The LNER Encyclopedia

Further to my enquiry about the ex NER Independent Snowploughs, does anybody know anything of the four built by the LNER 1931, possibly to a Gresley design.

The book 'Railway Snowploughs in the North East', by David and Claire Williamson (I mentioned this on your previous thread), has a chapter on post-1923 developments. This makes no mention of any 1931-built independent ploughs.it does say that 'The other areas of the LNER outside the NEA still ended to favour buffer-beam ploughs. When something larger was required redundant locomotive tenders were adapted by permanently mounting a 'small' or 'medium' steel plough at the footplate end. This practice was continued after nationalisation by the Eastern Region.'
(op.cit. Page 74.)

There are also two pictures of such ploughs on tenders still lettered 'NE' or 'LNER', although one picture is from 1957.

After the winter of 46/47, design work was done on the basis of the 1909 built steel ploughs. These were not built, however in 1956 similar ploughs were built to replace older NE ploughs. These used old GC tender frames, but were otherwise similar to the the 1909 design.

A September 1948 report states that there were 26 independent ploughs in the NE and E regions. Since 22 of these came from the ex-NER, the other four were tender-mounted from the LNER Southern Area. (page 80).

Is it these in which you are interested?

I would recomend getting a copy of this book.

In any event, the expertise in designing snowploughs all came from Gateshead and Darlington. Even though these were effectively amalgamated into the Doncaster DO, I cannot imagine SNG himself starting from scratch in designing a new plough. He was good at using/reusing the LNER's engineering heritage.

Good Morning. Thank you, yes it is these four I'm interested in. I have a cutting re- those ISP which refers to a set of drawings by Gresley circa 1924 from Darlington, which shows the design for an updated version of the NE ploughs, and which was used in BR days for the V2 tender conversions. I have also found on the 'net a picture of a new LNER ISP on test 1931, at Bishop Auckland. I don't know but I wonder if these and the four additional ISP are the same.

Well, If it is a new plough in 1931, I haven't seen it referenced anywhere else.
If you don't want to copy the picture, could you provide a link?

A "1924" design, built by BR, what is that to do with 1931 ?? I also have never heard of a LNER designed snowplough.


There is nothing in the relevant Tatlow LNER volume either.

I imagine this is the picture being referenced. It looks to me like a rebuilding of the NER vehicles.

jwealleans wrote: ↑Sat May 02, 2020 5:05 pm I imagine this is the picture being referenced. It looks to me like a rebuilding of the NER vehicles.

That is certainly one of the ex-NER wooden ploughs, with perhaps some more steel re-inforcement.
In the famous 'Snowdrift at Bleathgill' film, one of the ploughs is shown with the entire prow replaced in steel.

All this is reminding me that I did plan to build another of the Gateshead steel ploughs, to partner the one made previously. They were usually kept in pairs.

Thank you all for your replies to my query.