BR Standard Class 2 2-6-0


The BR Standard Class 2 2-6-0 is a class of steam locomotive, one of the British Railways Standard classes of the 1950s. They were physically the smallest of the Standard classes; 65 were built.

Overview

The design was derived from the Ivatt-designed LMS Class 2MT 2-6-0, with a reduced cab to enable it to fit into a universal loading gauge, and other standard fittings, most notably a taller chimney, others including the lack of an Ivatt dome and side plates connecting the two sections of the engine. Like the LMS predecessor the BR design had a tender cab to enhance crew protection and visibility when running tender-first. They were all attached to a BR3 type tender. These locomotives are often known by the nickname "Mickey Mouse".

Construction

Darlington works was responsible for building the entire fleet of 65 engines and for a time construction of the LMS and BR designs overlapped. The last No.78064 was completed in 1956 but the class remained intact for just seven years. Coincidentally the first to be withdrawn No.78015 was a Darlington-based engine.

Route availability

Like the LMS counterpart, the Standard Mogul was arranged for a low axle-loading of just. This allowed it to operate on most lightly laid routes and secondary lines. The route availability was 3. Some of the class had speedometers fitted.

Reputation

Among crews the 2MT 2-6-0 gained a reputation for being very sure-footed. Some maintained however that the engine did not steam well. The loudest complaint was about the draughty and dirty footplate. This was surprising given the efforts of Robert Riddles and his team to optimise working conditions in the Standards' cab layout.

Shed allocations

Two former Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway sheds, Bank Hall and Wigan, respectively designated 27A and 27D, received an allocation of the class. Bank Hall had 78041–44 which were used with great success on both slow and fast trains from Liverpool Exchange to either Preston, Bolton or Rochdale. The Wigan engines 78040/61–64 were used on stopping trains to Liverpool, Southport, Bolton and Rochdale. They replaced LMS 2P 4-4-0s and LYR 2-4-2Ts. On the former L&Y lines this class was generally employed on passenger work whilst the LMS class 2 2-6-0s were normally found on shunting and freight jobs until the mid-1960s. When the Cambrian section closed and other areas dieselised, other members of the class came to the former L&Y lines. These included 78002, 78007, 78027 and 78057. Some of these were used on shunting duties from Bolton and Lostock Hall sheds. Number 78022 preserved on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway had a spell as Preston station passenger pilot whilst allocated to Lostock Hall.

Withdrawal

Preservation

Four members of the class survived into preservation, however one member of the class is currently in the process of being converted to the tank version of the class.
NumberBuiltWithdrawnService LifeLocationLiveryStatusImageNotes
78018Mar 1954Nov 196612 Years, 8 monthsGreat Central RailwayBR Lined Black, Late CrestOperationalBuilt at Darlington North Road Works. Entered traffic on 3 March 1954 at West Auckland Shed. Became famous for getting stuck in a snow drift during February 1955, which resulted in the film Snowdrift at Bleath Gill. Transferred to Chester Midland in April 1960; Workington in 1962; Willesden in May 1963; Nuneaton in September 1965; Shrewsbury before withdrawal on 12 November 1966. Spent 11 years at Barry scrapyard before being preserved at Shackerstone in November, 1978. Owned & rescued by the Darlington Railway Preservation Society in 1981 from Barry in Wales, after a 34-year restoration effort by the DRPS the locomotive was 85% complete, it was then transferred to the Great Central Railway in 2012 where the remainder of the work was carried out.
The locomotive went back into active service on the GCR on 6 October 2016, owned by the DRPS and operated by the GCR. Boiler ticket expires in 2026.
78019Mar 1954Nov 196612 Years, 8 monthsGreat Central Railway?Undergoing OverhaulBuilt at Darlington Works. Allocated to Kirkby Stephen, working on local and banking duties through the Lake District. Then Willesden ; Nuneaton ; and Crewe South. Withdrawn in 1966, sold to Woodham Brothers, Barry, moving there in 1967. Sold to Severn Valley Railway in 1973, but only stored there before moving to and being restored at the Great Central Railway. Boiler ticket expired in May 2015 and is undergoing overhaul
78022May 1954Sept 196612 Years, 4 monthsKeighley & Worth Valley RailwayBR Lined Green, Early EmblemOperationalWithdrawn for major overhaul December 2000. Having spent over a decade on display in the K&WVR museum at Oxenhope it was moved into Haworth workshops in 2014 in preparation for its long-awaited overhaul and its boiler was removed from the frames in early 2015
Running in commenced in August 2018 following 18 years out of traffic and entered active service in November. Boiler ticket expires in 2028.
78059/84030Sept 1956Nov 196610 Years, 2 monthsBluebell Railway?Undergoing conversion into BR Standard Class 2 2-6-2TLost tender whilst at Woodham Brothers. After rescue to Bluebell, decision was taken to restore the locomotive in the tank-engine form, of which there are no surviving examples. The last BR standard class 2 2-6-2T was numbered 84029, this locomotive takes the next number in the sequence