61539 1953 Elgin East MPD
Ex-Great Eastern Railway S.D. Holden 'S69' (LNER 'B12') class 4-6-0 No. 61539. Built at Stratford in June 1917 as GER No. 1539 and withdrawn in November 1954. Ex-Great North of Scotland Railway Pickersgill 'F' (LNER 'D40') class 4-4-0 No, 62273 'George Davidson'. Built at Inverurie in June 1921 as GNoSR No. 45 and withdrawn in January 1955.
The Great North of Scotland Railway had always used the 4-4-0 wheel arrangement for its fleet of tender engines which it employed on passenger and freight workings alike. By the 1920s the had LNER drafted in the 'B12' 4-6-0s to provide more power. The two types are seen together at Elgin East MPD in 1953. Curiously, several of the 'D40' 4-4-0s were to last as long as the 'B12s' meant to replace them!
© Steve Armitage Archive