Blyth & Tyne 0-6-0s

[hhodgetts]

Hi all, does anyone have any information about the Percy Main built 0-6-0 tender engines that were used on the Blyth & Tyne prior to the NER taking over? Very few pictures seem to have been taken (unless I am looking in the wrong places). They had a unique wheel arrangement. My query comes as a result of coming across an old photo that I think might well be one of these old engines converted into an 0-6-0 saddle tank. It is numbered No. 11 and recorded as being at Seaton Burn in December of 1946. It has the exact same wheel arrangement making me think that it at least has the frame of one of the original engines otherwise much modified. Any history or info would be great to hear about.

I think they were good looking engines. There is a picture of one of the engines here;

http://www.east-durham.co.uk/seaham/rai ... age50.html

Philip

The beast in question is attached. Note the wheel arrangement. It is that alone that makes me think this is one of the old B&T engines though modified almost beyond recognition. Note the buffers for shunting cauldron wagons which were a requisite when these engines were first built showing its age.

[60041]

There was a series of books (3 I think) about the history of the Blyth and Tyne printed about 15 years ago. I remember that the author was J A Wells and I think that they were published by Tyne and Wear Museums Service. They had quite a few photos of the locomotives and I remember thinking that some of them, particularly the tender locos, were very good looking machines.
The books have been out of print for some time now, but it might be worth trying to track them down on a book search website, or the Stephenson Railway Museum in North Shields might still have a few copies for sale.
They have the cab from a B&T 0-6-0 in the museum, unfortunately it was the only bit of the loco that anybody thought of preserving.

[52D]

The NER had a number of 0-6-0 tanks with uneven wheel spacings not just from the B&T I am going to the autocar AGM tomorrow but will try to post a little more info Sunday.

[60041]

The NER had a number of 0-6-0 tanks with uneven wheel spacings not just from the B&T .

Many of these machines were of the "long boiler" type where the whole of the firebox was behind the rear axle and this resulted in the very close spacing of the centre and rear axles. The design gave very good steaming, but the locos were quite unstable and tended to rock violently from side to side at anything much above walking speed. The Stephenson Railway Museum have a Kitson long boiler loco, A no.5, which is (as far as I know) the only working loco of its type in the world. The uneven wheel spacing is quite evident on it.