Difference between revisions of "LMR 600 Gordon"

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Longmoor Military Railway No. AD600 'Gordon' was built in Hyde Park Works in 1943 numbered AD73651 for the War Department. This locomotive saw little wartime service, being confined to the Longmoor Military Railway for its working career. It is of 2-10-0 wheel arrangement and has a flange-less centre driving wheel to negotiate curves.
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==LMR 600 Gordon in service==
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Longmoor Military Railway No. 600 'Gordon' was built in 1943 at the North British Locomotive Company’s Hyde Park Works in Glasgow as works number 25437. The locomotive, which is named after General Gordon of Khartoum, is a World War 2 ‘Austerity’ locomotive designed by R. A. Riddles, and was the second of 150 such locomotives built.  It was originally numbered WD 73651 for the War Department.
  
Gordon arrived on the SVR in September 1971, originally on loan from The Transport Trust. The locomotive was later donated to the SVR and is now owned by SVR(H). It last saw service in 1999, and is currently on display in the Engine House.
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The standard War Department [[Whyte notation | 2-8-0]] freight locomotive was a simplified version of the LMS 8F.  The [[Whyte notation | 2-10-0]] design was introduced to give a reduced axle loading, mainly intended for overseas use where track quality could be worse than the UK.  To enable the locomotive to negotiate sharp curves, the 2-10-0’s centre driving wheels are flangeless whilst the next pairs have reduced flanges (a feature continued in the BR Standard 9F).
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Although of the 2-10-0 design intended for overseas use, ‘Gordon’ only saw wartime service in the UK. Post-War, Gordon was mainly confined to the Longmoor Military Railway where, numbered 600, it was used as by the Royal Engineers as a driver-training engine.  However in 1957 during the Suez crisis, it is known to have worked highly secretive trains between Longmoor and Southampton.
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==LMR 600 Gordon in preservation==
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Gordon was still the property of the British Army when it arrived on the SVR in September 1971 on loan from The Transport Trust. It remained Army property until July 2008 when, by then the last steam locomotive owned by the Army, it was donated to the SVR.  It is now owned by SVR(H).
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Gordon saw regular use in the early days of the SVR.  In August 1975 it travelled to Shildon under its own power to attend the Rail 150 celebrations, and in 1980 it participated in the locomotive parade at Rocket 150 at Rainhill.
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It last saw service in 1999, and is currently on display in [[The Engine House]] at Highley.
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==References and sources==
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Information principally from a display poster in the Engine House and past copies of SVR News.
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==See also==
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[[Steam Locomotives]]<br>
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[[Severn Valley Railway Timeline 1970-1979]]

Revision as of 22:41, 17 January 2015

LMR 600 Gordon in service

Longmoor Military Railway No. 600 'Gordon' was built in 1943 at the North British Locomotive Company’s Hyde Park Works in Glasgow as works number 25437. The locomotive, which is named after General Gordon of Khartoum, is a World War 2 ‘Austerity’ locomotive designed by R. A. RiddlesRobert Arthur "Robin" Riddles, Member of the Railway Executive for Mechanical and Electrical Engineering responsible for the design of the British Rail Standard Class locomotives, and was the second of 150 such locomotives built. It was originally numbered WD 73651 for the War Department.

The standard War Department 2-8-0 freight locomotive was a simplified version of the LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway 8FThe British Railways system of classifying steam locomotives by power using a number from 0, least powerful, to 9, most powerful, followed by either F for freight, P for Passenger or MT for Mixed Traffic.. The 2-10-0 design was introduced to give a reduced axle loading, mainly intended for overseas use where track quality could be worse than the UK. To enable the locomotive to negotiate sharp curves, the 2-10-0’s centre driving wheels are flangeless whilst the next pairs have reduced flanges (a feature continued in the BRBritish Rail or British Railways Standard 9FThe British Railways system of classifying steam locomotives by power using a number from 0, least powerful, to 9, most powerful, followed by either F for freight, P for Passenger or MT for Mixed Traffic.).

Although of the 2-10-0 design intended for overseas use, ‘Gordon’ only saw wartime service in the UK. Post-War, Gordon was mainly confined to the Longmoor Military Railway where, numbered 600, it was used as by the Royal Engineers as a driver-training engine. However in 1957 during the Suez crisis, it is known to have worked highly secretive trains between Longmoor and Southampton.

LMR 600 Gordon in preservation

Gordon was still the property of the British Army when it arrived on the SVRSevern Valley Railway in September 1971 on loan from The Transport Trust. It remained Army property until July 2008 when, by then the last steam locomotive owned by the Army, it was donated to the SVRSevern Valley Railway. It is now owned by SVRSevern Valley Railway(H).

Gordon saw regular use in the early days of the SVRSevern Valley Railway. In August 1975 it travelled to Shildon under its own power to attend the Rail 150 celebrations, and in 1980 it participated in the locomotive parade at Rocket 150 at Rainhill.

It last saw service in 1999, and is currently on display in The Engine House at Highley.

References and sources

Information principally from a display poster in the Engine House and past copies of SVRSevern Valley Railway News.

See also

Steam Locomotives
Severn Valley Railway Timeline 1970-1979