War Department "Austerity" 2-8-0, WD No. 79257 is a preserved British steam locomotive. It is the only survivor of its type. Originally built by the Vulcan Foundry in 1945, works No. 5200, it was given the WD No. 79257. During the liberation of Europe, it was transferred to mainland Europe with the British Army. [1] [2]
After the war, it was sold to Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS, Dutch Railways), where it became part of the NS 4300 II Class number 4464. NS in turn sold it to Statens Järnvägar (SJ, Swedish State Railways) where it became Class G11 1931. Also sold to SJ at the same time was 4383 ex WD 78259 which became SJ 1930.
No. 1931 was saved from being scrapped by the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, who ran it in SJ condition for several years. In 1993 work began on restoring the locomotive to more or less original condition, as "British Railways No. 90733", one higher than the last BR ex-WD Austerity 2-8-0, 90732 Vulcan. Incidentally, one engine did very briefly carry the BR number 90733 as ex-WD Stanier Class 8F No. 48773 (also preserved) was incorrectly numbered that upon its entering into BR stock in 1957, after being mistaken for an Austerity 2-8-0 type. As of July 2018, it is being stripped for an overhaul. [3] [4] [5]
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".
Peak Rail is a preserved railway in Derbyshire, England, which operates a steam and heritage diesel service for tourists and visitors to both the Peak District and the Derbyshire Dales.
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.
The War Department was the United Kingdom government department responsible for the supply of equipment to the armed forces of the United Kingdom and the pursuance of military activity. In 1857 it became the War Office. Within the War Office, the name 'War Department' remained in use to describe the military transport services of the War Department Fleet and the War Department Railways.
The BR Standard steam locomotives were an effort to standardize locomotives from the motley collection of older pre-grouping locos. Construction started in 1951. Due to the controversial British Railways' modernisation plan of 1955, where steam traction was abandoned in favour of diesel and electric traction, many of the locomotives' working lives were very short: between 7 and 17 years. Many have been preserved, mainly due to their having been sent to Barry.
The London Midland and Scottish Railway's 8F class 2-8-0 heavy freight locomotive is a class of steam locomotive designed for hauling heavy freight. 852 were built between 1935 and 1946, as a freight version of William Stanier's successful Black Five, and the class saw extensive service overseas during and after the Second World War.
The War Department (WD) "Austerity" 2-8-0 is a type of heavy freight steam locomotive that was introduced in 1943 for war service. A total of 935 were built, making this one of the most-produced classes of British steam locomotive. They were nicknamed Ozzies by the railwaymen.
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T is a class of light 'mixed-traffic' steam locomotive introduced in 1946.
The GWR 5700 Class, or 57xx class, was a class of 0-6-0 pannier tank steam locomotive, built by the Great Western Railway (GWR) and British Railways (BR) between 1929 and 1950. With 863 built, they were the most prolific class of the GWR, and one of the most numerous classes of British steam locomotive.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 2884 Class is a class of 2-8-0 steam locomotive.
The War Department (WD) "Austerity" 2-10-0 is a type of heavy freight steam locomotive that was introduced during the Second World War in 1943.
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) J94 Class is a class of steam locomotive that was formed when 75 former "Austerity" 0-6-0STs were purchased by the LNER in 1946 from the War Department.
The L&YR Class 21 is a class of small 0-4-0ST steam locomotive built by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway for shunting duties. They were nicknamed Pugs.
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 SR USA class were ex-United States Army Transportation Corps S100 Class steam locomotives purchased and adapted by the Southern Railway (SR) after the end of the Second World War to replace the LSWR B4 class then working in Southampton Docks. SR staff nicknamed them "Yank Tanks".
The British Railways (BR) ex-WD Austerity 2-10-0 Class was a class of 25 2-10-0 steam locomotives of the WD Austerity 2-10-0 type purchased in 1948 from the War Department.
War Department (WD) Austerity 2-10-0 No. 73755 Longmoor is a preserved steam locomotive.
The British Railways (BR) ex-WD Austerity 2-8-0 was a class of 733 2-8-0 steam locomotives designed for heavy freight. These locomotives of the WD Austerity 2-8-0 type had been constructed by the War Department as war locomotives 1943-1945. After the war they were surplus and so in 1946 the LNER bought 200 of them, classifying them as LNER Class O7, and by the end of 1947 when the LNER was nationalised, had taken another 278 O7s on loan. After nationalisation, BR purchased 533 more 2-8-0s, including all of those on loan, giving a class total of 733. As many of these needed overhauling before being put to work, they were activated slowly. BR chose to reclassified from LNER Class O7 and renumbered them from the 6xxxx LNER series in the 90000-732 series for BR standard designs.
The Rolling stock of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway is used on the preserved Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, a 5-mile-long (8 km) branch line that served mills and villages in the Worth Valley and is now a heritage railway line in West Yorkshire, England. It runs from Keighley to Oxenhope. It connects to the national rail network line at Keighley railway station.
41241 is an LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T that was built at Crewe Works in September 1949. It is one of four members of the class left in preservation but one of only two that is located on the mainland ; the other pair being located on the Isle of Wight.
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