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A strategic steam reserve (SSR) is a collection of withdrawn steam locomotives which is kept in working order for possible use in a national emergency. During the Cold War several countries, including Sweden, Finland and the Soviet Union, kept SSRs and the United Kingdom is reported to have done so, albeit without evidence.
Many European railways have a large mileage which is electrified. In the event of a war, or major natural disaster, electricity supplies could be disrupted and electric locomotives would be unworkable. Diesel locomotives could also be at risk for two reasons:
Although the availability and even storage of large numbers of steam locomotives would be practical (at least, on the scale of other Cold War strategic projects), the overall usefulness of such a reserve is far less practical.
The alleged British 'Strategic Reserve' is a potent and frequently recurring urban myth amongst railway enthusiasts. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Following the complete withdrawal of mainline steam traction in 1968, the myth persisted for decades that a reserve of locomotives had been retained for such a strategic purpose. As no official reserve existed, nor was any reserve obviously visible, this encouraged many fanciful explanations for where the reserve might be hidden, usually in some tunnel or mine. One theory even claimed that the growing steam preservation movement was itself the Strategic Reserve.
Some support for these theories was given by the young age and high quality of the British locomotive fleet. The British Railways Standard classes were the pinnacle of British locomotive design and had been constructed until only a few years before withdrawal, even after the withdrawal of steam had been planned. Rather than applying Hanlon's razor to this evident wastefulness, the assumption was that there must have been some other secret justification to constructing a fleet of new, capable and standardised locomotives.
Another theory was that the reserve comprised the NCB's continued operational fleet of Austerity saddle tank locomotives. The Austerities were solidly constructed, reliable and easy to maintain; despite slow speed and short range, they were also powerful in terms of tractive effort. They were the last standard gauge steam locomotives to be constructed in the UK in the 20th Century, and were in a good condition, especially regarding their projected boiler life remaining. As they had also been operated by the Army themselves, this was taken as further "evidence" to support the theory, amongst the fringes of rail enthusiasts.
In fact all scrapped steam locomotives have been accounted for, and the alleged hiding places, for example Box Tunnel, [1] proved to be innocuous. In 2008, BBC Radio 4's programme Punt PI , with Steve Punt, investigated the alleged Strategic Reserve, but found no evidence for its existence. [6] [7]
The theorized British SSR is mentioned in Charles Stross' series of novels The Laundry Files. It is also a key plot point in Rian Hughes' novel The Black Locomotive, where the titular engine is a SR Lord Nelson Class locomotive, the Lord Hawke.
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material to heat water in the locomotive's boiler to the point where it becomes gaseous and its volume increases 1,700 times. Functionally, it is a steam engine on wheels.
The British Railways Standard Class 9F2-10-0 is a class of steam locomotive designed for British Railways by Robert Riddles. The Class 9F was the last in a series of standardised locomotive classes designed for British Railways during the 1950s, and was intended for use on fast, heavy freight trains over long distances. It was one of the most powerful steam locomotive types ever built for British Railways, and successfully performed its intended duties. The 9F class was given the nickname of 'Spaceship', due to its size and shape.
The steam locomotives of British Railways were used by British Railways over the period 1948–1968. The vast majority of these were inherited from its four constituent companies, the "Big Four".
The Hunslet Engine Company is a locomotive-building company, founded in 1864 in Hunslet, England. It manufactured steam locomotives for over 100 years and currently manufactures diesel shunting locomotives. The company is part of Ed Murray & Sons.
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) produced several classes of locomotive, mostly to the designs of Nigel Gresley, characterised by a three-cylinder layout with a parallel boiler and round-topped firebox. It produced the most famous locomotive of its day, 4468 'Mallard', the holder of the world steam locomotive speed record. It also built the world-famous 4472 'Flying Scotsman'. However, its locomotive inheritance was much greater than just the 'A4 Class', it also produced highly successful mixed-traffic and freight designs.
Sentinel Waggon Works Ltd was a British company based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire that made steam-powered lorries, railway locomotives, and later, diesel engined lorries, buses and locomotives.
The SR Q1 class is a type of austerity steam locomotive constructed during the Second World War. The class was designed by Oliver Bulleid for use on the intensive freight turns experienced during wartime on the Southern Railway network. A total of 40 locomotives were built. Bulleid incorporated many innovations and weight-saving concepts to produce a highly functional design. The class lasted in service until July 1966, and the first member of the class, number C1, has been preserved by the National Railway Museum.
The Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST is a class of steam locomotive designed by Hunslet Engine Company for shunting. The class became the standard British shunting locomotive during the Second World War, and production continued until 1964 at various locomotive manufacturers.
The British Rail Class 42 Warship diesel-hydraulic locomotives were introduced in 1958. It was apparent at that time that the largest centre of expertise on diesel-hydraulic locomotives was in West Germany. The Western Region of British Railways negotiated a licence with German manufacturers to scale down the German Federal Railway's "V200" design to suit the smaller loading gauge of the British network, and to allow British manufacturers to construct the new locomotives. The resultant design bears a close resemblance, both cosmetically and in the engineering employed, to the original V200 design. Warship locomotives were divided into two batches: those built at BR's Swindon works were numbered in the series D800-D832 and D866-D870, had a maximum tractive effort of 52,400 pounds-force (233,000 N) and eventually became British Rail Class 42. 33 others, D833–D865, were constructed by the North British Locomotive Company and became British Rail Class 43. They were allocated to Bristol Bath Road, Plymouth Laira, Newton Abbot and Old Oak Common.
Swindon Works was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1843 in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It served as the principal west England maintenance centre until closed in 1986.
The Leader was a class of experimental 0-6-0+0-6-0T articulated steam locomotive, produced in the United Kingdom to the design of the innovative engineer Oliver Bulleid. The Leader was an attempt to extend the life of steam traction by eliminating many of the operational drawbacks associated with existing steam locomotives. It was intended as a replacement for the ageing fleet of M7 class tank engines still in operation on the Southern Railway (SR). Design work began in 1946 and development continued after the nationalisation of the railways in 1948, under the auspices of British Railways (BR).
British Rail's Class 27 comprised 69 diesel locomotives built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (BRCW) during 1961 and 1962. They were a development of the earlier Class 26; both were originally classified as the BRCW Type 2. The Class 27s were numbered D5347-D5415.
British Railways 10800 was a diesel locomotive built by the North British Locomotive Company for British Railways in 1950. It had been ordered by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1946 but did not appear until after the 1948 nationalisation of the railways.
The Statens Järnvägar Class G11 was a class of two ex-British War Department Austerity 2-8-0 steam locomotives, numbered 1930 and 1931. They were both purchased in 1953 from Nederlandse Spoorwegen.
The NZR K class of 1932 was a class of mixed traffic 4-8-4 steam locomotives built by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) that operated on New Zealand's railway network. The locomotives were developed following the failure of the G class Garratt locomotives. The class should not be confused with the much earlier K class of 1877-78, the first American-built engines to arrive in New Zealand.
Crewe Diesel Depot is a former diesel-electric locomotive traction maintenance depot, formerly Crewe Diesel Traction Maintenance Depot or Crewe Diesel TMD, situated to the south of and visible from Crewe railway station. Built in 1958 by British Railways it was used as a maintenance facility for the diesel locomotives that were at the time replacing steam traction across the national rail network. Following the privatisation of British Rail depot ownership transferred to EWS, now DB Schenker and continued as a base for diesel traction, latterly becoming a facility for storing surplus rolling stock. In 2014 ownership transferred to Locomotive Storage Limited who have been and are continuing to renovate the site.
The New Zealand DE class locomotive is a New Zealand class of shunting diesel-electric locomotives. The New Zealand Railways intended to replace steam locomotives for shunting duties with this class. They are physically similar to the Tasmanian Government Railways X class, which were also of English Electric design.
The locomotives of the Isle of Man Railway were provided exclusively by Beyer, Peacock & Company of Manchester, England between 1873 and 1926; other locomotives that appear on this list were inherited as part of the take-over of the Manx Northern Railway and Foxdale Railway in 1905, when the railway also purchased two more locomotives from Beyer, Peacock. All the steam locomotives have or had the 2-4-0T wheel arrangement, apart from No. 15 Caledonia which is an 0-6-0T.
The Queensland Railways Beyer-Garratt class locomotive was a class of 4-8-2+2-8-4 steam locomotives operated by the Queensland Railways.
Locomotive 5917 is a two-cylinder, simple, non-condensing, superheated, coal-fired, 2-8-2 ‘Mikado' steam locomotive and one of five D59 class locomotives that were preserved. As of June 2021, it is the main steam locomotive used for the Picnic Train, mainly running between Sydney and Kiama.
