GREAT NORTH OF SCOTLAND RAILWAY
The Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR/GNoSR) was one of the smaller British railways before the grouping, operating in the far north-east of Scotland. It was formed in 1845 and received its Parliamentary approval on June 26, 1846, following over two years of local meetings. In 1923 it was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway as its Northern Scottish area.
The GNSR's eventual area encompassed the three Scottish counties of Aberdeenshire, Banffshire and Morayshire, with short lengths of line in Inverness-shire and Kincardineshire. The railway operated its main line between Aberdeen Waterloo and Keith. Although the line had several branches, its remoteness, and the fact that it served an area far removed from the rest of Britain, has resulted in only its main line remaining today.
There were connections westward with the Highland Railway at Boat of Garten, Elgin, Keith and Portessie and southward with the Caledonian Railway and North British Railway at Aberdeen, where the three shared a station.
The headquarters were at 89 Guild Street in Aberdeen and the works at Inverurie. In 1921 the railway comprised 334 miles of line and the company’s capital was £7 million.
The company also owned hotels in some of the towns and resorts served by its stations.
In the early 20th century it also developed a network of feeder bus services.
Chief Mechanical Engineers
• D. K. Clark 1853-1855
• J. F. Ruthven 1855-1857
• W. Cowan 1857-1883
• J. Manson 1883-1890
• J. Johnson 1890-1894
• William Pickersgill 1894-1914
• T. E. Heywood 1914-1922
• R. E. Williamson 1922-1925
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) produced several classes of locomotive, mostly to the designs of Nigel Gresley, characterised by a three cylinder layout with a parallel boiler and round-topped firebox. It produced the most iconic locomotive of its day, 4468 'Mallard', the holder of the world steam locomotive speed record. It also built the world famous 4472 'Flying Scotsman'. However, its locomotive inheritance was much greater than just the 'A4 Class', it also produced highly successful mixed-traffic and freight designs.
