this batch, NBR 42 was preserved.

William Paton Reid (1903–19)

NBL (the North British Locomotive Company) was a private locomotive manufacturer, distinct from the North British Railway.

1st built 1913 Class Wheel
arrangement
Number
built
Builder Date LNER Class Notes
868 H 4-4-2 22 NBL (16)
R. Stephenson (6)
1906–21 C11 Commonly known as the "North British Atlantics". Final two built with superheaters. Superheaters added to all others 1915–25. (Those which remained saturated were briefly designated class I or LNER class C10, but all were superheated by 1925 and became class C11.) The largest and most powerful locomotives ever built by the NBR.
1 M 4-4-2T 30 Yorkshire Engine Co. 1911–13 C15
438 L 4-4-2T 21 NBL 1915–21 C16 Superheated
895 J 4-4-0 16 NBL (6)
NBR Cowlairs (10)
1909–11 D29 "Scott" class. Superheaters added 1925–35
400 J 4-4-0 27 NBR Cowlairs 1912–20 D30 "Scott" class. Superheated.
882 K 4-4-0 12 NBR Cowlairs 1906–07 D32 Superheaters added 1923–26
331 K 4-4-0 12 NBR Cowlairs 1909–10 D33 Superheaters added 1925–36
149 K 4-4-0 32 NBR Cowlairs 1913–20 D34 "Glen" class. Superheated. 256/9256/2469/62469 Glen Douglas preserved.
239 M 0-4-4T 12 NBL 1909 G9
848 B 0-6-0 76 NBL (40)
NBR Cowlairs (36)
1906–13 J35
8 S 0-6-0 104 NBR Cowlairs (35)
NBL (69)
1914–21 J37 Superheated
836 F 0-6-0T 35 NBR Cowlairs 1905–19 J88
858 A 0-6-2T 6 NBL 1909–20 N14
7 A 0-6-2T 69 NBL 1910–24 N15 +30 built by LNER

Walter Chalmers (1919–22)

All previous incumbents were known as Locomotive Superintendent. Chalmers held the same position, but with the title changed to Chief Mechanical Engineer.

There were no new locomotive designs during the incumbency of Walter Chalmers as Chief Mechanical Engineer. Two new NBR H class locomotives were built under his supervision. Although these were not his design, he had drawn the designs under the direction of W P Reid, having been Chief Draughtsman (the deputy to the Locomotive Superintendent) of the NBR whilst Reid was Locomotive Superintendent.

Locomotive nicknames

As with most companies, certain classes of locomotive from the North British Railway were commonly known by distinctive names or nicknames, rather than their official class designations. The following is a guide to these nicknames, with links to articles about the respective locomotive types.

Common nickname NBR designation LNER designation Wheel
arrangement
Design date Notes
Longback - - 0-6-0 1868 Withdrawn before any standard class designation system was introduced.
Berwick - - 2-2-2 1876 Withdrawn before any standard class designation system was introduced.
Eighteen Incher C class J32 class 0-6-0 1876
Abbotsford M class D27 & D28 class 4-4-0 1877
Wee Drummond D class J34 class 0-6-0 1879
Pug G class Y9 class 0-4-0ST 1882 42 preserved.
West Highland Bogie N class D35 class 4-4-0 1894
North British Atlantic H class C11 class 4-4-2 1906
Scott J class D29 class 4-4-0 1909
Superheated Scott or Super Scott J class D30 class 4-4-0 1912
Glen K class D34 class 4-4-0 1913 256 Glen Douglas preserved.

References

  • Baxter, Bertram (2012). Baxter, David; Mitchell, Peter (eds.). British Locomotive Catalogue 1825–1923, Volume 6: Great Eastern Railway, North British Railway, Great North of Scotland Railway, Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway, remaining companies in the LNER group. Southampton: Kestrel Railway Books. ISBN 978-1-905505-26-5.