The LNWR 17in Coal Engine was a class of 0-6-0 steam tender engines designed by Francis Webb for the London and North Western Railway. They were simple locomotives and in UK service they were very reliable. "17in" refers to their cylinder diameter in inches. They were called "Coal Engines" because they were used for hauling

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

trains.

Design and Construction

The ''17in Coal'' was the first new design of engine to be built by Webb since he became Chief Engineer of the LNWR in September 1871. A policy of 'low costs' was in force at the LNWR, with running costs per engine mile reduced from d per engine mile in 1857 to d by 1871. The first 17in Coal was constructed in 1873, the first of almost five hundred built. Ernest L. Ahrons is quoted as regarding the type as "probably the simplest and cheapest locomotives ever made in this country", and O. S. Nock described them as "splendid". LNWR Webb 17in coal engine 1140

Many aspects of the 17in Coal's design reflected John Ramsbottom's final design: the 0-6-0 Special Tank, including the identical wheel diameter and cylinder dimensions, but the new engines had a larger, improved boiler. In February 1878, one engine of this design was built from scratch in hours.

Operation

During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the

Railway Operating Division The Railway Operating Division (ROD) was a division of the Royal Engineers formed in 1915 to operate railways in the many theatres of the First World War. It was largely composed of railway employees and operated both standard gauge and narrow g ...

of the Royal Engineers took many Coal Engines for use overseas, including many to the British Expeditionary Force in France and 42 to the Palestine Military Railway. Those in Palestine were reported to have performed badly and

Palestine Railways {{Infobox rail , railroad_name = Palestine Railway , logo_filename = , logo_size = , system_map = , map_caption = , map_size = , marks = , image = AwmB00283.Samakh.jpg , image_size ...

sold them all for scrap by 1922. This may have been due partly to the poor quality of water used in Palestine. 227 Coal Engines passed into LMS stock after the

1923 grouping The Railways Act 1921 (c. 55), also known as the Grouping Act, was an Act of Parliament enacted by the British government and intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, by "grouping" them into four la ...

. 35 survived until the nationalisation of Britain's Railways in 1948 and entered British Railways stock. BR numbers were 58321-58361 (with gaps).

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{LNWR Locomotives Coal engine 0-6-0 locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1873 Railway Operating Division locomotives Scrapped locomotives Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain C n2 locomotives Freight locomotives