The
Caledonian Railway
The Caledonian Railway (CR) was one of the two biggest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping. It was formed in 1845 with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively ex ...
55 Class were
4-6-0
A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the abs ...
mixed-traffic locomotive
A locomotive is a rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for longer and heavier freight trains ...
s designed by
John F. McIntosh and built at the railway’s
St. Rollox works in
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
in 1902-1905. The class was intended for use on the
Callander and Oban line and were sometimes known as Oban Bogies, a nickname they shared with the earlier Brittain
179 Class 4-4-0s and the subsequent Pickersgill
191 Class 4-6-0s, all of which were built for use on the same route.
Design
The Oban line had numerous short but steep gradients along with tight curves and lightly constructed bridges, and was therefore a challenging route to operate. McIntosh therefore designed a small 4-6-0 which was essentially an elongated hybrid of his
812 Class 0-6-0 and
Dunalastair series 4-4-0 types. The class featured a particularly short driving-wheel wheelbase to cope with the curvature of the line, and short tenders to enable the locomotives to fit onto the existing small
turntable
A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding phys ...
at Oban shed. The subsequent
918 Class was very similar to the 55 Class, but had a larger boiler and tender for express goods services on the mainline.
Construction
The locomotives were built in two batches. Numbers 55-59 were built in 1902, whilst numbers 51-54 were built to a slightly modified design in 1905. Throughout their lives the locomotives were used primarily on the Oban line, although number 56 was on extended loan to the
Highland Railway
The Highland Railway (HR) was one of the two smallest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping, operating north of Perth railway station, Scotland, Perth railway station in Scotland and serving the farthest north o ...
between 1916 and 1922.
LMS ownership
The locomotives passed to the
LMS upon its formation in 1923, and were renumbered 14600-14608 (ex 55-59, 51-54). The LMS rebuilt two locomotives (14606 and 14607) with larger boilers from withdrawn
918 Class engines in 1930. All were withdrawn and scrapped between 1928 and 1937, having been displaced from the Oban line by former
Highland Railway Clan Class 4-6-0s.
Numbering and locomotive histories
source: BritishSteam & BRDatabase
See also
*
Locomotives of the Caledonian Railway
A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...
References
055
4-6-0 locomotives
2′C n2 locomotives
Railway locomotives introduced in 1902
Standard-gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain
Scrapped locomotives
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