NBR A LNER N14/N15 loco chassis kit (Kit Ref 9201)

The North British Railway Class A 0-6-2 tanks were designed by Reid and were primarily intended for short distance freight trips. Several fitted with Westinghouse and later vacuum brakes, were used for assisting on the Cowlairs incline and empty carriage movements at Glasgow Queen Street. With 6 built in 1909 followed by another 99 locomotives built in seven batches between 1910 and 1924, the 105 engines were the mainstay of local freight workings on the NBR network for over 40 years. Under the LNER these locomotives were classed as N14 and N15.

The first six engines from 1909 were built by the N.B. Loco Co. at their Hyde Park works and fitted with Westinghouse brake. They were numbered 858-63 and became class N14. With the exception of 863 which worked from St. Margaret’s and Kittybrewster, the other five spent their lives assisting on the Cowlairs incline. The last N14 was withdrawn in 1954.

The first batch of what became class N15 were six locomotives, built in 1910, built by the N.B. Loco Co. at their Hyde Park works. They differed from the later engines in being built with Westinghouse brake. They became class N15/2. These locos were numbers 7/154/209/210/251/282.

A second batch of 12 locos were built in 1910 again from the N.B. Loco Co. Hyde Park works and were built with steam brake only and classified as N15/1. These locos were numbers 386-393/396-399.

The third batch were built by the N.B. Loco Co. at their Queen’s Park works in 1912 and were again to the N15/1 specifications. These locos were numbers 907-926.

The fourth batch in 1913 were also from the N.B. Loco Co. Queen’s Park works. These were numbered 219/223/224/229/230/246/252/257/264 and built to N15/1 specifications.

The fifth batch built in 1916 and 1917 by the N.B. Loco Co. were from the Atlas works. These locos were to the N15/1 specifications and those delivered in 1916 were numbers 47/54/61/65/69/70 and locos built in the 1917 batch were numbers 276/453/142/165/166/259.

Batch six were built in 1920 and also a product of the Atlas works. These locos differed from existing members of the class being built with vacuum ejectors and were classified as N15/1. These locos were numbers 20/22/29/49/96/97/106-108/240. The vacuum ejectors fitted to this batch were removed during 1922 and 1923.

The penultimate batch was built in 1923 by Robert Stephenson & Co., again as N15/1 and fitted with steam brake only. These locos were numbers 519-528.

The final batch to be constructed were the only members of the class to be built at Cowlairs works, albeit under the auspices of the LNER. Two batches were delivered in 1923 and 1924. Those from 1923 were numbered 19/23/31/52/60/67/71/74-77 and those from 1924 were 78/79/99/125/9147/9174/9225/9227 with 9227 having the distinction of being the last locomotive to be built at Cowlairs.

By the grouping, numbers 9251/82, 9858-62 were dual fitted and classified as N15/2. In 1929 numbers 9029 and 9165 were also dual fitted and classified as N15/2. In 1936 numbers 9097 and 9166 were equipped with steam and vacuum brake. A further twelve locos were similarly altered between 1948 and 1954. The last N15 was withdrawn in 1962.

Please hover on the image of the etches and a list of parts to see a larger version.

The kit includes brass bearings and various lengths of wire.

Further details and photographs can be found in the following book: