0-6-0 Steam Locomotives in Great Britain

Class 398 (Locobase 3063)

See also Robert Tufnell, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Railway Locomotives (London: Quarto Publishing Ltd, 1986).

Still heavier versions of the basic 0-6-0 freight engine on the North Eastern and a class built in large numbers. Inside-frame elaborations of the 708, the boiler design also was found in the Tennant 2-4-0s. Tufnell notes that 86 survived to be absorbed into the LNER in 1923, only being retired in 1928.

NB: Tube length is an estimate derived from given data for tube count and diameter, given data for evaporative heating surface area minus given firebox heating surface area and estimating the length need to supply the tube heating surface area.

Class 59/1480/J22 (Locobase 3065)

Data from Richard Marsden's LNER Encyclopedia at [], last accessed 10 June 2006. See also John S Maclean, The Locomotives of the North Eastern Railway-1841-1922 (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: R Robinson & Company, 1922?), pp. 109; and O S Nock, Locomotives of the North Eastern Railway (Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan, Ltd)

Alexander McDonnell's assumption of the Locomotive Superintendent position at the LNER in 1882 was marked by his attempts to create a more orderly set of designs to build at the shops. These 0-6-0s were one of the results. As delivered, the Darlington engines had 190 tubes in the boilers, the Stephenson locomotives 193. They were all later standardized on Wilson Worsdell's boiler, which is depicted in the specs.

Not particularly successful, their relative lack of power meant their replacement by larger engines such as T W Worsdell's C class (Locobase 3010). A few survived to receive LNER class ID and numbers.

Class 708 (Locobase 3062)

See also Robert Tufnell, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Railway Locomotives (London: Quarto Publishing Ltd, 1986).

Basically repeats of the 1001s with a higher boiler pressure and a larger boiler. They were the first class, notes OS Nock (Locos. of the NER, 1954), to be built in "really large numbers" for the North Eastern. Robert Stephenson & Co. delivered 50 in two years with Hawthorn's adding 20 more in 1872-1873. These sandwich-framed locomotives were "sturdy excellent machines," adds Nock, "thoroughly suited to heavy work ..." A photograph shows a trim boiler on a heavy riveted frame that has shallow arcs over the cranks. Overhanging springs, thickened smokebox, tapered stack, brass steam dome over the second driver, small brass safety valve stand and two whistles ahead of the cowled footplate complete the look.

Followed by the 398 class.

NB: Tube length is an estimate derived from given data for tube count and diameter, given data for evaporative heating surface area minus given firebox heating surface area and estimating the length need to supply the tube heating surface area.

Class C (Locobase 3010)

Data from "Compound Goods Engine for the North Eastern Railway", Railway Engineer, Volume VIII [8], No 3 (March 1887), pp. 66-67, 116; E L Ahrons, The British Railway Locomotive, 1825-1925 (London: Locomotive Publishing Company, 1926); Reder (174). See also John S Maclean, The Locomotives of the North Eastern Railway-1841-1922 (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: R Robinson & Company, 1922?), pp. 110; and O S Nock, Locomotives of the North Eastern Railway (Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan, Ltd); and Malcolm Peirson, "Compounds" in Marsden's LNER Encyclopedia at [], last accessed 17 April 2025.

Thomas W Worsdell developed this two-cylinder compound freight engine, the first in Great Britain. A cross-sectional drawing reproduced in Ahrons (1927) shows the two inside cylinders arranged as a figure-8 toppled over to the left, with the LP cylinder on the upper left, the smaller HP cylinder to the lower right. Cutoffs varied, with the HP cylinder cut off at 73% and LP at 86% when the valve gear was set full forward.

The number procured shows that the design was a success (at least in Thomas Worsdell's opinion) and a photo depicts a clean look with low splashers, a full cab with arched windows, and pleasingly spaced stack, dome, and safety-valve stand.

RE's 1887 report claimed that the design proved to "master the heavy goods trains of the line with ease, the average trains consisting of forty loaded wagons, but frequently they take fifty loaded wagons within the time allowed, and they work very freely." The information from the railway that they consumed "about 7 lbs less per mile [2 kg/km] less coal than the other engines" would "unquestionably afford sound and practical argument in favor of compounding." The engines had an intercepting valve, which RE describes in detail on p 116, and which RE was "informed ...works perfectly, and Mr Worsdell is to be congratulated in this as in many other details which render his compound engines so very efficient."

RE did not provide the coal consumption rates for the comparable simple-expansion locomotives, so the factoid doesn't provide a percentage decrease or the cost savings. Later criticisms of compound locomotives included assertions that the reduction in coal and water costs did not compensate for the costs of maintaining a more complex setup in both money and time out of service.

Reder wrote hat Wilson Worsdell, who succeeded his older brother on the NER, gradually converted the entire class to two-cylinder, simple-expansion working "...because of constant trouble with sluggish starting compared to the normal simple expansion engines."

Class C / J21 - superheated (Locobase 7489)

Data from Richard Marsden's LNER Encyclopedia ([], accessed 14 May 2006) .

Non-compound version of the C class (Locobase 3010) delivered in two batches several years apart. Designed by TW Worsdell.

Richard Marsden's LNER Encyclopedia describes two generations of this superheated upgraded of the earlier Worsdell Cs. In the first generation, virtually all of the locomotives selected for superheating used the Stephenson gear (as opposed to the Joy equipped on the original 30) and the Schmidt superheater. Note the typical exchange of small tubes for large (in this case 109 1 3/4" tubes for 18 5 1/4" flues).

