I am attaching a photo from Jan 1920 Locomotive Magazine of a 2-8-0 built by Nasmyth Wilson. It looks very much like an LNER/GCR O4 or an R.O.D O4. But my locomotive books do not say that Nasmyth Wilson built engines for the LNER or its predecessor GCR. Neither does the lner.info website.
On the other hand, Nasmyth Wilson did build G class 2-8-0 locos for the East Indian Railway (EIR), in 1911, the same year the first O4 engines appeared on the GCR. Notice the resemblance between the 2 attached photos. Yes, there are several differences. The Indian engine has a cowcatcher and a different type of smokebox door handle, among other things.
My feeling is that my attached Nasmyth ad shows an O4 though the O4 photos on the internet and the lner.info website show some detail differences.
I am curious as to the opinion of other forum members. Can someone confirm that Nasmyth Wilson did build O4 engines for the GCR?
The similarities between the O4 and the Indian 2-8-0 are quite remarkable. The EIR engine was built to the BESA standard for Indian broad gauge 2-8-0s. The 2-8-0s on other Indian railways looked rather different, but all had the same dimensions.
Was O4 designer J.G.Robinson ever associated with the BESA (British Engineering Standards Association)?
Mystery locomotive
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