Any good books about experiences on the NBR?

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Hello chaps/chapesses 

 

Slowly beginning to build up some stock for my large scale NBR collection and I were a wondering if we might of know of any good books about experiences on the NBR?

 

thanks, 

 

 

Douglas

[phil_sutters]

It is not an area I have much information on, but remembering that there seemed to be a tradition in railway magazines, both prototype and modelling, to feature Scottish railways in their January editions - Hogmanay, Burns Night etc being the connection with that month - I guess, I looked at the sole bound copy of The Railway Magazine I have - January to June 1928. As expected there were several articles on Scottish railways, including 'From the Forth Bridge to Alloa and Stirling by the L.N.E.R.' By J.Francis. If the post-grouping period still has some relevance to your NBR collection, I would be happy to scan the seven pages and email them to you. The photos will be very grainy as the magazine print quality isn't great.

[BR traction instructor]

I would be consulting my Jowett’s railway atlas to judge the extent of the NBR and then Googling archive cine film etc to see which enthusiasts visited/recorded bits of the NBR etc.

 

I would recommend the 1953 Any Man’s Kingdom DVD…it has excellent colour footage of the long closed Kielder route to Riccarton jnc. Avoid the later one cos buses had largely replaced trains in the film by then.

 

Jim Clemens did some lovely colour cine work over some NBR routes too…have a look at B&R railway film volume 123. The OPC Robert Robotham tome is the best book that I found on the subject.

 

BeRTIe

Edited February 7, 2022 by BR traction instructor

[Compound2632]

John Thomas' The North British Railway, The West Highland Railway, and The Springburn Story (David & Charles, various dates late 1960s) provide any number of tales as well as giving a good grounding in the history of the company. Classics of railway literature.

[Nearholmer]

Ahrons covers the NBR in his Victorian series doesn’t he? I gave my near-pristine set away during The Great Shelf Space Crisis of 2019.

[Compound2632]

1 minute ago, Nearholmer said:

Ahrons covers the NBR in his Victorian series doesn’t he? I gave my near-pristine set away during The Great Shelf Space Crisis of 2019.

 

Yes. E.L. Ahrons, Locomotive and Train Working in the Latter Part of the Nineteenth Century Vol. 3 (Heffer, 1952).

[JeremyC]

Harry Knox's books on the history of the Ex NBR sheds in Edinburgh; St Margarets and Haymarket; are interesting reading.

Edited February 7, 2022 by JeremyC

[Legend]

If you want stories of Scottish Railways the Mainly Scottish Steam by Thomas Middlemass is excellent . He describes growing up and his railway enthusiasm in the 1920s in Falkirk . His father was an NBR guard , so although his experiences in the 20s are mainly LNER there are lots of references to the old NBR and Caledonian . A really great book about railways as seen in Scotland in the 1920s  It was published by David &Charles ISBN 0 7753 7132 0 . Long out of print, I think it was written in 60s but you should still be able to pick up a copy second hand . 

 

Gives you a really good flavour of Scottish steam from an enthusiasts point of view . My favourite chapter is a trip over the Waverley route with his father headed by ex NBR Atlantic "Teribus"

Edited February 7, 2022 by Legend

[Steamport Southport]

How about some poetry?

 

https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/tay-bridge-disaster/

 

[Compound2632]

4 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

How about some poetry?

 

OP specified "good".

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Thank you all for the responses, I’ll certainly check them out especially the Atlantic over the Waverly route.

 

Douglas

[pH]

It’s a long time since I read any of his books and, to be honest, I can’t remember which ones I did read. However, Norman McKillop started on the NBR in 1910 and ended up as a driver at Haymarket in BR days:

 

https://www.steamindex.com/library/mckillop.htm

 

According to that site, ‘Enginemen Elite’ contains information about his early days on the NBR, though there would be much more about later years.

[MarkC]

7 minutes ago, pH said:

It’s a long time since I read any of his books and, to be honest, I can’t remember which ones I did read. However, Norman McKillop started on the NBR in 1910 and ended up as a driver at Haymarket in BR days:

 

https://www.steamindex.com/library/mckillop.htm

 

According to that site, ‘Enginemen Elite’ contains information about his early days on the NBR, though there would be much more about later years.

You just beat me to this - yes, Norman McKillop (aka Toram Beg) does mention his early days in his writings.

[BR traction instructor]

Watching this Cinerail Waverley route DVD again yesterday gave  a good insight into the terrain tackled in the engineering of the route, along with the trains that used it.

 

Peter Handford made some lovely sound recordings of 1950s/60s trains at Steele road and nr Riccarton jnc, available on CD from Old Thundridge Records and a great introduction to this NBR route.

