Barmullochian

Ah, memories. When I was about 10 years old, around 1960, I was with my mother waiting on Cathedral Station bridge for the bus back to where we lived. I was able to see through the ornamental ironwork on the bridge papapet down into the Queen Street station throat. Waiting to depart with the Queen of Scots pullman was A2 60537 Bachelors Button - it's the first "namer" I can remember seeing - so it could be legitimately used on your layout. After the station throat was reorganised in the late 1960's/early 70's, the platform lengths weren't long enough to hold a class 40 or 45 at each end of the train without blocking the station throat. The solution was to detach the train engine at Eastfield and replace it with the banker, usually a class 21/29, that took the train down the Cowlairs incline into Queen Street. The train engine would then follow, light engine and couple up to the train ready for the outward journey. This procedure was definitely used for the North Briton to Leeds and I seem to recall it being used on Aberdeen trains too, The North Briton was Class 45 hauled in those days. Aberdeen trains were Class 40's. I also recall going on a Scottish Region mystery tour from Queen Street. The train was divided into two portions one part leaving from platform 1, the other from Platform 2. At Eastfield the two portions were combined and we went off to Whitley Bay behind a class 27 as far as Edinburgh, where a class 40 took over. The return journey got us into Glasgow about 10pm and the train was routed through Springburn and High Street into the low level platforms, rather than down the Cowlairs incline.