An aluminium smelter was built at Loch Leven in the Scottish Highlands in the early 20th century. Part of the work involved the creation of a dam to produce electricity for the smelter but there was plenty of surplus electricity. The village of Kinlochleven, where most of the workers lived, became the first village in the world to be supplied with electricity. Electricity also powered a short (just less than a mile long) railway which ran from the smelter to a quay at the head of Loch Leven. The railway, which was the first electric railway in Scotland, opened in 1906. Two locomotives were built for the 914mm gauge railway by Dick, Kerr.
| Information for original locomotives |
| Number built: |
2 |
| Built: |
1906 |
| Builder: |
Dick, Kerr of Preston |
| Motor: |
2 Dick, Kerr electric motors (550v DC OHLE) |
| Power: |
70 hp (52 kW) |
| Wheel arrangement: |
4wWE |
The locomotives were powerful for their size. They could haul up to 30 tons. They were joined by two other, similarly powered, locomotives built by Metropolitan-Vickers in 1947. The railway was closed in 1960.
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One of the locomotives at work [1]
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[1] "The Kinlochleven Works of the British Aluminium Company", The Electrical Journal (December 4 1908) p. 297
