GER Class 527

GER Class 527
Class 527 No. 530
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer William Adams Builder Neilson & Co. Build date 1878–1879 Total produced 15
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 2-6-0  • UIC 1′C n2 Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Driver dia. 4 ft 10 in (1.473 m) Loco weight 46 long tons 10 cwt (104,200 lb or 47.2 t) Fuel type Coal Firebox: ​  • Grate area 17.8 sq ft (1.65 m2) Boiler pressure 140 psi (0.97 MPa) Heating surface 1,393 sq ft (129.4 m2) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 19 in × 26 in (480 mm × 660 mm)
Career Operators Great Eastern Railway Numbers 527–541 Nicknames Mogul Withdrawn 1885–1887 Disposition All scrapped

The GER Class 527 was a class of fifteen 2-6-0 steam tender locomotives designed by William Adams for the Great Eastern Railway. This was the last design that Adams prepared for the GER, although they did not enter service until his successor Massey Bromley had taken office and incorporated some modifications to the design.

Overview

In order to haul heavier trains and compete for the coal traffic into London, the GER asked William Adams to design a locomotive capable of hauling a train of 400 long tons net (700 tons gross).

Prototype

Tests were carried out with 265 class 4-4-0s to ensure that such trailing loads were feasible, followed by a prototype 2-6-0 number 527. Number 527 was the first locomotive in Britain to use the 2-6-0 wheel arrangement, and was named Mogul after the Great Moguls of Delhi, the epithet becoming the generic name for locomotives with that wheel arrangement.

Numbering

As was the GER's practice for locomotives built by outside contractors, the class was referred to by the number of the first locomotive, subsequent locos being numbered sequentially up to 541.

Performance

They were used on coal trains from Peterborough to London, but were found uneconomic, and so had short lives, being withdrawn between 1885 and 1887.