GER Class C53

GER Class C53 LNER Class J70
8226 at Stratford locomotive depot, 28 September 1946
Power type	Steam
Designer	James Holden
Builder	Stratford Works
Build date	1903–1921
Total produced	12
Configuration	0-6-0T
UIC classification	C n2t
Gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Driver diameter	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)
Locomotive weight	27 tons 1 cwt (60,600 lb or 27.5 t)
Fuel type	Coal
Fuel capacity	15 long cwt (1,700 lb; 760 kg)
Water capacity	625 imp gal (2,840 l; 751 US gal)
Boiler pressure	180 lbf/in² (1.24 MPa)
Firegrate area	9.2 sq ft (0.85 m2)
Heating surface: Total	348.08 sq ft (32.338 m2)
Cylinders	Two, outside
Cylinder size	12 × 15 in (305 × 381 mm)
Valve gear	Walschaerts
Tractive effort	8,931 lbf (39.73 kN)
Career	GER » LNER » BR
Class	GER: C53 LNER: J70
Power class	BR: 0F
Axle load class	LNER/BR: RA 2
Withdrawn	1942–1955
Disposition	All scrapped

The GER Class C53 was a class of twelve 0-6-0T 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 × 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 of similar appearance.

Table of orders and numbers

Year	Order	Builder	Quantity	GER No.	LNER No.	LNER 1944 No.	Notes
1903	C53	Stratford Works	2	135–136	7135–7136	8216–8217
1908	C64	Stratford Works	3	137–139	7137–7139	8218, —, 8219
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, 7126	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Year	Quantity in service at start of year	Quantity withdrawn	Locomotive numbers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	68219
1951	10	1	68222
1952	9	1	68225
1953	8	4	68217, 68218, 68220, 68221
1955	4	4	68223, 68224, 68226, 68229

In fiction

Toby replica on Avon Valley Railway

The J70 was the inspiration for the character Toby the Tram Engine in The Railway Series by the Rev. W. Awdry, and the spin-off television series Thomas and Friends.

References

Bibliography

• Aldrich, C. Langley (1969). The Locomotives of the Great Eastern Railway 1862–1962 (7th ed.). Wickford, Essex: C. Langley Aldrich. OCLC 30278831. 

External links

• J. Holden locomotives — Great Eastern Railway Society
• The J70 0-6-0 (GER Class C53) Tram Engines — LNER Encyclopedia