A 4-6-2 Class YP locomotive, with protection against damage in transit, is hoisted on board ship by the Finnieston Crane at Stobcross Quay in 1952.
The order for 100 of these locomotives, built at Hyde Park Works for Indian State Railways, was one of several large orders received by the North British Locomotive Co in the post-war years and which strained the company's capacity to the limit. As a result of steel shortages in Britain, cast iron cylinders were used and the cab, platforms and running boards were made of aluminium alloy.
The NBL and its predecessors had a long and productive association with railways in India. An estimated 6,800 locomotives were supplied to the sub-continent between 1858 and 1953, an average of six per month. YP class Pacifics were later built in India, making this the last steam express locomotive to be built anywhere in the world. They were reliable and capable locomotives, and several lasted well into the 1990s.
Reference: NBL 131
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
aluminium alloy, cast iron, Class YP, cranes, docks, engines, Finnieston Crane, Hyde Park Works, Indian State Railways, locomotive builders, NBL, North British Locomotive Co, ships, steam locomotives, steel, Stobcross Quay, trains