Springburn Virtual Museum

Railway industry

Dunalastair class locomotive, St Rollox, c 1897

Locomotive design and production was the responsibility of the locomotive superintendent. Several distinguished engineers served in this position at St Rollox, including John Farquharson McIntosh, designer of the Dunalastair class.

These locomotives hold a special place in railway history, held in high regard by passengers and engineers. They were first built in 1896 at St Rollox. The '4-4-0' refers to the engine's wheel formation and describing the number of wheels in each group, counting from the front backwards. The name 'Dunalastair' was the name of the Perthshire estate of the Caledonian Railway Company's chairman, James C Bunten.

They were very reliable engines, noted especially for their steaming capacity in climbing gradients. The engines produced at this time set the standard for locomotives until British Rail abandoned steam in 1968.

Source: Glasgow City Archives