North Eastern Railway (NER) No. 66 ''Aerolite'' is a preserved British steam locomotive. It was classified X1 by 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 ...

. It was capable of reaching 55 mph (89 km/h).

History

''Aerolite'' was built in 1869 as a replacement for an engine of the same name built by Kitson's for the Great Exhibition in 1851 and which was destroyed in a collision in 1868. The engine, like its predecessor, was used to haul the Mechanical Engineer's saloon. Originally a ,

side tank A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender. Most tank engines also have bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a tender-tank locomo ...

s were added 1886, and around this time it received the number 66. In 1892 ''Aerolite'' was rebuilt into a , destroying much of the original engine. The well tank was removed, the side tanks expanded, and the two-cylinder Worsdell- von Borries

compounding In the field of pharmacy, compounding (performed in compounding pharmacies) is preparation of a custom formulation of a medication to fit a unique need of a patient that cannot be met with commercially available products. This may be done for me ...

system applied. In 1902 it was again rebuilt into a . ''Aerolite'' was withdrawn in 1933 and preserved in 1934 at the LNER's

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

museum. It is a static exhibit 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 ...

in York.

References

External links

The Wilson Worsdell X1 2-2-4T Locomotive 'Aerolite'
''LNER Encyclopedia'' 2-2-4T locomotives 4-2-2 locomotives 2-2-2 locomotives 0066 Preserved steam locomotives of Great Britain Compound locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1869 {{England-steam-loco-stub Passenger locomotives