Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire 2-4-0 Locomotives in Great_Britain

Class 12A / (Locobase 8483)

Data and information from Richard Marsden's LNER Encyclopedia -- [], accessed 31 May 2007 .

A photograph of the 169B when it was a Great Central engine (on its way to being an LNER locomotive) brings the outside framing into full view. From pilot to the rear of the tender, the entire locomotive is bounded by heavy frames, outside bearings, coupling rods and axle horns. The running gear are hidden within.

This appearance didn't change much when John G Robinson rebuilt the class with new boilers in the first years of the 20th Century, although he used a firebox whose top was now flush with the boiler. Given the relatively small drivers, it is perhaps a surprise that they were regarded as fast-running engines and were scheduled to cover the Manchers-Warrington run of 15.7 miles at an average speed of 52 1/2 mph.

Even with the reputation and the retrofit, the class withered away until just 169B was left at the time the London & North Eastern grouped its railways in 1923 and that locomotive was out of service by June.

Class 6D / E2 (Locobase 8482)

Data and information from Richard Marsden's LNER Encyclopedia -- [], accessed 31 May 2007 .

Thomas Parker designed this express locomotive to handle the Grantham-Manchester trains. Marsden comments that they had the unusual combination of outside framing over the coupled axles and an inside frame for the leading truck. Adoption of Webb radial axle boxes on the leading axle led to instability at high speeds (which confounded the very reason for their existence); 3 later locomotives were built as 4-4-0s. So only a few years after their introduction, the E2s were put on local trains.

Although John G Robinson rebuilt them with a Belpaire boiler in 1909-1911 and the LNER brought them into the system in 1923, they lasted less than a year and were disposed of by March 1924.

Class Class 12 AT / E8 (Locobase 5912)

Data and information from Richard Marsden's LNER site -- [] (Jan 2004) . Built in two batches in 1880-1881, these little tanks were meant for the Manchester South Junction & Altrincham. Marsden says only a little about their service, noting that two were withdrawn in 1914 and the others converted to push-pull operation. When the LNER formed in 1923, the last two were classed E8, but never actually operated for the railway.