The NBR C Class ( LNER Class J36) is a class of

0-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. This was the most common wheel arrangemen ...

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s designed by Matthew Holmes for freight work on the

North British Railway The North British Railway was a British railway company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1844, with the intention of linking with English railways at Berwick. The line opened in 1846, and from the outset the company followe ...

(NBR). They were introduced in 1888 with inside cylinders and Stephenson valve gear. A total of 168 locomotives was built, of which 123 came into

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

ownership at

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

in 1948. This was the last class of steam engine in service in Scotland. The NBR C Class (LNER Class J32) was a class of

designed by Dugald Drummond for freight work on the North British Railway. They were built in 1876 and 1877 and had large 18-inch cylinders. A total of 32 locomotives were built. The NBR gave these engines the same designation (C class) as the Matthew Holmes engines above. The two types were very similar, and shared the same (then unusual) 18 inch cylinder size. Between 1898 and 1903, Holmes had all 32 of the Drummond locomotives rebuilt to match his own C class design. Thus the locomotives were considered a single class by the NBR, although on passing to LNER ownership they received the separate designations of J36 and J32 respectively.

Technical information

As built, they had a saturated ( non-superheated) boiler at ( for the last 24) and Stephenson valve gears with

slide valve The slide valve is a rectilinear valve used to control the admission of steam into and emission of exhaust from the cylinder of a steam engine. Use In the 19th century, most steam locomotives used slide valves to control the flow of steam into ...

s. Between 1913 and 1923, the class was rebuilt with larger boilers set at 165 psi and the Reid side-window cab.

Ownership

NBR

Predecessors

After the introduction of the Drummond Class C (LNER Class J32) 18-inch cylinder 0-6-0s for use on the Waverley Line in 1876, the NBR reverted to the 17-inch design with the Drummond Class D (J34) in 1879 and the Holmes Class D (J33) in 1883.

Holmes C Class

With the opening of the second Tay Rail Bridge in July 1887 and the upcoming opening of the Forth Bridge in March 1890, the NBR needed more powerful goods locos. The result was the Holmes Class C (J36). Introduced in 1888, it was built in regular batches until 1900, eventually totalling 168 locos. 138 were built at the NBR's Cowlairs Works while the other 30 were split equally between Neilson and Company and Sharp, Stewart and Company.

World War I

During the First World War, 25 of the class were sent to France for service with the Railway Operating Division. On return to Scotland, they were given names of battles, generals and a cartoon soldier in recognition of their service. The names were hand-painted on the splasher above the middle driving wheel so often disappeared during repaints.

LNER

On 1 January 1923, all 168 locos passed into the hands of the LNER, becomingClass J36. As with all ex-NBR locos, they had 9000 added to their number. The final eight unrebuilt locos were rebuilt in 1923. In 1937, Nos. 9714 and 9716 (later 5285 and 5287) were rebuilt with cutdown chimney and dome for use on the Gartverrie Branch. In 1946 the remaining locos were renumbered from 5210 to 5346. A number of locos had tender cabs fitted for use with Snowplows.

BR

in 1948, 123 locos passed into service of

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

ways and had 60000 added to their number. 65288 of Dunfermline (62C) and 65345 of Thornton (62A) were the last to be withdrawn on 5 June 1967. They were the last steam locomotives in service in Scotland, outlasting the LNER and BR standard designs.

Locomotive names

Preservation

The Bo'ness - Kinneil Railway - geograph

One, 673 ''Maude'' (LNER number 9673; LNER 1946 number 5243; BR number 65243) has been preserved by the Scottish Railway Preservation Society at the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway. It starred in the 2000 remake of The Railway Children on the Bluebell Railway in East Sussex.

Trivia

65288 was adopted by Dunfermline High School Railway Society and was repainted by society members while still in BR servic

It was fitted with one small and one normal sized buffer at the front end.

References

*Ian Allan ABC of British Railways Locomotives, 1962 edition * * *

External links

Class J36 Details
at ''Rail UK''
NBR/LNER Holmes "J36" Class 0-6-0
at BRDatabase {{LNER Locomotives North British Railway locomotives, C 0-6-0 locomotives Neilson locomotives Sharp Stewart locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1888 Railway Operating Division locomotives Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain Freight locomotives