Great North of Scotland Railway Album

Title: Great North Of Scotland Railway Album

Authors: A.E. Glen, I.A. Glen With A.G. Dunbar

Format: Hardback

Publisher: Fraser Stuart, ISBN: 18564818853, Year: 1994

Born in 1844 during the enthusiastic years of railway construction often termed the 'Railway Mania', the Great North of Scotland Railway, in spite of its pretentious title, was Scotland's smallest regional rail system - and its 334¾ miles of lines took 10 years to build as the railway boom collapsed.

Planned to link Aberdeen and Inverness, the GNSR was always a minor line, although it was used by Queen Victoria in 1853 and there were plans to extend the line towards Balmoral. Throughout its history the locomotive list only amounted to some 180 engines which have been described as largely consisting of 'old 4-4-0s, new 4-4-0s, rebuilt 4-4-0s, 4-4-0s with superheaters, 4-4-0s with names and 4-4-0s without names'. There is a certain element of truth in this, for the first locomotice of this type came to the GNSR in 1862 and they proved so versatile, practical and economical that they were to characterise the railway for almost a century. However, Great North of Scotland Railway Album is not just an album of 4-4-0s. It is a remarkable pictorial tribute to and record of a line which provided an efficient local service to its community and to whom even the Grouping and Nationalisation made little difference. With over 190 splendid photographs it provides a remarkable coverage of the pioneering days of British steam.