Rarely seen LMS Garratt banking engine in 1947. None of these survived.

http://abpr.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi?j ... l_1947.jpg

http://abpr.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi?j ... c_1947.jpg

1935 photo:

http://abpr.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi?j ... y_1935.jpg

Not LMS - LNER. The LMS Beyer-Garratts were 2-6-0+0-6-2 wheel arrangement. The class had 33 locos.

This machine was LNER class U1, the only one. The wheel arrangement was 2-8-0+0-8-2 and it was the UK's largest steam loco. Built in 1925 it had three cylinders on each power bogie using Gresley conjugated drive for the inside cylinder.

As the captions indicate it was used for about 25 years as a helper loco on the 1 in 40 gradient between Wentworth Junction and West Silkstone Junction (known as "Worsborough bank"), a distance of 3.5 miles.

This was part of the former Great Central Railway route from Wath yard in south Yorkshire across the Pennines via Woodhead tunnel to Lancashire.
It handled heavy coal traffic. Before the Garratt was introduced the usual power on Worsborough bank was four (ex GCR) LNER O4 class 2-8-0 locos, one leading and three at the rear. After 1925 the formation was O4, train, O4, Garratt. At West Silkstone Junction the Garratt, which was not coupled to the train, dropped off. The train went forward to Dunford Bridge (the entrance to the 3 mile long Woodhead tunnel) with a 2-8-0 at front and rear. Here the trailing detached.

In 1949 the U1 was tested on the Lickey incline (1 in 37.7, south of Birmingham on the former LMS route to Bristol). It was not a success and it returned home. After electrification of the Worsborough bank in 1952 the loco was stored. Converted to oil firing a few tests were done, the loco was then stored until June 1955 when it returned to service on the Lickey. Still unsuccessful it was again stored that September. It was codemned in December 1955 and cut up at Doncaster works.