The LNER 2-8-0 Locomotives
Of the four LNER constituents that adopted the 0-8-0, only the
GCR and
GNR switched to 2-8-0s - significantly,
both companies with long-distance coal traffic.
Robinson launched his design for the
GCR in 1911, while
Gresley's two-cylinder 1913 design on the
GNR was followed
by a three-cylinder version five years later.
At Grouping (1923), the LNER inherited 179 2-8-0s. It constructed 56 more
O2s and purchased 273 more
Robinson war-surplus locomotives during the 1920s.
92 were then loaned and subsequently sold to the War Department in World War 2, leaving
329 Robinson locomotives to be acquired by British Railways (1948),
most of which had been modified or rebuilt. British Railways also inherited 84
Gresley 2-8-0s after three had been withdrawn by the LNER.
During and after World War 2, the LNER made brief use of LMS-designed 2-8-0s as well as USATC locomotives
en route to France, but by 1947 these had been all replaced by over 450 'WD Austerity' 2-8-0s either purchased or
borrowed from the War Deptartment. These boosted total 2-8-0 numbers on LNER metals at Nationalisation to almost 900
(including 270 on loan from the War Deptartment). Official LNER ownership stood at 681 - 10% of LNER stock - including
67 on loan to the LMS.
2-10-0 Tender Locomotives
The LNER never owned any 2-10-0s but made temporary use of the War Department’s 'Austery' 2-10-0 locomotives
during World War 2. Only two ten-coupled locomotives had previously run in Britain, including
the GER's Decapod.
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