GER Class C53

(Redirected from LNER Class J70) Class of British locomotives

GER Class C53
LNER Class J70

8226 at Stratford locomotive depot, 28 September 1946

Type and origin
Power type	Steam
Designer	James Holden
Builder	Stratford Works
Build date	1903 - 1921
Total produced	12

Specifications
Configuration:
• Whyte	0-6-0 T
• AAR	Co
• UIC	C n2t
Gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Coupled dia.	3 ft 1 in (0.940 m)
Wheelbase	6 ft 8 in (2.032 m)
Length	20 ft 8+3⁄8 in (6.309 m)
Axle load	11 long tons 7 cwt (25,400 lb or 11.5 t)
Loco weight	27 long tons 1 cwt (60,600 lb or 27.5 t)
Fuel type	Coal
Fuel capacity	15 long cwt (1,700 lb or 800 kg)
Water cap.	625 imp gal (2,840 L; 751 US gal)
Firebox:
• Type	Round-top
• Grate area	9.2 sq ft (0.9 m)
Boiler:
• Diameter	2 ft 10.5 in (0.9 m)
• Tube plates	6 ft 10 in (2.1 m)
• Small tubes	102 x 1.625 in (41.3 mm)
Boiler pressure	180 lbf/in (1.24 MPa)
Heating surface:
• Firebox	42.08 sq ft (3.9 m)
• Tubes	306 sq ft (28.4 m)
• Total surface	348.08 sq ft (32.3 m)
Cylinders	Two, outside
Cylinder size	12 in × 15 in (305 mm × 381 mm)
Valve gear	Walschaerts

Performance figures
Tractive effort	8,931 lbf (39.73 kN) at 85%

Career
Operators	Great Eastern Railway London and North Eastern Railway British Railways
Class	GER: C53 LNER: J70
Power class	BR: 0F
Axle load class	LNER/BR: RA 2
Withdrawn	1942 (1), 1949–1955
Disposition	All original C53s scrapped, one Toby the Tram Engine replica built at East Anglian Railway Museum.

Most specifications from

The GER Class C53 was a class of twelve 0-6-0 T steam tram locomotives designed by James Holden for the Great Eastern Railway. They passed to the London and North Eastern Railway at the grouping, and received the LNER classification J70.

History

These locomotives had 12-by-15-inch (305 mm × 381 mm) outside cylinders driving 3-foot-1-inch (0.940 m) wheels; all enclosed by skirting. They were the first locomotives on the Great Eastern to use Walschaerts valve gear. They were used on the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway and the ports of Great Yarmouth and Ipswich from the 1930s to the 1950s. They replaced earlier GER Class G15 0-4-0 T of similar appearance.

Table of orders and numbers
Year	Order	Builder	Quantity	GER No.	LNER No.	LNER 1946 No.	Notes
1903	C53	Stratford Works	2	135–136	7135–7136	8216–8217
1908	C64	Stratford Works	3	137–139	7137–7139	8218, —, 8219	GER No.138 was withdrawn in 1942
1910	I67	Stratford Works	1	130	7130	8220
1914	P75	Stratford Works	3	127–128, 131	7127–7128, 7131	8221–8223
1921	D85	Stratford Works	3	125–126, 129	7125–7126, 7129	8224–8226

The first withdrawal was in 1942. The remaining locomotives were renumbered 8216–8226 in 1944. The remaining eleven locomotives passed to British Railways in 1948 on nationalisation, and had 60000 added to their numbers. Withdrawals restarted in 1949, slowly at first, then more quickly, and the last went in 1955.

Table of withdrawals
Year	Quantity in service at start of year	Quantity withdrawn	Locomotive numbers
1942	12	1	7138
1949	11	1	68218
1951	10	1	68221
1952	9	1	68224
1953	8	4	68216–7/19–20
1955	4	4	68222–3/25–6

Individual locomotives

List of GER C53 locomotives
GER number	LNER number	1946 number	BR number	Build date	Withdrawal date
135	7135	8216	68216	31/10/1903	31/12/1953
136	7136	8217	68217	30/11/1903	31/03/1953
137	7137	8218	68218	30/09/1908	30/09/1949
138	7138	N/A	N/A	30/09/1908	31/01/1942
139	7139	8219	68219	31/10/1908	31/08/1953
130	7130	8220	68220	30/04/1910	31/03/1953
127	7127	8221	68221	30/06/1914	21/05/1951
128	7128	8222	68222	30/06/1914	28/02/1955
131	7131	8223	68223	30/06/1914	19/07/1955
125	7125	8224	68224	31/03/1921	30/04/1952
126	7126	8225	68225	31/03/1921	31/03/1955
129	7129	8226	68226	31/03/1921	02/08/1955

Note: The data above is according to RailUK. BRDatabase gives some different dates:

GER No. 135 was withdrawn in 30 November 1953
GER No. 136 was withdrawn in 9 March 1953
GER No. 130 was withdrawn in 23 February 1953
GER No. 128 was withdrawn sometime in January 1955
GER No. 125 was withdrawn in 24 March 1952
GER No. 126 was withdrawn in 8 March 1955

In fiction

J70 68221 was the inspiration for the character Toby the Tram Engine in The Railway Series by the Rev. W. Awdry, and its television series adaptation Thomas & Friends.

