North British Atlantics
I read with interest your article on the North British Atlantics (February), made particularly interesting by the colourised photographs supporting the text. These are locomotives that have always intrigued me, since I first read about them, as they are so unlike anything else produced by the North British Railway. As a class they are unique, being the only NBR class with:
1 .A Belpaire firebox: all their other locomotives had round top boilers,
2. A two side window cab: all the other classes have the NB distinctive single side window cab.
3 .Outside cylinders: all its other locomotives have inside cylinders.
4. Even the driving wheel diameter was non-standard at 6ft 9in in contrast to the NBR standard diameter by then of 6ft 6in. Completely different from the other work of W. P. Reid, to whom they are attributed, or his predecessor Matthew Holmes.
The RCTS Locomotives of the LNER suggests that they may have been influenced by the Great Central Railway Atlantics (LNER Class C4) as the North British Loco Co., had built twelve of those engines in 1905 at its Hyde Park Works, and it built the NBR Atlantics. Was there collusion between the respective design offices? Did the The North British Loco Co. supply copies of the Great Central’s drawings as an expedient to get the design prepared quickly, as there was a need to have these locomotives into service as soon as possible.
