Across the Howe of Fife - Full

ACROSS THE HOWE OF FIFE: FROM EDINBURGH TO DUNDEE

Although some of the Fife rail network survived the ‘Beeching Axe” – and is likely to be increased with the re-opening of the line from Thornton to Leven – much has changed in the railway scene, and this album allows us to indulge in nostalgia for past times on routes both lost and retained.

ISBN 978-1-913893-66-8

£13.50

FrOM EDINBUrGH TO DUNDEE

IAN LAMB

In this album, photos from the substantial Transport Treasury archive illustrate the character of many of the lines which served (and most still do) between Edinburgh and Dundee. As well as covering the key route between the two cities, we have sought to provide some unusual images from locations which have often been bypassed in the (literal and metaphorical) rush along this former North British Railway route.

ACrOSS THE HOWE OF FIFE

IAN LAMB

ACrOSS THE HOWE OF FIFE FrOM EDINBUrGH TO DUNDEE

IAN LAMB

© Images and design: Transport Treasury 2025 Text: Ian Lamb ISBN 978-1-913893-66-8 First published in 2025 by Transport Treasury Publishing Limited. 16 Highworth Close, High Wycombe, HP13 7PJ. Totem Publishing an imprint of Transport Treasury Publishing.

The copyright holders hereby give notice that all rights to this work are reserved.

Aside from brief passages for the purpose of review, no part of this work may be reproduced, copied by electronic or other means, or otherwise stored in any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the Publisher. This includes the illustrations herein which shall remain the copyright of the copyright holder. www.ttpublishing.co.uk Printed in Tarxien, Malta by Gutenberg Press Ltd. ‘Across the Howe of Fife: From Edinburgh to Dundee’ is one of many books on specialist transport subjects published in strictly limited numbers and produced under the Totem Publishing imprint using material only available at The Transport Treasury.

Front Cover: Construction of the Forth Bridge commenced in 1883 and was completed in 1890. On 18 August 1963 Bill Smith joined a small group which had permission to walk across the bridge. Being a Sunday, track relaying was in progress – the special flat-bottomed rails are laid on oak beams – and single line working was in operation. The locomotive, using the ‘up’ line instead of the ‘down’, is Gresley Class V2 2-6-2 No. 60882 with the 2.40pm from Edinburgh Waverley to Cowdenbeath running beneath a bewildering array of steel tubes and girders. (W. A. C. Smith) Frontispiece: Ladybank railway complex viewed south from a brake van on the main line about to head west towards Perth via Newburgh, as indicated by the raised upper quadrant signal. Quite an attractive period coach in the siding, whilst a BR Class 08 ‘English Electric’ 0-6-0 shunter rests in the goods yard. This station took on a new lease of life in the 1960s when the Newburgh branch took over the traffic of the former NBR Glenfarg main line to Perth. The ‘Howe of Fife’ skyline is in the background. (Norris Forrest) Rear Cover: September 1925. Although now part of the LNER empire, Reid NBR ‘Atlantic’ No. 874 Dunedin still proudly shows her original heritage whilst heading an express train at Leuchars Junction. (‘Dunedin’ is the ancient name for Edinburgh.) They were the heaviest, longest and most powerful locomotives employed on the North British Railway (by tractive effort). (Milepost)

INTrODUCTION Fife was very much the preserve of the North British Railway – followed by the LNER, then British Railways in 1948. The first step came in 1847 with the opening of the Edinburgh & Northern Railway which ran from Burntisland to Tayport where waterbased transport linked with Dundee. A ferry already existed on the Forth estuary. In 1849, the ‘E&NR’ became the Edinburgh, Perth & Dundee Railway, amalgamating with the ‘NBR’ in 1862.

The second Tay Bridge was completed in 1887, and the North British route between the two cities was firmly established by the opening of the Forth Bridge in 1890.

Much time is given over to rightly appreciating W. A. C. Smith’s incredible photographic legacy, but what did the man himself have to say about the purpose for the pictorial railway content to which he devoted so much of his life? He started off behind Union of South Africa.

“Wednesday, 19 June 1946, was a fine, sunny day when, having purchased third-class return tickets at a cost of seven shillings, I made my way along platform two at Glasgow’s Queen Street station to join the 11.20am train for Edinburgh Waverley. This comprised class A4 Pacific No. 4488, Union of South Africa, still in wartime black livery, at the head of ten coaches.

The object of my visit was a two-day exhibition of locomotives and rolling stock being held at Waverley Station to celebrate the centenary of the opening of the North British Railway from Edinburgh to Berwick – the first railway across the border – on 18 June 1846. The exhibition occupied platforms five and six at the east end of the station and featured class A4 Pacific No. 14 Silver Link, A1 Pacific No. 4470 Great Northern, A2 Pacific (rebuilt 2-8-2) No. 2001 Cock o’ the North, B1 4-6-0 No. 1048, L1 2-6-4T No. 9000, diesel shunter No.8000 and preserved Great Northern Railway

June 1937. Emerging new from Doncaster Works, LNER Class A4 Pacific No. 4488 Union of South Africa, is believed to have achieved the fastestever northbound journey for steam power on the East Coast Main Line when – on August 1939 – she brought the ‘Coronation’ into Edinburgh’s Waverley station 352 minutes after leaving London King’s Cross, a probable net time of 340 minutes. She went on to accumulate a magnificent amount of accolades throughout her illustrious career, especially in preservation, before ending up as a static exhibit in East Fife. She was a locomotive that regularly headed across the Howe of Fife, probably the most familiar route to which she was rostered. (Transport Treasury)

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4-2-2 No. 1. Also on show were examples of new coaching stock, a 45-ton breakdown crane, a Mobile Signalling School and a North British Railway horse drawn ‘dandy coach’.

My return journey from Waverley was by the 6.10pm train – nine corridor coaches and a brake van – taken over upon its arrival from London King’s Cross by class D11 4-4-0 No. 6395 Ellen Douglas, and, as on the outward journey, was run to time throughout.

