North British Railway.html
 
| ca | de | en | es | fr | it | nl | no | pl | pt | ru | ro | fi | sv | tr | vo |


 

The North British Railway was a Scottish railway company that was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923.

Looking east across part of Princes Street Gardens, the monument to Sir Walter Scott is prominent in the background to the left. The North British Hotel is in the centre, with the North Bridge to its right above Waverley station.
The North British Hotel from the south east, beyond Waverley Station which is under the North Bridge

Contents

Introduction

The North British Railway Company opened its first line, from Edinburgh to Berwick-upon-Tweed, with a branch to Haddington, in 1846. In 1865 it took over the Monkland and Kirkintilloch line, the oldest in Scotland. Other amalgamations followed, altogether over 50 small lines being made part of the North British system, which ultimately totalled 2,739 miles. The main line was from Aberdeen through Dundee to Edinburgh, whence it forked to Carlisle and Berwick to meet the main English routes (the London and North Western Railway (also the Midland Railway) and the North Eastern Railway respectively). Fife was covered with a network of lines, and the pleasure resorts on the east and west coasts were also served. The company owned the Tay Bridge and its services also used the Forth Bridge,1 for whose construction it was responsible as part of the Route to the North in the 19th century. Although primarily a Scottish railway, the NBR also had an extensive branch network in northern Northumberland, reaching to Hexham, Morpeth and Rothbury, as well as the main line into Berwick. Its lines also reached into northern Cumberland as far as Silloth, Port Carlisle, Gretna and Carlisle.2

The NBR operated services between Waverley station, Edinburgh and Queen Street station in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Carlisle (via Galashiels and Hawick – the Waverley Route) and between Newcastle upon Tyne and Aberdeen. The North British was a partner (with the North Eastern Railway and the Great Northern Railway) in the East Coast Joint Stock operation from 1860.

The company’s headquarters were at 23 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh and its works at Cowlairs, Glasgow. Its capital in 1921 was £67 million.1 Besides its railway, the company also operated steamers on the Clyde serving Arran and points west 2 and acquired a 49% stake in the road haulage firm Mutter Howey.3

The North British Hotel at the east end of Princes Street in Edinburgh city centre forms a prominent landmark with its crown steeple displaying large clocks, renamed the Balmoral Hotel in the 1980s, though the old name is still shown in the stonework. The clock on the hotel has run since the building opened at three minutes ahead of real time to encourage tardy travellers to get to the station on time.

Component companies

During its existence the NBR absorbed the following companies:

Chief Mechanical Engineers

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b Harmsworth (1921)
  2. ^ a b Conolly (2004)
  3. ^ Bonavia (1980)

Sources

See also



The "Big Four" pre-nationalisation British railway companies
v • d • e

█ Great Western • █ London Midland & Scottish • █ London & North Eastern • █ Southern

GWR constituents: Great Western Railway • Cambrian Railways • Taff Vale Railway
Barry Railway • Rhymney Railway • (Full list)
LNER constituents: Great Central • Great Eastern • Great Northern • Great North of Scotland
Hull & Barnsley • North British • North Eastern • (Full list)
LMS constituents: Caledonian • Furness • Glasgow & South Western • Highland
Lancashire & Yorkshire • London and North Western • Midland • North Staffordshire • (Full list)
SR constituents: London and South Western Railway • London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
South Eastern Railway • London, Chatham and Dover Railway • (Full list)

See also: History of rail transport in Great Britain 1923 - 1947 • List of companies involved in the grouping



v • d • e
Historical Scottish railway companies:
Primary companies: Caledonian Railway • Glasgow and South Western Railway • Great North of Scotland Railway

