* Astronomy

The Railway Astronomer

Of all the nineteenth century worthies described in a book about characters of the time from the Blairgowrie and Strathmore areas, none has a more curious mix of profession and hobby than John Robertson. He was born in 1830 and retired in 1899.
His family originated at Struan and his father was a contractor responsible for constructing many of the original turnpike roads in the west Angus area. The young Robertson initially followed in his footsteps, helping his father, and then leading teams of road and rail constructors in his own right in similar territory. He moved about and it was while residing in Montrose that he went to a lecture by a Dr Dick, a famous Broughty Ferry astronomer of the time. This so fired his imagination that he enlisted in evening classes in the subject. At about this time he was given charge of supervising the laying of a section of the railway line between Coupar Angus and Blairgowrie which involved many civil engineering challenges which he met with success.
There is no indication of why he decided to change course so summarily, but after the line was complete, he became a railway porter at Forfar. He wasn't there long before coming "back" to Coupar Angus where he saw out his working days, having settled there in 1858. In the same year he became an astronomer of, as he put it himself, "Donati's great comet". This phenomenon is credited with developing his interest in astronomy and he pursued knowledge from all of the great works of the time. It was not until 1875 that he got his first telescope, which he upgraded two years later by spending £40 (what then must have been a huge outlay). He was working at the station from six until six but he still fitted in a lot of time making observations and drawings and "checking off the affairs of the universe" from his small cottage and back garden in Causewayend. All this allowed him to make learned contributions to local and national newspapers and journals, and to astronomy in general. His correspondents numbered some of the great names in the field of the day including doctors, professors and Astronomers-royal. Some urged him to pursue his hobby as a profession, but Robertson remained quite comfortable in his role as the Coupar Angus railway porter.
His great claim to fame as a porter, however, was the authority which he delivered his war-cry of "Coupar Angus - change here for Blairgowrie!". Not only did it leave no one in any doubt as to where on the map they were currently located, but it was a source of great local pride, one wag going as far as to describe Coupar Angus as "the best cried station in Britain". Indeed so effective was the announcement that there were stories of far more than one person having changed trains in what had come to their ears as a command, when they were supposed to remain on the train they had got off! The book describes this more earthy phenomenon as "a sort of slogan or rallying-cry for the people of Strathmore". It goes on to say that the cry had been heard on the streets of London and at least once in a Parisian restaurant! It somehow seems that only in Perthshire could a humble railway porter double as an authority on astronomy. You are more than welcome to read more about the past people, places and times of our wonderful local area in the Local Studies Section of the A K Bell library. Staff are always happy to demonstrate the vast riches of old newspapers, photos, maps and books, or to help with family or other historical research.

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