BR standard class 2 2-6-0
Encyclopedia
The BR Standard Class 2 2-6-0 is a class of steam locomotive
, one of the British Railways Standard classes of the 1950s. They were physically the smallest of the Standard classes; 65 were built.
The design was derived from the Ivatt
-designed LMS Class 2MT 2-6-0, with a reduced cab to enable it to fit into a universal loading gauge
, and other standard fittings, most notably a taller chimney, others including the lack of an Ivatt dome and side plates connecting the two sections of the engine. Like the LMS predecessor the BR design had a tender cab to enhance crew protection and visibility when running tender-first. They were all attached to a BR3 type tender. These locomotives are often known by the nickname "Mickey Mouse".
Darlington works was responsible for building the entire fleet of 65 engines and for a time construction of the LMS and BR designs overlapped. The last No.78064 was completed in 1956 but the class remained intact for just seven years. Coincidently the first to be withdrawn No.78015 was a Darlington-based engine.
Like the LMS counterpart, the Standard Mogul
was arranged for a low axle-loading of just 13.75 LT. This allowed it to operate on most lightly laid routes and secondary lines. Some of the class had speedometers fitted.
Among crews the 2MT 2-6-0 gained a reputation for being very sure-footed. Some maintained however that the engine did not steam well. The loudest complaint was about the draughty and dirty footplate. This was surprising given the efforts of Robert Riddles
and his team to optimise working conditions in the Standards' cab layout.
Two former Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway sheds, Bank Hall (Liverpool) and Wigan (L&Y), respectively designated 27A and 27D, received an allocation of the class. Bank Hall had 78041-4 which were used with great success on both slow and fast trains from Liverpool Exchange to either Preston, Bolton or Rochdale. The Wigan engines 78040/61-4 were used on stopping trains to Liverpool, Southport, Bolton and Rochdale. They replaced LMS 2P 4-4-0s and LYR 2-4-2Ts. On the former L&Y lines this class was generally employed on passenger work whilst the LMS class 2 2-6-0s were normally found on shunting and freight jobs until the mid 1960s. When the Cambrian section closed and other areas dieselised, other members of the class came to the former L&Y lines (some as replacements for those originally allocated to 27A and 27D). These included 78002 (in green livery), 78007, 78027 and 78057. Some of these were used on shunting duties from Bolton and Lostock Hall sheds. Number 78022 preserved on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway had a spell as Preston station passenger pilot whilst allocated to Lostock Hall.
No. 78059 lost its tender while at Woodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry, South Wales. It is now being rebuilt as no. 84030, a BR standard class 2 2-6-2T
, the tank
version of the class. 78018 is the engine which is rescued in the 1955 British Transport Film Snowdrift at Bleath Gill
.
Steam Locomotive Database entries:
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
, one of the British Railways Standard classes of the 1950s. They were physically the smallest of the Standard classes; 65 were built.
The design was derived from the Ivatt
George Ivatt
Henry George Ivatt known as George Ivatt, was the post-war Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London Midland and Scottish Railway. He was the son of the Great Northern Railway locomotive engineer Henry Ivatt....
-designed LMS Class 2MT 2-6-0, with a reduced cab to enable it to fit into a universal loading gauge
Loading gauge
A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...
, and other standard fittings, most notably a taller chimney, others including the lack of an Ivatt dome and side plates connecting the two sections of the engine. Like the LMS predecessor the BR design had a tender cab to enhance crew protection and visibility when running tender-first. They were all attached to a BR3 type tender. These locomotives are often known by the nickname "Mickey Mouse".
Darlington works was responsible for building the entire fleet of 65 engines and for a time construction of the LMS and BR designs overlapped. The last No.78064 was completed in 1956 but the class remained intact for just seven years. Coincidently the first to be withdrawn No.78015 was a Darlington-based engine.
Like the LMS counterpart, the Standard Mogul
2-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. This arrangement is commonly called a Mogul...
was arranged for a low axle-loading of just 13.75 LT. This allowed it to operate on most lightly laid routes and secondary lines. Some of the class had speedometers fitted.
Among crews the 2MT 2-6-0 gained a reputation for being very sure-footed. Some maintained however that the engine did not steam well. The loudest complaint was about the draughty and dirty footplate. This was surprising given the efforts of Robert Riddles
Robert Riddles
Robert Arthur "Robin" Riddles, CBE, MIMechE, MinstLE was a British locomotive engineer.-LNWR and LMS:Riddles was born in 1892 and entered the Crewe Works of the London and North Western Railway as a premium apprentice in 1909, completing his apprenticeship in 1913...
and his team to optimise working conditions in the Standards' cab layout.
Two former Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway sheds, Bank Hall (Liverpool) and Wigan (L&Y), respectively designated 27A and 27D, received an allocation of the class. Bank Hall had 78041-4 which were used with great success on both slow and fast trains from Liverpool Exchange to either Preston, Bolton or Rochdale. The Wigan engines 78040/61-4 were used on stopping trains to Liverpool, Southport, Bolton and Rochdale. They replaced LMS 2P 4-4-0s and LYR 2-4-2Ts. On the former L&Y lines this class was generally employed on passenger work whilst the LMS class 2 2-6-0s were normally found on shunting and freight jobs until the mid 1960s. When the Cambrian section closed and other areas dieselised, other members of the class came to the former L&Y lines (some as replacements for those originally allocated to 27A and 27D). These included 78002 (in green livery), 78007, 78027 and 78057. Some of these were used on shunting duties from Bolton and Lostock Hall sheds. Number 78022 preserved on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway had a spell as Preston station passenger pilot whilst allocated to Lostock Hall.
Preservation
Four survived the cutter's torch, these being 78018, 78019, 78022 and 78059.No. 78059 lost its tender while at Woodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry, South Wales. It is now being rebuilt as no. 84030, a BR standard class 2 2-6-2T
BR standard class 2 2-6-2T
The British Railways standard class 2 2-6-2T was a class of steam locomotive, one of the standard classes of the 1950s.- Design and construction :...
, the tank
Tank locomotive
A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. It will most likely also have some kind of bunker to hold the fuel. There are several different types of tank locomotive dependent upon...
version of the class. 78018 is the engine which is rescued in the 1955 British Transport Film Snowdrift at Bleath Gill
Snowdrift at Bleath Gill
Snowdrift at Bleath Gill is a 1955 British Transport Film documentary directed by Kenneth Fairbairn. The 10 minute-long film presents a first-hand account of a team of British Railways workmen freeing a goods train stuck in a snowdrift on the South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway at Bleath Gill...
.
Steam Locomotive Database entries: