National Library of Scotland site adds fire insurance and transport plans

The National Library of Scotland has some new maps additions to its online platform:

Transport plans of Scotland, 18th-20th centuries

We have added 102 specialised early maps, plans and profiles relating to relating to Bridges, Canals and Railways online. These often show proposed new developments, that were not always realised. They include the construction of the Forth & Clyde Canal, actively planned from the 1760s, the Caledonian Canal (1804-1847) and the Union Canal (opened in 1822). Early railway plans often followed similar routes to canals, for transporting goods, but became much more extensive for passengers during the 19th century. We often have vertical profiles or sections of routes, detailed contract plans, station plans, and network routes for passengers. Also included are some early proposed plans for bridges, and tunnels.


Charles Goad Fire Insurance Plans of Scottish Towns, 1880s-1940s

We have added 230 Goad Fire Insurance Plans of Scottish Towns online. These very detailed maps cover the main industrial areas of seven towns and cities in Scotland, and date from the late 19th century through to the mid-20th century. They are particularly useful for showing the function of each building, and often the names of particular companies or institutions there. Colour-coding allowed fire risk to be graphically portrayed: brick and stone buildings were shown in red, timber buildings in yellow, iron or metal buildings in grey, and skylights in blue. The maps also show building heights and construction materials, wall thickness, internal room arrangement and function, types of roof, proximity to fire hydrants and fire-extinguishing appliances, and the locations of doors, windows and skylights.

For further details visit https://maps.nls.uk/additions.html

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course starts August 31st - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.