Locomotive: Earl of Airlie



For the Dundee and Newtyle Railway. Engine built by J. and C. Carmichael in 1833.
The Earl of Airlie was one of those built for the Dundee and Newtyle Railway - 4ft. 6in. gauge - of which the first two were put to work in September, 1833, and the third in March 1834. The vertical cylinders, 11in, by 18in, were placed on the outside framing at the centre of the engine, and the piston-rods which issued from the tops were connected through bell-crank levers as shown. The front or driving wheels were 5ft. in diameter and the pressure 50lb per square inch.
The trailing end was carried on a four-wheeled bogie with 3ft. wheels, and these were the first bogies to be fitted to railway locomotives for work in this country. The weight was about 9.5 tons in working order and the engines cost £700. The Earl of Airlie, was converted to standard gauge until 1849at work until 1854, after which was used as a pumping engine, The late Mr Alexander Allan had it put into order and photographed.[1]
See here for a photograph of the locomotive [2]
The locomotive was named in honour of David Ogilvy, 9th Earl of Airlie. He was a Director of the Dundee and Newtyle Railway. He owned slaves in Jamaica and received a £1,362 payment under the Slave Compensation Act of 1837.[3]