Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST

Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST

Hunslet 0-6-0ST Austerity WD198 'Royal Engineer' runs round her train at Wootton on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway

Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Hunslet Engine Company Builder Hunslet Engine Company, Andrew Barclay Sons & Co. (15), W. G. Bagnall (52), Hudswell Clarke (50), Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns (90), Vulcan Foundry (50) Build date 1943–1964 Total produced 485

Specifications Configuration 0-6-0ST UIC class Cn t Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Driver dia. 4 ft 3 in (1.295 m) Minimum curve 180 ft (54.86 m) Wheelbase 11 ft 0 in (3.35 m) Length 30 ft 4 in (9.25 m) Axle load 13 long tons 7 cwt (29,900 lb or 13.6 t) 13 long tons 7 hundredweight (15.0 short tons; 13.6 t) Loco weight 48 long tons 5 cwt (108,100 lb or 49 t) 48 long tons 5 hundredweight (54.0 short tons; 49.0 t) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 2 long tons 5 cwt (5,000 lb or 2.3 t) 2 long tons 5 hundredweight (2.5 short tons; 2.3 t) Water cap 1,200 imp gal (5,500 l; 1,400 US gal) Firebox:  • Firegrate area 16.8 sq ft (1.56 m2) Boiler Round top outer firebox, 181 tubes, copper or steel inner firebox Boiler pressure 170 psi (1.17 MPa) Heating surface:  • Tubes 873 sq ft (81.1 m2)  • Firebox 88 sq ft (8.2 m2) Superheater None Cylinders Two, inside Cylinder size 18 in × 26 in (457 mm × 660 mm) Valve gear Stephenson Valve type Slide valves

Performance figures Tractive effort 23,870 lbf (106.18 kN)

Career Power class BR: 4F Nicknames Austerity Retired 1959–1967 for BR examples Disposition 70 preserved, remainder scrapped

The Hunslet Engine Company Austerity 0-6-0ST is a steam locomotive designed for shunting. The class became the standard British shunting locomotive during the Second World War, and production continued until 1964 at various locomotive manufacturers.

The 48150 class were built for the Guest Keen Baldwins Iron & Steel Company in 1937, being an enlarged version of a design dating from 1923. These developed into the 50550 class of 1941–42, with various modifications.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, the War Department had initially chosen the LMS 'Jinty' 3F 0-6-0T as its standard shunting locomotive, but was persuaded by Hunslet that a simplified version of their more modern 50550 design would be more suitable. The first locomotive was completed at their Leeds works at the start of 1943.

Hunslet subcontracted some of the construction to Andrew Barclay Sons & Co., W. G. Bagnall, Hudswell Clarke, Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns and the Vulcan Foundry in order to meet delivery requirements.

After D-Day they were used on Continental Europe and in North Africa as well as at docks and military sites in Britain.

A total of 377 had been built for the War Department by 1947 (on orders placed during the war), with two further engines having been built for collieries (without the permission of the Ministry of Supply). When the end of the war reduced the need for locomotives, the military started to review its fleet: