LNER Class U1
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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 th ...
Class U1 was a solitary
Beyer-Garratt A Garratt (often referred to as a Beyer Garratt) is a type of steam locomotive invented by British engineer Herbert William Garratt that is articulated into three parts. Its boiler, firebox, and cab are mounted on a centre frame or "bridge ...
locomotive designed for
banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...
coal trains over the Worsborough Bank, a steeply graded line in
South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...
and part of the Woodhead Route. It was both the longest and the most powerful steam locomotive ever to run in Britain. It was built in 1925 with the motion at each end being based on an existing 2-8-0 design. The original number was 2395, and it was renumbered 9999 in March 1946, and then 69999 after nationalisation in 1948, although it retained its cab-side plate bearing its original number throughout its life. The locomotive ran for some time as an
oil burner An oil burner is a heating device which burns #1, #2 and #6 heating oils, diesel fuel or other similar fuels. In the United States ultra low #2 diesel is the common fuel used. It is dyed red to show that it is road-tax exempt. In most markets ...
, and was tried out on the
Lickey Incline The Lickey Incline, south of Birmingham, is the steepest sustained main-line railway incline in Great Britain. The climb is a gradient of 1 in 37.7 (2.65% or 26.5‰ or 1.52°) for a continuous distance of two miles (3.2 km). Constructed ...
in 1949–1950 and again, after the
electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...
of its home line, in 1955. These trials were unsuccessful, and so the locomotive was withdrawn in 1955 and scrapped.


Origins

The Worsborough Bank, sometimes referred to as the Worsborough Incline, was a steep bank on the
Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company was grouped into the ...
(GCR) freight-only line from
Wath Wath may refer to: Places in England * Wath, Cumbria, a U.K. location * Wath (near Ripon), a village in Harrogate district, North Yorkshire * Wath, Ryedale, a village in North Yorkshire * Wath-in-Nidderdale, a village near Pateley Bridge in Har ...
to Penistone, climbing for , with a stretch of at a nominal gradient of 1 in 40 (2.5 %). Sections of this incline also suffered from colliery subsidence, making it infamously difficult to restart a stalled train on these severe sections. The main traffic on the line was loaded trains carrying coal from the South Yorkshire coalfields to Lancashire. The GCR had considered several options for banking these heavy trains, including one based on a design by
Kitson and Company Kitson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer based in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Early history The company was started in 1835 by James Kitson (businessman), James Kitson at the Airedale Foundry, off Pearson Street, Hunslet, ...
for a locomotive carrying out similar duties in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). This idea had been discarded due to the restricted loading gauge, and thought had turned to an articulated
Garratt A Garratt (often referred to as a Beyer Garratt) is a type of steam locomotive invented by British engineer Herbert William Garratt that is articulated into three parts. Its boiler, firebox, and cab are mounted on a centre frame or "bridge ...
locomotive based on two GCR 8K 2-8-0s (LNER Class O4) with a specially designed large boiler. However, no move had been made to build such a locomotive by the time the GCR was absorbed into the
LNER LNER may refer to: * London and North Eastern Railway, a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1923 until 1947 * London North Eastern Railway, a train operating company in the United Kingdom since 2018 * Liquid neutral earthing resistor, a typ ...
in the 1923
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 ...
, and responsibility for locomotive design passed to the
Chief Mechanical Engineer Chief mechanical engineer and locomotive superintendent are titles applied by British, Australian, and New Zealand railway companies to the person ultimately responsible to the board of the company for the building and maintaining of the locomotive ...
of the newly formed railway,
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 Rai ...
. The design proposed by Nigel Gresley for a locomotive to bank heavy coal trains up the Worsborough bank was for a 2-8-0+0-8-2 Garratt locomotive based on two GNR O2 2-8-0s.
Beyer, Peacock and Company Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English railway locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Openshaw, Manchester. Founded by Charles Beyer, Richard Peacock and Henry Robertson, it traded from 1854 until 1966. The company exported locomotives, ...
of Manchester tendered £21,000 for the construction of two such locomotives, although the order was subsequently amended to just a single loco which was delivered in summer 1925 at a cost of £14,895. The loco, works number 6209, took just three weeks from laying the frames to completion and was hurriedly sent, still in workshop grey, to appear in the centenary celebration of the
Stockton & Darlington Railway The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) was a railway company that operated in north-east England from 1825 to 1863. The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, its first line connected coal mining, collieries near Shildo ...
where it was exhibit number 42. It was then finished in LNER black livery and was officially accepted into LNER stock in August 1925.


