Old Travel Blog Photograph Pentland Hotel Thurso Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of vintage cars outside the Pentland Hotel in Thurso, Caithness, Scotland. Thurso was an important Norse port, and has a later history of trade with ports throughout northern Europe until the 19th century. A thriving fishing centre, Thurso also had a reputation for its linen cloth and tanning activities. Ruined Old St Peter's Church, St. Peter's Kirk, is one of the older churches in Scotland, dated to at least 1125, and at one time it was the principal church for the county, administered by the Bishops of Caithness. The church held hearings against criminal activity and determined how those caught should be punished. In 1701, a woman who had a relationship with a Dutch sailor had her head shaved and was publicly shamed, paraded through the town by the local hangman. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.

Old Travel Blog Photograph Steam Locomotive Macmerry Branch Railway Line East Lothian Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of a steam locomotive on the Macmerry Branch railway line in East Lothian, Scotland. Authorised on 3 June 1862 the line was completed and opened on 19 March 1870. Opened to serve local collieries and the Gladsmuir iron works, it was not until 1 May 1872 that the line's stations opened. The spur line to Hardengreen Junction closed in 1913 and the line itself closed in stages. For passengers, the Macmerry to Ormiston closed on 1 July 1925, Smeaton closed on 22 September 1930, and the remaining line Gifford to Smeaton Jn on 3 April 1933. For freight the section Macmerry to Ormiston closed on 2 May 1960, and the rest of the line on 25 May 1965. The small section that remained open to serve Dalkeith colliery and its washery closed in 1980.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.

Old Travel Blog Photograph Steam Locomotive Papyrus St. Margaret's Shed Edinburgh Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of the steam locomotive, named Papyrus, at St. Margaret's Shed in Edinburgh, Scotland. The first engine shed, a roundhouse, and the workshops comprising St. Margaret's, were built atop a historic well by the North British Railway in 1845. Number 60096 Papyrus once held the world speed record for steam locomotives at 108 mph. Papyrus hit its top speed hauling 243 tons of cargo behind it, which is an incredible feat.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.

Old Travel Blog Photograph Steam Locomotive Central Railway Glasgow Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of a steam locomotive on the Central Railway in Glasgow, Scotland. The first sod for the Central Railway was cut on 11 June 1890 by Master J.B. Montgomerie Fleming, son of J.B. Fleming of Kelvinside. The section from Maryhill to Stobcross opened to mineral traffic, to Queens Dock, on 26 November 1894. The Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire opened from Maryhill to Balornock Junction on the same day.)[5] Passenger trains started to run from Rutherglen to Glasgow Cross on 1 November 1895, and the entire line opened to all traffic on 10 August 1896. 130 trains passed through the line each way. Central Station had two island platforms, and four through tracks. The Tollcross section opened throughout on 1 Feb 1897. From the outset, the Central Railway was found to be unattractive for passengers; the smoky atmosphere, and the dirty condition of the station and the trains were constantly commented upon. Street tramcars by contrast were frequent, clean, and had stops close to city destinations that the railway could not always match. The railways were nationalised in 1948, and the duplication of lines for passengers and goods was a disadvantage, now that competition was irrelevant. Some individual stations had already been closed. The line was closed to passengers between Maryhill and Stobcross on 2 November 1959, although goods and mineral traffic continued from the Possil line via Maryhill to the Queen's Dock until 14 August 1960; after that date a service to Kelvinbridge continued until 6 July 1964.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.

Old Travel Blog Photograph Steam Locomotive Balornock Springburn Glasgow Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of a steam locomotive at Balornock, Springburn, Glasgow, Scotland. The Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire Railway was a railway company in Scotland. It was promoted independently but supported by the Caledonian Railway, and it was designed to connect Balloch, on Loch Lomond, and Dumbarton with central Glasgow, linking in heavy industry on the north bank of the River Clyde. The line opened progressively from 1894 to 1896. It was very successful in attracting goods traffic from heavy industry on Clydeside, and in carrying workers to and from their places of work. This was enhanced by the connection to the Glasgow Central Railway. Heavy industry declined after 1950 and passenger and goods use of the line declined similarly.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.