Beginning in 1932, new boilers for C-class locomotives had the Robinson superheater. Regardless of form, says Marsden, "The J21s were arguably one of the most successful of the NER's locomotive classes. They were a ubiquitous feature of the NER scene ...The class count remained at its peak of 205 [engines] for 34 years." Although relegated to secondary lines once the NER adopted the 4-6-0, says Marsden, "They continued to perform sterling work on these secondary workings, and regularly hauled passenger branch line workings, and heavy excursion trains."

Class C1 / J21 (Locobase 3519)

Data from Richard Marsden's LNER Encyclopedia ([], accessed 14 May 2006, later revised as []). See also John S Maclean, The Locomotives of the North Eastern Railway-1841-1922 (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: R Robinson & Company, 1922?), pp. 110; and O S Nock, Locomotives of the North Eastern Railway (Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan, Ltd)

Non-compound version of the C class (Locobase 3010) delivered in two batches several years apart. Designed by TW Worsdell.

Marsden wrote these simpled locomotives showed the way for later upgrades and modifications. Ultimately all of the earlier C compounds were simpled, many to this cylinder size and valve gear. Others were upgraded to 19" x 24"and received Stephenson gear. Still later the NER added superheat; see Locobase 7489.

Class E1/J72 (Locobase 4574)

Data from , last accessed 20 October 022; See also [], accessed 5 September 2006. []

This rather numerous class of six-coupled tanks began with 75 produced between 1898-1922. The LNER added 10 more in 1925 and British Rail found a use for 28 more in 1949-1951 as a result of Peppercorn's singling out the J72 as the standard light shunter (switcher) and so they served until the last one was withdrawn from regular service in 1964.

The design by Wilson Worsdell is orthodox, following the lines of his brother Thomas's J71 class.

, but the relatively large firebox is worth noting particularly given that the boiler as a whole was typically small in relation to cylinder volume.

Class Longboiler (Locobase 3060)

Data from Robert Tufnell, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Railway Locomotives (London: Quarto Publishing Ltd, 1986).

Costing 2,100 pounds each, these freight engines were the last of the Stephenson "Long Boiler" design. A review of the data shows that the cylinder dimensions are unusually "square." The short stroke would seem to have sacrificed a great deal of steam's expansive power.

Class P/ J24 (Locobase 3520)

Data from [], last accessed 10 June 2006. See also John S Maclean, The Locomotives of the North Eastern Railway-1841-1922 (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: R Robinson & Company, 1922?), pp. 111; and O S Nock, Locomotives of the North Eastern Railway (Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan, Ltd)

Used primarily on short-haul coal trains where their small grates weren't a hindrance if managed properly (wrote OS Nock) and their lower drivers provided more starting tractive effort. 20 of this class were superheated and fitted with piston valves in 1914-1920.

Class P1 / J25 (Locobase 3521)

Data from [], last accessed 10 June 2006. See also John S Maclean, The Locomotives of the North Eastern Railway-1841-1922 (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: R Robinson & Company, 1922?), pp. 111-112

Wilson Worsdell took the C-class boiler and put larger cylinders under it to create this successful goods locomotive. Marsden wrote that the last 20 had 18 1/2" diameter cylinders as delivered and that the others were retrofitted with the larger components over a long period beginning in 1906.

Class P2/J26 (Locobase 3066)

Data from Richard Marsden's LNER Encyclopedia -- [], accessed 25 September 2006. See also John S Maclean, The Locomotives of the North Eastern Railway-1841-1922 (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: R Robinson & Company, 1922?), pp. 112-113.

Part of the last great series of 0-6-0s on the North Eastern. All were designed by Wilson Worsdell. These P2s were a significant enlargement over the P and P1 classes (Locobases 3520-3521) with boilers measuring 66" in diameter.

When taken into the LNER as the J26 class, the survivors' boiler pressure setting was dropped to 180 psi.

Tufnell (1986)

Class P3/J27 (Locobase 3067)

Data from Richard Marsden's LNER Encyclopedia -- [], accessed 25 September 2006; and "Notes on Locomotives", Railway Engineer, Volume 29, No 8 (August 1908), p. 246.. See also John S Maclean, The Locomotives of the North Eastern Railway-1841-1922 (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: R Robinson & Company, 1922?), pp. 114. Beyer, Peacock works numbers were 5104-5123 in 1908, North British works numbers were 18355-18374 in 1908, and North British Locomotive Company works numbers were 3352-3361 in 1909. North Eastern Darlington Works produced 65 locomotives

The last of the P class series, the P3s were built in the greatest numbers. OS Nock (Locos. of the North Eastern, 1954) describes a run behind a P3 that hauled 700 tons of coal train up several sharp gradients "most competently, without one single slip."

Railway Engineer described the design as "...thoroughly representative of the modern British all-coupled six-wheel engine, in which great [sic] boiler power is the desideratum ...In general design, they are the essence of simplicity."

Class unknown (Locobase 9684)

Data from H W Tyler, Captain, Royal Engineers, "North Eastern Railway", response to inquiry about boiler explosion on the NER on 23 September 1861 at Stella Gill station, communication to Parliament dated 26 October 1861, Parliamentary Papers By Great Britain Parliament. House of Commons, Northern Ireland, Parliament Published by HMSO, 1862