Railways

Where is it?

No 7

Hal o' the Wynd

This engine here, 'Hal o' the Wynd' is named after the blacksmith hero in Sir Walter Scott's novel, 'The Fair Maid of Perth'.

Here the engine appears to have been newly painted or cleaned.  Compare its condition with the engine behind.

Question

Where and When?

The lettering on the tender appears to me to date the photograph to the early days of British Railways, probably around the late-1940s.  The engine was withdrawn and disposed of in January 1951.

But where was the photo taken?  If you recognise the location, please e-mail me.  Thank you.    - Peter Stubbs

Reply 1

Thank you to Patrick Hutton, Edinburgh,  who wrote, immediately after seeing this photo:

Haymarket?

"I have just seen the photo of Hal O' the Wynd. I cannot check my reference books just now, but I'd have said that this was at the East end of Haymarket depot.

The loco is facing W. The bridge behind would be the Granton line from Princes St station - the embankment at the N side is still there as the end of the cycle path through Roseburn.

Note that Hal O' the Wynd has 'Hawick' painted on the buffer beam. Maybe it has been through Haymarket for painting? Having said that, St Margaret's (Meadowbank) was the main depot in those days for ex-LNER locos.

Will check books ASAP - mainly to check the ID of the bridge"

Patrick Hutton:  November 6, 2006

Reply 2

After further investigation, Patrick Hutton then sent the following message:

NOT Haymarket?

"I found a long-shot of the Granton line bridge at Haymarket in AJ Mullay's 'Rail Centres: Edinburgh', page 52.   I'm not sure that the Hal o' the Wynd photo is there.

The bridges both have the characteristic criss-cross railings, but the upright spacings differ. And the relationship between the girders and the piers seems to be different - in the Mullay pic (definitely Haymarket) the piers come up around the girders, whereas in the 'Hal O' the Wynd' pic the girders sit atop the pier stonework.

I'll have another look. Certainly, the bridges are that similar that I'd suspect the overbridge is Caledonian in origin, which rather limits the options.

Seafield Yard is one possibility, but I don't know what a passenger loco would be doing there, even in 1948-49.

Hmmm."

Patrick Hutton:  November 9, 2006

Reply 3

Patrick Hutton investigated further, then wrote:

Eastfield

"I see from the NLS web site (maps) and from Ewan Crawford's Railscot web site that there was a Caledonian Railway branch (Hamiltonhill Branch) that crossed the N end of Eastfield depot., Glasgow.

Assuming some architectural uniformity, the detail similarities of the overbridges at Haymarket (Caledonian branch to Granton and Newhaven/Leith) and the one behind Hal o the Wynd might suggest that these were both Caledonian branches.

The overbridge at Eastfield is quite clear in this photograph of 43076 on the Vintage Images web site.

So, by inference, I am just about certain that the photograph of 'Hal o the Wynd' was taken at Eastfield, Glasgow, presumably just after repainting at Cowlairs."

Patrick Hutton:  November 13, 2006