Having ‘copped’ my first Hunt class 4-4-0, No. 377 The Tynedale, when passing Glasgow’s Eastfield shed, followed by Sentinel steam railcar ‘Royal Eagle’ at Waverley, together with Q6 0-8-0 No. 3364 and D34 4-4-0 No. 9221 ‘Glen Orchy’ (this Glen was the last of the class I needed for marking off in my Ian Allan ABC of LNER locomotives), it seemed that the glory days had returned after years of wartime austerity which were summed up by the slogan, ‘Is your journey really necessary?’ However, within eighteen months the dead hands of nationalisation were to fall on Britain’s railways.”

Whilst Bill Smith plied his photographic skill to all of Scotland and beyond, in this album we concentrate on the challenging main line from Edinburgh to Dundee at its height, with some reference to spurs that depended on their link to this express route. Gresley designed locomotives dominated the track during the LNER/BR period from the 1930s to the 1960s, but earlier NBR engines and influence is also recorded, all giving a flavour of a railway where such motive power was employed to the task in hand.

Ian Lamb 2024

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A ‘BR’ 1980s map showing the railways operating at the time. Since then, many local stations have been created or re-opened, and – of course - the Borders Line to Tweedbank (Melrose) has been a phenomenal success. Hopefully the recently opened Levenmouth extension will do likewise.

4 September 1965. The journey begins and – in reality – ends with Edinburgh’s St Margarets (64A) Class B1 4-6-0 No. 61344 at the Waverley station awaiting departure from platform sixteen with the 13.18 train for Crail.

(The twenty-four hour clock had come into use that summer on British Railways.) This service was the last steam train from Edinburgh to the East of Fife line which was closed two days later. (W. A. C. Smith)

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14 April 1954. ‘Auld Reekie’ in all its glory! ‘Arthur’s Seat’ and the eastern suburbs are lost in a haze of mist. The North British Hotel (as it was then) dominates the skyline, whilst the North Bridge is prominent above the nineteen platforms, hosting – as always – a motley collection of Edinburgh Corporation buses. (Arthur Mace)

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7 November 1959. Edinburgh’s magnificent Waverley station is one of the largest and busiest in Britain. Class B1 4-6-0 No. 61148 of 62A builds up steam as it exits the platform with the 12.30pm train for Fife, probably with a Thornton service. (W. A. C. Smith)

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20 July 1959. The class A4 Pacifics were synonymous with Waverley Station and No. 60009 Union of South Africa is seen here at platform sixteen, heading the 4pm to Perth (via Glenfarg) with through coaches for Inverness.

This service departed simultaneously with the Glasgow express, resulting in being known locally as the ‘Four o’clock Race’, of great interest to some Haymarket staff that placed bets as to who would arrive at Saughton Junction first! (W. A. C. Smith)

Early LNER period in Princes Street Gardens. In steam days the four track section to Saughton Junction did not see many simultaneous departures from Waverley.

However, the two departures at four o’clock for Perth and Glasgow could provide an exciting spectacle.

On this occasion Reid LNER Class C10 (later C11, being superheated in 1925) No. 9901 St Johnstoun wastes no time on its likely Dundee bound journey heading a train of Gresley suburban coaches, with or without competition, lasting in service until 1937 along with the last batch of this class of locomotives. (Dr Ian Allen)

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12th October 1957. Haymarket Station is at the entrance to the tunnel leading to Princes Street Gardens.

Its side platforms and centre island platform date from the quadrupling of the tracks in the 1890s, and it retains its impressive Edinburgh & Glasgow Railway terminal building which can be seen behind the locomotive.

Class B1 4-6-0 No. 61007 Klipspringer makes a punctual departure with the 1.20pm train from Waverley to Crail.

(W. A. C. Smith)

6 February 1965. The Caledonian Railway completed a goods line from Slateford to Haymarket in 1853 and hoped to reach Leith Docks, but the Edinburgh & Glasgow Railway confined them to a bay platform at Haymarket Station. However, for the closure of Princes Street Station the northern end of the spur was revamped as the Duff Street connection. This enabled trains from Glasgow Central and Carstairs to reach Waverley Station and was brought into use in September 1964. Stanier ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0 No. 44867, allocated to Stockport Edgeley Shed and fresh from overhaul at Cowlairs Works, passes Haymarket East Junction with the 1.28pm football special from Waverley to Falkirk Grahamston. (W. A. C. Smith)

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6 February 1965. On a misty morning Class B1 4-6-0 No. 61132, with a ten coach rugby special from Dysart, passing Haymarket Central Junction and Motive Power Depot. The latter had been given over to diesel traction by this date. (W. A. C. Smith)

16 March 1958. Haymarket’s proud A2/1 Pacific No. 60507 Highland Chieftain rests majestically in its home shed whilst awaiting a further duty. This engine is unique in having the tender of No. 4469 Sir Ralph Wedgwood which had been destroyed during a bombing raid on York in April 1942. Of the four locomotives in Class A2/1, three were based at Haymarket.

