60027Merlin

A psychiatrist might I suppose be interested in the fact that I will sanction that, but putting the wrong number on one of these first models announced would be totally unacceptable to me. 68535 was at Dundee, which is only up the road from Haymarket, after all.😉 New England had 68635, also with Scottish modifications, but alas with differences too significant for me to ignore. Unrecorded temporary transfer to 64B David, you know it makes sense.😈 Danger Warning It’s a long road from Dundee and it would likely be sabotaged en route by an N. B. R. J83, J88 N15, C16 amongst others. A Caley tank interloped to 64B in an attempt to replace a withdrawn J88 and lasted two days!

A selection including main line and branch line workings in the area, always a good variety of loco classes back in these days.

After an enjoyable few days last weekend at the AMRSS Show in Glasgow with the North British Railway Study Group here are some photos of ex- N.B. R. locos out and about in B. R. days.

Another selection, including a mixture of main line and branch line workings plus doubled photos of some of the Pacifics going round the layout. Starting with Spearmint and Trimbush and concluding with Bonnie Dundee and Commonwealth of Australia. Pinkhill Photo Bob Baird Harburn Hobbies Back to the main line

John, Watling Street was a pretty common sight here as were a great many from your area including this one below.

In the week before Christmas I visited my local model railway shop and on speaking to one of the lads about locos in their showcases he mentioned that the Hornby A2/3, Sun Castle, was the last one in the shop. As it is unknown just when the next run would be made I yielded to temptation and purchased it. Here are a couple of photos of it now done up as Watling Street from Gateshead and later Heaton. A regular visitor to The Waverley and of course Haymarket.

True, but remember, they were entertaining a "nice young man from the Bank"!

Tony The V2 is a Nu-Cast kit from the late 70s when it was first released. The Bachmann model is OK provided you can improve some of the new thinking such as the drawbar arrangement. There are a few illustrations and notes by members on these V2 alterations on the Bachmann section here. A couple of photos below for you! Eric

In a few of the more salubrious areas of town they were pronounced as in ”bone” and I recall in the early 60s when commencing my banking career and to assist in good customer relations, the manager would send the nice young man from the branch round to visit some elderly female customers to save them visiting the branch to collect or return items of paperwork with the proviso to watch your “Ps and Qs”. These ladies were generally the Miss Jean Brodie types and quite often you were offered tea and scones which diplomatically it would have been unwise to refuse. Interestingly the St. Trinians School was nearby (correct name St.Trinnean’s). Decades later I was reminded of these genteel visits, when viewing an interview on TV with Stanley Baxter. He was describing how his mother took him to his aunties for afternoon tea with her friends and he sat in the corner of the room taking it all in and putting it to good use years later for his Shows! It was always wise to check your pronounciations mentally before opening your mouth in these situations. Just like the modelling – the devil is in the detail! Eric

Correct pronounciation up here: Scone as in con Scone Palace as in boon

Another selection of the lost photos, this time from December 2014. All locos and stock still going fine and of course they have been joined over the intervening years by newcomers!

Gilbert, Just in from a few hours in the garden, clearing yet more leaves! On zooming in to the photo I am sure that the lower and upper leaves are the same variety when studying their shape etc. and as such it appears to be one tree. Eric

Ah Tony, I remember it as though it was only a week or two ago, time flies in too fast! It was mainly Pacifics to the fore of course. On reading your post just now I then checked up the files and here are three of yours and two of my Haymarket stuff so far south, a long way from home. Eric

Tony, A few photos from most enjoyable visits in 2012 and 2016. No doubt you will recognise the locos! Eric

More views. this time, of the western approaches to the city with a bit of variety in motive power and workings.

Sandra, Regarding Auld Reekie. From the Yeadon book it was down at Doncaster for repair in July and early August 1957, November 58 to early January 1959, February 59 to early April 1960 and November 60 to December. Perhaps your photo may be taken during a running in turn. Regarding the Haymarket engines running in normal service, it was highly unlikely (never say never though!) that they worked south of Newcastle as it was policy at Haymarket that their engines had to be returned back to them as per their diagram. To put it diplomatically, the 64B management “let that be known” in no uncertain manner to the other sheds in the running diagrams that this had to be the case. The late Harry Knox told me during his visits to the layout that if the 64B crews did not return to Haymarket with their engine they would be for the high jump! It would also have been a dangerous situation if Haymarket sent one of the Aberdeen or Dundee A2s south as the locos would not have got back home on schedule incurring the wrath of these sheds as it would then have led to a ”tit for tat” situation, not recommended! Eric

A selection of photos at the station with a variety of services and loco classes which made for enjoyable train spotting in the late 50s.

As Tony posts. there are the three he mentions, plus on checking up some photos a single lamp on either side was used as well. Flexibility is the key which I put to good use!

Many thanks to Brian and the team for your hard work. Most appreciated, it was most pleasing to see for the first time a separate section for Scottish items, Well done! Regarding the Scottish section it was excellent to see the Scott and Glen classes polling a high number and just as important linking both classes together for the first time as they offer a prospective manufacturer great scope to produce both with minimal additional cost thus greater sales and profit. They are long overdue for the r-t-r market, Eric

All Haymarket to start the year.

With regard to Dunwich here are the photos from the Newcastle M.R.C. Exhibition Brochure of November 1989. I cannot recall if this was the year The North British Railway Study Group held its A.G.M. in one of the adjacent rooms in the town hall. I can certainly remember viewing Dunwich as it was positioned quite near one of the windows backing on to the street resulting in great clear views of the trains in daylight whether at the front or the rear parts of the layout. I remember a Britannia on a passenger train with what looked like Kitmaster Mark 1s/? Eric

After photos of a train in the snow and a ghost loco it's back to the daily routine of local traffic.

Another deleted photo from December 2010. Back in the evening of the Winter Solstice in 1958 one of the local lads visited Haymarket and with the haar coming in fast from the Forth, quickly took a few photos including this one of the A2/1. However, when he received his developed Ilford film back from the chemists he was amazed to see two locos in it!

To be really exact the opportunity to see 60022 was on the few occasions Kings Cross used it on The Elizabethan. In 1953 - 1 in 1956 - 2 in 1957 - 50 in 1961 - 8 in the final week only The caveat being that you would only have seen it as far as Haymarket Shed, no sightings further north. I only saw it the once, that being in the final week in 1961. Some of the lads heard that it was being used in the last week so on the Thursday night we entered Haymarket under cover of darkness about 7.15 pm at the unofficial entrance (which we used all the time!) at the west end of Roseburn Street. 60022 was already turned and prepared and standing about three locos from the front of one of the roads at the east end. As there were few fitters about we were able to cab it for a while before moving on . It was a handy set up as over the years a lot us cabbed dozens of locos. Happy days! Eric

I quite agree, partially! From Newcastle to Aberdeen they were absent! Eric