Blog at the Ballast

Image from The Guardian

Wonderful new Virtual Archive website for Network Rail's collection of engineering drawings and plans.

The archive collection held by Network Rail is massive comprised of more than 5 million records dating back more than 300 years.

The site has categorised items by people, stations, companies, bridges & viaducts and tunnels.

Explore it here.

A belated Friday photo.  The image is of one of the plans that we got scanned to go in our Ballast Trust history which will be published this year.  It turns out that 2012 is the 25th anniversary of the Ballast Trust, taken from its date of incorporation in December 1987 (although work didn't start until 1988).

The image is of a plan showing Dublin Street Lane, taken from the Edinburgh City Engineers collection that we are processing on behalf of Edinburgh City Archives.


More news about the history will appear here as get it all finalised, right now we've got about 30 images to fit in and make it all look pretty.

Rear Shelves

Side Shelves

Wrapped Plans

Nigel Willis will be giving a talk to the Lochwinnoch Historical Society in the church hall of the Parish Church in Church Street on Thursday 15th March at 7.30pm.


Non-members will need to pay £3.

This is a remarkable story of great entrepreneurial spirit involving what was the oldest shipbuilding business in the world covering not only the shipbuilding in Greenock but also their shipbuilding in Canada, France and Hong Kong as well as their involvement in blockade running during the American civil war plus other surprises!

While cataloguing the Edinburgh City Engineer’s Plans, I came across this plan of the Broughton feuing. The plan shows the feuing Contract between John Hope, Writer to the Signet and philanthropist, and the Governor of George Herriot’s Hospital, on 19 August 1867.

Plan of Broughton Feuing

John Hope (1807–1893), devoted much of his time and wealth to philanthropic works. One such project was in 1861. After seeing the dwellings for English working men in a visit to the north of England, Hope suggested that similar housing could be built for workers in Edinburgh. He proposed that the ground belonging to Heriot’s Hospital, behind East Claremont Street, off Leith Walk, could provide houses for working men. Not only was he determined to obtain sound housing for the working men, but that they should also have fresh water and air, and he brought the nearby Caledonian Distillery to task as being the main polluter of both. John Hope founded the Hope Trust in 1890, which continues today in helping people combat drug and alcohol addiction. The brown shading marks the areas of Hope’s land, and the red that of Heriot’s Hospital.

Detail of note to the right of the plan

The plan also outlines in red (at the top) the property of Waterston & Sons, stationers and printers, which, originally belonged to Hope. George Waterston (1838-1922) was third generation of Waterston’s stationers and printers. His private residence was 19 East Claremont Street. Contemporary to this period, was his niece, Jane Elizabeth Waterston (1866-1905), African missionary, who was one of the first women to train in medicine at the London School of Medicine for Women.

This plan is one of three duplicates drawn by the architect John Chessor (1819-1892), Superintendent of Works to Heriot's Hospital. The Contract was subscribed by William Chambers (1800–1883), Lord Provost of Edinburgh (elected 1865), and friend of John Hope. Ref: SL246/173 (Stephen Hall)

Today's image is of an A4 class locomotive called Silver Link built to pull a train called the Silver Jubilee built for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). It was made in the year of King George V's 'Silver Jubilee', and was painted silver throughout and it looks very futuristic.


It entered service on September 30, 1935, travelling between London King's Cross and Newcastle. More information about the A4 class and Silver Jubilee service is available here.