References

Notes

"LNER J70". lner.info. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
^ Aldrich 1969, p. 105
Aldrich 1969, p. 106
Allen et al. 1970, p. 102
"GER Class C53". RailUK.
"GER/LNER Holden "J70" Class 0-6-0T". BRDatabse.
Wilbert Vere Awdry. The Island of Sodor - its People, History and Railways. p. 137.

Bibliography

Aldrich, C. Langley (1969). The Locomotives of the Great Eastern Railway 1862–1962 (7th ed.). Wickford, Essex: C. Langley Aldrich. OCLC 30278831.
Allen, D. W.; Boddy, M. G.; Brown, W. A.; Fry, E. V.; Hennigan, W.; Manners, F.; Neve, E.; Proud, P.; Roundthwaite, T. E.; Tee, D. F.; Yeadon, W. B. (November 1970). Fry, E. V. (ed.). Locomotives of the L.N.E.R., part 8A: Tank Engines - Classes J50 to J70. Kenilworth: RCTS. ISBN 0-901115-05-3.

External links

— Great Eastern Railway Society
The J70 0-6-0 (GER Class C53) Tram Engines — LNER Encyclopedia

v t e Great Eastern Railway locomotives
R. Sinclair (1862–1866)	Z Y X W V
S. W. Johnson (1866–1876)	No. 1 125 201 202 417 204 109 477 T7 200 134 C8
Wm. Adams (1873–1878)	209 61 K9 230 527
M. Bromley (1878–1881)	E10 245 140 M12 552
T. W. Worsdell (1881–1885)	G14 Y14 G15 M15 G16
J. Holden (1885–1907)	T18 T19 127 E22 R24 D27 T26 N31 C32 P43 S44 S46 F48 C53 A55 D56 S56 G58
S. D. Holden (1907–1912)	Y65 G69 S69 E72
A. J. Hill (1912–1922)	C72 B74 L77 T77 D81 H88

London and North Eastern Railway locomotives

Pre-grouping
railway designs

Great Central	A5 B1/B18 B2/B19 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 C4 C5 C13 C14 D7 D9 D10 D11 G3 J10 J11 J60 J62 J63 L1/L3 M1 N4 N5 N6 O4 O5 Q4 S1
Great Eastern	B12 D13 D14 D15 D16 E4 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 G4 J14 J15 J16 J17 J18 J19 J20 J65 J66 J67 J68 J69 J70 N7 Y4 Y5 Y6
Great North of Scotland	D40 D41 Z4 Z5
Great Northern	A1 C1 C2 C12 D2 D3 D4 J1 J3 J4 J5 J6 J7 J50 J51 J52 J53 K1 K2 K3 N1 N2 O1 O2 R1
North British	C10 C11 D25 D26 D27 D28 D29 D30 D31 D32 D33 D34 D35 D36 E7 J31 J32 J33 J34 J35 J36 J37 J81 J83 J84 J85 J86 J88 N14 N15 Y9 Y10
North Eastern	A2 A6 A7 B13 B14 B15 B16 C6 C7 D17/1 D17/2 D18 D19 D20 D21 D22 D23 E5 E6 F8 G5 G6 H1 J21 J24 J25 J26 J27 J71 J72 J73 J77 N8 N9 N10 Q5 Q6 Q7 T1 X1 Y7 Y8 EB1 EE1 EF1 ES1
North Eastern (ex Hull & Barnsley)	J75 N11 N12 N13 Q10

LNER designs

Gresley (1923–1941)	A1 A3 A4 A8 B17 C9 D49 J38 J39 J50 K4 P1 P2 U1 V1 V2 V3 V4 W1 EM1
Thompson (1941–1946)	A1 A2/1 A2/2 A2/3 B1 B2 D K1 K5 L1 O1 Q1
Peppercorn (1946–1947)	A1 A2 K1

Other designs

Proposed designs

P10 2-8-2T (Nov 1929)
B 4-6-0 (Nov 1936)
? 4-8-2 (1939)
Q 0-8-0 (June 1930)
? 4-8-4 (Feb 1946)
? 4-8-2 (Feb 1946)
K 2-6-0 (Aug 1947)

see also: British Railways steam locomotives; GWR locomotives; LMS locomotives; Southern Railway locomotives

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