North British Railway Study Group Journal

No. 111 (December 2010)

Knox, Harry and Rodgers, Allan. Bathgate: the railway story 1849-2010. 3-17.
For a time the Bathgate area was dominated by the shale oil industry; later British Motor Corporation brought in to relieve unemployment, but now an electrified railway is seeking to increase personal mobility.

Sewell, Bill. Tay Bridge disaster: train brakes. 18.
Follow up: train involved was probably only partially fitted with Westinghouse brake.

Cameron, Euan. Reid 0-6-2 tank engines. 18-29.
High degree of standardization incorporated. The boiler was employed in 315 locomotives (in addition to 0-6-2Ts employed in 4-4-2T, 0-4-4T and to rebuild J36 type 0-6-0s). The class was employed as bankers on the Cowlairs Incline when rope haulage terminated. The class became LNER N14 and N15. Liveries are considered at length. Includes two colour side elevations: No. 862 as in September 1909 and No. 396 as in August 1910.

Cattanach, Donald. George Simpson & John Martin. 30-2.
Includes portraits of both men. Simpson was born at Heriot (Midlothian) on 26 March 1833 and was the son of the village schoolmaster. He joined the NBR as a clerk in the Cashier's Office in October 1854 under J.P. Lythgoe, the General Accountant. Lythgoe and Thomas K. Rowbotham, the General Manager, were dismissed for financial irregularities performed at the behest of the Chairman, Richard Hodgson. Simpson was promoted to be General Accountant from January 1867 reporting to the Secretary. David Anderson was appointed as Audit Accountant reprting to the General Manager: each received £300 per annum. He retired on 30 September 1905 and died in his holiday residence at Burntisland on 19 May 1910. John Martin who succeeded him was the son of a gamekeeper and was born at East Lodge on the Hopetoun Estate on 1 April 1856. In 1871 he became an apprentice clerk at South Queensferry Station and following service at other stations was moved to the Secrtary's Office in November 1874. Wieland retired in 1892 and joined the Board; John Cathles became Secretary and John Martin Assistant Secretary. In August 1901 Martin became Secretary to the West Highland Railway and became involved in the dispute involving Henry Grierson and the government funds received for the Mallaqig extension. Martin replaced Simpson as General Accountant and was involved in the protracted negotiations with the Ministry of Transport for compensation for services provided during WW1. He retired at the last meeting of vthe Board on 2 March 1923. He retired from being Secretary of the Forth Bridge Company in February 1931. He had married Elizabeth Young, daughter of James Young, railway contractorn who had business dealihngs with Wieland and the NBR. He died in Edinburgh on 8 August 1931.

Paul, Douglas. Closure of the Waverley bRoute and its effect upon railway employees. 33-4.

Two Riccarton poems.... 35.

Boyd, Andrew. Pigeon traffric: a follow-up. 36.
LNER bogie brake van No. 70494 (4721) preserved at Bo'ness. Built at York in 1940. Queries when traffic ceased.

Letters page. 38-9.
Banking engines. Harry Knox. 39.

Then and now: Armadale Station. rear cover. 4 illustrtions.