The NBR C Class ( LNER Class J36) is a class of

0-6-0 is the Whyte notation designation for steam locomotives with a wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. Historically, this was the most common wheel arrangement used o ...

steam locomotive 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 (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s designed by Matthew Holmes for freight work on the

North British Railway The North British Railway was one of the two biggest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping. It was established in 1844, with the intention of linking with English railways at Berwick. The line opened in 1846, ...

(NBR). They were introduced in 1888 with inside cylinders and

Stephenson valve gear The Stephenson valve gear or Stephenson link or shifting link is a simple design of valve gear that was widely used throughout the world for various kinds of steam engines. It is named after Robert Stephenson but was invented by his employees. ...

. A total of 168 locomotives was built, of which 123 came into

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commis ...

ownership at

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...

in 1948. This was the last class of steam engine in service in Scotland. Holmes' predecessor, Dugald Drummond, had designed 32 earlier locomotives (classified by the LNER as Class J32) that were built between 1876 and 1877. The NBR gave these engines the same designation (C class) as the Matthew Holmes engines above. The two types were very similar, and shared the same (then unusual) 18 inch cylinder size. Between 1898 and 1903, Holmes had all 32 of the Drummond locomotives rebuilt to match his own C class design. Thus the locomotives were considered a single class by the NBR, although on passing to LNER ownership they received the separate designations of J36 and J32 respectively.

Technical information

As built, they had a saturated ( non-superheated) boiler at ( for the last 24) and

s with slide valves. Between 1913 and 1923, the class was rebuilt with larger boilers set at and the Reid side-window cab.

Ownership

NBR

Predecessors

After the introduction of the Drummond Class C (LNER Class J32) 18-inch cylinder 0-6-0s for use on the

Waverley Line The Waverley Route was a railway line that ran south from Edinburgh, through Midlothian and the Scottish Borders, to Carlisle railway station, Carlisle. The line was built by the North British Railway; the stretch from Edinburgh to Hawick open ...

in 1876, the NBR reverted to the 17-inch design with the Drummond Class D (J34) in 1879 and the Holmes Class D (J33) in 1883.

Holmes C Class

With the opening of the second

Tay Rail Bridge The Tay Bridge carries rail traffic across the Firth of Tay in Scotland between Dundee and the suburb of Wormit in Fife. Its span is . It is the second bridge to occupy the site. Plans for a bridge over the Tay to replace the train ferry servic ...

in July 1887 and the upcoming opening of the

Forth Bridge The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in ...

in March 1890, the NBR needed more powerful goods locos. The result was the Holmes Class C (J36). Introduced in 1888, it was built in regular batches until 1900, eventually totalling 168 locos. 138 were built at the NBR's Cowlairs Works while the other 30 were split equally between

Neilson and Company Neilson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Glasgow, Scotland. The company was started in 1836 at McAlpine Street by Walter Neilson and James Mitchell to manufacture marine and stationary engines. In 1837 the firm moved to Hyde Par ...

and

Sharp, Stewart and Company Sharp, Stewart and Company was a steam locomotive manufacturer, originally based in Manchester, England. The company was established in 1843 following the dissolution of Sharp, Roberts & Co.. In 1888, it relocated to Glasgow, Scotland, where it ...

World War I

During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, 25 of the class were sent to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

for service with the

Railway Operating Division The Railway Operating Division (ROD) was a division of the Royal Engineers formed in 1915 to operate railways in the many theatres of the First World War. It was largely composed of railway employees and operated both standard gauge and narrow ...

. On return to Scotland, they were given names of battles, generals and a cartoon soldier in recognition of their service. The names were hand-painted on the splasher above the middle driving wheel so often disappeared during repaints.

LNER

On 1 January 1923, all 168 locos came into LNER ownership, becoming Class J36. As with all ex-NBR locos, they had 9000 added to their number. The final eight unrebuilt locos were rebuilt in 1923. In 1937, Nos. 9714 and 9716 (later 5285 and 5287) were rebuilt with shorter chimneys and dome for use on the Gartverrie Branch. In 1946 the remaining locos were renumbered from 5210 to 5346. A number of locos had tender cabs fitted for use with

snowplow A snowplow (also snow plow, snowplough or snow plough) is a device intended for mounting on a vehicle, used for removing snow and ice from outdoor surfaces, typically those serving transportation purposes. Although this term is often used to ref ...

BR

in 1948, 123 locos passed into service of

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...

ways and had 60000 added to their number. 65288 of Dunfermline (62C) and 65345 of Thornton (62A) were the last to be withdrawn on 5 June 1967. They were the last steam locomotives in service in Scotland, outlasting the LNER and BR standard designs.

Locomotive names

Preservation

One, 673 ''Maude'' (LNER number 9673; LNER 1946 number 5243; BR number 65243) has been preserved by the Scottish Railway Preservation Society at the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway. It starred in the 2000 remake of The Railway Children on the

Bluebell Railway The Bluebell Railway is an heritage line in West Sussex in England. It is managed by the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society. It uses steam trains which operate between and , with intermediate stations at and . It is the first preserv ...

in East Sussex. Last steamed in 2002, it is currently on static display awaiting funds for an overhaul.

References

*Ian Allan ABC of British Railways Locomotives, 1962 edition * * *

External links

Class J36 Details
at ''Rail UK''
NBR/LNER Holmes "J36" Class 0-6-0
at BRDatabase {{LNER Locomotives C 0-6-0 locomotives C n2 locomotives Neilson locomotives Sharp Stewart locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1888 Railway Operating Division locomotives Standard-gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain Freight locomotives