Crane engines

[burnie]

I was given a set of The Railway magazine from 1951. in the October edition are images of the various regions crane engines, something I didn't know existed. Mostly 0-6-0 and often saddle tanks, they do make for a curious sight, the LNER example 68667 an 0-6-0 tank was pictured at Stratford and is described as one of the few remaining examples.

[jwealleans]

Someone posted this photograph of 8669 on Facebook last year.

[rockinjohn]

Hi Burnie &others, can only remember the one "Crane"engine @(30A) works& never saw it in Steam (gone by '55/'56?),stabled along with the other locos around the "Tin Shed" Works MPD area@Stratford situated alongside the Cambridge line platforms ends, next to (part)of the works, lettered &numbered as such in latter steam days, always around 3/4 locos out of steam, all Departmental tank locos &stabled in front of the deserted Tin Shed,the last loco I saw in steam appeared to be the favourite loco, maybe the only one without boiler problems by then? was the V.Powerful Hill tank#33 numbered in the Departmental ER series from the 681XX series.jj

[Hatfield Shed]

Someone posted this photograph of 8669 on Facebook last year.

235949396_10227281923740706_5458610961370373718_n.jpg

As described here:
https://www.lner.info/locos/J/j92.php

'Burnie's' description of a curious sight it really is. Looks like a typical GER design forward of the tanks, with a cab in GNR style, was my immediate reaction; quite apart from the crane equipment. Never seen this picture before so very grateful.

It's inching me closer to a 'what if' in model form. From RTR OO both the old tooling of the N2 from Airfix GMR and the recently tooled N7 from Oxford, have easily detached cab tops. I am in possession of all the required parts to modify the N7 to what Doncaster might have done had 'group standardising' been in the air...