The LNER Encyclopedia

Hello All

I have recently been reading "Yeadon's Register of LNER Locomotives Vol 25 N1 & N2", my question is Where was the reserve air tank located for the Westinghouse air brake equipped N2s please ?

( Air braked locomotives require a reserve air tank to work, see the Isle if Wright O2,class 0-4-4T where the cylindrical air tank is located on top of the side water tank. )

Thank you in advance, Regards, Platypus

As with most GN types it may depend on which series of locomotives within the overall class, but on some at least the air reservoir was mounted longitudinally below and between the cylinders and visible from the front below the bufferbeam. There's a photograph (Fig. 56) of 4926 so fitted in RCTS 'Greenie' Part 9A which also adds more detail on p66-67, summarised as:

Nos 892-7 destined for Scotland had the air reservoir under the bunker behind the radial wheels with the Westo pump on the LHS just in front of the side tank;
Nos. 4728/32/5 were fitted at Doncaster before despatch to Scotland while 4721-4/6/9/31/7/40 were fitted at Cowlairs. On these there was the same reservoir as 892-7 below the bunker but a second reservoir fitted at the front end as described above. On these the Westo pump was on the RHS.

The 'Greenie' also provides the dates of fitting and removal of the equipment on each locomotive.

Dear 65447,
thank you for the details reply. Doubtless the Works had their reasons, but putting air tanks in such a position would have made the fitters job attending to adjacent fittings much more difficult. Regards, Platypus.

I an wondering if you mean the small reservoir that connects to the equalising valve chamber on the driver's Westinghouse automatic air brake valve? While the main air reservoirs were positioned as others have stated, this equalising one would have been small enough to even have been fitted in the cab.

Hello All,

I appreciate your answers, and it is the main reservoir air tank that I was seeking. As a result of the above answers, I have re-examined the photos in Yeadon's Register Vol. 25 , and as a result I hope the following photos references will be of interest. In each case, the air tank is visible, even though it is only a small section of the lower rear portion that is visible, and regrettably, there are no pictures of the rear of an air braked example.

p 44 LNER 892 ( 69562 ); p 54 LNER 897 ( 69567 ); p 90 BR 69563 ( 893 ); p 96 LNER 4723 ( 69502 ); p 99 LNER 9565 ( 895 / 69565 ).

The transverse cylindrical air tank is located within the frames , between the rear trailing axle and the rear buffer beam. Hence the reason for difficulty in seeing it !

Trusting his is of some assistance to those, like me , who wondered where the air tank was located.

As an aside, p 93 69574 ;p 105 69547 ; p 107 69504 ; which all display a pristine locomotive in BR Mixed Traffic Lined Black ( LNWR style ) livery and it looks very smart and seems to suit these locomotives , in my opinion.

Regards, Platypus.

Hi living in the Ashburton Grove area the last ex works N2 I spied was indeed 69574 on a North bound ex Broad Street train,in the mid '50s passing under the KX to the North Main line & for those few moments a sight to behold(you may know the date ex works Doncaster),N1's that I witnessed in the early/mid '50s usually had Stratford's tar black paint(earlier some wore lined blk),even the Yorkshire examples that came south for works overhaul,N2's if not lined out came back from Doncaster looking presentable in unlined Black, Lets not forget Stratford's sole?unloved N2 69502 only saw it once ECW in Liverpool St.jj