The GER Class S56 was a class of steams designed by James Holden for the Great Eastern Railway. Together with some rebuilt examples of

GER Class R24 The GER Class R24 was a class of steams designed by James Holden for the Great Eastern Railway (GER). They passed to the London and North Eastern Railway at the grouping in 1923 and received the LNER classification J67. Some R24s were reb ...

, they passed to the London and North Eastern Railway at the

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 ...

in 1923, and received the LNER classification J69.

History

The Class S56 were a development of the Class R24, being almost identical, apart from higher boiler pressure and larger water tanks. Twenty were built in 1904 at Stratford Works. All twenty passed to the LNER in 1923. Thirteen class J69 locomotives were lent to the War Department in October 1939, of which five had been built as Class S56. They were sold to the War Department in October 1940, where they were used on the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and

Longmoor Military Railway The Longmoor Military Railway (LMR) was a British military railway in Hampshire, built by the Royal Engineers from 1903 in order to train soldiers on railway construction and operations. The railway ceased operation on 31 October 1969. Route ...

s. The remaining locomotives were renumbered 8617–8636 in order of construction; however gaps were left where the locomotives sold to the War Department would have been. At nationalisation in 1948, the remainder passed to British Railways, who added 60000 to their number. Post-war withdrawals started in 1958, and by 1962 all had been retired.

Preservation

GER no. 87 (LNER 7087, 8633, BR 68633) has been preserved, initially at the Clapham Transport Museum, and now at 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 ...

. It is currently on display at Bressingham Steam Museum.

References

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External links

— Great Eastern Railway Society
The Holden J67 & J69 (GER Class R24, R24 Rebuilt, & S56) 0-6-0T Locomotives
— LNER Encyclopedia {{LNER Locomotives Great Eastern Railway locomotives, S56 0-6-0T locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1904 War Department locomotives Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain