Angus connection to Scottish Steam Up event

A locomotive designer with Angus connections saw two of his engines feature in a special ‘Scottish Steam Up’ event on the Spa Valley Railway recently.
The photo, taken by Andrew Diack, BA (Hons) shows a double headed train being pulled bythe locomotives No 419 and No 828 near the level crossing by Pokehill Farmhouse, East Sussex.The photo, taken by Andrew Diack, BA (Hons) shows a double headed train being pulled bythe locomotives No 419 and No 828 near the level crossing by Pokehill Farmhouse, East Sussex.
The photo, taken by Andrew Diack, BA (Hons) shows a double headed train being pulled bythe locomotives No 419 and No 828 near the level crossing by Pokehill Farmhouse, East Sussex.

John Farquharson McIntosh was born in Farnell in 1846 when his father, Duncan, was a farm worker for Lord Southesk.

In 1851, the family moved to Cotton House of Tayock near Bridge of Dun and then to the Dunninald estate, in Craig parish, near Montrose where Duncan became a tenant farmer for many years.

At the age of 14, John became an apprentice at the Arbroath workshops of the Scottish North Eastern Railway and in 1867 he qualified as a driver and moved to Montrose. By this time, he was employed by the Caledonian Railway which had taken over from the SNER in 1866 and he remained with that company for the rest of his working life.

After a number of other appointments, McIntosh became the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Caledonian Railway from 1895 to 1914.

McIntosh became president of the Association of Railway Locomotive Engineers in 1911 and in 1913 his Majesty King George V created him a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (M.V.O), King George V personally wished McIntosh farewell on the Royal Train at Perth.

Although McIntosh officially retired in 1914 at the age of 69, he died at the St Rollox Works in Springburn, Glasgow, where he had designed many iconic steam locomotives. His death on February 6, 1918 was just 22 days before what would have been his 72nd birthday. He is recognised as being amongst the greatest railway engineers of the Victorian and Edwardian era.

Two of John McIntosh’s many achievements were to design the Class 439 0-4-4T and the Class 812 0-6-0 steam locomotives. The two remaining examples of these Classes of locomotive and, thus the last of their kinds, were the stars of a special ‘Scottish Steam Up’ event on the Spa Valley Railway which opened on 02/04/2022.

The McIntosh designed locomotives, Numbers 419 and 828 are normally based in Scotland at the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway and at the Strathspey Railway respectively.

Number 419 is the flagship of the Scottish Railway Preservation Society and Number 828 is the flagship of the Strathspey Railway.

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