WD Austerity 2-10-0
90775 on theNorth Norfolk Railway
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer R. A. Riddles Builder North British Locomotive Company Serial number 25436–25535, 25596–25645 Build date 1943–1945 Total produced 150
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 2-10-0  • UIC 1′E h2 Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge Leading dia. 2 ft 9 in (838 mm) Driver dia. 4 ft8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Length 67 ft6+1⁄4 in (20.58 m) over buffers Axle load 13 long tons 9 cwt (30,100 lb or 13.7 t) Adhesive weight 67 long tons 3 cwt (150,400 lb or 68.2 t) full Loco weight 78 long tons 6 cwt (175,400 lb or 79.6 t) full Tender weight 55 long tons 10 cwt (124,300 lb or 56.4 t) full Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 9 long tons 0 cwt (20,200 lb or 9.1 t) Water cap. 5,000 imp gal (23,000 L; 6,000 US gal) Firebox: ​  • Grate area 40 sq ft (3.7 m2) Boiler pressure 225 lbf/in2 (1.55 MPa) Heating surface: ​  • Firebox 192 sq ft (17.8 m2)  • Tubes 1,170 sq ft (109 m2)  • Flues 589 sq ft (54.7 m2) Superheater: ​  • Heating area 423 sq ft (39.3 m2) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 19 in × 28 in (483 mm × 711 mm) Valve gear Walschaerts Valve type 10-inch (250 mm)piston valves
Performance figures Tractive effort 34,215 lbf (152.20 kN)
Career Operators WD »NS,BR,SEK,CFS Power class BR: 8F Disposition Eight total preserved or extant (Three in the UK, four in Greece, and one in the Netherlands) remainder scrapped

TheWar Department (WD)"Austerity" 2-10-0 is a type of heavy freightsteam locomotive that was introduced during theSecond World War in 1943.

The Austerity 2-10-0 was based on theAusterity 2-8-0, and was designed to have interchangeable parts byR.A. Riddles. It had the same power output as the 2-8-0 but a lighteraxle load, making it suitable for secondary lines.^[1]

It had a parallel boiler andround-topped firebox. While the 2-8-0 had a narrow firebox, the 2-10-0 had a wide firebox placed above the driving wheels. This arrangement was common in the United States (e.g. theUSRA 0-8-0) but unusual in Britain, where wide fireboxes were usually used only where there was a trailing bogie, e.g. in4-4-2 and4-6-2 types. These were the first2-10-0 locomotives to work in Great Britain, and the first major class of ten-coupled engines — they had been preceded by two0-10-0 locomotives; theGreat Eastern Railway'sDecapod and theMidland Railway'sLickey Banker. The 2-10-0 wheel arrangement was later used by Riddles when he designed theBR Standard Class 9F. This, too, had a wide firebox placed above the driving wheels.

Two batches were built by theNorth British Locomotive Company, the first batch of 100 introduced in 1943/1944 and the second batch of 50 in 1945. Their WD Nos were 3650–3749 (later 73650–73749), and 73750–73799.

20 of the first batch were sent to theMiddle East. During running-in they worked in Britain, but their length made them unsuitable. Most saw service with theBritish Army in France afterD-Day in thedrive towards the Siegfried Line.^[2]

After the war the 150 locomotives were distributed as follows, the majority going to theNetherlands:

In 1946, theNetherlands bought those in continental Europe. They formed theNS 5000 class, and were numbered 5001–103. They had a short working life, the last being withdrawn in 1952. 5085, ex WD 73755, the one-thousandth British built locomotive to be shipped to Europe after D-Day, was namedLongmoor and subsequently preserved in theUtrecht railway museum.

After the war, theBritish Railways (BR) bought twenty-five locomotives. These were initially numbered 73774-73798 but later re-numbered 90750–74. They were mostly operated by BR'sScottish Region on heavy freight trains and were all withdrawn between 1961 and 1962.

• 
  ex-WD 2-10-0 No. 73798 'North British' stands at Motherwell Depot in 1948
• 
  BR Scottish Region WD 2-10-0 90768 atMotherwell motive power depot in 1958
• 
  WD 2-10-0 WD 601 "Kitchener" at Carlisle Kingmoor BR shed in 1958. Note air pumps, headlight and nameplate

Sixteen of the twenty Middle East locomotives went toGreece, where they formedClass Λβ of theHellenic State Railways, numbered Λβ951 to Λβ966.

The remaining 4 Middle East locomotives remained in Syria and operated on theChemins de Fer Syriens (CFS). These engines formed theCFS Class 150.6.

In the 1952 WD renumbering scheme, the two remaining in WD service (at theLongmoor Military Railway), Nos. 73651 and 73797, were renumbered 600 and 601 respectively. The also received names: 600Gordon and 601Kitchener.

LMR 600 Gordon has survived and has been steamed on theSevern Valley Railway, though as of 2022^[update] it is out of service, cosmetically restored and on display in the Engine House.

Two more have been repatriated fromGreece. One has been numbered 90775, one higher than the last BR engine, and has carried the nameSturdee^[a] (as WD/LMR No. 601 before being numbered 90775) and is operational onNorth Norfolk Railway where it has now been renamedThe Royal Norfolk Regiment as of 2022.^[3] The other is WD No. (7)3672 which has been namedDame Vera Lynn. The loco is currently being overhaul at Grosmont on theNYMR.

The fourth one in preservation WD 73755 (NS 5085) survives in theDutch Railway Museum (Nederlands Spoorwegmuseum) inUtrecht. It carries the nameplateLongmoor, after theRoyal Engineers base atLongmoor, with the coat of arms of theRoyal Engineers above.

Four locomotives remain in various states in Greece with Λβ962 and Λβ964 operating mainline tours on theDrama to Xanthi line. Other locomotives remain in poor states stored awaiting further use.

Of the eight surviving members of the class, three have run on the main line: nos. 600Gordon, 73677 & 73682.Gordon appeared at the Rail 150 celebrations in August 1975 and traveled to Shildon and later returned to the SVR under its own steam, in 1980 it travelled under its own power toBold Colliery to take part in the locomotive parade at Rocket 150 inRainhill. Due to the class's flangeless centre driving wheels, there is a concern that the raised check rails on modern pointwork might cause a derailment, so the class (alongside other 2-10-0 locomotives) are presently prohibited from operating on the mainline inGreat Britain.

73677 and 73682 have both worked on the national network inGreece, but neither are presently operational.

• BR ex-WD Austerity 2-10-0 - locomotives taken into LNER/BR ownership
• WD Austerity 2-8-0 - locomotives of similar design

Wikimedia Commons has media related toWD Austerity 2-10-0.

• Boddy, M. G.; Brown, W. A.; Neve, E.;Yeadon, W. B. (November 1983). Fry, E. V. (ed.).Locomotives of the L.N.E.R., Part 6B: Tender Engines—Classes O1 to P2. Kenilworth:RCTS.ISBN 0-901115-54-1.
• Tourret, R. (1995).Allied Military Locomotives of the Second World War. Abingdon, Oxon: Tourret Publishing.ISBN 0-905878-06-X.
• Rowledge, J. W. P.Heavy Goods Engines of the War Department: Vol. 3 – Austerity 2-8-0 and 2-10-0.

• WD Austerity 2-10-0
• 2-10-0 locomotives
• War Department locomotives
• NBL locomotives
• Railway locomotives introduced in 1943
• Standard-gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain
• Freight locomotives
• 1′E h2 locomotives

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