The Waverley Route: Before 1969

摘要

With summits of 880ft and 1,006ft and many miles at 1-in-70/75, this North British Railway main line demanded robust motive power, relying in pre-Grouping days largely on inside-cylinder 4-4-0s of Wheatley, Drummond, Holmes and Reid design. The opening of the Settle & Carlisle in 1876 placed through trains to London firmly on the agenda, train weights increased and more power was required to cope with Waverley Route gradients. Enter W P Reid's imposing 4-4-2s, built by the North British Loco Co and by Robert Stephenson of Newcastle. Six-coupled engines would have seemed more appropriate for the hilly Waverley route, but the influential civil engineer, James Bell, pressed for the Atlantic wheel arrangement and had the backing of William Whitelaw, the NBR chairman.