Highland Railway River Class

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The Highland Railway River Class was a class of steam locomotive. It was designed by F. G. Smith, who had joined the Highland in 1904 from the North Eastern Railway. His initial post was as manager of the Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon works at Inverness (usually referred to as Lochgorm works). When Peter Drummond departed to the Glasgow and South Western Railway at the end of 1911 Smith was appointed Chief Mechanical Engineer in his place.

The first two engines were delivered to Perth around the end of August 1915. It immediately transpired that there had been no communication on them between Smith and the company's Chief Engineer Alexander Newlands. They were immediately shoved into a siding and the engineers started checking drawings. When the exercise was completed Newlands banned them from the line as being too heavy for a number of bridges and out of gauge. The board called on Smith to resign, which he did and was replaced by Cumming.

The Highland then managed to sell all six to the Caledonian Railway and legend has it that they made a profit of 500 pounds per engine in the process.

They were out of gauge to the Caley as well, but the modifications required were slight and quickly done.

In Caley service they proved reliable and were well-liked by their crews, despite their being outside-cylindered and the Caley being an inside-cylinder line. They spent most of their lives on fast goods between Aberdeen and Carlisle. Many footplatemen and shed mechanical staff regarded them as being the best 4-6-0s the Caley ever had. Some users regarded them as being comparable with the Stanier 'Black Fives', but this seems unlikely given the difference in boiler pressure.

They had Smith's own design of power (steam) reversing gear.

Planned numbers and names in Highland service were

  HR Number                  CR Number
    70       River Ness        939
             River Spey      ? 940 ?
    ???                        942
    ???                        943

None survived to reach British Railways hands.

Leading Dimensions

Boiler pressure -- delivered using 160 lb/square inch, but capable of being run at 180 lb/sq inch. There does not seem to be a record of what pressure was used in Caley service.

Cylinders (Outside) 21 inch bore x 28 inch stroke

'Large' superheated boiler

Driving wheel diameter 6 ft 0 inches

Grate area 25.3 sq feet

Piston valves (10 inch diameter)

Drop grate (quite possibly the first British design to incorporate such a feature)