Locomotives of the N.B.R. : Wheatley designs

neildimmer · Post by **neildimmer** » Fri Sep 28, 2018 7:57 pm

Information from the LNER Encyclopedia

The Wheatley Y10 0-4-0

Two of these engines were built by Wheatley for use by the North British Railway (NBR) for short distance goods and mineral traffic. They were last mainline 0-4-0 locomotives to be built in Britain. Both were rebuilt by Holmes in 1902, and Reid in 1911. No. 1010 (originally No. 357) was withdrawn in April 1921, but 1011 (originally No. 358) survived into LNER ownership and was withdrawn in December 1925.
The Holmes rebuild included new boilers and a typical Holmes boiler with a dome. Other parts (eg. the chimney) were modified to resemble modern NBR practice. Reid's rebuild involved the replacement of 5ft wheels with 4ft 3in wheels, and the fitting of a new cab. Due to the smaller wheels, the splashers and running plate were modified. A steam brake was finally fitted. Originally, the Y10 probably only had a tender brake, which was upgraded to an engine hand brake in the 1890s.
Originally these engines were allocated to the Fife and Northern Districts. Later, they were shedded at Kipps. During LNER ownership, No. 1011 was the usual engine used on the branch from Clarkston to Springbank Yard and Moffat Mills. It proved useful on this sharply curving line

1011 Wheatley Y10 0-4-0 N.B.R. rebuilt by Holmes in 1902, and Reid in 1911. (2)

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1011 Wheatley Y10 0-4-0 N.B.R. rebuilt by Holmes in 1902, and Reid in 1911. (2)

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The Wheatley J31 (NBR Class R) 0-6-0 Locomotives

Wheatley became the North British Railway's (NBR) Locomotive Superintendent in February 1867, and found a railway experiencing increasing prosperity. The NBR had also completed a series of amalgamations, and had greatly increased in size. These changes resulted in an urgent need for larger mineral and freight locomotives. Wheatley quickly met this need with his new Class E (LNER J31) design. These locomotives were noted for being larger and more robust than the existing Hurst locomotives. To meet the urgent need, twenty six J31s were built between 1867 and 1869 by contractors (Neilson & Co. and Dubs & Co). These were followed by a total of sixty two engines built at Cowlairs in six batches between 1869 and 1875. The last of these batches was built under the tenure of Drummond before he introduced his NBR Class C (LNER J32) freight locomotives.

9169 Wheatley J31 (NBR Class R) 0-6-0 as rebuilt by Holmes and Reid

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1132 Wheatley J31 (NBR Class R) 0-6-0 as rebuilt by Holmes and Reid

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10166 Wheatley J31 (NBR Class R) 0-6-0 as rebuilt by Holmes and Reid

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The Wheatley J84 (NBR Class E) 0-6-0T Locomotives

Wheatley built the J31 0-6-0 tender locomotives between 1867 and 1874 for main line goods trains. By the 1880s, most of these engines had been taken off main line duties, and were being used for transfer trips and yard shunting. Tenders were not required for this work, so Holmes rebuilt twenty of the J31s as J84 saddle tanks. The end result was a locomotive that was very similar to Wheatley's own J85 0-6-0ST design. The rebuilds were completed between 1889 and 1895. The saddle tanks were to a typical Holmes pattern with a curved base, countersunk rivets, and front filler.
The J84s were rebuilt with new boilers between 1892 and 1901. Although this overlapped with the saddle tank rebuilds, no locomotive was rebuilt from a J31 with saddle tank and new boiler at the same time. Unlike many of the other NBR 0-6-0ST boiler rebuilds, the dome was kept in the same position to avoid tank alterations. The Wheatley chimney was replaced with a Holmes pattern, though.
After the conversion to saddle tanks, these locomotives were primarily used as shunting pilots in the Central Lowlands. Exceptions were Nos. 439 & 444 which were allocated to Carlisle and Kelty respectively.
No. 440 was withdrawn in 1915, and sixteen were withdrawn between 1919 and 1921. Their duties were typically taken over by the larger N15 0-6-2Ts or J83s. This left three J84s to enter LNER ownership and these were all withdrawn by June 1924.

3112 Wheatley J84 (NBR Class E) 0-6-0T

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3112 Wheatley J84 (NBR Class E) 0-6-0T

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3113 Wheatley J84 (NBR Class E) 0-6-0T

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The Wheatley E7 (NBR Class P) 2-4-0 Locomotives

Although Wheatley pioneered the use of inside cylinder 4-4-0 locomotives for express passenger work in the British Isles, all of these locomotives were withdrawn before Grouping (1923). In fact, the six Class E7 2-4-0s were his only North British Railway (NBR) express designs to survive into LNER ownership. This was probably due to them being rebuilt twice during their lives.
A total of eight of Wheatley's Class P 2-4-0s were built in 1873 at Cowlairs. These engines were originally built with 16in x 22in cylinders. During Drummond's tenure, the Class Ps received a number of detail modifications and variations, including the addition of smokebox wingplates. At least one (No. 428) received a round cab, and five received names (see below).
The first rebuilds occurred during 1890-1, when all eight Class P locomotives received standard Holmes boilers and cabs. These new boilers had a working pressure of 140psi and a total heating surface of 1039.9 sq.ft. Other details were also brought into line with current NBR practice. The cylinders were increased in size to 17in x 24in.
Six of the Class Ps were rebuilt a second time in 1915. Standard Reid boilers were fitted with a working pressure of 150psi and a total heating surface of 1016 sq.ft. These were the last NBR boilers to be built with safety valves fitted to the dome. Side window cabs, and dual (Westinghouse and air) brakes were also fitted. These rebuilt engines also received steam heaters during Reid's tenure. Nos. 419 and 427 (later Nos. 1240 and 1248) were not rebuilt, and they were withdrawn in 1914 and 1918 respectively.
The Class P engines were initially used on main line passenger duties. Even though there were only eight Class Ps and they were typically hauling stopping services, they could be seen on all of the NBR's major trunk routes. A twelve hour work day was being worked at the time. This combined with a wide distribution, led to some long daily rosters. A typical example would be from Galashiels to Edinburgh, Edinburgh to Dundee, and then returning by the same route.
From about 1914, the Class Ps were moved to local passenger services and pilot work. At Grouping (1923), three were allocated to the Berwickshire branch (to St. Boswells), and the other three hauled local passenger services in Fife. Withdrawals started in 1925, and No. 10247 (NBR No. 426, later No. 1247) was the last to be withdrawn in 1927. No. 10247 spent the last year or so of its life working on the Morningside branch from Bathgate.

10249 Wheatley E7 (NBR Class P) 2-4-0

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10246 Wheatley E7 (NBR Class P) 2-4-0

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1247 Wheatley E7 (NBR Class P) 2-4-0

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Neil