Another mystery picture with an Ivatt 0-6-2T, this time an N2. The photographer is unknown and the quality is a bit iffy: again, I have done my best to fix it with Photoshop CS.
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Not the West Riding after all, thanks go to Rob Stout, member of the North British Study Group (see Useful Links), who has recognised the location as near Craigentinny Signal Box, Portobello, on the east side of Edinburgh, a few miles out from Edinburgh Waverley.
If my map reading is up to scratch the pair of lines in the middle are the ECML towards Newcastle and King's Cross and the junction to the right leads into Craigentinny depot and carriage sidings. The pair of tracks to the left are the goods lines with a junction further north that parted off towards Granton Harbour, and that's the direction the Class D "pick-up goods" may have been heading.
The loco was one of a batch 2583-94 that was sent new to Scotland in the spring of 1925 and allocated initially to Dundee, St.Margaret's and Eastfield, on passenger duties except for the St.Margaret's ones which were initially put on the goods transfer trips around Edinburgh. See RCTS 9A for more details about subsequent developments.Reading between the lines, I get the feeling that Doncaster may not have been best pleased about brand new passenger tanks being relegated to duties as humble as this. The train is quite short and not unusual for the 1920s when relatively low-sided wagons were numerous. The leading three visible here, and a telling point is continued carriage of pre-Grouping liveries, are:
- 3-plank dropside with a loose tarpaulin sheet, still in GCR livery with grease boxes and handbrake lever to the left. - 2-plank LMS (possibly ex-MR)? - 4-plank ex-HR, with a primitive brake lever arrangement. Confirmed by John Smart, who prompted me to make a hi-res scan of the wagons, in which the lettering is clear to see.
Click on the image for an enlargement
Dare I conclude by saying that this reminds me of my first ever train set, boosted by second-hand wagons from the model shop in Leeds, and when I eventually started building wagons from scratch in the days before kits were available (the magazines used to be full of helpful articles by the LNER Study Group and the LMS Society), wagons like this were easy to knock off. Oh, happy days!
Map
For those wishing to delve deeper into the scene, Rob Stout has flagged up the OS map of 1934 courtesy of the National Library of Scotland whose stunning presentation shows Edinburgh around Portobello. The link below takes you straight there - return by using the browser "back" button.
Rob adds that the walled footpath to the left was called the Fishwives' Causeway.
Click on the image for an enlargement
