The 812 Class locomotives were designed by John McIntosh for the Caledonian Railway and initially built at their St Rollox Works. They were introduced from 1899. The first 17 locomotives were officially mixed traffic locomotives but were turned out in the distinctive Caledonian blue livery. Some had Westinghouse pumps and screw link couplings to enable them to be used on passenger services.
The remaining members of the class spent much of their time working coal and other mineral trains around Scotland. Under LMS ownership after 1923, the class were painted in black livery and lost their Westinghouse pumps.
A single example of the 79 strong class has been preserved - No.828, which you can still see in action today. Rails was pleased to present a donation to the Caledonian Railway Trust in 2024 to tie in with the 125th Birthday of this historic Scottish engine. |
