Photo - Winchburgh electric railway.
code: LVSAV2019.117
Description
B&W negative copied in 1990 from official albums then held at Grangemouth refinery.
In 1902, the Oakbank Oil Company began construction of an electric railway linking mines beneath the Hopetoun estate with a new crude oil works at Niddry castle near Winchburgh. The line, which was two miles long, was the first successful electric railway (as opposed to tramway) in Scotland.
The railway had six 2'6" gauge overhead wire locomotives operating on 500v DC. The photograph shows one of the lines more modern engines, either No 5. or No.6, built in 1943 by Metropolitan Vickers and Andrew Barclay & Sons with a train of shale wagons at Niddry Castle. Wagons are being detached from the train and fixed to a continuous rope haulage which draws then up an incline to the top of the retorts.