Operation

The U1, numbered 2395, was initially allocated to Barnsley shed but due to the restricted layout there was transferred to
Mexborough Mexborough is a town in the City of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. Situated between Manvers and Denaby Main, it lies on the River Don close to where it joins the River Dearne, and the A6023 road runs through the town. It is contiguous ...
on 17 October 1925. The locomotive was used to bank heavy trains up the Worsborough Bank, making up to 18 return trips each day; a typical train consisted of an
LNER Class O4 The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Class O4 initially consisted of the 131 ex-Great Central Railway (GCR) Class 8K 2-8-0 steam locomotives acquired on grouping in 1923. The engines were designed by John G. Robinson and built at the GCR' ...
locomotive with 60+ loaded coal wagons then an
assisting engine A bank engine (United Kingdom/Australia) (colloquially a banker), banking engine, helper engine or pusher engine (North America) is a railway locomotive that temporarily assists a train that requires additional power or traction to climb a gradi ...
at the rear, usually another O4 or an Ex-GCR Class 1B, and finally the U1. The U1 was attached at Wentworth Junction at the bottom of the bank, and pushed for the to West Silkstone Junction at the top where it would be detached, while the assisting engine would normally continue as far as Dunford Bridge. Prior to the introduction of the U1 a further two O4 locos would have been used for this work although the additional effort required to operate such a large locomotive as the U1 was not appreciated by the crew; "Twice the work but the same sodding pay" summing up their opinion. With its huge size and wheelbase, the U1 rode well and a commodious cab was provided. Unfortunately, this did not help when negotiating the two Silkstone tunnels just before the top of the Worsborough Bank. Being the last of three steam locos to enter the tunnel, the atmosphere on the footplate with heat, steam and smoke was "close to hell". To try to overcome this, gas masks were provided for the crew connected via a pipe to a vent at rail level, but the crews objected to sharing these for reasons of hygiene and continued to use the time-honoured method of covering the nose and mouth with a wet handkerchief. The locomotive itself was adequate but not successful enough for further development, and drawings for a revolving coal bunker made by Beyer, Peacock in 1930 were not pursued. Indeed, the design did have some expensive flaws; soft water resulted in the boiler being retubed in 1926, firebox damage was diagnosed in 1927 and 1928, and the loco was out of service for nine months during 1930 during which time some modifications were carried out and a new firebox fitted. After this the loco itself settled down to working its regular beat up and down Worsborough Bank, despite continued steaming problems and a definite susceptibility to poor quality coal. It was renumbered 9999 in the LNER renumbering scheme of 1946, and became 69999 on the creation of British Railways in 1948.


Later life

With the electrification of the Woodhead route and the Worsborough Bank using 1500 V DC overhead catenary, and the boiler considered to be nearing the end of its useful life, the continued operation of the U1 was in some doubt in the late 1940s, but in 1949 it was decided to try the U1 on the
Lickey Incline The Lickey Incline, south of Birmingham, is the steepest sustained main-line railway incline in Great Britain. The climb is a gradient of 1 in 37.7 (2.65% or 26.5‰ or 1.52°) for a continuous distance of two miles (3.2 km). Constructed ...
on the Ex- LMS Bristol-Birmingham route to supplement the existing 0-10-0 banker nicknamed "Big Bertha". Initially it worked chimney-first, but after difficulty in buffering up to passenger trains, it was turned to run cab-first up the bank and an electric headlight was fitted. Despite this the crew had great problems with visibility from the cab, particularly after dark, and the U1 returned to Mexborough in November 1950 and was officially placed in storage there. In February 1951, the U1 was again banking on the Worsborough Bank and continued doing so into 1952 then was briefly placed in store before being sent to Gorton Locomotive Works for work in preparation for a return to the Lickey Incline. It stayed at Gorton for three years while several different attempts were made to convert it to oil burning and an improved electric headlight was also fitted. In June 1955, it resumed work on the Lickey Incline, but was stored at Bromsgrove on 13 September and returned to Gorton the following month. It was officially withdrawn on 23 December 1955, and was subsequently taken to Doncaster Works and cut up during early 1956, having travelled around during its 30 years.


See also

*
LMS Garratt The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Garratt was a class of Garratt 2-6-0+0-6-2 steam locomotive designed for heavy freight. A total of 33 were built from 1927, making them the most numerous class of Garratt in Britain. Overview After ...
, a contemporary class of British Garratt locomotives


Further reading

*
Willie Yeadon Willie Brayshaw Yeadon (28 June 1907 – 16 January 1997), was a British railway historian known for his ''magnum opus'', ''Yeadon's Register of LNER Locomotives'' and other works. Biography Willie Yeadon was born in Yeadon, West Riding of York ...
, ''Yeadon's Register of LNER Locomotives Vol.9: Gresley 8-Coupled Engines, classes O1, O2, P1, P2 and U1.'' Challenger Publications, 1995. ISBN *
Bob Essery Robert J. "Bob" Essery (22 November 1930 – 23 November 2021) was a British railway modeller and historian with a particular interest in the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and one of its principal constituents, the Midland Railway (MR) ...
and George Toms ''LMS and LNER Garratts'' Wild Swan, *


References


External links


U1 Class on Rail UK database

BR 69999 on Rail UK database
* {{LNER Locomotives U1 Garratt locomotives 2-8-0+0-8-2 locomotives Beyer, Peacock locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1925 Scrapped locomotives Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain Freight locomotives