North Eastern Railway Class ES1
NER No.1, Locomotion museum, Shildon
Type and origin Power type Electric Builder British Thomson-Houston, with mechanical parts sub-contracted toBrush, forNorth Eastern Railway Build date 1903–1904 (contract signed with builders on 15 December 1902) Total produced 2
Specifications Configuration: ​  • UIC Bo′Bo′  • Commonwealth Bo-Bo Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge Wheel diameter 3 ft 0 in (0.914 m) Wheelbase 27 ft 0 in (8.230 m) Length 37 ft 11 in (11.557 m) Height Pantograph lowered: 12 ft 11 in (3.937 m) Pantograph raised: 15 ft 9 in (4.801 m) Loco weight 56 long tons (57 tonnes; 63 short tons) Electric system/s 600–630VDC,Third rail orcatenary Current pickup(s) Contact shoe orpantograph Traction motors British Thomson-Houston, 4 off Train heating None
Performance figures Maximum speed 27 mph (43 km/h) Power output 640 bhp (477 kW) Tractive effort 25,000 lbf (111.2 kN) 335 t (330 long tons; 369 short tons) @ 14 mph (23 km/h)
Career Operators North Eastern Railway London and North Eastern Railway British Railways Numbers NER: 1–2 LNER 1–2, later 6480–6481 BR: 26500–26501 Axle load class Route availability 2 First run 1905 Retired 1964 Disposition No. 1 preserved, No. 2 scrapped in 1966

The NERClass ES1 (Electric Shunting 1)^[1] was a class of twosteeplecabelectric locomotives commissioned by theNorth Eastern Railway in 1902.

Both locomotives passed to theLondon and North Eastern Railway in 1923 and then toBritish Railways in 1948, but both were withdrawn beforeTOPS numbers could be applied.

TheNorth Eastern Railway was an enthusiastic and relatively early adopter ofelectric traction for railways. As part of a 1902 scheme to electrify the suburban railway networks in theTyneside area, the NER's Chief Mechanical Engineer,Wilson Worsdell, also wished to electrify a3⁄4-mile (1.2 km),horseshoe-shaped freight line that went from Trafalgar Yard inManors toNewcastle Quayside Yard. Passing through threetunnels, this line hadgradients as steep as 1:27 (3.70 %) and a number of sharp curves: it presented a formidable challenge for steam traction. Working conditions inside the tunnels were atrocious because the locomotives had to work exceptionally hard to manage the gradients which meant they produced vast quantities of choking fumes that could not disperse from the tunnels; the sparks they produced were a constant fire risk to the flammable packing materials in the yards. Electrification was the obvious answer.

The specification for new electric locomotives demanded that they be able to start a train of 150 tons on the steepest gradient, while on the level they were expected to be able to haul 300 long tons (305 t; 336 short tons) at 14 mph (23 km/h). The end-to-end journey on the branch was to be completed in 4.5 minutes.

In 1900,General Electric (GE) andThomson-Houston designed and builtsteeplecab-type locomotive for theMilan-Varese railway in Italy, electrified at 650VDC using thethird rail system. That railway opened in 1901, and the locomotive design proved successful. The North Eastern Railway's ES1s were derived from that American design, although they were designed from the start for both third rail and overhead operation: the Newcastle Quay branch used both systems—third rail in the tunnels, andoverhead lines on the rest of the line.

A contract was signed with the British Thomson-Houston company on 15 December 1902, for delivery by the end of the following year. British Thomson-Houston sub-contracted the mechanical parts toBrush Electrical Engineering Co.

The electrified line was operational from 5 June 1905, and in the following year both locomotives performed exceptionally well. In 1906, they were fitted with electric heaters, the men having complained they were too cold on wintry mornings. A few years later, thebow collectors originally fitted on their bonnets were removed and apantograph installed on the roof instead. With few other changes, they remained in operation until the line was de-electrified and they were replaced with diesel locomotives on 29 February 1964.^[2] The line was closed five years later.

Early photographs show the locomotives with "CLASS ELECTRIC 1" painted on thebufferbeams, but this does not appear in official records.^[3] In common with other LNER electric locomotives, no classification was given to these locomotives until 4 October 1945, when Nos. 1 and 2 were classified ES1 (Electric Shunting 1).^[1] No. 1 exchanged numbers withClass D3 steam locomotive No. 4075 on 30 September 1944, but after the steam locomotive was again renumbered (to no. 2000), the electric locomotive was able to resume its original number on 24 October 1944.^[4] On 14 June 1946, Nos. 1 and 2 were renumbered to 6480/1; and underBritish Railways, they became Nos. 26500/1 in April 1948.^[4]

From 1968, ES1 (number 26500 under British Rail's number scheme) was transferred to Leicester Railway Museum. After that closed, in 1977 it was taken into the National Collection of theNational Railway Museum, and is currently on display atLocomotion, Shildon.

• SNCF BB 1280, contemporary design, originally built for theCompagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans, also deriving from GE design

Wikimedia Commons has media related toLNER Class ES1.

• The LNER Encyclopaedia on the ES 1
• Hoole, K. (1988).The Electric Locomotives of the North Eastern Railway. Headington: Oakwood Press.ISBN 0-85361-367-2. Locomotion Papers LP167.
• Boddy, M.G.; Fry, E.V.; Hennigan, W.;Hoole, Ken; Mallaband, Peter; Neve, E.; Price, J.H.; Proud, P.;Yeadon, W.B. (April 1990). Fry, E.V. (ed.).Locomotives of the L.N.E.R., part 10B: Railcars and Electric Stock. Lincoln:RCTS.ISBN 0-901115-66-5.

• North Eastern Railway locomotives
• British Rail electric locomotives
• Bo-Bo locomotives
• Railway locomotives introduced in 1903
• 600 V DC locomotives
• London and North Eastern Railway electric locomotives
• Standard-gauge locomotives of Great Britain
• Steeplecab locomotives

• Articles with short description
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• Use British English from March 2017
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