British Rail Class ES1

North Eastern Railway Class ES1
NER No.1, Locomotion museum, Shildon
Power type	Electric
Builder	British Thomson-Houston, with mechanical parts sub-contracted to Brush, for North Eastern Railway
Build date	1903-1904 (contract signed with builders on 15 December 1902)
Total produced	2
Configuration	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	with pantograph lowered 12 ft 11 in (3.937 m); raised 15 ft 9 in (4.801 m)
Locomotive weight	56 tons (51 tonnes)
Electric system	600–630 V DC
Current collection method	Third rail or pantograph
Traction motors	British Thomson-Houston, 4 off
Top speed	27 mph (43 km/h)
Power output	640 bhp (477 kW)
Tractive effort	25,000 lbf (111.2 kN) 335t @ 14 mph
Train heating	None
Career	North Eastern Railway London and North Eastern Railway British Railways
Number	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

British Rail Class ES1 (Electric Shunting 1)^[1] was a class of two electric locomotives commissioned by the North Eastern Railway in 1902. They were of steeplecab design.

Both locomotives passed to the London and North Eastern Railway in 1923 and then to British Railways in 1948, but both were withdrawn before TOPS.

History

The North Eastern Railway was an enthusiastic and relatively early adopter of electric traction for railways. As part of a 1902 scheme to electrify the suburban railway networks in the Tyneside area, the NER's Chief Mechanical Engineer, Wilson Worsdell, also wished to electrify a 3/4 mile, horseshoe-shaped freight line that went from Trafalgar Yard in Manors to Newcastle Quayside Yard. Passing through three tunnels, this line had gradients as steep as 1:27 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 tons at 14 mph. The end-to-end journey on the branch was to be completed in 4.5 minutes.

The steeplecab electric locomotive was developed in the USA, and in 1900 General Electric and Thomson-Houston designed and built a locomotive of this type for the Milan-Varese railway in Italy, electrified at 650v DC using the 3rd 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 3rd rail and overhead operation: the Newcastle Quay branch used both systems—3rd rail in the tunnels, and overhead 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 to Brush 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 a wintry mornings. A few years later the bow pantographs originally fitted on their bonnets were removed, and a pantograph 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. The line was closed five years later.

Early photographs show the locomotives with "CLASS ELECTRIC 1" painted on the bufferbeams, but this does not appear in official records.^[2] In common with other LNER electric locomotives, no classification was given to these locomotives until 4 October 1945, when nos. 1 & 2 were classified ES1 (Electric Shunting 1).^[1] No. 1 exchanged numbers with class 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.^[3] On 14 June 1946, nos. 1 & 2 were renumbered to 6480/1; and under British Railways, they became nos. 26500/1 in April 1948.^[3]

Specification

• Numbers: (NER) 1-2; (LNER) 6480-6481; (BR) 26500-26501
• Wheel arrangement: Bo-Bo
• Introduced: 1905
• Builder: British Thomson-Houston, with mechanical parts sub-contracted to Brush, for North Eastern Railway
• Weight: 56 tons
• Motors: 4x160hp, British Thomson-Houston
• Total power: 640 hp (477 KW)
• Supply: 600V DC third-rail and overhead
• Max speed: 25 mph (according to the National Railway Museum, who also state this is unverified)

Preservation

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

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Boddy et al. 1990, p. 90.
2. ^ Hoole 1988, p. 9.
3. ^ ^{a b} Boddy et al. 1990, p. 91.

Sources

• The LNER Encyclopaedia on the ES 1

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