The TCDD ( Turkish Republic Railways) 45151 Class is a class of

2-8-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. ...

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, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s which were acquired from the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

War Department to the

LMS Stanier Class 8F The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Stanier Class 8F is a class of steam locomotives designed for hauling heavy freight. 852 were built between 1935 and 1946 (not all to LMS order), as a freight version of William Stanier's successful ...

design. They had a maximum speed of 43 miles per hour (70 km/h), much like their British counterparts.

Background

On the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

British locomotive manufacturers could no longer supply an order for

2-10-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-10-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, ten powered and coupled driving wheels on five axles, and no trailing wheels. This arrangement was of ...

s similar to the TCDD 56001 Class, derived from the German BR 42, for TCDD at the original price and conditions. (These locomotives were eventually delivered after the war as the TCDD 56080 Class). However,

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

stepped in to offer neutral Turkey DRG BR 52-type Kriegsloks which became the 56501 Class. Diplomatically embarrassed, the British offered the Turks 25 of the

s, which had been adopted by the War Department as their standard heavy freight locomotive. The engines selected were built by the

North British Locomotive Company The North British Locomotive Company (NBL, NB Loco or North British) was created in 1903 through the merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturing companies; Sharp, Stewart and Company (Atlas Works), Neilson, Reid and Company (Hyde Park W ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. Originally intended for WD service but the

Fall of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Net ...

saw them earmarked for the LMS before they were diverted to Turkey.

Shipping

The locomotives were shipped as a kit of parts (other 8Fs destined for the Middle East went complete) via the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

and the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

since the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

was too dangerous for Allied shipping. Seven failed to complete the journey. The vessel transporting them, the SS ''Jessmore'', was involved in a collision in the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

with another ship in the convoy on 19 February 1941. The Jessmore sank with the loss of its cargo a few days later. Three more received the same watery fate when the MV ''Berhala'' was torpedoed by ''U-38'' on 23 May 1941 off

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

. The lost engines were:

Service

The remaining 18 locomotives were transhipped at

Port Said Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and went overland to Turkey where they were renumbered 45151-68. Re-erection was in

Sivas Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...

under the direction of R.G. Jarvis of the LMS. In 1943 they were joined by 2 more classmates, (45169/70) taking the class number to 20, in lieu of the lost engines. These were joined by a gift of 29 of the

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),3,000 Hurricanes and >4,000 other aircraft) * 28 naval vessels: ** 1 Battleship. (HMS Royal Sovereign (05), HMS Royal Sovereign) * ...

S200 Class

2-8-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and two trailing wh ...

s which formed the TCDD 46201 Class. Designed for British conditions, the 8Fs were not suited to Turkish circumstances. Though large for British engines, they were underpowered by Turkish standards and so could not ascend the steep grades unassisted. Their lack of drop grates also prevented them from long-distance working. They were thus relegated to shunting and local trip freights. The Turkish railwaymen referred to them as "Churchills" after

British prime minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern pri ...

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

. The locomotives lasted into the 1980s where they became of special interest of British railway enthusiasts venturing abroad after the demise of steam in Britain.

Preservation

Three of the Turkish 8Fs have been preserved. No. 45161 is a static exhibit at the Çamlık Railway Museum. 45168 is preserved and was seen on display at İzmit Station in September 2010. No. 45160 was repatriated to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

in 1989 by the Churchill 8F Locomotive Company Limited where it is Operational on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. In October 2010, two of the six remaining derelict examples in Turkey (45166 and 45170) were acquired by the 3 members of the Churchill 8F Locomotive Company Limited. The two locomotives travelled by rail from

Sivas Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...

depot to

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

where they were loaded onto a ship for transport back to the United Kingdom. They arrived at Royal Portbury Dock on

Boxing Day Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...

2010 aboard the MV Grande Scandinavia (

Grimaldi Group The Grimaldi Group is a private shipping company owned by the Grimaldi family (Emanuele Grimaldi) and based in Naples, Italy. Grimaldi operates a large fleet of ro-ro, ro-ro/multipurpose, Ro-ro, con-ro multipurpose, PCTC (Pure Car and Truck Ca ...

). The transportation of the locomotives across Turkey was the subject of an episode of the

documentary television series Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. * Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

Monster Moves in 2011. 45170 is currently stored in the Museum of Scottish Railways at the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway awaiting restoration by the Scottish Railway Preservation Society. 45166, meanwhile, was sold to the municipality of

Beersheba Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most p ...

in Israel in December 2012, and has now been cosmetically restored and put on display at the Be'er Sheva Turkish Railway Station. 45165 is plinthed outside Sincan railway station.

References

External links

45151 to 45170
''Trains of Turkey'' {{TCDD Locomotives, state=collapsed 45151 LMS Stanier Class 8F NBL locomotives Steam locomotives of Turkey Standard-gauge locomotives of Turkey Railway locomotives introduced in 1940