The Second Gala Visiting Loco is Announced

Having recently announced that our first gala visitor will be Collett, 4-6-0, 6023, King Edward II, we are now in a position to say that our second confirmed gala visitor is McIntosh, 0-4-4T, 419.  419 was one of 92 members of the Celedonian Railway's 439 class. 

419 at Bo'ness on the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway

 Production of the class spanned from 1900 until 1925, with 419 being built at St Rollox works, Glasgow in 1907.

419 at a recent 30742 charters event on the Churnet Valley Railway

 The wide range of production dates, means that although most were built by the Caledonian Railway, the last few of the class were built post-grouping by the newly formed LMS

419 at Consall, reflecting in the Caldon canal

The class were built for branch line work, suburban duties and banking.   

419 at Kinglsey & Froghall

 She is currently in Caledonian Railway blue livery and numbered 419.  During her LMS days, she was renumbered to 15189 and subsequently to 55189 in BR ownership.  Today, she is the sole survivor of her class.

419 reflecting in the river Churnet

 419 has only just returned to traffic in October 2018 after a heavy general overhaul lasting 9 years.

Somewhere in the vicinity of Cherry Eye bridge

Over the gala period, we will be operating four passenger rakes, two of 8 carriages and a couple of shorter rakes of five (or possibly a 4 and a 6).  419 will operate on one of the shorter rakes.

Unseasonal February sunshine

419's early period of service is not known, but by WWI, she was based at Polmadie in Glasgow to work suburban trains out of Glasgow Central station.

Perhaps the ford was a little too deep to be negotiated on this occasion

Later she was transferred to Lockerbie from where she would have worked passenger trains to Dumfries.  By 1952, she was back at Glasgow, though more for empty coaching stock manoeuvres than pulling suburban passenger trains.

419 in silhouette

It's hard to tell from the above photo, but there is a Westinghouse air pump fitted just forward of the cab on the fireman's (right hand) side of the cab.  Initially when built by the Caledonian Railway she was only air braked, a vacuum brake system not being fitted until LMS ownership.

Under the branches of an oak tree

419's last duties were as station pilot at Carstairs from where she was withdrawn in December 1962

She was purchased from BR for the princely sum of £750.

419 is the flagship locomotive of the Scottish Railway Preservation Society which saved her directly from BR in 1964. 

There is no doubting her heritage or where she was born

Caledonian Railway 419

419 comes to us by kind permission of the Scottish Railway Preservation Society.

I believe that advance tickets are already or at least will be shortly available on the GWSR website. The gala itself will be subtitled "Northern Soul".  Make of that what you will, but many will see it as a hint regarding the heritage of the third gala visitor, that we hope to be able to announce shortly.