(John Robertson)

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12th October 1957. Balgreen Halt was opened on the Corstorphine branch, near to its junction with the main line, in 1934 by the London & North Eastern Railway to serve new housing. Class 2MT 2-6-0 No. 46461 was photographed arriving with the 1.38pm from North Berwick to Corstorphine. Diesel multiple units took over the service the following year. (W. A. C. Smith)

7 September 1954. Class V1 2-6-2T No. 67670 awaits departure with the 6.17pm to Waverley. This branch was opened in 1902, providing a convenient terminal in the village, and the carriage sidings resulted in a frequent service. Despite being closed in 1967, it would have provided an excellent park and ride facility if operating today. (W. A. C. Smith)

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18 January 1964. Saughton Junction is located three and a half miles west of Waverley station, where the line north to the Forth Bridge leaves the Glasgow route. Completion of the Forth Bridge in 1890 brought a massive increase in traffic, resulting in the quadrupling of the line into the city centre. On a wintry day, Class V2 2-6-2 No. 60824 crosses over to the Glasgow line with the 10.55am relief train from Dundee Tay Bridge station. (W. A. C. Smith)

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1959. Gresley V1 2-6-2T No. 67659 passes Dalmeny North Junction on approaching the Forth Bridge with a motley collection of coaching stock – particularly LNER – with, probably, a local service to Fife. The V1s worked to Kirkcaldy on Sundays. Going off to the right is the connection to Winchburgh Junction on the Glasgow main line from Edinburgh, while the South Queensferry branch drops away through the cutting on the left of the signalbox. (Neville Stead Collection)

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20 July 1959. Former LMS Jubilee class 4-6-0 No. 45724 Warspite, allocated to Carlisle Kingmoor Motive Power Depot, was quite a way from its usual haunts when approaching Dalmeny North Junction with the 3.36pm train from Thornton Junction to Glasgow Queen Street. (W. A. C. Smith)

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1960s. The stalwart in motive power for many years were the ubiquitous Brush/Sulzer Type 4 locomotives, represented here by Class 47 No. 1560 as it builds up speed coming off the Forth Bridge through Dalmeny for the ‘Turnhouse race track’ towards Saughton Junction with an express service for Edinburgh. (W. A. C. Smith)

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11th June 1960. With the Forth Bridge in the background, class K4 2-6-0 No. 61998 Macleod of Macleod rolls into Dalmeny Station with the 7.10pm relief train from Ladybank to Edinburgh Waverley, picking up homeward-bound Sunday school trips and the like from various small stations.

The K4s were built for the West Highland line by the LNER in 1937/8, but all five ended their days allocated to Thornton MPD in 1959. Note the two articulated coaches behind the engine. (W. A. C. Smith)

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24 July 1952. The Forth Bridge, photographed from North Queensferry. Dwarfed by the massive cantilevers, and barely visible through the latticework of girders, Haymarket (64B) Class A3 Pacific No. 60089 Felstead crosses with the 2.15pm express from Edinburgh (Waverley) to Aberdeen. It was a tradition as children that once travelling through the cantilevers you would fling out pennies for good fortune. The racehorse ‘Felstead’ was winner of the 1928 Derby. This magnificent structure has a length (including approach viaducts) of one mile and 1,005 yards.

(W. A. C. Smith)

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25 August 1959. Class B1 4-6-0 No. 61148 heads the 2.15pm train from Dundee to Edinburgh – which took a marathon four hours as it was routed via Crail and called at nearly every station en route - emerges from the smoke-filled North Queensferry tunnel after ascending the punishing 1 in 70 climb from Inverkeithing, and draws to a stop at North Queensferry station. Lights were installed in the tunnel after an accident in 1954 when a heavy sleeping car train slipped to a stand and then ran backwards, derailing at catch points, whilst the engine crew were unaware of what was happening. (W. A. C. Smith)

2 August 1958. Peppercorn A1 Pacific No. 60159 Bonnie Dundee coasts down from the Forth Bridge with the 6.45pm Edinburgh-Dundee train through Inverkeithing South Junction. The double track to the left heads down to Rosyth dockyard. (W. A. C. Smith)

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20 August 1959. Reid Class J35 0-6-0 No. 64496 emerges with its workers’ train from under the main line at Naval Base Junction where the dockyard line joined the former North Queensferry branch from Inverkeithing, whilst what looks like a Gresley ‘V2’ descends steeply from the Forth Bridge. Rosyth estate at St Margaret’s Bay on the north shore of the Firth of Forth was purchased by the Admiralty in 1903 for construction of a naval base to counter the threat posed by the rapidly expanding German High Seas Fleet. A station was opened within the dockyard for naval specials and workers’ services. In more peaceful times the annual ‘Navy Days’ event saw the visit of many excursion trains. (W. A. C. Smith)

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27 February 1960. Thompson’s B1 4-6-0s, the LNER equivalent of the LMS ‘Black Fives’, were a familiar sight in this area for more than twenty years. The first of the class (which eventually numbered 410 locomotives) appeared in East Fife in 1944. Thornton (62A) based No. 61277 was built by the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow in 1948, and is seen here with the 7.32am train from Dundee via Crail. (W. A. C. Smith)

29 August 1959. Post-war LNER Pacific Class A2 No. 60532 Blue Peter sweeps past Inverkeithing Central junction on the main coast line with the 12.40pm express from Aberdeen to Edinburgh on a hot and hazy afternoon. This locomotive survives in preservation.

Lord Roseberry’s ‘Blue Peter’ won the 1939 Derby and 2000 Guineas races. (W. A. C. Smith)

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Left Top: 10 August 1957. Inverkeithing Central Junction - north of the station - was where the new line to Burntisland for the opening of the Forth Bridge diverged from the original Dunfermline to North Queensferry branch, and a spur linking the East and North junctions formed a triangle. Reid’s Class ‘D30’ 4-4-0 No. 62436 Lord Glenvarloch, based at Dunfermline (62C), approaches Inverkeithing station with the 5.56pm local service from its home town to connect with services for Edinburgh, Glasgow and Thornton. (W. A. C. Smith)

Left Bottom: 2 August 1958. St. Margarets (64A) K3 mogul No. 61938 slows down for the sharp curve at Inverkeithing East Junction with the 4.52pm service from Dundee (Tay Bridge) to Edinburgh (Waverley).

(W. A. C. Smith)

Right: 10 August 1957. On the East Coast main line, Haymarket (64B) based Class A2/3 Pacific No. 60519 Honeyway passes through Aberdour with the 3.40pm express from Aberdeen to Edinburgh. ‘Honeyway’ was the winner of the 1946 Champion Stakes. This station was renowned for its prize-winning floral displays, with judges assessing on the basis of station safety, infrastructure and customer-friendly presentation.

‘Making our stations more pleasant and relaxing places to catch a train is a key part of our plan to build the best railway Scotland has ever had.’ (ScotRail.)

(W. A. C. Smith)

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26 October 1966. The British Aluminium Company works at Burntisland were established in 1915 alongside the Fife Coast main line, and slightly east of the small Carron harbour (site of the Newbigging limeworks waggonway of 1817), for the separation of alumina from imported bauxite ore, and despatching the metal by rail to plants at Fort William and Kinlochleven in the West Highlands. 1915 built Peckett saddle-tank engine No. 1 shunts a train of steel wagons. For a while this engine was based at Lochty, but is now at the ‘Caledonian Railway’ site at Brechin. Both Peckett and Barclay locomotives operated here. (W. A. C. Smith)

26 December 1959. The industrial skyline of Burntisland stands out as Type 2 ‘Bo-Bo’ No. D5336 halts at the station with the 9.43am Dundee (Tay Bridge) to Edinburgh (Waverley) local train. Note the Thompson composite suburban coach behind the engine. (W. A. C. Smith)

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Left: 24 July 1954. One time Carlisle Canal (12C) Thompson ‘B1’ 4-6-0 No. 61064 leaves Burntisland with the 5.13pm train from Glasgow (Queen Street) to Thornton Junction, and passes the 7¼ inch gauge engine Freda on Dick’s Miniature Railway, a temporary affair which operated on the Links that summer. (W. A. C. Smith)

Below: August 1963. Gresley V2 2-6-2 No. 60822 skirts the coast line of the Firth of Forth Dundee (Tay Bridge) to Edinburgh (Waverley) local train. Note the island of Inchkeith beyond the sand flats. (W. A. C. Smith)

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20 August 1959. One of my favourite B1s, St Margarets (64A) 4-6-0 No. 61029 Chamois pulls into Kinghorn station with the 4.53pm local service from Dundee (Tay Bridge) to Edinburgh (Waverley), containing some former LMS suburban coaches. (W. A. C. Smith)

August 1963. For a short distance beyond Kinghorn the landscape rises considerably as seen in this cutting as a B1 4-6-0 hauls its local train eastwards towards Kirkcaldy, about to enter Kinghorn tunnel. (W. A. C. Smith)

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22 March 1958. First of the class; Riddles Standard ‘Clan’ 4-6-2 No. 72000 Clan Buchanan rests at Sinclairtown station with the 10.40am stopping train from Edinburgh (Waverley) to Dundee (Tay Bridge). This location was formerly a village in the Parish of Dysart, now in the eastern suburbs of Kirkcaldy, where the station served the local community from 1847 to 1969. It is situated between Kirkcaldy Harbour and Gallatown to the north.

Five ‘Clans’ were transferred to Haymarket shed during 1957, and were displaced elsewhere in 1958. (W. A. C. Smith)

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October 1966. Ex-WD 8F 2-8-0 No. 90117 is laying a smokescreen over Dysart as it departs from the goods yard with a load of coal wagons from the nearby ‘Dubbie Pit’ Frances colliery. This engine was constructed by the North British Locomotive Company during 1943 as one of the earliest examples of the class to enter service, initially being loaned to the LNER before shipping to France in 1945. Returning to Britain in 1947 she was acquired by the British railways of the day, and numbered 90117, then allocated to Dunfermline (62C) shed before being withdrawn from service during 1967. J37 0-6-0 No. 64570, in the background, waits to follow with its train. (W. A. C. Smith)

Not far from home, Thornton (62A) Standard 4 2-6-0 No. 76111 with a local northbound ‘on the base’ (alias the Rosyth Dock Yard service) halts at Dysart station, where the name is literally cast in stone. Inchkeith island is outlined in the ‘haar’ behind the ‘Up’ station building.

(Neville Stead Collection)

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December 1959. On a dark, ‘dreich’, winter’s day, B1 4-6-0 No. 61102 arrives at Dysart with the 12.19pm train from Thornton Junction to Edinburgh (Waverley). Dysart station was opened by the Edinburgh & Northern Railway in 1847, and closed by British Railways in 1969. However, the signal box remained in use for a further eleven years. (W. A. C. Smith)

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October 1966. Ex-WD 8F 2-8-0 No. 90117 is laying a smokescreen over Dysart as it departs from the goods yard with a load of coal wagons from the nearby ‘Dubbie Pit’ Frances colliery. This engine was constructed by the North British Locomotive Company during 1943 as one of the earliest examples of the class to enter service, initially being loaned to the LNER before shipping to France in 1945. Returning to Britain in 1947 she was acquired by the British railways of the day, and numbered 90117, then allocated to Dunfermline (62C) shed before being withdrawn from service during 1967. J37 0-6-0 No. 64570, in the background, waits to follow with its train. (W. A. C. Smith)

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Not far from home, Thornton (62A) Standard 4 2-6-0 No. 76111 with a local northbound ‘on the base’ (alias the Rosyth Dock Yard service) halts at Dysart station, where the name is literally cast in stone. Inchkeith island is outlined in the ‘haar’ behind the ‘Up’ station building.

(Neville Stead Collection)

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October 1966. Frances Colliery (the first ‘pit’ of two that I had ever been down) lies out of sight behind the black smoke of Reid J37 0-6-0 No. 64570 as it sounds its exhaust blast around the adjacent houses and coal storage sidings whilst pounding up the steep incline to the main railway near Dysart station. The whole yard was known as ‘the Sandilands’, whilst the siding next to the caravan took the name ‘Cairt sales’.

