The NER 901 Class was a class of

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 ...

of the North Eastern Railway, designed by Edward Fletcher. Between 1872 and 1882 55 of the class were built for the NER.

History

From their introduction, the 901 Class were used on the Newcastle-Edinburgh and Newcastle-York runs, hauling loads. During 1884, engines based at Gateshead depot averaged per month. Apart from minor instances of updating, only two of the class underwent extensive rebuilding. More substantial modifications were made to the last of the Neilson-built engines, No. 933, which, in 1907, was not only reboilered but converted into a . She was scrapped in 1914, one of 29 of the class withdrawn between 1913 and 1914. But for the onset of the first World War, the rest of the class would have followed suit. Instead the curtailing of new construction led to a shortage of motive power and new work was found for the 901 Class. Some were drafted on to the coastal line between Scarborough and Bridlington but the majority were stationed at Darlington. From here they worked passenger services over the Stainmore route to Kirkby Stephen, Penrith and Tebay. Darlington also kept them on as pilots. By 1923 only ten of the class remained and the now preserved No.910 was amongst the final five to be withdrawn from service. 910 was displayed by the NER when new at the 50th anniversary of Steam on the

Stockton and Darlington 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 ...

railway in 1875, by the LNER at the 100th anniversary in 1925, and again by British Railways at the 150th anniversary in 1975.

Accidents and incidents

: *On 25 March 1877, locomotive No. 901 was hauling an express passenger train which was derailed at ,

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

due to excessive speed on a curve. Five people were killed and seventeen were injured. *On 4 October 1894, locomotive No. 904 was one of two locomotives hauling a sleeping car train which overran signals and collided with a freight train that was being shunted at Castle Hills,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. One person was killed.

Preservation

Number 910 is preserved by the

National Railway Museum The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant r ...

. It was moved to the

Stainmore Railway Company Stainmore Railway Company is a volunteer-run, non-profit preservation company formed in 2000 with the aim of restoring Kirkby Stephen East railway station in Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria, England. In 1997 a company called Stainmore Properties Ltd ...

at Kirkby Stephen East station in 2011 for the Stainmore 150 celebrations, and remains there on loan, housed in the Darlington train shed of the main station building.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * 0901 2-4-0 locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1872 {{England-steam-loco-stub Passenger locomotives