Caledonian Railway Association Forum

I consulted a friend who was a schoolboy in Dundee in 1939. He told me he was evacuated to Kirriemuir in 1939 to stay with relatives, and when he returned to Dundee in 1942, the East station frontage had been altered. His opinion is that it was done at the start of the war because of the danger of b...

Hi Niall, I do not have a date I'm afraid, but judging by the aerial photos on britainfromabove.org.uk, it must have been rebuilt between 1938 (neg SPW060075) and 1948 (neg SAW019530). I have an indistinct view from 1943 culled from the Internet somewhere, which is attached, but as luck would have i...

Just for completeness, here is another shot of one of these wagons at the gasworks, at the end of a short rake of Dundee Gas Commission wagons behind one of the pair of standard gauge Barclay 0-4-0STs which the gasworks owned. The Dundee Gas Commission (rather than Dundee Corporation Gas Dept) liver...

Hi Ed, Dundee Museums has a couple of nice shots of these wagons in traffic in the Dundee City Engineer's collection. The location would appear to be at the bufferstops of the sidings at the back of the gassie, where Peep O'Day Lane joined Blackscroft. https://www.flickr.com/photos/dundeecityarchive...

Have you had a look at the photos in the Scottish Line Societies archive, which you can access as a CRA member? There is a nice shot of Kirrie goods shed (CRA18785) which is a wooden execution of the Forfar goods shed design, minus the end office extension and with a shorter middle section. Or if yo...

Hi Tony, if you have access to the Scottish Line Societies photo archive, there is a very nice shot of Perth shed in Caley days by GF Burtt catalogued as FSLS entry number NRM9988. Another less extensive view is in NRM9574. If you don't have a login, CRA webmaster Sinclair Coghill can help. regards ...

Hi David, As you have probably already discovered, the NLS map site doesn't have a large-scale map for the correct period, but some basic information can still be deduced from the 1959-dated 6-inch map. Unfortunately the platform had gone by then but you can still get the basic dimensions of the sit...

That loco looks stunning Jim. And it looks like she runs beautifully. Will she be appearing at Model Rail?
Graham

Note that the plans referred to in Jim Mac's reply above are all for the SNE/SMJ shed which was sold to the Highland in the 1860s and eventually became the LMS Perth North, to the north of the Glasgow Road bridge north of the General station. The SCR shed at Friarton is not the subject of these plan...

The SCR shed does seem a bit photo-shy doesn't it? There is a plan of the original shed in David Hamilton's loco book, figure 12.8 ... and there are glimpses of the end elevation in various photos of locos (310A on p 202 of Marshall's Scottish Central book; 17663 in plate 172 in Hooper's "LMS Sheds ...

Yes maybe we are guilty of jumping to conclusions. However, the earlier-dated survey also on the NLS website shows no double junction, only a trailing connection under the bridge, which would match the photo better. But I agree the signals are a further issue for debate. Supposing for a moment they ...

Thanks Bill. That would make sense.

As for Jim’s tease that I could always put my money where my mouth is (he kens me ower weel!), since the bidding is at £49 with 5 days yet to go, I’ll contain my curiosity ...

Thanks everyone. I am happy with your suggestions of Crieff Junction before the branch connection was made with a double junction, and indeed the point rodding for the trailing crossover under the bridge can be seen in the photo. (But there are no rods for the facing point locks and, if dated to lat...

A well-known auction site currently offers a glass negative of an early Caley 4-4-0 in sparkling condition on a train of eight 6-wheelers at an unfamiliar (to me) location, a main line in a curved cutting with a branch line to one side and signals with wooden posts, possibly slotted (there appear to...

And the second one down is the man who left Aberdeen University its splendid O’Dell collection of railway books and ephemera.

Here is yet another Dunalastair model, this time in 3½” gauge. It seems it may date from the 1920s: I wonder if the paintwork is the original?

Regards
Graham

Many thanks Ed, John, and Michael, for all these replies - all very interesting. I will have to try to chase down a copy of the Errol Station history.
regards
Graham

I know next to nothing about railway tickets, Caley or otherwise, but was interested to come across this workman's ticket issued between Perth and Errol, listed in a forthcoming auction : taylor-bros-errol-perth.jpg Does anyone have more information on who Taylor Brothers were and why it was worth t...

Tom, your arithmetic is spot-on as far as I can see. (Full disclosure: I had to try twice to get it right!). But I also realised the 1:1250 O.S. maps actually give the milepost distances. They give the 123 milepost as being a little south of the South signalbox, and the 123¼ milepost at the north en...

Jim, The National Records of Scotland has a drawing of a footbridge at Dunblane which was renewed in 1922. The plan reference is RHP127189 . This is described as "Hand coloured drawing showing elevation, plan and section for renewal of footbridge at 123 miles 23 chains at Dunblane". It might be the ...

Regarding the location - I think it is indeed Kyle of Lochalsh, at the sidings to the east of the railway pier with the passenger station. The location is not covered by large-scale maps on the NLS site but if you look at Google streetview on the road named Fishery Pier, the hillside looks similar a...

I'm with Tom - Aviemore looking north. The map (https://maps.nls.uk/view/82887444) seems to support it and I can convince myself that the smudge of a signal finial in the background is an elegant McKenzie and Holland design.

Regards
Graham

Hi Kris, I just came on this thread for the first time ... what a wonderful series of images. I think what I found really striking was seeing a full-length train in CR livery. The blue engine is very nice, but the coaches are really elegant! Do you have a way of regulating the boiler pressure? In yo...

Jim, this is clearly going to be a remarkable model. I hope your asbestos fingers are in good working order. It is interesting that the boarding behind the lattice has been removed in the preserved bridge, but the glazed upper section retained. Do you know if footbridges at larger stations always ha...

As far as I recall the Wemyss Private Railway in Fife had a secondhand Caley 0-6-0T in the late 50s or early 60s. I don't think it did much work and was soon scrapped. Unless I'm imagining the whole story, details are in Alan Brotchie's Oakwood history of the WPR. Graham Edit - now at home and able ...