Highland Railway • North British Railway
Caledonian lines: Aberdeen Railway • Alloa Railway • Alyth • Arbroath and Forfar • Busby Railway • Callander and Oban • Cathcart District • Cleland and Midcalder • Clydesdale Junction • CR Main Line • CR Douglas Branch • CR Hamilton Branch • CR Hamiltonhill Branch • Crieff Junction • Crieff and Comrie • Crieff and Methven Junction • Dumfries, Lochmaben and Lockerbie • Dunblane, Doune and Callander • Dundee and Perth • Dundee and Perth and Aberdeen • Forfar and Brechin • General Terminus and Glasgow Harbour • Glasgow and Garnkirk • Glasgow Central Railway • Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock • Greenock and Wemyss Bay • Hamilton and Strathaven • Killin Railway • Lanarkshire and Ayrshire • Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire • Leadhills and Wanlockhead • Lochearnhead, St Fillans and Comrie • Paisley and Barrhead District • Perth, Almond Valley and Methven • Polloc and Govan • Rutherglen and Coatbridge • Scottish Central • Scottish Midland Junction • Scottish North Eastern • Solway Junction • Symington, Biggar and Broughton • Talla Railway • Wishaw and Coltness
Glasgow and South Western lines: Ardrossan Railway • Ardrossan and Johnstone • Ayr and Dalmellington • Ayr and Maybole Junction • Ayr to Mauchline • Ayrshire and Wigtownshire • Barrhead Branch • Bridge of Weir Railway • Cairn Valley • Caledonian and Dunbartonshire Junction • Castle Douglas and Dumfries • Dalry and North Johnstone • Darvel Branch • Girvan and Portpatrick Junction • Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle • Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr • Greenock and Ayrshire • Kilmarnock and Troon • Largs Branch • Maidens and Dunure • Maybole and Girvan • Paisley and Renfrew • Paisley Canal Line
Great North of Scotland lines: Aberdeen and Turriff • Aboyne and Braemar • Alford Valley • Banff, Macduff and Turriff Junction • Banff, Portsoy and Strathisla • Boddam Branch • Deeside Railway • Denburn Valley • Formartine and Buchan • Inverury and Old Meldrum Junction • Keith and Dufftown • Moray Coast • Morayshire Railway • St Combs Light Railway • Strathspey Railway
Highland lines: Buckie and Portessie Branch • Dingwall and Skye • Duke of Sutherland • Findhorn Railway • Fortrose Branch • Inverness and Aberdeen Junction • Inverness and Aviemore Direct • Inverness and Nairn • Inverness and Perth Junction • Inverness and Ross-shire • Kyle of Lochalsh Extension • Perth and Dunkeld • Sutherland and Caithness • Sutherland Railway

Independent lines worked by the Highland Railway
Dornoch Light Railway • Wick and Lybster Light Railway
North British lines: Aberlady, Gullane and North Berwick • Ballochney • Bathgate and Coatbridge • Border Counties Railway • Border Union Railway • Carlisle and Silloth Bay Railway and Dock Company • Coatbridge Branch • Edinburgh and Bathgate • Edinburgh and Dalkeith • Edinburgh and Glasgow • Edinburgh and Hawick • Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway • Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction • Forth and Clyde Junction • Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh • Glasgow and Milngavie Junction • Glasgow, Yoker and Clydebank • Kirkcaldy and District Railway • Kincardine Line • Leadburn, Linton and Dolphinton • Monkland and Kirkintilloch • Monkland Railways • Mallaig Extension • NBR North Berwick Branch • North British, Arbroath and Montrose • Stirling and Dunfermline • Strathendrick and Aberfoyle • Slamannan • Slamannan and Borrowstounness • West Highland Railway • Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness
Joint lines: Caledonian and Dunbartonshire Junction • City Union • Dundee and Arbroath • Glasgow and Paisley Joint • Glasgow and Renfrew District • Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint • Kilsyth and Bonnybridge • Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint
Other lines: Brechin and Edzell District • Campbeltown and Machrihanish Light Railway • Cromarty and Dingwall Light Railway • Denburn Valley Line • Dundee and Arbroath • Glasgow City and District • Invergarry and Fort Augustus • Lochaber Narrow Gauge • Perth, Almond Valley and Methven • Tranent to Cockenzie Waggonway


All Right Reserved © 2007, Designed by Stylish Blog.