GER Class S56

The GER Class S56 was a class of 0-6-0T steams designed by James Holden for the Great Eastern Railway. Together with some rebuilt examples of GER Class R24, they passed to the London and North Eastern Railway at the grouping in 1923, and received the LNER classification J69.

GER Class S56 (and R24 rebuilt)
LNER Class J69
LNER 8625 (ex-7059, exx-GER 59) at Stratford locomotive depot, 28 September 1946
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerJames Holden
BuilderStratford Works
Build date1904 (new)
Total produced20 (new)
Rebuild date1902–1921 from Class R24
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte0-6-0T
 • UICC n2t
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Driver dia.4 ft 0 in (1.219 m)
Wheelbase13 ft 10 in (4.22 m)
Length27 ft 8 in (8.43 m)
Loco weight42 long tons 9 cwt (95,100 lb or 43.1 t)
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity2 long tons 10 cwt (5,600 lb or 2.5 t)
Water cap.1,200 imp gal (5,460 L; 1,440 US gal)
Firebox:
 • Firegrate area		14.5 sq ft (1.35 m2)
Boiler pressure180 psi (1.24 MPa)
Heating surface996.17 sq ft (92.547 m2)
CylindersTwo, inside
Cylinder size16.5 in × 22 in (419 mm × 559 mm)
Performance figures
Tractive effort19,091 lbf (84.92 kN)
Career
OperatorsGER » London and North Eastern Railway » BR
ClassGER: S56 or R24R
LNER: J69
Power classBR: 2F
NicknamesBucks, Buckjumpers
Axle load classLNER/BR: RA 3
Retired1940–1962
DispositionOne preserved, remainder scrapped

History

The Class S56 were a development of the Class R24, being almost identical, apart from higher boiler pressure and larger water tanks. Twenty were built in 1904 at Stratford Works.

Table of orders and numbers[1]
YearOrder No.QuantityGER Nos.LNER Nos.1946 Nos.Notes
1904S561051–607051–70608617–19, —, 8621, —, 8623, —, 8625–8626
1904P571081–907081–7090—, 8628–8633, —, 8635–8636

All twenty passed to the LNER in 1923. Thirteen class J69 locomotives were lent to the War Department in October 1939,[2] of which five had been built as Class S56. They were sold to the War Department in October 1940,[3] where they were used on the Melbourne and Longmoor Military Railways.[2] The remaining locomotives were renumbered 8617–8636 in order of construction; however gaps were left where the locomotives sold to the War Department would have been. At nationalisation in 1948, the remainder passed to British Railways, who added 60000 to their number. Post-war withdrawals started in 1958, and by 1962 all had been retired.[4]

Table of withdrawals of S56-built locomotives[3][4]
YearQuantity in
service at
start of year		Quantity
withdrawn		Locomotives numbersNotes
19402057054, 7056, 7058, 7081, 7088to WD 86, 87, 83, 80, 91
195815568617–18/28/31–32
195910468625/29–30/36
19606168633
19615268619/23
19623368621/26/35

Preservation
GER no. 87 on display at Bressingham

GER no. 87 (LNER 7087, 8633, BR 68633) has been preserved, initially at the Clapham Transport Museum,[5] and now at the National Railway Museum. It is currently on display at Bressingham Steam Museum.

References
  1. Aldrich 1969, p. 102
  2. Tourret 1995, p. 47
  3. Aldrich 1969, p. 103
  4. Aldrich 1969, pp. 124–125
  5. Aldrich 1969, p. 104
  • 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.
  • Ian Allan ABC of British Railways Locomotives, part 4 (1948 ed.). pp. 49–50.
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