L&YR Class 23

L&YR Class 23

L&YR Aspinall Class 23 0-6-0ST 51524 in operation at Fleetwood Docks in August 1958

Type and origin Power type Steam Designer William Barton Wright Build date 1877 Total produced 230

Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 0-6-0ST Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Driver dia. 4 ft 6 in (1.37 m) Wheelbase 15 ft (4.6 m) Length 31 ft 2 1⁄4 in (9.506 m) Height 12 ft 2 1⁄4 in (3.715 m) Axle load 15 long tons 3 cwt (33,900 lb or 15.4 t) Loco weight 43 long tons 17 cwt (98,200 lb or 44.6 t) Fuel type coal Water cap 932 imp gal (4,240 l) Firebox:  • Firegrate area 19 1⁄4 sq ft (1.79 m2) Heating surface:  • Tubes 945 sq ft (87.8 m2)  • Firebox 97 sq ft (9.0 m2) Cylinders Two, inside Cylinder size 17 1⁄2 in × 26 in (444 mm × 660 mm)

Career Class L&YR: 23 Withdrawn 1926-1964 Disposition One preserved, remainder scrapped

The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) Class 23 is a class of 0-6-0ST steam locomotive. Their main use was for shunting and for short-trip freight working.

The Class 23 0-6-0ST locomotives were rebuilt at Horwich Works by Aspinall between 1891 and 1900, using the frames, wheels etc. from earlier Barton Wright 0-6-0 tender engines, built 1876-1887. 230 were so converted.

The class was long-lived. The first loco was withdrawn in 1926 by the London Midland and Scottish Railway, but the last survived in use until 1964 with British Railways London Midland Region. 101 were in service at Nationalisation, 20 still in service in 1961.

One locomotive, L&YR 752 (LMS 11456), is now preserved, having been sold to the NCB for continued operation and as of October 2012^[update] is nearing the end of an overhaul to bring it back to working order by its owners, The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Trust, a Registered Charity reg no 1002627.