Blueprint copy of a 4-4-0 Passenger Engine weight diagram

This is a blueprint copy of the weight diagram of a re-boilered Highland Railway 'Loch' locomotive. They were 4-4-0s designed by David Jones, introduced in 1896 and used predominantly on the lines north of Inverness. Fifteen were built by Dübs and Co in Glasgow, all going into service between July and September of 1896. These were numbered HR 119 to 133 and were all named after lochs. <br /> <br /> Three more were built in 1916 by the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow. These last three engines were needed primarily for the increased traffic on the Kyle line where they were the heaviest locomotives permitted. During WWI they pulled a lot of traffic, particularly US supplies that arrived on the west coast, from Kyle to Invergordon. <br /> <br /> Only No. 125, 'Loch Tay' survived into the days of British Rail although a few others saw out WWII.<br /> <br /> The Lochs were originally built with piston valves, a new development for the time, but they were not very successful and balanced slide valves were substituted. As originally built by Jones, they carried the louvered chimney which was unique to his locomotives. It was never clear what the purpose of those chimneys was. Some said it was to act like the smoke deflectors used from the 1930s onwards to clear smoke and steam from the driver's view but the more likely explanation was that he tried to introduce a flow of cold air around the flue gases and cinders to try to cool them before the ash and small cinders landed on the ground creating a fire hazard. Many Highland Railway directors were prominent landowners who didn't want their grouse moors burned! <br /> <br /> <br /> For further information about this item and the collection to which it belongs, please <a href="mailto: archives@highlifehighland.com">email</a> the Highland Archive Service