ROD 2-8-0

63840 was built as ROD No. 1993 by the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow in January 1919. On disposal by the ROD in 1925 it became Class O4/2 No. 6524 with the LNER and later no. 63840. Photo at Langwith Junction on 7 August 1960. It was withdrawn by British Railways in September 1963.

The Railway Operating Division (ROD) ROD 2-8-0 is a type of 2-8-0 steam locomotive which was the standard heavy freight locomotive operated in Europe by the ROD during the First World War.

ROD need for a standard locomotive

During the First World War the Railway Operating Division of the Royal Engineers requisitioned about 600 locomotives of various types from thirteen United Kingdom railway companies; the first arrived in France in late 1916. As the war became prolonged it became clear that the ROD needed its own standard locomotive, so the ROD adopted the Great Central Railway Class 8K 2-8-0 designed by John G. Robinson in 1911.

Procurement of ROD 2-8-0s

Orders were placed for 325 locomotives from February 1917 onwards, followed by an order for 196 more in Autumn 1918 to sustain the UK's locomotive manufacturing industry after the war. The 521 ROD 2-8-0s were built as follows: 369 by the North British Locomotive Company, 82 by Robert Stephenson and Company, 32 by Nasmyth, Wilson and Company, 32 by Kitson and Company and six by the Great Central Railway.

ROD 2-8-0 use in continental Europe

Of the initial order for 325 locomotives, 311 were shipped to France for war service. The locomotives were mainly used to haul military supply and troop trains, plus some services for civilians.

After the Armistice of 11 November 1918 many of the class returned from France to the UK in 1919 and 1920. One ROD 2-8-0 duty remaining until the latter year was a through troop train from Cologne to Calais.

GWR No. 3043 at Seer Green 1950

Post-war use in Great Britain

After the war many ROD 2-8-0's were loaned to railways in Great Britain and the majority were then sold:

Company	No. acquired	New class
GWR	100	GWR 3000 Class
LMS	105	LMS ex-ROD 2-8-0
LNER	273	LNER Class O4

The Great Western Railway bought 20 ROD locos in 1919 and a further 80 in 1925. The locomotives were widely spread over much of the GWR system, being used on heavy freight trains. The first withdrawals were made in 1927, but 45 survived to be taken over by British Railways in 1948 and the last three survivors were not withdrawn until October 1958.

The London and North Western Railway bought 30 locos in 1920. In the grouping in 1923 these entered the stock of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, which bought another 75 of the class in 1927. The ROD's range of operations on the LMS was restricted by its high axle loading. Withdrawals began in 1928 and the last was gone by 1932. Some of the LMS examples were exported to China as China Railway KD4.

The largest purchaser of the RODs was the London and North Eastern Railway which bought 273 between late 1923 and early 1927 to supplement its 130 existing GCR Class 8K locos. The combined fleet served widely throughout the LNER system and many were modified over the years to prolong their useful life. In 1941 the War Department requisitioned 92 locomotives for use overseas (see below). Withdrawal of the first ex-LNER RODs was made by British Railways in 1959 and the last was retired from the Doncaster area in April 1966.

Some RODs were purchased direct from the UK War Department in the 1920s and shipped to Australia, where three survive.

ROD 2-8-0 use in the Middle East

During the Second World War the War Department needed heavy freight engines so in September 1941 it requisitioned 92 LNER locos. 61 were RODs bought by the LNER in the mid 1920s and 31 were GCR Class 8K locos. They were shipped to Egypt and Palestine, where they worked on Egyptian State Railways, Palestine Railways, the Haifa, Beirut and Tripoli Railway between Palestine and Lebanon, the Chémin de Fer Damas-Hama et Prolongements in Syria, and Iraqi State Railways. Iraqi State Railways had six examples and designated them class RD: in March 1967 at least one remained in storage at Shalchiyah works outside Baghdad awaiting disposal. In 1952 the UK shipped a final five ROD's to the Middle East. Some remained in service in the Suez Canal Zone until 1955, then passed in to Egyptian State Railways stock until withdrawal in 1961.

Preservation

Three ROD 2-8-0's have been preserved, all in New South Wales, Australia.

• JABAS No. 20 (Ex-ROD 1984, North British No. 22042) and No. 24 (Ex-ROD 2003, Great Central No. unknown) are preserved, static, at Dorrigo Steam Railway Museum,
• JABAS No. 23 (Ex-ROD 2004, Great Central No. unknown) is currently stored, dismantled after a stalled restoration attempt at the Richmond Vale Railway.

One of the Great Central Railway 8K Class is preserved on the Great Central Railway in Loughborough, England (number 63601) and has been restored to operations with help from Main Line Steam Trust and an appeal to the readers of Steam Railway magazine.

References

Bibliography

• Andrews, Brian R. (March/April 1979). "A History of the Former R.O.D. locomotives used on the Richmond Vale Railway". Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin: 49–68, 78–87. 
• Cotterell, Paul (1984). The Railways of Palestine and Israel. Tourret Publishing. ISBN 0-905878-04-3. 
• Hughes, Hugh (1981). Middle East Railways. Continental Railway Circle. ISBN 0-9503469-7-7. 
• Rowledge, J.W.P. (1977). Heavy Goods Engines of the War Department - Volume 1 - ROD 2-8-0. Springmead Railway Books. 

External links

• Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum
• Richmond Vale Railway Museum