(W. A. C. Smith)

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26 December 1959. A kind of ‘coals to Newcastle’ scenario. One tends to associate beet with the factory at Cupar further up the line, so such a train as this seems to be going in the wrong direction? Nevertheless, the fact remains that this ‘Down’ load of beet is heading northwards near Dysart behind St Margarets (64A) Class J38 6F 0-6-0 No. 65916. Birds appear in full flight over the fields in the background. (W. A. C. Smith)

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14 August 1965. Thompson B1 4-6-0 No. 61133 leaves Thornton Junction with the 12.30pm Crail to Edinburgh train. The ‘B1’ locomotives were the mainstay of motive power in the 1960s before the Metropolitan Cammell Class 101 diesel-multiple units took over the main passenger services at the time of the ‘East Fife’ closure. Whilst there were through services to and from the Fife Coast and Edinburgh/Glasgow – as in the image shown here – my childhood recollection was always having to change trains at Thornton Junction. Just visible in the distance is the actual station beyond the triple signal gantry. Today’s Fife Circle service follows the double line heading, and to the engine shed (62A) during this period. The leverframe from the signal box is currently being restored at the (KFRPS) Fife Heritage Railway site. (W. A. C. Smith)

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Left Top: 28 August 1954. Sandwiched within a row of locomotives at Thornton shed and still bearing its former owner’s identity is ex-NBR Class M (LNER Class C15) 4-4-2 tank No. 7461. Constructed by the Yorkshire Engine Co during 1912 and numbered 141 by the NBR, she would become No. 9141 and later 7461 with the LNER. Destined never to gain its British Railways identity, she would be withdrawn from service on 31 July 1954. (W. A. C. Smith) Left Bottom: Class J36 0-6-0 No. 65345 all spruced up and ready for special duties at Thornton MPD (62A) for a run over many of the lines prior to closure. A B1 4-6-0 and what looks like a J38 0-6-0 are also on display.

After appearing in the television series ‘Dr. Finlay’s Casebook’, this locomotive became nicknamed as the Tannochbrae engine! (W. A. C. Smith)

Right: 23 March 1960. Thornton (62A) Class B1 4-6-0 No. 61401 departs the junction station with the 12.45pm local service from Markinch to Edinburgh (Waverley).

Located on the Edinburgh & Northern Railway, Thornton became a junction in 1848 with the opening of a branch through Cardenden to Cross Gates, and on to Dunfermline the following year. The Leven Railway followed in 1854, and the Buckhaven branch (later extended to Methil) was added in 1881 to create Thornton Junction – with its miles of sidings for coal traffic – the railway crossroads of Fife. The station itself was a lengthy island platform with bays inset at either end, (and boasting a refreshment room for many years) but required to be rebuilt on several occasions, especially the permanent way which needed constant packing with ash ballast because of subsidence caused by colliery workings. (W. A. C. Smith)

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1957. Ex-NBR Class D34 4-4-0 No. 62488 Glen Aladale is in the East Fife bay platform, whilst a northern bound express behind A2 Pacific No. 60535 Hornet’s Beauty rests at the through platform. Both locomotives were Edinburgh based: the D34 at 64A, and the A2 at 64B. (Neville Stead Collection)

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26 December 1959. Class K4 2-6-0 No. 61996 Lord of the Isles leaves Thornton Junction with the 1.10pm train to Dundee (Tay Bridge). (W. A. C. Smith)

A Gresley A3 Pacific with a southbound express heads over Markinch viaduct. In the background is a ‘listed building’, the famous Haig’s whisky bottling plant.

(W. A. C. Smith)

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Markinch station looking south. To the right of the ‘home’ gantry signal, a line heads sharp right to sidings and the Leslie branch. For a short while after A4 Pacific No. 60009 Union of South Africa became a preserved locomotive, it was stored in the large shed to the right of the ‘Down’ through platform. (Neville Stead Collection)

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26 December 1959. In very inclement weather, two Metro-Cammell DMU triple sets at Markinch station on the 1.9pm service from Edinburgh (Waverley) to Dundee (Tay Bridge). (W. A. C. Smith)

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26 March 1960. Thompson Class B1 4-6-0 No. 61358, based at Thornton (62A), in charge of the 2.48pm service from Dundee (Tay Bridge) to Edinburgh (Waverley), coasts into Markinch station, though sadly there appears to be few passengers waiting to board the train. The wide open goods shed would soon be home for a while to the Gresley A4 Pacific No. 60009 Union of South Africa at the start of its preservation era.

(W. A. C. Smith)

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10 August 1966. Railway modelling inspiration; it’s all there! Loading gauge and dock, junction signal, shunter and guards van, all helping to create the ideal atmosphere of a country station environment. The main line between Edinburgh and Dundee lies in the middle background whilst Gresley J38 0-6-0 No. 65920 quietly goes about its shunting duties in Markinch goods yard. (Sandy Murdoch)

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March 1965. Thornton (62A) based J38 0-6-0 No. 65931 with a ‘trip’ freight on the Markinch-Leslie branch serving Fettykill Paper Mill that was owned by W J V Anderson, the well-known railway photographer. (W. A. C. Smith)

26 December 1959. Far from its Hull home (53B), Thompson B1 4-6-0 No. 61180 with the 1.7pm Dundee (Tay Bridge) to Edinburgh (Waverley) train arrives at Kingskettle in rather inclement weather. (W. A. C. Smith)

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Approaching Ladybank with a short freight train in LNER days, Reid J35 0-6-0 No. 9376 saunters along with the timelessness of the day. (Dr Ian Allen)

The distant skyline of the ‘Howe of Fife’ (the low-lying valley of the River Eden) provides a misty backcloth to this scene looking south from the end of Ladybank platform. A northbound train has obviously been signalled for a clear road ahead, and that ancient van in the siding provides a fascinating reference to a vehicle well past its ‘sell-by’ date. The immediate ‘run round’ loop accommodated the Kinross branch. (Norris Forrest)

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Ladybank station, main building, ‘Down’ platform, whilst passengers await an approaching train. (Norris Forrest)

19 April 1954. Ex-‘CR’ Class 439 (LMS Class 2P) 0-4-4T No. 55209 has just arrived at Ladybank station with the 4pm working from Perth via Newburgh. With only two return daily services, this rural community was poorly served by this line. It was therefore no surprise that the passenger service was withdrawn during September 1956. Paradoxically, today it is the main line from Perth to Fife, after the closing of the Glenfarg route.

