The Great Northern Railway 0-4-2 Locomotive No. 551

[rogerfarnworth]

This is another of the locomotive drawings carried in 1964 by the Model Railway News magazine. ...

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/03/29/gr ... ve-no-551/

The Great Northern Railway recognised the value of 'mixed traffic' locomotives in the 19th century. Lindsay says that seventy five locos of this class were built. One source says that a total of 117 Class 18 locos were built. The Great Northern Railway Society says that 153 were built. The different sources seem to agree that fifty of the class were out-sourced from locomotive builders, the remainder were built in-house at the Great Northern's Doncaster works

[Bigmet]

The Stirling 0-4-2 mixed traffic type or 'luggage engines' were constructed in five groups, A, A2, A3 and A4. Aha I hear you say, but thats only four groups. Yes, but one of the groups was divided between Doncaster and outside contractors, and these latter constructed 'outside' were (very slightly) differently specified. My recollection of the number in class is that the final total in service was one short of the total listed as constructed. One lost in an accident possibly? Much digging in the company minutes probably required to resolve that...