Steamysandy

The spans were metal and I suspect were of steel given that the line was built about 1910. The argument between the Hghland and North British was pre ,1914

Interfrigo ferry vans regularly worked to a siding at Slateford which served the Edinburgh Fruit Market at one time.

One of the Railways of Scotland DVDs has that on it. However the first Scottish Grand Tour of March 25,1967 was originally intended to be eight coaches diesel hauled till an A4 became available for the section between Perth and Aberdeen.The train eventually ran with eighteen coaches led by Black5 no ,44997 leading 60009 and Perth to Edinburgh via Stirling by steam was added.Railways of Scotland DVD No 7 shows it leaving Perth northwards. I was on board having got a Saturday off from my job which I left 4months later!

Hi Dave On looking again at C7932 I've got it the wrong way round. The top of the Blindwells Loading plant is visible above the bridge making it the west Meadowmill Bridge and your location is the bridge into the Sports complex On the far side of the bridge were at once time the remains of the bridge where the Tranent and Cockenzie wagonway crossed the mainline . This is the site of the Battle of Pfestonpans

Hi Dave Truly familiar territory for me today I was born at Drem and we lived in a farm cottage there till I was about 2.69 years later I m still watching trains but now at Longniddry! The footbridge the photo was taken from is now at Settle being sent there when the Electrification clearance bridge was installed. C7912 The area of overgrown grassland on the left is the trackbed of the Monktonhall Junction to Wantoon Walls line. Today this is the exact location of Musselburgh Station and the area is now a car park while he field is now occupied by the Queen Margaret University. C7932 The train is approaching Meadowmills Bridge and is passing over the crossover giving access to Blindwells Loading point from the up line.Blindwells was beyond the bridge behind the photographer and is now to be covered with housing. C7933 Looking west towards Prestonpans Station with the Bridge carrying the A198 over the entrance to the sidings for Cockenzie Power Station on the right Thank you for letting us see them

I'm a very late comer to this thread. Early morning in a cottage a mile from the ECML,5 miles west of Dunbar. Gradually a soft drone would become louder as the Deltic on a sleeper headed north accelerating away from the Dunbar slow.Then having reached line speed,it would throttle back for the East Linton curves and gradually the silence would return. One Saturday about 1963 I went to visit a friend who lived close to Drem Station.The Homeward journey to Dunbar where I could get a bus was behind D9000. In 2008 I travelled from Longniddry to Mallaig on a Special behind the same Royal Scots Grey. And yes I saw the Deltic Farewell Scotsman in 1982!

For a time it was known as the European with a portion for Edinburgh.This stood in Waverley for a time before departing as an all stations stopper to Dunbar where it terminated and returned ECS to Craigentinny! Mental Pictures are of a 47 up front. Like Clive Mortimore,my grandfather joined the Army in WW1 as Tom Barber and left as Tom Barbour which he remained and passed to his family!

Hi Dave Photo J 3641 has an interesting memory of travelling over part of the Settle and Carlisle line northbound on the back of a Scottish Region Grand Tour.There was a sort of raffle and if you were lucky you got allocated a section in the observation area of CR 1! I think it was probably about 1969/70

This is the stretch from East of Brought Ferry through Carnoustie to (approx) Elliot Junction which runs through a very level area.

Latterly they were using 16ton mineral wagons for sugar beet.Seed potatoes were vans as far as I'm aware which were lined with straw for insulation like a a Tattie Bing!

As a mention of an aside,the frequency of departures from North Berwick should be noted.This was when the old full size station with two platforms was in use and wouldnt be possible today

I can confirm that is the case from personal memory

Hi Dave The location of today's photos is just North of the former portal of the now sealed tunnel. Eric Treacy took photos fairly close by .In one of them a lady and her son and dog were standing trackside as an A4 passed on an up express and he referred to her in the caption of the photo. I took the book to show it to a relative of mine who lived nearby and while we were discussing it a car drew up outside and it turned out to be the woman's other son! His mother could remember the Minister taking the photo !

