RMweb Gold Chris Chewter Posted September 2, 2010 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 2, 2010 On the bank holiday Monday, I got talking to someone who suggested that the 9F was one of the largest steam locos that ran on British rails. I suggested an LMS bayer garret was probably the biggest, but was told that it was an LMS Princess. Something to do with being measured in square feet? I got very confused at that point. So I thought I'd consult the wiseness of the forum to try to find out what is the largest steam loco that ever ran on British metals? And how is large measured? Any ideas? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 LNER Beyer Garratt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edcayton Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 Not surprisingly, it depends! If you accept that the "typical" British loading gauge puts a cap on height and width (and there are some exceptions), then the major criteria must be length and weight. Would an A3/A4 with two tenders count? I suspect that the LNER Garratt is probably the leading contender. Ed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted September 2, 2010 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 2, 2010 Thank goodnees we live in Britain, it's easy as said above the LNER Garratt which was trhe l;on gest, heaviest and most powerful in terms of tractive effort. The only reference to square feet but that usually relates to grate area in the firebox and my trusty Observers book of Locomotives isn't handy to check the statistics. In the US it gets complicated as there were several large locos some of which were heavier/longer more tractive effort etc which claimed the title there was also a complication in terms of weight between batches built pre war dn during the war when lightweight alloys weren't available. Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB-AU Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 Depends how you define "on British metals". The Chinese KF7 in NRM is 2t heavier than the LNER Beyer Garratt. Cheers David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 Depends how you define "on British metals". The Chinese KF7 in NRM is 2t heavier than the LNER Beyer Garratt. Depends on how you define "Biggest", 'cos in my book size aint got nutting to do with weight..... To put a spanner in the works, seeing as many of the worlds Beyer- Garratts were built at Gorton, Manchester, England, and were bigger than anything built for British railways, they would surely be put on British metals while awaiting trans-shipment to another country. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wobblybob Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 Last year I visited the former Beyer-Peacock erecting shop (now a Manchester City Council depot) and in places the rails are still visible. At the doorway where completed locos were rolled out into the yard part of the multi-gauge inset track is still visible - thoughtfully painted for emphasis by the council! So, the matter of 'biggest steam loco on British metals' may well be answered by the alternative question 'biggest loco built by Beyer-Peacock at Gorton'. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollywoodfoundry Posted September 4, 2010 Share Posted September 4, 2010 The type AD60 Beyer Garratt build at Gorton for the New South Wales Government Railways weighed in at 264 tons, whereas the LMS Garratt was around 155 tons, but whether the AD60 ever ran on 'British Metals' is unlikely as they were shipped in sections to Australia and assembled on arrival. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted September 4, 2010 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 4, 2010 As far as I know they were towed in sections to Liverpool docks by road often along the east lancs road. I don't know whterh they were routinely assembled and tested on the test track before shipping. Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Belgian Posted September 4, 2010 Share Posted September 4, 2010 Depends how you define "on British metals". The Chinese KF7 in NRM is 2t heavier than the LNER Beyer Garratt. Cheers David The OP actually specified "ran on British metals". Being posed on or towed along doesn't really count! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted September 4, 2010 Share Posted September 4, 2010 I take Belgians point, but I wondered if the prototype of each new Beyer-Garratt class was assembled and steam tested on a length of track outside Gorton Works? It seems logical. But of course in a literal sense of running on British metals, the LNER Garratt holds the honour of the largest. It ran in revenue service. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozzyo Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 I take Belgians point, but I wondered if the prototype of each new Beyer-Garratt class was assembled and steam tested on a length of track outside Gorton Works? It seems logical. But of course in a literal sense of running on British metals, the LNER Garratt holds the honour of the largest. It ran in revenue service. To take point, the L.N.E.R. Garratt was the heaviest (178t 1cwt, length 87'3'') but the L.M.S. Garratts were the longer (87'10'' weight 155t 10cwt.) of the two types of main line Garratts to run in Britan. F.S. with the two tenders may have been longer. OzzyO. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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