The LNWR 17in Coal Engine was 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 Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

tender engines designed by Francis Webb for the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

. They were simple locomotives and in UK service they were very reliable. "17in" refers to their cylinder diameter in inches. They were called "Coal Engines" because they were used for hauling

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

trains.

Design and construction

The ''17in Coal Engine'' was the first new design of engine to be built by Webb since he became Chief Engineer of the LNWR in September 1871. A policy of 'low costs' was in force at the LNWR, with running costs per engine mile reduced from d per engine mile in 1857 to d by 1871. The first 17in Coal Engine was constructed in 1873, the first of almost five hundred built. Ernest L. Ahrons is quoted as regarding the type as "probably the simplest and cheapest locomotives ever made in this country", and O. S. Nock described them as "splendid". LNWR Webb 17in coal engine 1140

Many aspects of the 17in Coal's design reflected John Ramsbottom's final design: the 0-6-0 Special Tank, including the identical wheel diameter and cylinder dimensions, but the new engines had a larger, improved boiler. In February 1878, one engine of this design was built from scratch in hours.

Operation

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 ...

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 ...

of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

took many Coal Engines for use overseas, including many to the British Expeditionary Force in France and 42 to the Palestine Military Railway. Those in Palestine were reported to have performed badly and

Palestine Railways Palestine Railways (Arabic: سكة حديد فلسطين; Palestine Railways; Contemporary Hebrew: “Palestine Railways” or ; Present-day Hebrew: “Mandate Railways”) was a government-owned railway company that ran all public railways i ...

sold them all for scrap by 1922. This may have been due partly to the poor quality of water used in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. 227 Coal Engines passed into LMS stock after the 1923 grouping. 35 survived until the nationalisation of Britain's Railways in 1948 and entered

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 ...

stock. BR numbers were 58321-58361 (with gaps).

Rebuilds

Between 1905 and 1907, 45 Coal Engines were rebuilt as tank locomotives with a single square saddle tank perched on the boiler and a small coal bunker behind the cab.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{LNWR Locomotives Coal engine 0-6-0 locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1873 Railway Operating Division locomotives Scrapped locomotives Standard-gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain C n2 locomotives Freight locomotives