Prison transport

On display at Maud Railway Museum this restored Victorian railway carriage was designed to transport convicts doing hard labour from Peterhead Prison to Stirling Hill Quarry . The prison was built especially to provide labour for the construction of Peterhead Harbour of refuge. The interior of the wooden carriage was divided into unheated, open compartments each of which held about 6 convicts. They were shackled and chained to large staples in the wall. Eventually they were given benches to sit on and an iron urinal was provided for their convenience. Convicts were guarded by prison warders armed with cutlasses who had slightly more comfortable accommodation. Note the bars on the windows. Incredibly the carriage was in use until the mid 20th century.