GER Class T26

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GER Class T26
LNER Class E4
James Holden
BuilderStratford Works
Build date1891–1902
Total produced100
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte2-4-0
 • UIC1B n2
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Leading dia.4 ft 0 in (1.22 m)
Driver dia.5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Wheelbase36 ft 7 in (11.15 m)
Length48 ft 2 in (14.68 m)
Loco weight40 long tons 6 cwt (90,300 lb or 40.9 t)
Tender weight30 long tons 12.5 cwt (68,600 lb or 31.1 t) loaded
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity5 long tons 0 cwt (11,200 lb or 5.1 t)
Water cap.2,640 imp gal (12,000 L; 3,170 US gal)
Boiler pressure140 or 160 psi (965 or 1,103 kPa)
CylindersTwo, inside
Cylinder size17.5 in × 24 in (444 mm × 610 mm)
Performance figures
Tractive effort12,863 or 14,700 lbf (57.22 or 65.39 kN)
Career
Power classBR: 1MT
NicknamesIntermediate
Axle load classLNER/BR: RA 2
Withdrawn1926–1959
DispositionOne preserved, remainder scrapped

The GER Class T26 was a class of one hundred

British Railways ownership in 1948, and the last was withdrawn in 1959, making them the last 2-4-0
tender locomotives at work in Britain. Their BR numbers were 62780–62797.

Overview

Derived from the

cylinders (later 17.5 in × 24 in or 444 mm × 610 mm) and 140 psi (965 kPa) boiler pressure, numbered 417–506. From 1898 some locos were rebuilt with 160 psi (1,103 kPa) pressure boilers thus when an additional ten T26s (numbers 1250–1259) were built in 1902 these were fitted with the new boilers as standard.[1]

Operation

The GER used

ejectors for operating over the lines of other railway companies. The T26s were assigned to all the major GER sheds for a wide variety of duties and thus travelled widely.[1]

As mixed-traffic types, the T26s gained the semi-official nickname 'Intermediates'. They were particularly associated with the movement of horses by rail to and from Newmarket Racecourse but also worked fish trains from East Anglian ports to Peterborough for onward dispatch to London and the Midlands, local and cross-country passenger traffic on secondary routes, trains of fruit and flowers to the London markets, as pilot engines for heavy excursion trains to coastal resorts in the summer and events such as the Nottingham Goose Fair. T26s were often used on passenger trains to the Norfolk Coast, particularly Wells and Cromer. After the grouping of 1923 Claud Hamilton 4-4-0s took over most passenger traffic to Wells.[2]

The arrival of more modern

British Railways in 1948. The introduction of new light BR Standard locomotives, specifically the BR Standard Class 2 moguls, followed by diesel multiple units on many of the rural lines worked by the remaining E4s, led to rapid withdrawal of nearly all the remaining examples between 1954 and 1957 with a single E4, No. 62785, surviving until 1959. The E4s on the Stainmore line were withdrawn in 1957, replaced by DMUs.[3]

Accidents and incidents

Livery

On introduction the T26 locomotives were painted in the standard GER livery of Ultramarine Blue over an undercoat of French Grey, with black smokebox and vermillion

buffer beams and lining. From 1915 locos were not given a top coat and ran in French Grey undercoat but with the boiler bands picked out in black.[7]
After the amalgamation of the GER into the LNER in 1923 (the Grouping), the E4s received the LNER mixed traffic livery of black with single red lining and red buffer beams. This lasted until the early 1940s when unlined black with red buffer beams was introduced, and the surviving locos were to carry this livery until their withdrawal.

Preservation

Class T26 number 490 preserved at Bressingham as part of the National Collection

One (GER No. 490, BR No. 62785) has survived to form a part of the

Transacord recordings of their gentle chuffing through the byways of East Anglia
.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "T26 Class 2-4-0 1891-1902". Great Eastern Railway Society. Retrieved 15 April 2008.
  2. ^ Hawkins & Reeve 1986, p. ?
  3. ^ Marsden, Richard (2001). "LNER Encyclopedia: The LNER Holden E4 (GER T26) 2-4-0 Locomotives". www.lner.info. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  4. ^ Trevena 1981, p. 26
  5. ^ Von Donop, P.G. (1915). Report on Accident at County School station, 1915 (PDF). H.M.R.I.
  6. ^ Vaughan 1989, pp. 74–49
  7. ^ "Locomotive liveries". Great Eastern Railway Society. Archived from the original on 17 October 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2008.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to GER Class T26 / LNER Class E4.
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