(W. A. C. Smith)

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Ladybank station exterior as a northbound express rests in the ‘Down’ platform. Little road traffic then, but the car certainly stands out! (Norris Forrest)

23rd May 1955. Perhaps a strange engine to be seen on LNER metals, but Perth (63A) usually provided the motive power for the Newburgh line services. Last of the class, ex-LMS 3-cylinder Compound 4-4-0 No. 40939 has just arrived with the 4pm train from Perth, and will shortly head back there with the return service.

The main line to Dundee curves away sharply to the right in front of the distant buildings, whilst the Newburgh route goes straight ahead. (W. A. C. Smith)

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17 September 1955. A fair number of passengers have turned up at Ladybank station to travel on – and witness – the last departure (6.2pm) passenger rail service to Perth, ironically headed by an ex-Caledonian Pickersgill 72 Class 4-4-0, No. 54494. Note the part wreath at the top of the engine’s smokebox door. (W. A. C. Smith)

At the heart of the ‘Howe of Fife’. Ladybank Junction signal box in the company of an English Electric Class 08 0-6-0 diesel shunter. The railway tracks in the foreground are the main line to Dundee (via Cupar) to the left.

(W. A. C. Smith)

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17 September 1955. Ex-NBR Holmes Class LNER J36 No. 65218 – constructed in the late 19 century – rests quietly in the compact loco depot at Ladybank. In the distance an A1 Class locomotive passes through the junction with the 4.15pm Edinburgh (Waverley) to Aberdeen express train.

The railway on the right leads to Perth via Newburgh. (W. A. C. Smith)

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25 June 1966. A long term resident of St Margarets (64A), Gresley Class V2 2-6-2 No. 60813 (with the unique ‘stove-pipe’ chimney) heads ‘The Aberdonian’ railtour as it builds up steam on leaving the loop at Lochmuir summit near Cupar. Note the Thompson coach immediately behind the engine. (W. A. C. Smith)

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Circa 1968. Cupar is the county town in ‘The Kingdom of Fife’, and this substantially built station and complex reflects that status. Beyond the goods yard is the sharply curving main line looking towards Leuchars and Dundee. In front of the station are typical road vehicles of the time.

I wonder how often the goods yard crane was used? (W. A. C. Smith)

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Left: 26 March 1960. Viewed from the main A92 overbridge, 62B Dundee (Tay Bridge) Class J37 0-6-0 No. 64615 storms its way through Cupar station with a load of empty wagons. Freight is very much in vogue in this scene, when adding the amount of vans in the goods yard. The centre road was actually a very long crossover!

(W. A. C. Smith)

Right Top: 26th March 1960. Whilst passengers alight at Cupar station, BR Standard Class 4MT 2-6-0 No. 76110 lets off steam before leading the 1.10pm local train to Dundee (Tay Bridge). Note the pastoral nature of the surrounding rural countryside. (W. A. C. Smith)

Right Bottom: 17 June 1967. It’s all but a memory of two large industries! Cupar once had a large beet factory, and the Wemyss Private Railway occupied vast areas of land for coal-mining purposes in East Fife. A dilapidated open truck, the chassis remains of a steam locomotive, and a one-time ‘WPR’ guards van ( ex-Midland Railway) await their fate in the sidings of the British Sugar Corporation site at Cupar. (W. A. C. Smith)

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Right: 17 June 1967. A steam crane takes centre stage between old and modern motive power at the British Sugar Corporation’s beet factory on the outskirts of Cupar. The locomotive is now preserved at the ‘Caledonian Railway’ at Brechin. (W. A. C. Smith)

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1925. Relatively new in its LNER livery, Holmes 733 Class loco No. 735 (becoming LNER Class D31), a former NBR 4-4-0, enters Leuchars Junction station with a train for Dundee (Tay Bridge). Note how the NBR ‘7’ on the buffer beam is often mistaken for a ‘2’ upside down. The Fife Coal Company wagon – loaded with its precious cargo – symbolises the primary industry at the time in the county. (Milepost)

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24 August 1925. Leuchars railway station is as important today as it was when the first train passed through over 150 years ago. By virtue of the photographer’s camera at the time, we can understand and appreciate what rail services were like in those days, especially when today standing on the platform awaiting the latest ‘AZUMA’ Aberdeen-London express. The only common denominator now, and then, are the initials LNER! Reid’s magnificent NBR ‘Atlantic’ No. 9878 “Hazeldean” pilots ex-GNR Class D1 4-4-0 No. 3065. (Milepost)

1925. A determined fireman of an Edinburgh bound train resting at Leuchars station ensures that he is well and truly in the picture as his LNER 4-4-0 engine No. 419 Meg Dods prepares for the road ahead. The wide open fields to the right would eventually become part of the site of RAF Leuchars air base. (Milepost)

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1925. A masterpiece of railway history. As part of a through train service, an East Coast Joint Stock sixwheel coach, No. 127, rests at Leuchars station before continuing on its journey. One can’t but help admire the skill of the coachbuilder’s craft who created such an attractive vehicle. (Milepost)

1925. An ex-NBR 0-6-0 in early LNER days heads through Leuchars station with a southbound freight train.

(Milepost)

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Left: 16 April 1955. Back to more ‘modern’ times. Haymarket (64B) Peppercorn A1 Pacific No. 60160 Auld Reekie descends from Leuchars towards Wormit and the Tay Bridge with an Edinburgh (Waverley) to Aberdeen express. (George Bett)

Below: Surely one of the finest views from a railway anywhere in Britain; the approach to Dundee across the Tay estuary to the distant Sidlaw hills. A3 Pacific No. 60052 Prince Palatine builds up speed through Wormit with a southbound heavy freight. (Sandy Murdoch)

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Crossing the Tay Bridge in original LNER days. A Gresley D49 ‘Shire’ Class 4-4-0 heads south with a probable express for Edinburgh (Waverley). Note the piers of the first Tay railway bridge that collapsed in a storm during the night of 28 December 1879 at 7.15pm after its central spans gave way during high winter gales. A train with six carriages carrying 75 passengers and crew, crossing at the time of the collapse, fell into the icy waters.

