The LNER Encyclopedia

I have been writing fictional railway stories in my spare time and am looking for real events to base them on. If anyone has any, please put them up here.

Thanks.

Out of the NBR 0-6-0s that I've been adding recently, it looks like they've had a colourful history. Not many details, but you could embroider the stories and use them as a basis:

No. 524 fell 60ft off a viaduct on the Bo'ness branch after a head-on collision with another J34:

http://www.lner.info/locos/J/j34.shtml

The J34s and J33s were so similar after rebuilding that even Cowlairs couldn't tell them apart, resulting in two J33s being mis-labelled as J34s after repainting:

http://www.lner.info/locos/J/j33.shtml

Richard

Thanks, I'll use the viaduct incident in my next one.

Green Arrow,

Another interesting anecdote for you.

There was a Wheatley North British 4-4-0 Loco no. 224, built in 1871, unofficially named The Diver after it fell into the River Tay from the Tay Bridge on 28th December 1879. It spent 3 months in the Tay, it was recobvered and found to be only slightly damaged and so was returned to service. It was not withdrawn until 1919. During its hectic life it was rebuilt three times. What a survivor.

Colombo

As this is for general railway chat, I will add a none LNER item. There are lots of locos that have been lost in shipwrecks and amateur divers are now finding some of them and publishing photos, although I am not aware of any that have been recovered, rebuilt and steamed. You may like to Google on Sunken locomotives, train shipwreck and the like. I am sure you will find some interesting stories.

Here is one:

Two railway locomotives which were lost with the ship carrying them to the Western Front, have been discovered 150 feet down on the bed of the Atlantic Ocean. The 100-year-old locomotives, built in Leeds, are the only two remaining examples of their type. There are plans to raise them and eventually to put them on display in a museum. The locomotives were sunk while being shipped to France in 1917. "Grenville" and "Torridge" were working on the Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway when they were requisitioned by the Government in 1916. "Gotterdammerung," the ship carrying them, was torpedoed at the entrance to the Bristol Channel and its wreck was found off the coast of North Cornwall.

I have read that in New Zealand they are now recovering parts from steam locos that were pushed into rivers purely to get rid of them and stabilise embankments. There was no steel industry and no market for scrap iron, you see. These parts are being successfully cobbled together to make viable 19th Century locos.]

Colombo

Thanks, Colombo, I'll use them. Interesting how many engines unintended to go in water end up beneath the waves!

Wheatley No 224 was exiled to england to spend its last days in use on the Border Counties line where the English drivers were not so reluctant to drive it as the Scots.

I think it was the year 1948 when a Botanic driver came into No.1 platform at Paragon station in Hull,braked too hard and the engine (G5) "Picked up its wheels",mounted the buffer beam and demolished the porters rest room.

The driver was subsequently demoted to the stable and preparation link or the "Dust Hole" as it was known at the shed.

As far as I can remember there were,remarkably, no serious injuries and the driver in question had to endure weeks of ragging in the enginemens lobby.