Springburn Virtual Museum

Railway industry

Two Gresley A1s under construction, erecting shop, Hyde Park works, 1924

All the component parts of the locomotive were put together in the erecting shop. The boiler was placed on a 'saddle' on the frame. Fitters would then assemble the parts which came from other shops, such as cab, firebox, axles, wheels and springs, pistons and gears. They sometimes worked in 30-inch-deep pits underneath the engine.

The finished locomotive then passed to the weighing shop where the weight on each wheel was adjusted so that each axle bore the correct weight. The engine was then ready for testing out on the line.

In this picture, men are checking and setting the valve gear. The locomotive is in steam, and smoke is being drawn away from the engine by a smoke uptake hood. To the right, outside the door of the shop, there was a stretch of multi-gauge track about twice the length of the engine, where it was run back and forth for a day or two by way of testing.

Source: Glasgow City Archives