 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(December 2016) |
| LNER Thompson Class B2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Thompson Class B2 was a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotive. It was introduced in 1945 as a two-cylinder rebuild (with diagram 100A boiler) of the three-cylinder LNER Class B17. Ten were rebuilt from Class B17 but no more were rebuilt because of the success of the LNER Thompson Class B1.
The LNER renumbered its locomotive stock during the period that these locomotives were being rebuilt, so some were renumbered at the time that they were rebuilt, some before rebuilding, and some after rebuilding. The renumbering plan for class B2 was the same as for class B17: in each case the first two digits were altered from 28 to 16. Thus 2803 became 1603 at rebuilding in October 1946; 2807 had already become 1607 (December 1946) prior to rebuilding in May 1947; and 2814 (rebuilt November 1946) became 1614 in December 1946. [1] Between 1948 and 1950, British Railways increased these numbers by 60000; no. 61644 was so renumbered at the time of its rebuilding in March 1949. [2]
The rebuilt locomotives kept their names:
Two of the locomotives were renamed. No. 1671 was the official Royal engine and for this purpose it was renamed Royal Sovereign in April 1946.
The second renaming occurred after the withdrawal of 61671 in September 1958: in October, the name Royal Sovereign was transferred to no. 61632, which then became the official Royal engine. [3] All members of the class were scrapped.
Two B2s were kept at Cambridge for hauling the Royal Train in East Anglia, [4] [5] predominantly to and from Wolferton which was the nearest to Sandringham House, these being renamed Royal Sovereign and 61617 Ford Castle as the reserve. There were three sets of drivers and firemen allocated specifically to work the "Royal" engines and they did not work unless operated by one of these teams. [6] It was Ford Castle which was one of the locomotives used to haul the funeral train of King George VI on 11 February 1952, hauling the train from Wolferton as far as King's Lynn from where 70000 Britannia took over for the rest of the journey to King's Cross. [7]
Other than the two locomotives allocated to Cambridge, the remaining locomotives were mainly allocated to Colchester and were predominantly used on services between Liverpool Street and Clacton. [4] Many publications list "B17/B2" together and consider the types interchangeable which may lead to the type being overlooked; a list of locomotives allocated to Colchester in 1951 and labelled as "B2/B17" shows eight B2s and no B17s. [8]
Due to the size of the turntables on the Great Eastern section, locomotives were sometimes used with tenders that were shorter than those originally designed. At least one B2 was recorded as being paired with a tender of NER origin rather than the longer B17 tender. [9]
The last B2 was withdrawn in 1959. [10]
John George Robinson CBE, was an English railway engineer, and was chief mechanical engineer of the Great Central Railway from 1900 to 1922.
The Great Eastern Railway (GER) Class S69, also known as 1500 Class, and later classified B12 by the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) is a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotive designed to haul express passenger trains from London Liverpool Street station along the Great Eastern Main Line. Originally they were designed by S. D. Holden, but were much rebuilt, resulting in several subclasses.
The GER Class L77, LNER Class N7, is a class of 0-6-2T steam locomotives. They were designed by Alfred John Hill of the Great Eastern Railway and introduced in 1915. The design was perpetuated by Nigel Gresley of the LNER after the 1923 grouping. 134 were built and one example is preserved.
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Class B17, also known as "Sandringham" or "Footballer" class was a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotive designed by Nigel Gresley for hauling passenger services on the Great Eastern Main Line. In total 73 were built.
Stephen Dewar Holden was a British engineer, the son of the engineer James Holden and succeeded his father as locomotive superintendent of the Great Eastern Railway in 1908, a post he held until his retirement in 1912.
The NER Class X was a class of 4-8-0T tank locomotive designed by Wilson Worsdell for the North Eastern Railway. They were intended for use as powerful shunting engines to arrange and move coal wagons for loading into ships. In total 15 were built, 10 by the NER between 1909 and 1910, and a further five in 1925 by the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). They had three cylinders with divided drive: the inside cylinder driving the leading axle, the outside cylinders driving the centre.
The Class EF1 was a class of electrically powered locomotives built by the North Eastern Railway from 1914. They were built to haul coal trains from the mines at Shildon to the docks at Middlesbrough. In common with other LNER electric locomotives, no classification was given to these locomotives until 4 October 1945, when nos. 3-12 were all classified EB1 although only no. 11 was actually modified for banking. It was expected that all the locomotives would be similarly modified, but this did not happen, and the remaining locos were classified as EF1.
The North Eastern Railway Class S was a 4-6-0 type of steam locomotive designed for express passenger workings. The first example was built in 1899. They were very similar to the NER Class S1, except for the smaller wheels of the former.
The GCR Class 1 was a class of steam locomotives designed by John G. Robinson for the Great Central Railway, and introduced to service between December 1912 and 1913. In the 1923 grouping, they all passed to the London and North Eastern Railway which placed them in class B2. Their classification was changed to B19 in 1945, and all had been retired by the end of 1947.
The Great Central Railway (GCR) Class 8A was a class of 0-8-0 steam locomotive built between 1902 and 1911 for handling heavy coal trains over the Pennines. They all passed to the LNER in 1923, who redesignated them Class Q4. They were withdrawn from service between 1934 and 1951.
The GCR Class 1B was a class of 2-6-4T (tank) locomotives on the Great Central Railway. They were notable as the first locomotives of the 2-6-4T wheel arrangement to be used by a British standard-gauge railway; there had been two narrow-gauge examples on the Leek & Manifold Valley Light Railway since 1904.
The GCR Class 11E was a type of 4-4-0 steam locomotive used by the Great Central Railway for express passenger services. Ten were built in the railway's own workshops at Gorton, Manchester during 1913; they remained in service until the mid-1950s.
The GCR Class 9Q, classified B7 by the LNER, was a class of 4-6-0 mixed traffic locomotives designed by John G. Robinson for fast goods, relief passenger and excursion services on the Great Central Railway. They were a smaller wheeled version of Robinson's earlier Class 9P "Lord Faringdon" express passenger class.
The Great Eastern Railway was formed on 1 August 1862, when the Eastern Counties Railway changed its name. The ECR had originally been built to 5 ft gauge, was converted to 4 ft 8+1⁄2 instandard gauge in September and October 1844.
The Great Central Railway Class 1A, classified B8 by the LNER, was a class of 4-6-0 mixed-traffic locomotives designed by John G. Robinson for fast goods, relief passenger and excursion services. They were known as the ‘Glenalmond Class’ and were a smaller wheeled version of Robinson's earlier Sir Sam Fay express passenger class, which they closely resembled.
The GCR Class 8C was a class of a pair of 4-6-0 locomotives built for the Great Central Railway in 1903–1904 by Beyer, Peacock and Company. They passed to the London and North Eastern Railway at the 1923 grouping and received the classification B1 They were reclassified B18 in 1943 and both were retired in 1947.
The North Eastern Railway was formed by merger in 1854 and merged into the London and North Eastern Railway at the grouping in 1923. Between those dates five men held the post of Locomotive Superintendent.
The GCR Class 8F was a class of ten 4-6-0 locomotives built for the Great Central Railway in 1906 by Beyer, Peacock and Company to the design of John G. Robinson for working fast goods and fish trains. They passed to the London and North Eastern Railway at the 1923 grouping and received the classification 'B4'.
The Great Central Railway Class 8N - London North Eastern Railway Class B6 - was a class of three 4-6-0 steam locomotives, designed by John G. Robinson in 1918. They were a mixed traffic class. All three examples were withdrawn in November and December 1947.
The NER Class Z was an Atlantic class of locomotives designed by Vincent Raven. It was introduced in 1911.
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