GER Class C72

GER Class C72
LNER Class J68
J68 0-6-0T No. 68642 at Stratford Locomotive Depot February 1961
Power type Steam
Designer A. J. Hill
Builder Stratford Works
Build date 1912–1923
Total produced 30
Configuration 0-6-0T
UIC classification C n2t
Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Driver diameter 4 ft 0 in (1.219 m)
Wheelbase 13 ft 10 in (4.22 m)
Length 27 ft 8 in (8.43 m) over buffers
Locomotive weight 42 tons 9 cwt (95,100 lb or 43.1 t)
Fuel type Coal
Fuel capacity 2 tons 10 cwt (5,600 lb or 2.5 t)
Water capacity 1,200 imp gal (5,460 l; 1,440 US gal)
Boiler pressure 180 lbf/in² (1.24 MPa)
Firegrate area 14.5 sq ft (1.35 m2)
Heating surface:
Total		 996.17 sq ft (92.547 m2)
Cylinders Two, inside
Cylinder size 16.5 × 22 in (419 × 559 mm)
Tractive effort 19,091 lbf (84.92 kN)
Career GER » LNER » BR
Class GER: C72
LNER: J68
Power class BR: 2F
Axle load class LNER/BR: RA 3
Withdrawn 1940, 1958–1961
Disposition All scrapped

The GER Class C72 was a class of thirty 0-6-0T steam locomotives designed by A. J. Hill for the Great Eastern Railway. They passed to the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) at the 1923 grouping and received the LNER classification J68.

History

These locomotives were an improved version of the Class S56 tanks, and the final development of James Holden's Class T18 tank locomotives, sharing the same 16.5-by-22-inch (419 × 559 mm) cylinders, 4-foot-0-inch (1.219 m) driving wheels, and 13-foot-10-inch (4.22 m) wheelbase. There were three orders, each of ten locomotives, all built at Stratford Works between 1912 and 1923. The first batch were built as suburban passenger tanks and were fitted with Westinghouse air brakes. The second and third batches were built as shunting tanks and were fitted with steam locomotive brakes and vacuum train brakes.

Table of orders and numbers[1]
Year Order Quantity GER Nos. LNER Nos. 1946 Nos. Notes
1912 C72 10 41–50 7041–7050 —, 8638–8646 Passenger service
1913–14 G75 10 21–30 7021–7030 8647–8656 Shunting service
1923 L89 10 31–40 7031–7040 8657–8666 Shunting service

The last batch did not emerge from Stratford until after the grouping.

One locomotive was lent to the War Department in October 1939,[2] and sold 12 months later,[3] It was used on the Longmoor Military Railway before being moved to the Bicester Central Ordnance Depot,[2] and then the Military Port No. 1, Faslane.[4] The remaining locomotives were renumbered 8638–8666 in order of construction. At nationalisation in 1948 they passed to British Railways, who added 60000 to their numbers. Post war withdrawals started in 1958, and all were gone by 1961.

Table of withdrawals[3]
Year Quantity in
service at
start of year		 Quantity
withdrawn		 Locomotive numbers Notes
1940 30 1 7041 to WD 85
1958 29 6 8651, 8653, 8659, 8662, 8666, 8664
1959 23 5 8638, 8639, 8640, 8648, 8658
1960 18 10 8641, 8643, 8645, 8652, 8654–8657, 8661, 8665
1961 8 8 8642, 8646, 8649, 8650, 8644, 8647, 8660, 8663,

References

  1. ^ Aldrich 1969, p. 104
  2. ^ a b Tourret 1995, p. 47
  3. ^ a b Aldrich, p. 105.
  4. ^ Tourret 1995, p. 48
  • Aldrich, C. Langley (1969). The Locomotives of the Great Eastern Railway 1862–1962 (7th ed.). Wickford, Essex: C. Langley Aldrich. OCLC 30278831. 
  • Tourret, R (1995). Allied Military Locomotives of the Second World War. Abingdon, Oxon: Tourret Publishing. ISBN 0-905878-06-X. 

External links

Great Eastern Railway locomotives
R. Sinclair (1862–1866)
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S. W. Johnson (1866–1876)
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Wm. Adams (1873–1878)
M. Bromley (1878–1881)
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T. W. Worsdell (1881–1885)
J. Holden (1885–1907)
S. D. Holden (1907–1912)
A. J. Hill (1912–1922)
Pre-grouping railway designs:
  • D38
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LNER designs:
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Thompson (1941–1946):
Peppercorn (1946–1947):
Other designs: