Locomotives of the Highland Railway

The locomotives of the Highland Railway were used by the Highland Railway to operate its lines in the north of Scotland. The Highland Railway locomotive works was at Lochgorm, Inverness. The works had been built about 1855 by the Inverness and Nairn Railway.[1] The locomotive classes are listed under the names of the railway's Locomotive Superintendents.

Locomotives

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William Barclay 1855–69

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Main article: Highland Railway Classes prior to 1870

During Barclay's incumbency as locomotive superintendent various 2-2-2 and 2-4-0 locomotives were built, along with a solitary 0-4-0T. An 0-4-0ST was also inherited from the Findhorn Railway. Many of Barclay's locomotives would later be rebuilt by Stroudley or Jones - most of the 2-2-2s ended up as 2-4-0s and one became a 2-2-2T, a pair of 2-4-0s became 4-4-0s and the 0-4-0T became an 0-4-2T. Only 4 much rebuilt Barclay locomotives (all 2-4-0s) were still in stock at the time of the Grouping.

William Stroudley 1865–69

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William Stroudley produced only one new design, an 0-6-0ST of which 3 were built. These survived to pass into LMS ownership.

Class Drummond
class		 Type Quantity Manufacturer Date HR Nos. LMS power classification LMS Nos. Withdrawn Notes
'Stroudley tank' R 0-6-0ST 3 Lochgorm Works 1869–74 56–57, 49 0P 16118–119, 16383 1926-1932

David Jones 1870–96

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David Jones designed several classes of 4-4-0, and was also notable for introducing the 4-6-0 wheel arrangement to the UK. He also produced small numbers of 0-4-4ST, 2-4-0, 2-4-0T and 4-4-0T locomotives. Of 88 engines built to Jones' design (including 3 built as late as 1917), 74 passed to the LMS in 1923. A small 2-4-0T purchased secondhand from the Duke of Sutherland also made into LMS ownership.

Class Drummond
class		 Type Quantity Manufacturer Date HR Nos. LMS power classification LMS Nos. Withdrawn Notes
'Duke' F 4-4-0 17 Dübs & Co. (10)
Lochgorm Works (7)		 1874–88 60–69, 31, 71–75, 84 1907-1923
'Raigmore' H 2-4-0 2 Lochgorm Works 1877 29–30 — — 1910-1912
'Jones tank' O 4-4-0T 3 Lochgorm Works 1878–79 17, 58–59 — 15010–15012 1928-1933 Built as 2-4-0T
'Skye Bogie' L 4-4-0 9 Lochgorm Works 1882–1901 1P 14277, 14279–14285 1922-1930
'Bruce' or 'Clyde Bogie' E 4-4-0 8 Clyde Locomotive Company 1886 76–83 1P 14278 1923-1930
13 S 0-4-4ST 1 Lochgorm Works 1890 13 0P 15050 1929
'Strath' D 4-4-0 12 Neilson & Co. 1892 89–100 1P 14271–14276 1923-1930
'Yankee tank' P 4-4-0T 5 Dübs & Co. 1892–93 11,14-15,101-102 0P 15013–15017 1924-1934 First 2 were built for Uruguay Eastern Railway
'Big Goods' or 'Jones Goods' I 4-6-0 15 Sharp, Stewart & Co. 1894 103–117 4F 17916–17930 1929-1940
'Loch' B 4-4-0 18 Dübs & Co. (15)
North British Loco. Co. (3)		 1896–1917 119–133, 70–72 2P 14379–14396 1930-1950
118 T 2-4-0T 1 Kitson & Co. 1871 118 1923 Purchased from Duke of Sutherland in 1895

Peter Drummond 1896–1912

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Under Peter Drummond, new 0-4-4T, 0-6-0T, 0-6-4T, 0-6-0, 4-4-0 and 4-6-0 designs emerged. All 72 locomotives passed to the LMS.

Class Type Quantity Manufacturer Date HR Nos. LMS power classification LMS Nos. Withdrawn Notes
C ('Small Ben') 4-4-0 20 Dübs & Co. (8)
Lochgorm Works (9)
North British Loco. Co. (3)		 1898–1906 1–17, 38, 41, 47 2P 14397–14416 1931-1953
K ('Barney') 0-6-0 12 Dübs & Co. (10)
North British Loco. Co. (2)		 1900–07 134–139, 18–21 3F 17693–17704 1936-1952
A ('Castle') 4-6-0 19 Dübs & Co. (10)
North British Loco. Co. (9)		 1900–17 26–30, 35, 50, 58–59, 140–149 3P 14675–14693 1930-1947
V 0-6-0T 3 Lochgorn Works 1903–04 22–24 2F 16380–16382 1930-1934
W 0-4-4T 4 Lochgorn Works 1905–06 25, 40, 45–46 0P 15051–15054 1930-1957 BR no. 55053 was the last ex-Highland Railway locomotive in service (withdrawn in January 1957)
U ('Large Ben') 4-4-0 6 North British Loco. Co. 1908–09 60–63, 66, 68 2P 14417–14422 1932-1937
X ('Medium Goods') 0-6-4T 8 North British Loco. Co. 1909–12 29, 31, 39, 42, 44, 64–65, 69 4P 15300–15307 1932-1936

Frederick George Smith 1912–15

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Fredrick George Smith's brief tenure was cut short by a dispute over his sole design, the 'River' Class 4-6-0. Six locomotives were built, but they were (wrongly) considered to be too heavy for the Highland Railway, and were sold to the Caledonian Railway without being used.

Class Type Quantity Manufacturer Date HR Nos. LMS power classification LMS Nos. Withdrawn Notes
'River' 4-6-0 6 Hawthorn Leslie 1915 (70–75) 4P (14756–14761) 1939-1946 sold to Caledonian Railway before use

Christopher Cumming 1915–22

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Christopher Cumming designed one class of 4-4-0 and two types of 4-6-0, totalling 18 locomotives, which all passed to the LMS.

Class Type Quantity Manufacturer Date HR Nos. LMS power classification LMS Nos. Withdrawn Notes
'Snaigow' 4-4-0 2 Hawthorn Leslie 1917 73–74 3P 14522–14523 1935-1936 named Snaigow and Durn
'Clan Goods' 4-6-0 8 Hawthorn Leslie 1918–19 75-82 5F 17950–17957 1946-1952
'Clan' 4-6-0 8 Hawthorn Leslie 1919–21 49, 51-57 4P 14762–14769 1943-1950 Some names reused on BR Standard Class 6

London, Midland and Scottish Railway

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Main article: Locomotives of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway

The Highland Railway was absorbed by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) in 1923 and its locomotives were taken into LMS stock. Despite their small numbers, quite a few Highland Railway classes survived well into the LMS era, and even into the 1950s.

Preservation

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Image HR No. HR Class Type Manufacturer Serial No. Date Notes
103 Jones Goods 4-6-0 Sharp, Stewart & Co. 4022 September
1894		 On static display at the Riverside Museum

There are also plans to build a replica of Ben Class 54398 Ben Alder.

References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Highland Railway steam locomotives.
  1. ^ "Inverness, Lochgorm Railway Works and Carriage Sheds". ScotlandsPlaces. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  • Baxter, Bertram (1984). Baxter, David (ed.). British Locomotive Catalogue 1825–1923, Volume 4: Scottish and remaining English Companies in the LMS Group. Ashbourne, Derbyshire: Moorland Publishing Company. pp. 191–202.
  • "Highland Railway locomotives". Steamindex.com. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
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