 

The Thompson/Peppercorn DVD below includes some nice A2 footage on The Waverley route.

 

BeRTIe

Edited February 9, 2022 by BR traction instructor

[turbos]

50 Years Of Steam by A.G. Dunbar. Although he spent the majority of his career on the Caley his career started on the NBR. It’s a good read and full of first hand stories and anecdotes, all five Scottish pre-grouping companies get mentioned. It gives a good insight into what it was like working for a Scottish Lowland pre-grouping company after the Great War.

 

Brian.

[pH]

Following on from turbos’ post - if you’re prepared to look at pre-grouping Scottish railways other than the NBR, then David L Smith’s “Tales of the Glasgow and South Western Railway” is a great read. He’s a very good storyteller and includes a lot of technical information.

[ian@stenochs]

Probably the Best Scottish Railway book of all time. I am forever dipping into my copies, I have 3 in different rooms, for inspiration and entertainment.

 

 

 

 

[pH]

2 hours ago, ian@stenochs said:

Probably the Best Scottish Railway book of all time. I am forever dipping into my copies, I have 3 in different rooms, for inspiration and entertainment.

I’ve only got two! All Smith’s book are good, in my opinion. I have a personal connection to his book on the Dalmellington Iron Company - a distant ancestor moved from Aberfeldy to Dalmellington about the time the ironworks opened. The book says the company recruited in the Highlands and in Ireland to staff the new company - we presume he was one of those employed.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

7 hours ago, pH said:

Following on from turbos’ post - if you’re prepared to look at pre-grouping Scottish railways other than the NBR, then David L Smith’s “Tales of the Glasgow and South Western Railway” is a great read. He’s a very good storyteller and includes a lot of technical information.

 

3 hours ago, ian@stenochs said:

Probably the Best Scottish Railway book of all time. I am forever dipping into my copies, I have 3 in different rooms, for inspiration and entertainment.

 

 

 

 

I've been needing to get a copy of that for about 1.5 years now, I read an LNWR running shed forman's views on the book and he said it was the greatest railway book he'd ever read. Coming from a staunch LNWR man i was very impressed.

[pH]

8 minutes ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

 

I've been needing to get a copy of that for about 1.5 years now, I read an LNWR running shed forman's views on the book and he said it was the greatest railway book he'd ever read. Coming from a staunch LNWR man i was very impressed.

Copies available on various sites, but all surprisingly (to me) expensive.

[ian@stenochs]

 

There is an eel with lugs like a horse in the tank of No254! See p20 of the Tales for details, published in both hard and soft cover versions and serialised in Railway Magazine.

[BR traction instructor]

On 09/02/2022 at 21:10, ian@stenochs said:

Probably the Best Scottish Railway book of all time. I am forever dipping into my copies, I have 3 in different rooms, for inspiration and entertainment.

 

 

 

 

Taking a punt on the recommendations for this title on here (despite its early content), I’ve just ordered a copy for a fiver off ABE. I’ve also been scanning through my copies of these two Waverley route titles today and would certainly recommend the photographic content of Derek Cross (amongst others) and the comprehensive literary approach of Robert Robotham in covering the route.

 

Cam Camwell filmed some useful 1950s content along The Waverley route and Peebles loop, included on his Vol1/2 DVD.

 

WTT wise I’ve managed a PDF download of the 1953 Passenger and Freight workings for the Waverley route and an original copy of the 1962 Freight WTT for the route.

 

BeRTIe

Edited February 11, 2022 by BR traction instructor

[pH]

4 hours ago, BR traction instructor said:

Taking a punt on the recommendations for this title on here (despite its early content), I’ve just ordered a copy for a fiver off ABE.

Let us know what you think of it. Incidentally, it’s not all pre-grouping. There’s a fair bit about LMS times, and a couple of pictures taken post-nationalisation.

.

Edited February 11, 2022 by pH

[31A]

Has anybody mentioned Charles Meacher's books?

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/LNER-FOOTPLATE-MEMORIES-Story-Years/dp/B0019M3IV6/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1644619342&refinements=p_27%3ACharles+Meacher&s=books&sr=1-2

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Living-Locos-Charles-Meacher/dp/0851533922/ref=sr_1_5?qid=1644619342&refinements=p_27%3ACharles+Meacher&s=books&sr=1-5

 

Mostly BR days, some LNER but he worked at St. Margarets (Edinburgh) and Thornton Jn. (Fife) and describes railway life working on ex North British lines from those depots including byways in the Edinburgh suburbs and Leith docks, and around Fife.

[BR traction instructor]

This 1962 freight WTT for The Waverley route is a great record of a former NBR route.

 

BeRTIe

Edited February 15, 2022 by BR traction instructor