Montague Smith's Scottish Railway Album 1927-1964

Montague Smith's Scottish Railway Album 1927-1964

The late Montague Smith was a Scottish railway enthusiast who devoted much of his life to a study of the steam locomotive. He was an acknowledged authority on many aspects of locomotive design and also a well qualified photographer. His ‘home territory’ was in and around Glasgow and down the former Caledonian stretch of the West Coast Main Line as far as Beattock. In this book, we make our way from Glasgow Central to Symington, junction for the Peebles Branch on which ‘Monty’, as he was always known to friends, took many photographs while holidaying in Biggar (the most important intermediate town on the branch) for the whole of August for many years. There he got to know many of the Carstairs enginemen who worked the branch and formed close and lasting friendships with a number of them. He became a regular and popular footplate guest of many drivers and, having learned much of their craft, was entrusted to drive both passenger and goods trains. Often with a camera to hand, he took many photographs, not only of the locomotives but also of their crews and other railwaymen involved in the work of the branch. Most of the locomotives were of Caledonian Railway origin, McIntosh and Pickersgill 4-4-0s and 0-6-0s, but early LM&SR standard classes such as ‘Compounds’, ‘4F’ 0-6-0s, ‘2P’ 4-4-0s and Hughes ‘Crab’ class 2-6-0s also played their part, and there were also some former Glasgow & South Western Railway Drummond 2-6-0s. However, larger and more modern engines such as parallel boiler ‘Royal Scots’ and ‘Princess Royal’ Class ‘Pacifics’, as well as streamlined and non streamlined ‘Duchess’ Class ‘Pacifics’, also feature in our journey from Glasgow to Symington. Day trips to Edinburgh, Stirling and Perth are also included and illustrate a mixture of former North British Railway and standard L&NER classes. Many of the photographs also identify the enginemen and other railway staff featured.