The North British Railway was opened in 1846 as the line from Edinburgh to Berwick-upon-Tweed, and its workshops were initially situated in St. Margarets, Edinburgh. Gradually other railways were acquired, including in 1865 the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, whose works at Cowlairs, Glasgow were better than that at St. Margarets, which were reduced to repairs only and all production moved to Cowlairs.
As is customary, engine classes are organized according to the man who was locomotive superintendent when the class was introduced, and to whom the design is often attributed. The NBR was rather unfortunate in its choice of locomotive superintendents, the first five of whom were sacked or forced to resign either for alleged incompetence or financial scandals.
The NBR's locomotive classification system (introduced in 1913) is not very helpful because the same letter has been applied to several different classes. The North British Railway Study Group has developed its own classification system and a list can be found here.[1]
These are not complete lists, as most engines acquired second-hand and from absorbed companies are not included.
| Numbers | Number built | Builder | Date | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–16 | 16 | 1846 | align=left | Original NBR locomotive order (on formation). 10 locomotives for passenger services. One rebuilt in 1857 as 2-2-2 | |||
| 17–26 | 10 | 1846 | align=left | Original NBR locomotive order (on formation). 6 locomotives for freight services. One rebuilt in 1859 as 2-2-2, 2 in 1867-8 as 0-6-0T | |||
| 27–32 | 6 | 1846 | align=left | Original NBR locomotive order (on formation). 6 locomotives for heavy coal freight services. | |||
| 33–38 | 6 | 1847 | align=left | Two rebuilt 1868–69 as 2-4-0 | |||
| 39–46 | 8 | 1847 | align=left | Two rebuilt 1868-70 as 0-6-0 | |||
| 47–54 | 8 | 1848 | align=left | ||||
| 55 | 1 | 1849 | align=left | Crampton locomotive. Later rebuilt as 2-2-2 | |||
| 57 | 1 | 1849 | |||||
| 56, 58–63 | 7 | 1851 | align=left | ||||
| 64–71 | 8 | 1850 | align=left |
No new locomotives were built during his term of office.
No new locomotives were built during his term of office.
Hurst came from the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, to which he returned after being sacked from the NBR.
There were many variations within the classes listed here, both as built and after subsequent rebuilding.
| 1st built | Wheel arrangement | Number built | Builder | Date | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72 | 4 | 1855 | align=left | Originally intended for Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway | |||
| 90 | 24 | Neilson (18) Dübs (6) | 1861–68 | align=left | |||
| 109 | 3 | NBR St. Margarets | 1865–66 | align=left | |||
| 76 | 4 | NBR St. Margarets | 1860–61 | align=left | |||
| 80 | 58 | Hawthorn of Leith (6) R. Stephenson (16) Dübs & Co. (36) | 1861–67 | align=left | |||
| 31 | 2 | NBR St. Margarets | 1856 | align=left | 1877 sold to Wigtownshire Railway | ||
| 20 | 14 | NBR St. Margarets | 1857–64 | align=left | |||
| 282 | 3 | 1866–67 | align=left |
| 1st built | 1913 Class | Wheel arrangement | Number built | Builder | Date | LNER Class | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | 2 | 1869 | — | align=left | |||||
| 418 | 8 | 1873 | E7 | align=left | |||||
| 40 | — | 2 | 1873 | — | align=left | ||||
| — | 2 | 1871 | — | align=left | |||||
| — | 4 | 1873 | — | align=left | |||||
| 17 | — | 1 | NBR St. Margarets | 1868 | — | align=left | Built from parts of earlier locos | ||
| 251 | 38 | 1867–74 | J84 | align=left | 20 rebuilt as saddle-tanks from 1889–94 | ||||
| 396 | 26 | Neilson & Co. (12), Dübs & Co. (14) | 1867–69 | J31 | align=left | ||||
| 56 | — | 8 | NBR St. Margarets | 1868–69 | — | align=left | "Longback" class. | ||
| 115 | 62 | 1869–75 | J31 | align=left | |||||
| 226 | 2 | 1870 | J86 | align=left | |||||
| 220 | — | 1 | 1870 | — | align=left | ||||
| 130 | 9 | 1870–73 | J85 | align=left | |||||
| 229 | 15 | 1871–73 | J81 | align=left | |||||
| 32 | — | 6 | 1874 | — | align=left | ||||
| 394 | — | 2 | 1867 | — | align=left | Second hand | |||
| 357 | — | 2 | 1868 | Y10 | align=left | ||||
| 18 | — | 2 | 1872 | — | align=left |
| 1st built | 1913 Class | Wheel arrangement | Number built | Builder | Date | LNER Class | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 474 | — | 2 | 1876 | — | align=left | Sometimes designated "Berwick" class, after the name of locomotive 475. Two built, for Edinburgh-Glasgow express services. | |||
| 476 | 12 | Neilson (8) NBR Cowlairs (4) | 1877–79 | D27/D28 | align=left | "Abbotsford" class. | |||
| 494 | P | 3 | Neilson | 1879 | D50 | align=left | |||
| 72 | R | 30 | NBR Cowlairs | 1880–84 | D51 | align=left | |||
| 157 | P | 6 | NBR Cowlairs | 1877 | G8 | align=left | All rebuilt as 0-4-4T in 1881 | ||
| 100 | 32 | NBR Cowlairs (12) Neilson (20) | 1876–77 | J32 | align=left | ||||