There were no survivors. (George Bett)

28 August 1954. This magnificent picture of the Tay Bridge shows only too clearly the skill that was needed by the engine driver in building up steam for the very steep incline necessary starting from Dundee (Tay Bridge) station and then the severe curve required to reach the North Fife shore. An unidentified ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0 steadily makes its way on to the bridge proper with the 12.2pm train to York. (W. A. C. Smith)

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Ex-NBR/LNER Class J37 0-6-0 No. 64627 with a rail tour special leaves the metropolis of Dundee far behind after crossing the Tay Bridge.

(W. A. C. Smith)

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30 November 1957. One of Haymarket’s four named B1 4-6-0s, No. 61245 Murray of Elibank, with the 1pm local service from Dundee to Tayport, passes the closed Esplanade station. (W. A. C. Smith)

Looking west from the Tay Bridge approach viaduct on a bright sunny day along the Tay estuary shows a Clayton Type 1 diesel locomotive with a train of coal empties coming off the former LMS route between Perth and Dundee (now the main line linking Perth and Aberdeen).

(Sandy Murdoch)

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Brighton built BR Standard 4MT 2-6-4 80123. One of two Standard tank locomotives allocated to 62B Dundee (Tay Bridge) shed, primarily for the local station services over the Tay Bridge to North Fife. (George Bett)

1 May 1965. V2 Class 2-6-2 No. 60824 climbs to Tay Bridge with a Dundee, Perth & London Shipping Company freight train. Note the coaling plant tower of Tay Bridge MPD (62B) in the background. (W. A. C. Smith)

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Left: No wonder Class A2 Pacific No. 60530 Sayajirao is working very hard as it climbs up the 1 in 76 incline approaching the Tay Bridge at Dundee Central junction; just look at that heavy load for the south. The tracks in the foreground eventually lead to Perth. (Norris Forrest)

Right Top: 20 August 1966. Glasgow Eastfield (65A) B1 4-6-0 No. 61261 rolls down the incline approaching Dundee with a train from Edinburgh. (W. A. C. Smith)

Right Bottom: 14 August 1965. Edinburgh St Margarets (64A) V2 No. 60818 builds up speed and power for the gruelling incline westwards up to the Tay Bridge with a full load of cement tankers. Tay Bridge MPD (62B) occupies the central foreground. (W. A. C. Smith)

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Left: Given the ‘All Clear’ on a winter’s day for the steep climb up to the Tay Bridge, Gresley J38 0-6-0 65901 salutes the 62B engine shed with a dark cloud of smoke as it crawls past the local motive power depot on its passage with empty coal wagons, probably for the Fife coalfield. (Sandy Murdoch)

Right Top: 20 May 1961. Servicing engines was an almost 24 hours a day job, and 62B Dundee (Tay Bridge) shed was no exception. Thornton (62A) J37 0-6-0 No. 64600 awaits its turn on the coaling plant after a J38 0-6-0 and B1 4-6-0 are duly attended to. (W. A. C. Smith) Right Bottom: Proudly living up to its Aberdonian name “Cock O’ The North’, Gresley’s one-time P2 2-8-2 No. 2001 (prior to being rebuilt by Thompson), rests at Dundee (Tay Bridge) between the ‘Granite City’ and ‘Auld Reekie’! This engine would go through various guises before ending its days as an almost conventional Pacific.

Adjacent ‘stable-mates’ are A3 Pacific No. 2508 Brown Jack and Dundee (Tay Bridge) based J83 0-6-0T No. 9808. (Neville Stead Collection)

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Not to be outdone by its more well known classmate Cock O’ The North, P2 2-8-2 No. 2003 Lord President continues the Scottish theme, and sits majestically in brilliant LNER livery on Dundee (Tay Bridge) MPD’s turntable, having just been turned for the next duty.

(Neville Stead Collection)

‘Modern’ times in BR days, with high rise flats in the background, and an obviously modified turntable.

Thompson B1 4-6-0 No. 61263 steams away quietly from an off-shore wind in the Tay estuary, as it awaits to be turned. (Sandy Murdoch)

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At the time of Nationalisation in 1948, this locomotive may well have been the ‘pride and joy’ of 38C Leicester shed on the Great Central line, but ended her days mainly on freight duties based at Edinburgh St Margarets (64A). On this occasion A3 Pacific No. 60052 Prince Palatine seems to have settled in to her fate, resting on Dundee (Tay Bridge) shed’s turntable simply awaiting the next duty. (Neville Stead Collection)

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‘New kids on the block’. During the late 1950s, Dundee (Tay Bridge) shed was allocated with seven North British 0-4-0 diesel shunters (Nos. D2710-16). In this view D2714 leads the column, well apart from an ‘ancient’ Pacific, No. 60527 Sun Chariot, and a WD Austerity 2-8-0!

(Neville Stead Collection)

Thornton’s Class J37 0-6-0 No. 64602 carries out some shunting cement wagons in front of the engine shed and main line. (Sandy Murdoch)

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c1950. What a gem of a vehicle resting in Dundee Tay Bridge MPD yard. The brake van is a North British 20 tonner built in 1911 and which lasted for a few years into British Railways service. Above the left hand buffer of the brake van, there is a glimpse of a brand new slope sided mineral wagon in ‘BR’ livery which was built to a ‘Ministry of Supply’ design dating from 1945.

(Neville Stead Collection)

8 August 1964. Surely a Golden Eagle far from its native Newcastle Gateshead (52A) residence Gresley A4 Pacific No. 60023 coasts down into Dundee (Tay Bridge) station with the 10.30am express from Edinburgh (Waverley) to Aberdeen. (W. A. C. Smith)

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A lot of freight activity is going on in front of the engine shed as a J35 with brake van is signal cleared to enter the main Dundee goods yard, whilst to the rear, a load of empty coal wagons behind a J38 awaits its turn to enter the main line, probably destined for Fife.

