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NORTH BRITISH RAILWAY STUDY GROUP

A few ‘firsts’

Granton to Burntisland train ferry The Edinburgh Perth & Dundee Railway (which became part of the NBR in 1862) introduced the world’s first roll-on / roll-off train ferry in 1850, linking Granton (near Edinburgh) with Burntisland in Fife, across the Firth of Forth.

Inside cylinder, inside framed, 4-4-0The NBR built the UK’s first inside framed, inside cylinder, locomotives with a 4‑4‑0 wheel arrangement in 1871.

A Westinghouse braked carraigeIn 1877, the North British was one of the first railway Companies in the UK to adopt continuous brakes on passenger vehicles when it authorised the fitting of the Westinghouse air brake to all its carriages.

NBR sleeping carriageThe use of sleeping carriages in the UK was pioneered by the NBR when the first one was brought into service on 2 April 1873.