SJ Class G11
Encyclopedia
The Statens Järnvägar
(SJ; Swedish State Railways) Class G11 was a class of two ex-British
War Department
Austerity 2-8-0
steam locomotive
s, numbered 1930 and 1931. They were both purchased in 1953 from Nederlandse Spoorwegen
(NS; Dutch Railways)
SJ purchased these locomotives to evaluate if they could serve as at good replacement for the locomotives they had obtained through the nationalization of the private railways during the 1940s. It was possible to purchase these locomotives as surplus material quite cheaply. The trials were less than satisfactory though, and with the rapid advances in the technology of diesel locomotive
s, no further purchases of this type of locomotives were made by SJ.
in 1945
In Sweden the locomotives were altered. Their chimneys, the originals of which had been replaced with taller chimneys by the Dutch, were cut down. Their cabs were replaced with fully enclosed cabs. Their tenders were cut down from 8-wheel to 6-wheel, and so on.
The locomotives were used south-west Sweden on the Halmstad
-Nässjö
line.
Both were withdrawn in the 1960s and placed in the strategic reserve. No. 1931 was bought by a group from the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway
in England
and repatriated in 1973. There were negotiations for the Nene Valley Railway
to purchase No. 1930, but it was inadvertently scrapped, leaving No. 1931 as the only surviving WD Austerity 2-8-0. No. 1931 ran in slightly modified condition between 1973 and 1976. As of 2006 it is nearing completion of an overhaul which will restore it to original condition as "British Railways No. 90773", numbered 1 higher than the last of the BR ex-WD Austerity 2-8-0
s.
Statens Järnvägar
The Swedish State Railways or SJ, originally the Royal Railway Board , is a former government agency responsible for operating the state railways in Sweden....
(SJ; Swedish State Railways) Class G11 was a class of two ex-British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
War Department
War Department (UK)
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...
Austerity 2-8-0
WD Austerity 2-8-0
The War Department "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.- Overview :...
steam locomotive
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...
s, numbered 1930 and 1931. They were both purchased in 1953 from Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Nederlandse Spoorwegen , or NS, is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands.Its trains operate over the tracks of the Dutch national railinfrastructure, operated by ProRail, which was split off from NS in 2003...
(NS; Dutch Railways)
SJ purchased these locomotives to evaluate if they could serve as at good replacement for the locomotives they had obtained through the nationalization of the private railways during the 1940s. It was possible to purchase these locomotives as surplus material quite cheaply. The trials were less than satisfactory though, and with the rapid advances in the technology of diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
s, no further purchases of this type of locomotives were made by SJ.
Overview
The two locomotives were numbered 1930 and 1931. Both had been transferred to Nederlandse SpoorwegenNederlandse Spoorwegen
Nederlandse Spoorwegen , or NS, is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands.Its trains operate over the tracks of the Dutch national railinfrastructure, operated by ProRail, which was split off from NS in 2003...
in 1945
| Numbers | Builder | Date built | Works No. | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SJ | NS | WD | ||||
| 1930 | 4464 | 78529 | North British North British Locomotive Company The North British Locomotive Company was created in 1903 through the merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturing companies; Sharp Stewart and Company , Neilson, Reid and Company and Dübs and Company , creating the largest locomotive manufacturing company in Europe.Its main factories were... |
1945 | 5200 | |
| 1931 WD Austerity 2-8-0 79257 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... |
4383 WD Austerity 2-8-0 79257 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... |
79257 WD Austerity 2-8-0 79257 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... |
Vulcan Foundry Vulcan Foundry Vulcan Foundry was a British locomotive builder sited at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire .-History:It was originally opened in 1832 as Charles Tayleur and Company to produce girders for bridges, switches and crossings, and other ironwork following the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway... |
1944 | 25428 | Preserved |
In Sweden the locomotives were altered. Their chimneys, the originals of which had been replaced with taller chimneys by the Dutch, were cut down. Their cabs were replaced with fully enclosed cabs. Their tenders were cut down from 8-wheel to 6-wheel, and so on.
The locomotives were used south-west Sweden on the Halmstad
Halmstad
Halmstad is a port, university, industrial and recreational city at the mouth of Nissan in the province of Halland on the Swedish west coast. Halmstad is the seat of Halmstad Municipality and the capital of Halland County...
-Nässjö
Nässjö
Nässjö is a locality and the seat of Nässjö Municipality, Jönköping County, Sweden with 16,463 inhabitants in 2005.-History:Nässjö was for a long time only a rural village with agriculture as the dominant occupation. The turning point was the construction of the Swedish railway system. The southern...
line.
Both were withdrawn in the 1960s and placed in the strategic reserve. No. 1931 was bought by a group from the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway
Keighley and Worth Valley Railway
The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway is a long 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...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and repatriated in 1973. There were negotiations for the Nene Valley Railway
Nene Valley Railway
The Nene Valley Railway is a preserved railway in Cambridgeshire, England, running between Peterborough Nene Valley and Yarwell Junction. The line is currently seven and a half miles in length...
to purchase No. 1930, but it was inadvertently scrapped, leaving No. 1931 as the only surviving WD Austerity 2-8-0. No. 1931 ran in slightly modified condition between 1973 and 1976. As of 2006 it is nearing completion of an overhaul which will restore it to original condition as "British Railways No. 90773", numbered 1 higher than the last of the BR ex-WD Austerity 2-8-0
BR ex-WD Austerity 2-8-0
The British Railways 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...
s.