The Great Northern Railway (GNR) Class O2 was a class of three-cylinder

2-8-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels ...

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, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...

s designed by

Nigel Gresley Sir Herbert Nigel Gresley (19 June 1876 – 5 April 1941) was a British railway engineer. He was one of Britain's most famous steam locomotive engineers, who rose to become Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London and North Eastern Rail ...

for freight work and built by the GNR from 1921. Further examples were built by the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At tha ...

(LNER) from 1924.

Sub-classes

The LNER created four subclasses: Ian Allan ABC of British Railways Locomotives, summer 1961 edition, part 4, pp 37–38 * O2/1, Introduced 1921. Development of experimental Gresley GNR 3-cylinder locomotive (LNER 3921). Subsequently rebuilt with side-window cab and reduced boiler mountings. * O2/2, Introduced 1924. Development of O2/1 with detail differences. * O2/3, Introduced 1932. Development of O2/2 with side-window cab and reduced boiler mountings. * O2/4, Introduced 1943. Rebuilt with 100A ( B1 type) boiler and

smokebox A smokebox is one of the major basic parts of a steam locomotive exhaust system. Smoke and hot gases pass from the firebox through tubes where they pass heat to the surrounding water in the boiler. The smoke then enters the smokebox, and is ...

extended backwards.

GNR

The first models of this class were designed and built under GNR ownership, the first locomotive, 461, was built in May 1918. A batch of ten further O2s was built by the North British Locomotive Co. in 1921.

LNER

Fifteen more O2s were built immediately after the

Grouping Grouping may refer to: * Muenchian grouping * Principles of grouping * Railways Act 1921, also known as Grouping Act, a reorganisation of the British railway system * Grouping (firearms), the pattern of multiple shots from a sidearm See also ...

in 1923. Sixteen more were delivered in 1932 and 1933. Wartime requirements led to the construction of 25 from 1942 to 43 in three batches.

British Railways

All 67 locomotives passed to British Railways (BR) in 1948 and were given BR Numbers 63921-63987, but 63921 (which was the prototype 461, LNER 3921) was quickly scrapped. They served all across the former LNER from Stratford through East Anglia into the East Midlands, primarily hauling coal and iron ore trains. By winter 1955/56, they had all gravitated to Doncaster (36A - 35 locomotives), Grantham (35B - 14 locomotives) and Retford (36E - 17 locomotives). By winter 1962, they were down to 52 locomotives still in much the same locations, the following having been scrapped: 63929/34/44/47/50-55/57-59/70. By the end of 1963, all members of the class had been scrapped.

Gallery

References

* British Railways Locomotives Combined Volume Winter 1955/56, part 4, p. 32, and the locoshed section, p. 71. * British Railways Locomotives Combined Volume 11/62, p. 144 *

External links

LNER encyclopedia
{{LNER Locomotives O2 2-8-0 locomotives 1′D h3 locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1921 Scrapped locomotives NBL locomotives Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain Freight locomotives