NER 66 Aerolite

Aerolite

66 Aerolite preserved in the National Railway Museum

Type and origin Power type Steam

Specifications Configuration 2-2-2T, rebuilt as 4-2-2, rebuilt again as 2-2-4T Leading dia 3 ft 7 in (1.092 m) Driver diameter 5 ft 7 ^3⁄4 in (1.721 m) Trailing dia 3 ft 1 ^1⁄4 in (0.946 m) Wheelbase 20 ft 7 in (6.27 m) Length 32 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (9.970 m) Axle load 19.5 long tons (19.8 t; 21.8 short tons) Loco weight 44.95 long tons (45.67 t; 50.34 short tons) Fuel capacity 2.5 long tons (2.5 t; 2.8 short tons) Water cap 1,620 imp gal (7,400 l; 1,950 US gal) Firebox:  • Firegrate area 11 sq ft (1.0 m^2) Boiler 3 ft 9 ^3⁄4 in (1.162 m) diameter Boiler pressure 175 psi (1.21 MPa) Heating surface 766 sq ft (71.2 m^2)  • Tubes 701 sq ft (65.1 m^2)  • Firebox 65 sq ft (6.0 m^2) Cylinders 2 inside (1 HP 1 LP) High-pressure cylinder 13 in × 20 in (330 mm × 508 mm) Low-pressure cylinder 18.5 in × 20 in (470 mm × 510 mm) Valve gear Stephenson

Performance figures Tractive effort 6,390 lbf (28.4 kN)

Career Operators NER, LNER Class LNER: X1 Numbers 66 Official name Aerolite Retired 1933 Disposition Static display

North Eastern Railway (NER) No. 66 Aerolite is a preserved British steam locomotive. It was classified X1 by the LNER.

Aerolite was built in 1869 as a replacement for an engine of the same name built by Kitson's for the Great Exhibition in 1851 and which was destroyed in a collision in 1868. The engine, like its predecessor, was used to haul the Mechanical Engineer's saloon. Originally a 2-2-2WT well tank, side tanks were added 1886, and around this time it received the number 66.

In 1892 Aerolite was rebuilt into a 4-2-2, destroying much of the original engine. The well tank was removed, the side tanks expanded, and the two-cylinder Worsdell-von Borries compounding system applied. In 1902 it was again rebuilt into a 2-2-4T.

Aerolite was withdrawn in 1933 and preserved in 1934 at the LNER's York museum. It can be seen as a static exhibit at the National Railway Museum in York.

In fiction

An engine of this type is seen in the TV Series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, as the character Whiff. The character carries the number 66 just like the engine he is based on.

External links

• http://www.lner.info/locos/X/x1.shtml