| 34 | 13 | NBR Cowlairs | 1879 | J34 | align=left | "Wee Drummond" class. | |||
| 497 | 88 | NBR Cowlairs (83) Dübs (5) | 1879–83 | J34 | align=left | "Wee Drummond" class. | |||
| 165 | R | 25 | NBR Cowlairs | 1875–78 | J82 | align=left | |||
| 546 | 2 | Neilson | 1882 | Y9 | align=left |
| 1st built | 1913 Class | Wheel arrangement | Number built | Builder | Date | LNER Class | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 574 | 6 | 1884 | D31 | align=left | |||||
| 633 | 24 | 1890–95 | D31 | align=left | |||||
| 729 | 18 | 1898–99 | D31 | align=left | |||||
| 592 | 12 | 1886–87 | D25 | align=left | |||||
| 693 | 24 | 1894–96 | D35 | align=left | "West Highland Bogie" class. One superheated in 1919, became NBR L class / LNER Class D36. | ||||
| 317 | 12 | 1903 | D26 | align=left | |||||
| 586 | P | 12 | 1886–88 | G7 | align=left | ||||
| 566 | 36 | 1883–87 | J33 | align=left | |||||
| 604 | 168 | Neilson (15), Sharp Stewart (15), NBR Cowlairs (138) | 1888–1900 | J36 | align=left | 673 Maude preserved | |||
| 795 | 40 | Neilson (20), Sharp Stewart (20) | 1900–01 | J83 | align=left | ||||
| 32 | 36 | 1887–99 | Y9 | align=left | same as Drummond 546 class. Of this batch, NBR 42 was preserved. |
NBL (the North British Locomotive Company) was a private locomotive manufacturer, distinct from the North British Railway.
| 1st built | 1913 Class | Wheel arrangement | Number built | Builder | Date | LNER Class | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 868 | 22 | NBL (16) R. Stephenson (6) | 1906–21 | C11 | align=left | Commonly known as the "North British Atlantics". Final two built with superheaters. Superheaters added to all others 1915–25. (Those which remained saturated were briefly designated class I or LNER class C10, but all were superheated by 1925 and became class C11.) The largest and most powerful locomotives ever built by the NBR. | |||
| 1 | M | 30 | 1911–13 | C15 | align=left | ||||
| 438 | L | 21 | NBL | 1915–21 | C16 | align=left | Superheated | ||
| 895 | 16 | NBL (6) NBR Cowlairs (10) | 1909–11 | D29 | align=left | "Scott" class. Superheaters added 1925–35 | |||
| 400 | 27 | NBR Cowlairs | 1912–20 | D30 | align=left | "Scott" class. Superheated. | |||
| 882 | 12 | NBR Cowlairs | 1906–07 | D32 | align=left | Superheaters added 1923–26 | |||
| 331 | 12 | NBR Cowlairs | 1909–10 | D33 | align=left | Superheaters added 1925–36 | |||
| 149 | 32 | NBR Cowlairs | 1913–20 | D34 | align=left | "Glen" class. Superheated. 256/9256/2469/62469 Glen Douglas preserved. | |||
| 239 | M | 12 | NBL | 1909 | G9 | align=left | |||
| 848 | 76 | NBL (40) NBR Cowlairs (36) | 1906–13 | J35 | align=left | ||||
| 8 | 104 | NBR Cowlairs (35) NBL (69) | 1914–21 | J37 | align=left | Superheated | |||
| 836 | 35 | NBR Cowlairs | 1905–19 | J88 | align=left | ||||
| 858 | 6 | NBL | 1909–20 | N14 | align=left | ||||
| 7 | 69 | NBL | 1910–24 | N15 | align=left | +30 built by LNER |
All previous incumbents were known as Locomotive Superintendent. Chalmers held the same position, but with the title changed to Chief Mechanical Engineer.
There were no new locomotive designs during the incumbency of Walter Chalmers as Chief Mechanical Engineer. Two new NBR H class locomotives were built under his supervision. Although these were not his design, he had drawn the designs under the direction of W P Reid, having been Chief Draughtsman (the deputy to the Locomotive Superintendent) of the NBR whilst Reid was Locomotive Superintendent.
As with most companies, certain classes of locomotive from the North British Railway were commonly known by distinctive names or nicknames, rather than their official class designations. The following is a guide to these nicknames, with links to articles about the respective locomotive types.
| Common nickname | NBR designation | LNER designation | Wheel arrangement | Design date | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longback | - | - | 1868 | Withdrawn before any standard class designation system was introduced. | ||
| Berwick | - | - | 1876 | Withdrawn before any standard class designation system was introduced. | ||
| C class | J32 class | 1876 | 673 Maude preserved. | |||
| M class | D27 & D28 class | 1877 | ||||
| D class | J34 class | 1879 | ||||
| G class | Y9 class | 1882 | 42 preserved. | |||
| N class | D35 class | 1894 | ||||
| H class | C11 class | 1906 | ||||
| J class | D29 class | 1909 | ||||
| Superheated Scott or Super Scott | J class | D30 class | 1912 | |||
| K class | D34 class | 1913 | 256 Glen Douglas preserved. |
| Image | NBR No. | NBR Class | Type | Manufacturer | Serial No. | Date | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | 1887 | align=left | On static display at the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway | |||||
| 4392 | 1891 | align=left | On static display at the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway | |||||
| 256 | 1913 | align=left | On static display at the Riverside Museum | |||||