WD Austerity 2-10-0.html



WD Austerity 2-10-0

90775 on the North Norfolk Railway. Despite the appearance of a British Railways locomotive, the highest numbered BR engine was 90774, and this example was repatriated from Greece.
Power type	Steam
Designer	Riddles
Builder	North British Locomotive Company
Build date	1943
Configuration	2-10-0
UIC classification	1'E
Gauge	4' 8½"
Driver size	4' 8½"
Locomotive weight	78 tons 6 cwt
Fuel type	coal
Boiler pressure	225 psi
Cylinders	2
Cylinder size	19" x 28"
Tractive effort	34,215 lbf
Class	8F

600 Gordon served its country on the Longmoor Military Railway before being preserved.

The nameplate of 73755, the 1000th British-built freight locomotive to be shipped to Europe since D-Day, with the Royal Engineers crest above.

The War Department (WD) "Austerity" 2-10-0 is a type of heavy freight steam locomotive that was introduced in 1943.

Background

The Austerity 2-10-0 was based on the Austerity 2-8-0, and was designed to have interchangeable parts by R.A. Riddles. It had the same power output as the 2-8-0 but a lighter axle load, making it suitable for secondary lines.

Design

It had a parallel boiler and round-topped firebox. While the 2-8-0 had a narrow firebox, the 2-10-0 had a wide firebox placed above the driving wheels. This arrangement was common in the USA (e.g. the USRA 0-8-0) but unusual in Britain. In Britain, wide fireboxes were usually used only where there was a trailing axle, e.g. in 4-4-2 and 4-6-2 types. One exception was the GER Decapod.

These were the first 2-10-0 locomotives to work in Great Britain, and the first major class of ten-coupled engines — they had been preceded by two 0-10-0 locomotives; the Great Eastern Railway's Decapod and the Midland Railway's Lickey Banker.

The 2-10-0 wheel arrangement was later used by Riddles when he designed the BR standard class 9F. This, too, had a wide firebox placed above the driving wheels.

Construction

Two batches were built by the North British Locomotive Company, the first batch of 100 introduced in 1943/1944 and the second batch of 50 in 1945. Their WD Nos were 73650-799.

20 of the first batch were sent to the Middle East. During running-in they worked in Britain, but their length made them unsuitable. Most saw service with the British Army in France after D-Day.

Post-war service

After the war the 150 locomotives were distributed as follows, the majority going to the Netherlands:

Netherlands

In 1946, the Netherlands bought those in continental Europe. They formed the NS Series 5000II, and were numbered 5001-103. They had a short working life, the last being withdrawn in 1952.

Great Britain

After the war, the British Transport Commission bought 25 locomotives. Numbered 90750-74, they were mostly used in Scotland and were all withdrawn between 1961 and 1962.

Two, 600 Gordon and 601 Kitchener were sent to the Longmoor Military Railway. Gordon survived until closure of the LMR in 1969 and is now preserved.

Greece

16 of the 20 Middle East locomotives went to Greece, where the formed SEK Class Λβ, numbers Λβ951-66.

Syria

The remaining 4 Middle East locomotives remained in Syria and the Chemins de Fer Syriens (CFS). These formed the CFS Class 150.6.

Preservation

600 Gordon has survived and has been steamed on the Severn Valley Railway, though as of 2005^[update] it is out of service, cosmetically restored and on display in the Engine House.

Two more have been repatriated from Greece. One has been numbered 90775, one higher than the last BR engine, and has carried the name Sturdee (as No. 601 before being numbered 90775). In service on North Norfolk Railway. The other is WD No. 3672 which has been named Dame Vera Lynn. The loco is currently awaiting overhaul at Grosmont, NYMR.

WD 73755 (NS 5085) survives in the Dutch Railway Museum (Nederlands Spoorwegmuseum) in Utrecht. It carried the nameplate Longmoor, after the Royal Engineer's base at Longmoor, with the coat of arms of the Royal Engineers above. It reads:

References

Further Reading

• Roger Tourret Allied Military Locomotives of the Second World War ISBN 0-905878-06-X

External links