THE NORTH British Locomotive Company was a powerhouse in its day. Formed in 1903 by the merger of three Glasgow companies - Dubs & Co., Sharp, Stewart & Co Ltd., and Neilson, Reid & Co, each with its own works - it became the largest locomotive building company in Europe, capable of making no fewer than 600 locomotives each year, according to the Mitchell Library, where its huge archive of photographs is held. On one particular day in March 1933, no fewer than seven locomotives from the Springburn works were carefully loaded onto the Ellerman liner, City of Barcelona, at Glasgow’s Stobcross Quay to be taken to Bombay, where they would soon begin long decades of service. Each locomotive, with tender, weighed 125 tons. The mighty Stobcross Crane (today the Finnieston Crane) had become operational the previous year. “It is estimated,” writes Michael Meighan in his book, Glasgow in 50 Buildings, “that as many as 30,000 locomotives were hauled through Glasgow’s streets by steam traction engines to be loaded on board vessels sailing to the far corners of the globe.”

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The Herald Picture Store is proud to present these images in their actual condition. We haven't manipulated these photographs and are proud of their character.

Please be aware that due to their age some images may show imperfections. This is as a result of the technology available at the time they were captured and/or scanned and saved for our records.