The Society receives many queries about staff on the former Highland Railway and its successors.
The Staff records of the former Highland Railway and
its successors that have survived have been deposited with the National
Records of Scotland in Edinburgh. Details of their collection are
included in their web site, www.nrscotland.gov.uk, which lists the following:
BR/HR/15 Staff Records, 1878-1957
BR/HR/15/1/ Register of Applicants for Clerkships, 1878-1920
BR/HR/15/2 Register of Applicants for Clerkships, 1919-1923
BR/HR/15/3 Register of Candidates for Clerical Staff Examination, 1921-1923
BR/HR/15/7 Staff Register, c1912 - c1917
BR/HR/15/8 Staff Register, c1918 - c1920
BR/HR/15/9 Staff Register, c1921 - c1927
Note that these can be seen at General Register
House but are held off-site, so you should contact the National
Archives of Scotland before any visit.
Useful information can be found in the Census records which are now available up to 1911. Start with Scotlands People.
Another interesting record of personel can be found
in 'Railway Work, Life & Death' which has been produced as a result
of an initiative between the University of Portsmouth and the National
Railway Museum. Data from nearly 4,000 railway worker accident
reports compiled by the inspectors between 1911 and 1915 has been
tabulated in a spreadsheet which can be accessed through www.railwayaccidents.port.ac.uk. Unfortunately the Highland Raiway although not prominent was not without incident during that period.
About 25% of the workforce of 756 served
in the First World War. The Highland Railway Company War Memorial is
mounted at the entrance to the former Company headquarters, to the left
of Inverness station. Click here for a photo of it.
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