NER 708 Class

The NER 708 Class was a class of 0-6-0 freight steam locomotive of the North Eastern Railway, designed by Edward Fletcher in 1870. A total of seventy-of the class were built for the NER.

NER 708 class
708 Class
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Edward Fletcher Builder Robert Stephenson & Co. (50) R and W Hawthorn (20) Serial number RSC: 1961–1980, 2021–2050 RWH: 1521–1540 Build date 1870–1873 Total produced 70
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 0-6-0  • UIC C n2 Driver dia. 5 ft 0 in (1,524 mm) Boiler 4 ft 3 in (1.30 m) diameter Boiler pressure 140 psi (0.97 MPa) Heating surface 1,138 sq ft (105.7 m2) Cylinders 2 (inside) Cylinder size 17 in × 24 in (432 mm × 610 mm) Valve gear Stephenson
Career Operators North Eastern Railway Withdrawn 1903–1911 Disposition all scrapped

History

The NER experienced a large increase in the volume of long-distance freight traffic from Newcastle and Darlington to York and Leeds during the late 1860s. Edward Fletcher therefore introduced a class of 0-6-0 freight locomotives with outside sandwich frames for this work. These were later classified by Wilson Worsdell as the 708 class, which was the first NER class to be built in large numbers.

The first fifty locomotives were built at Newcastle by Robert Stephenson and Company (works numbers 1961–1980 and 2021–2050) between June 1870 and December 1871. These were numbered 706–755. As the class proved to be successful a further twenty were ordered from R and W Hawthorn (works numbers 1521–1540) and introduced between January 1872 and April 1873 (numbers 756–775).

During 1872, Fletcher began to build an inside framed version of the class, with the NER 398 Class. Nevertheless, the locomotives continued to provide useful service until their withdrawal between 1903 and 1911.

Accidents and incidents

Two locomotives from the class suffered from boiler explosions. No. 737 in September 1879 and No. 746 in January 1880. Both locomotives were subsequently repaired and returned to service.

Sources

• Baxter, Bertram (1986). Baxter, David (ed.). British Locomotive Catalogue 1825–1923, Volume 5A: North Eastern Railway, Hull and Barnsley Railway. Ashbourne, Derbyshire: Moorland Publishing Company. ISBN 0-903485-54-0.
• Nock, O.S. (1974). Locomotives of the North Eastern Railway. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0493-5-.