Description

The Great North of Scotland Railway – the smallest of Scotland’s railways with 334½ miles open in 1914 – served the north-east corner of the country, the coastal villages of Banff and Moray, and the scenic Deeside route to Ballater. Its original intention of reaching Inverness was never fulfilled, but by amalgamating with local lines by 1866 it monopolised the rich farming and fishing districts of Scotland’s North East. The engines were small – almost all 4-4-0s – and the loads were generally light, but they provided a convenient and snappy service. The company’s modern stock was perfectly acceptable, and in spite of its modest size, it ran some of the smartest, cleanest, and most comfortable trains in Scotland. By 1895 all passenger coaches had been fitted with Westinghouse brakes, but in LNER days vacuum brakes became standard.

The company began operations using four-wheel carriages, but from 1885 six-wheel coaches became standard. In 1898 the company’s first bogie coaches were built for the Aberdeen to Inverness express, and during the following years more bogie coaches were added. The last six-wheelers (for suburban work) were built in 1916. When in 1923 the Great North of Scotland became part of the LNER the company contributed 453 coaches to the new company, of which only 44 were bogie coaches (10%).

The old Great North was a compact and self-contained railway, and even under LNER and later BR control the GNoSR managed to retain some independence. All 100 GNSR tender locomotives taken into LNER stock were 4-4-0s, but from 1931 more powerful ex-GER B12/1 locomotives were drafted to the ‘Northern Scottish Area’ of the LNER, followed in 1947 by newly built B1’s

The LNER introduced a daily sleeping car to Lossiemouth, the furthest point to be reached from Kings Cross. Modernisation came slowly to the GNoSR, and the majority of the company’s six-wheelers were still in service during the thirties. They were only withdrawn from the mid-thirties when bogie coaches began to be ‘cascaded’ from other areas of the LNER (mainly ex-NER) to the ex-GNoSR. Still, the last four-wheelers only went in 1938 and a lone six-wheeler lasted until 1952. From 1923 many of the company’s coaches received the LNER teak livery. With the coming of BR almost all the Great North’s bogie coaches were still in service. Most were repainted in the new BR carriage liveries of crimson or crimson & cream and remained in service until at least the mid-fifties.

This pack covers almost every type of the GNoSR’s bogie coaches (some of which were built under LNER auspicies), a total of 55 vehicles out of 57. The following coaches are included in three liveries: the pre-1923 GNoSR ‘purple-lake & white’ livery, the post-grouping LNER ‘teak’ livery, and the post-Nationalisation BR ‘crimson & cream’ and ‘crimson’ livery.