The Drummond G8 (NBR Class P) 0-4-4T Locomotives

Drummond introduced the Class P (LNER G8) locomotives in 1877 for the North British Railway (NBR)'s Glasgow to Helensburgh service. These were originally 0-4-2Ts which closely resembled Stroudley's London Brighton & South Coast (LBSC) Class D locomotives. Unlike Stroudley's 0-4-2Ts, Drummond quickly fitted a rear bogie to the Class P, and in the process introduced the 0-4-4T type to the Britain.

Only six of the G8s were ever built. Details of the rear bogie fitting dates are unknown, but they are thought to have all occurred between 1881 and 1882. The addition of the rear bogie allowed a greater capacity of coal and water. In 1905, Reid rebuilt all six locomotives with new boilers of a standard type also newly fitted to the Drummond D50s.

The G8s were originally built with condensers. These were removed at an early stage. Feed pumps were also replaced with injectors, and the original lock-up safety valves were replaced with Ramsbottom safety valves.

Originally, the G8s worked on the Clyde Coast, but were soon transferred to the Fife and Northern Districts to haul main line services. They moved back to the Glasgow area in the 1890s, but would be dispersed with the advent of the various Reid passenger tank designs. Final allocations were to Stirling, St. Margaret's, and Dundee (4); before withdrawals between 1924 and 1925.

Technical Details

Preservation

None of the G8s survived into preservation.

Models

I am not aware of any models of the G8 tank locomotives.

Locomotives

All six G8 locomotives carried Clydeside names. When they moved north in about 1879, they were renamed with more northerly names. All names were removed in about 1883 when Holmes took office.