Some railways kept number 1 for elite engines. On the NBR this No. 1 (the second to carry the number) was a humble coal 0-6-0 built in 1870 with 4'2" wheels designed by Thomas Wheatley

This shows No. 1 after a reboilering and modernization in 1898. It surrendered its number to a new 4-4-2T in 1911 and was withdrawn as No. 1150 in 1916

NBR No. 2 was somewhat like No. 1, except that it was 6" shorter in the wheelbase and probably had a domed boiler as built. This view shows it as rebuilt by Holmes, one of the first of the Wheatley coal engines to receive the standard rebuilding treatment

In 1869 St Margaret's works built this 0-6-0 with a set of "Longback" frames and a domeless boiler, incorporating parts of older Hawthorn engines. This drawing is somewhat conjectural and any further information will be greatly appreciated

St Margaret's-built 0-6-0 No. 17 as thoroughly reconditioned by Holmes in 1896. The locomotive received a new boiler and platework, steam brakes and a Neilson tender. It ran as 818 until 1901 and as 1018 until the First World War

Dugald Drummond designed these cute passenger tanks and built 24, variable as to details, between 1875 and 1878. This example was built 1877-8 and originally called 'Langholm': the drawing shows it as in the late 1880s

This toy-like shunter was one of six built by Thomas Wheatley in 1874 for shunting the docks either side of the Firths of Tay and Forth. Most had 3’6” H-section wheels as shown here. The engines were never rebuilt and lasted into the early 1900s

This rather elegant 2-2-2 was built in the late 1860s, reportedly at St Margaret's Works. By the 1880s it had acquired a chimney from a Dübs & Co. 341 class 2-4-0 and a Drummond round cab

Wheatley's 2-4-0 No. 38 built 1869 from older parts as running before 1893 rebuilding

Wheatley's 2-4-0 No. 38 built 1869 from older parts and as rebuilt 1893

Wheatley numberplate on No. 38: original size of plate 16" x 12"

Wheatley's 0-6-0ST No. 39 as rebuilt by Holmes in 1895 and in the period livery

2-2-2 No. 55 as built at St Margaret’s from older parts in 1867 and as running c. 1890. This engine was rebuilt with parts from a Crampton 2-2-2-0 of some twenty years earlier

Enlargement of the worksplate on No. 55. St Margaret's Works in Edinburgh had its own distinctive design of plate in the 1860s, approx. 11" long

2-2-2 No. 55 built 1867 from older parts, as rebuilt 1897 with a Drummond boiler and Holmes cab, numbered 809 in 1895-1901 and thereafter 1009

Wheatley's 0-6-0 No. 70 in 1874 form and in Drummond goods livery

In 1872-3 Thomas Wheatley rebuilt 80 and 81, two 0-6-0s built 1861 by Hawthorns of Leith, extending the frames and fitting his own boiler and cab. The resulting rebuilds lasted until the early 1900s

This drawing shows the first 2-4-0s delivered by Neilson & Co. to the N.B.R. in 1861. These engines were some of the first in Scotland to be fitted with an injector on the right-hand side

This shows one of the Neilson 90 Class 2-4-0s of 1861 as rebuilt by Wheatley in 1874 with a domed boiler pitched higher than the original, and Wheatley's design of weatherboard and cab top

Wheatley 0-6-0 No. 135 built 1869 at Cowlairs from spare parts. These engines were known as 'Longbacks' and included wheels without crankpins from scrapped Hawthorn engines

Wheatley's 0-6-0 No. 135 as rebuilt by Holmes with new boiler and cab in the mid-1890s

Wheatley’s 2-4-0 No. 164, the twin of 141, as running in the early 1880s in mostly original condition but with a Drummond cab and livery

Wheatley Cowlairs Worksplate on No. 164: size of plate 7" x 4¾"

Wheatley’s 2-4-0 No. 141 as rebuilt by Holmes in 1890