Burntisland in 1883: Modelled by the East of Scotland 4mm Group
 
Photographers - Ian Archibald (IA) and Allan Hutchison (AH)

Burntisland Heritage Trust were delighted to be able to present 'Burntisland 1883', a large model railway depicting late Victorian Burntisland and built by the East of Scotland 4mm Group, in the Upper Library Hall on 9 and 10 October 2010. The spectacle attracted nearly 1,000 visitors over the two days. The photographs below give a flavour of the exhibition.

Back in 1883 Burntisland was a railway terminus of national significance. The Forth Bridge and the connecting railway to Inverkeithing had not been built and Burntisland was the southern terminus of the North British Railway system in Fife. Passengers and goods had to transfer to ferry boats, which took them across the Forth to Granton where other trains awaited them. Passenger trains ran north from Burntisland to Perth and to Tayport (also known as Ferry-Port on Craig). At Tayport another ferry took passengers over the Tay to Broughty Ferry for Dundee. (This Tay ferry service was operating in 1883 as the first Tay Bridge had collapsed in 1879 and its replacement didn't open until 1887.) Goods trains, including coal trains from the West Fife coalfield, added to the activity on the railway. (Additional information can be found on the Forth Place page.)

The model shows many features from 1883. Easily recognisable are the buildings around Forth Place, including the station building and the Forth Hotel (more recently the railway ‘Control’ offices, and now sadly demolished). There is an intricate operating model of the world’s first 'roll on roll off' ferry (known as the 'floating railway'). In the West Dock section there is an ingenious working model of a hydraulic coal hoist, where Burntisland again led other ports. There is a wealth of model locomotives, all hand-built. Some fine ship models grace the harbour.

(There are also a number of videos of the layout on YouTube - search for 'burntisland 1883'.)

01 - Layout from west (IA)	02 - Layout from east (AH)	03 - View from east 1 (AH)	04 - View from east 2 (AH)	05 - View from south (AH)
06 - View from south east (AH)	07 - Forth Place (AH)	08 - Forth Hotel (AH)	09 - Station and pier (AH)	10 - Station (AH)
11 - Station forecourt (IA)	12 - Passenger ferry (AH)	13 - Passenger ferry pier (AH)	14 - Station approach 1 (AH)	15 - Station approach 2 (AH)
16 - Passenger train 1 (AH)	17 - Passenger train 2 (AH)	18 - Goods pier (IA)	19 - Dredger (IA)	20 - 'Floating railway' terminal (IA)
21 - 'Floating railway' vessel and terminal (AH)	22 - 'Floating railway' vessel (IA)	23 - Coal hoist (AH)	24 - Locomotive 1 (IA)	25 - Locomotive 2 (IA)
26 - Locomotive 3 (IA)	27 - Locomotive 4 (IA)	28 - Locomotives (AH)	29 - School visit 1 (IA)	30 - School visit 2 (IA)

Created by IrfanView