(Sandy Murdoch)

20 August 1966. Once again Gresley V2 2-6-2 No. 60813 takes the limelight as it runs freely into the through ‘Down’ platform at Dundee (Tay Bridge) station with the 2.25pm service from Edinburgh (Waverley) to Aberdeen.

The relatively level goods yard sidings show how steep the incline is from the Tay Bridge, resulting in the passenger station platforms being barely above sea level! Note the departing southbound train from the ‘Up’ through platform. (W. A. C. Smith)

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July 1966. Viewed from the entrance to Dock Street tunnel. A Stanier ‘Black Five’ has just arrived at the through northbound platform as alighting passengers make their way to the stairs leading to the station entrance. (W. A. C. Smith)

A stalwart on the North Fife branch. BR Standard 2-6-4T No. 80123 prepares to set off with the 9.1pm local service from Dundee (Tay Bridge) to Tayport. I wonder why the BR roundel on the side tank has been specially cleaned? (Norris Forrest)

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July 1955. (62B) Dundee (Tay Bridge) allocated ex-NBR ‘Glen’ Class 4-4-0 engine No. 62485 Glen Murran rests for the moment whilst acting as Station Pilot.

(W. A. C. Smith)

Shortly into Nationalisation in 1948, the engine driver proudly oils his pristine and well-known locomotive; (61B) Aberdeen (Ferryhill’s) ‘pride and joy’, A2 4-6-2 No. 60532 Blue Peter – now preserved. Note the Thompson coach still in LNER livery. (Sandy Murdoch)

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Dundee may well be ‘the City of Discovery’, and certainly in preparing this album, that has been the case.

Coming across amazing images of Reid Atlantics in the 1920s, and Gresley/Thompson Mikados in the early 1950s has been quite a revelation. Dundee Tay Bridge Station has always been an attractive destination for special trains – as these two pictures show – and long may it continue. Preserved Caledonian 4-2-2 No. 123, with its two relevant coaches in the overall consist, awaits departure with an ‘SLS’ rail tour. The Caledonian Railway may well have been familiar in the nearby West Station, but on this occasion the locomotive was a bit of an interloper in NBR territory! (Norris Forrest)

20th May 1967. Sir Nigel Gresley’s A4 Pacific engines regularly graced these platforms with their presence, but having the locomotive – LNER No. 4498 - which actually carried his name was quite an attraction. The queues at any ‘preserved’ location where rail enthusiasts await their turn to board the ‘hallowed’ cab and stand on the ‘sacred’ footplate is always a memorable exercise.

(W. A. C. Smith)

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Left Top: Not to be outdone by its fellow ‘Mikados’ already referred to – 2001 and 2003 - Class P2 No. 2004 Mons Meg is about to charge its load up the incline towards the Tay Bridge, in much the same fashion as its ancient namesake did all those centuries ago in protecting Edinburgh Castle. (Neville Stead Collection)

Left Bottom: 4th July 1959. LNER Pacific partners in steam; Class A2/1 No. 60509 Waverley and A3 No 60087 Blenheim share the 5.17pm Aberdeen to Edinburgh express. It was a North British Railway policy (continued into LNER/BR days) that engines must be changed at Dundee, even though more modern locomotives – like the P2 2-8-2s - could easily have completed the whole journey. (W. A. C. Smith)

Right: An everyday scene at Dundee Tay Bridge Station.

The skill of the driver is to avoid ‘wheel-slip’ as he prepares his engine – Class A3 4-6-2 No. 60089 Felstead - to lift a heavy load of coaches from Aberdeen for the steep road ahead with an Edinburgh bound express.

(Norris Forrest)

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26th October 1974. Class A4 Pacific No. 60009 Union of South Africa with ‘The Granite City’ special train at Dundee Tay Bridge Station, being greatly admired by enthusiastic railfans. Now almost ninety years old, this locomotive is remembered particularly for her ‘special’ duties throughout Britain, and now rests quietly in retirement on a farm in East Fife quite near to her ‘racing days’ across the Howe of Fife. (W A C Smith)

ABBREVIATIONS ‘Beeching Axe’ – Reshaping of British Railways BR - British Railways CR – Caledonian Railway DMU – Diesel Multiple Unit E&NR – Edinburgh & Northern Railway GNR – Great Northern Railway LMS – London, Midland & Scottish Railway LNER – London & North Eastern Railway Mikados – 2-8-2 Wheel Arrangement MOS – Ministry of Supply NBR – North British Railway ‘Pit’ – Working ‘slang’ for a Coal-mine Site RAF – Royal Air Force WD – War Department WPR – Wemyss Private Railway ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As always, I have relied heavily on fellow rail enthusiasts, but particularly Eric Kidd from Edinburgh, Iain Ross from Kirkcaldy, and Peter Westwater of the ‘Kingdom of Fife Railway Preservation Society’ (Fife Heritage Centre).

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ACROSS THE HOWE OF FIFE: FROM EDINBURGH TO DUNDEE

Although some of the Fife rail network survived the ‘Beeching Axe” – and is likely to be increased with the re-opening of the line from Thornton to Leven – much has changed in the railway scene, and this album allows us to indulge in nostalgia for past times on routes both lost and retained.

ISBN 978-1-913893-66-8

£13.50

FrOM EDINBUrGH TO DUNDEE

IAN LAMB

In this album, photos from the substantial Transport Treasury archive illustrate the character of many of the lines which served (and most still do) between Edinburgh and Dundee. As well as covering the key route between the two cities, we have sought to provide some unusual images from locations which have often been bypassed in the (literal and metaphorical) rush along this former North British Railway route.

ACrOSS THE HOWE OF FIFE

IAN LAMB