1.

North British Railway

Thank you to Derek Caiden for allowing me to reproduce this photograph of a North British Railway Co engine.

Derek adds:

"The driver was my great grand father, Archibald Veitch.

Archibald  was born in Peebles in 1860, he joined the North British Railway at an early age and worked his way up to driver after a 7-year apprenticeship.

He lived all of his life at Marionville Road.  A lot of drivers lived in that area due its close proximity to Smokey Brae at Jock’s Lodge where the engines were fired and made ready each morning.

He drove the first train ever from Thurso to London King’s Cross. (I don’t have a date for that).

He died in 1945."

Derek Caiden, Blackhall, Edinburgh; October 21, 2007

Here is another photograph of a North British Railway Co engine, Probably at Musselburgh station in East Lothian.

  ©

Musselburgh Station?

Here is another photograph Archibald Veitch, taken almost fifty years later:

    ©

Archibald Veitch

2.

North British Railway

Thank you to Euan Cameron who replied:

"I believe this photograph would have been taken around 1915.

The locomotive shown was built in 1869 as No. 400, and was renumbered 1149 in 1912.  No other engine carried so high a number before that date.

The photo shows the two parallel lines of straw-yellow lining out, which accompanied a black livery style applied to goods engines from around 1915 onwards.

The little plate with the power class (letter 'E') above the number plate was part of a train control system introduced to cope with the flood of goods traffic during the First World War."

Euan Cameron, New York City, New York, USA:  March 12, 2008