The book shown is an Amberley Press standard series book but may be out of print

Hi Dave Firstly my best wishes to you and your mum I know I live north of Berwick but I think the shot of 45104 is a real rarity because 45s were never common in these parts ( especially one with a nameplate that size!). The Cartics would be bound for Bathgate. Kind regards

The give away is the position of the doors.The Thompson coaches were unique for their time in having the doors part way along the coach instead of at the end.The idea was suggested by Sir Charles Newton so that no seat was more than one compartment away from the door. I said it was a corridor second but I now think it's either a composite or a first. The condition of locos was beginning to slide and dirty locos were beginning to appear. Certain sheds made it the norm.Gateshead was known for never cleaning it's A4s and there's a photo of 60002 Sir Murrough Wilson coming off the King Edward Bridge on the up Flying Scotsman in a state of complete filth

The third coach appears to be a Thompson Corridor 2nd as modelled by Bachmann in 00.

Hi Dave More from my home territory today. The three at Bilsdean are just off the A1 which is on the seaward side of the line and the bridge was the old A1 which had a bypass and a new Bridge built over Dunglass Dean in the 1930s I think C7930 shows the now disused sidings but originally the sidings were over on the left where the swingpark (just visible) is. I'm virtually housebound nowadays so I haven't been along there for years -its about three miles away. C7907 - the line was realigned immediately west of the platforms due to mining subsidence about twenty years ago and the fields above the train are now full of houses. Only C7930 is not draped in catenary nowadays. Once again many thanks for publishing these

I believe this one was used on the Strathpeffer branch as well as pilot at Dingwall

I got into doing a piece for Railway World many years ago and I found a photo of 2605 in Southern livery at Ayr ( yes- Scotland) taken during the war.It had Sunshine lettering and I surmised it would be black. A reader wrote in saying it was actually malachite and was a bright little bit of colour. Incidentally there was a story that a Jubilee got into difficulty on a Stranraer train and the D1 piloted it. A number of D1 were transferred to the LM S during the war mainly being used in Scotland and I believe the last train on the Lybster branch from Wick which closed in 1944 was hauled by one of these locos. As I recall all but one ( scrapped at Derby after an accident) were returned to the Southern and were put into store before eventual scrapping.

Right you asked.The train was booked for a 40 but the 25 lost out on accelerating away from checks. I realised we were going to be late back into Edinburgh and I was going to be stranded but there was a long section on a Saturday night between Dunbar and Drem so I thought we might get held at Dunbar which was only five miles from home. Dunbar came and went ---. A few minutes later the brakes went hard on and the train came to a stand so seizing the moment,I opened the door ,and jumped out saying Good night to the Guard as I passed his coach. It was only a mile and a half to get home so I walked it! Years later two friends who were on the train met the guard and he told them that a cattle lorry had crossed the line right in front of the train at Beltonford Level Crossing.The driver slapped on the Anchors and the train came to a stand but initially they'd thought I'd pulled the communication cord but it was confirmed by the driver when they reached Waverley. The level crossing was a known black spot being user operated with a blind approach from the south and there was one particularly bad accident some years earlier with loss of life It was later replaced with a new road which didn't cross the railway. Photo J3989 on page 553 is approx half a mile east of the one time crossing.

In addition Haymarket had an allocation of class 25s.One of them got to York on a Mystery Tour ( destination Scarborough) from Edinburgh after the rostered class 40 failed just before departure from Waverley I was on board but how I got home is another story!

Thank you belatedly for your story. I also visited Balgreen Halt on another school trip but it was to a rugby international at Murrayfield using the North Berwick - Corstorphine service train. Apart from the obvious highlights of seeing what could be seen on Haymarket and St Margaret's sheds,there were a couple of Steam locos of interest.The first was a York B16/1 smokily hauling a goods past Wallyford and the second was Maude on the Ferry goods! The Rugby. ---- i can't remember a thing !!!!

Very nice to see Dave- reminds me of my lunchtimes spent thereabouts in the 1970s 80s A big thank you to you for publishing all your work as well as your Dad's

I can't answer the question posed but I have a story from it's time at Haymarket. They were scraping the barrel for dmus and almost anything went.So SC55000 was used frequently to make up a set for the morning North Berwick service which I travelled on. I was known and one of the drivers mentioned to me that the driving cab was pretty dirty. I had noticed the passenger compartment was pretty grotty too. So on arrival at Waverley he filled in the faults book detailing the condition of the interior A week or two later it reappeared totally spotless