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 station is probably Inveresk*** on the Edinburgh to  Musselburgh line."

Derek Caiden, Blackhall, Edinburgh; October 21, 2007

*** But, see Replies 1. and 2. below

Here is  a photograph of Derek Caiden's great grandfather, Archibald Veitch on the footplate of a North British Railway Co engine.

  ©

Archibald Veitch

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

    ©

Archibald Veitch

Reply

1.

Ian Hay

Musselburgh

Thank you to Ian Hay who replied:

"I suggest that this view is of the loco at Musselburgh Station, East Lothian."

©

Ian Hay, Musselburgh, East Lothian:  December 31, 2009

Reply

2.

Graham Strachan

Thank you to \Graham Strachan who wrote:

"It was suggested that this picture was likely to  be Inveresk station around 1895:

©

I don't think so.  I was raised in Musselburgh in the 1950s and 1960s and spent a fair bit of time at both stations.  I would fairly confidently suggest that the photo was taken at the old Musselburgh station in the centre of town.

The platform curved like that there, but not at Inveresk. The shadowy building in the right background is in exactly the correct position as the block of tenements that is still there, at the bottom of Inveresk Road, opposite the Roman Bridge.

To the left of the smokebox handrail you can just see the corner of the roof of the goods shed, again in exactly the correct location.  Finally, the shadowy outline to the left of the crane would be the tenements on Eskside on the other side of the river.

Everything has the correct orientation and as soon as I saw it I was sure.  The early station at Musselburgh was at the end of the short branch line.  It was rebuilt in the 1920s /1930s.

Graham Strachan:  March 11, 2010