The North British Railway was a Scottish railway company established in 1844, and absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923.
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The North British Railway Company was established in 1844 and opened its first line, from Edinburgh to Berwick-upon-Tweed, with a branch to Haddington, in 1846.
In 1865 it took over the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway, the oldest in Scotland. Other amalgamations followed, altogether over 50 small lines being made part of the North British system, which ultimately totalled 2,739 miles.
The main line was from Aberdeen through Dundee to Edinburgh, whence it forked to Carlisle and Berwick to meet the main English routes (the London and North Western Railway (also the Midland Railway) and the North Eastern Railway respectively). Fife was covered with a network of lines, and the pleasure resorts on the east and west coasts were also served. The company owned the Tay Bridge and its services also used the Forth Bridge,[1] for whose construction it was responsible as part of the Route to the North in the 19th century.
Although primarily a Scottish railway, the NBR also had an extensive branch network in northern Northumberland, reaching to Hexham, Morpeth and Rothbury, as well as the main line into Berwick. Its lines also reached into northern Cumberland as far as Silloth, Port Carlisle, Gretna and Carlisle.[2]
The NBR operated services between Waverley station, Edinburgh and Queen Street station in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Carlisle (via Galashiels and Hawick – the Waverley Route) and between Newcastle upon Tyne and Aberdeen. The North British was a partner (with the North Eastern Railway and the Great Northern Railway) in the East Coast Joint Stock operation from 1860.
The company’s headquarters were at 23 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh and its works at Cowlairs, Glasgow. Its capital in 1921 was £67 million.[1] Besides its railway, the company also operated steamers on the River Clyde serving Arran and points west [2] and acquired a 49% stake in the road haulage firm Mutter Howey.[3]
The North British Hotel at the east end of Princes Street in Edinburgh city centre forms a prominent landmark with its high tower displaying large clocks. It was renamed the Balmoral Hotel in the 1980s, though the old name is still shown in the stonework. Since the building opened, the clock on the hotel has run three minutes ahead of real time to encourage tardy travellers to get to the station on time.
During its existence the NBR absorbed the following companies:
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