If you register, you can do a lot more. And become an active part of our growing community. You'll have access to hidden forums, and enjoy the ability of replying and starting conversations.

Austerity Saddle Tank locos - Name?

Discussion in 'Steam Traction' started by Corbs, Oct 20, 2014.

  1. Corbs

    Corbs Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2008
    Messages:
    1,714
    Likes Received:
    727
    Heya, I found myself idly wondering, does anyone know if Hunslet had an 'official' name for the WD 0-6-0ST locos, like the 50550 and 48150 classes that preceded it, or was 'Austerity' the official name used by the company?
    I've always thought that 'Austerity' is such an odd name to give to a class.
    Thanks
    C
     
  2. Miff

    Miff Part of the furniture Friend

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2008
    Messages:
    2,857
    Likes Received:
    2,793
    Last edited: Oct 20, 2014
    Corbs likes this.
  3. Fred Kerr

    Fred Kerr Resident of Nat Pres Friend

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2006
    Messages:
    8,239
    Likes Received:
    5,250
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Freelance photo - journalist
    Location:
    Southport
    If memory serves correct the Austerity was officially Hunslet 50555 class but because the design was also built by other builders due to the need for speedy construction the official name of "Austerities" (from Austerity build) was adopted. If my memory serves correct the HE2411 - 17 batch were to the 50550 design and intended for an East Midlands Quarry project that failed to materialise and, as the latest Hunslet design, was adopted as the basis for the new simpler design for the WD
     
    Corbs likes this.
  4. oddsocks

    oddsocks Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2009
    Messages:
    1,813
    Likes Received:
    289
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired / Dodging a Coffin for as long as I can.
    Location:
    Half a mile east of Snells Nook Halt. (1883-1931)
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    In my old Ian Allan book they are described as "Riddles Ministry of Supply Design".
     
    Corbs likes this.
  5. Corbs

    Corbs Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2008
    Messages:
    1,714
    Likes Received:
    727
    Thank you very much for the replies, interesting that for the external builders a name instead of number as a class designation was adopted, but to know that the original name was 50555 makes a lot of sense.
     
  6. richards

    richards Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Oct 1, 2008
    Messages:
    4,634
    Likes Received:
    1,921
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    London
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Just don't mention the 'J' word. I used it once but I think I got away with it. Nobody reads my posts anyway.






    Hello?
     
    Jamessquared likes this.
  7. Miff

    Miff Part of the furniture Friend

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2008
    Messages:
    2,857
    Likes Received:
    2,793
    No-one seems to have mentioned that just about everyone, except for a few pedants, called them J94s. :)
     
  8. Corbs

    Corbs Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2008
    Messages:
    1,714
    Likes Received:
    727
  9. Steve

    Steve Resident of Nat Pres Friend

    Joined:
    Oct 7, 2006
    Messages:
    11,930
    Likes Received:
    10,088
    Occupation:
    Gentleman of leisure, nowadays
    Location:
    Near Leeds
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Most people I know call them Austerities. Perhaps I move in better circles.......:D
     
  10. Reading General

    Reading General Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    May 18, 2011
    Messages:
    6,081
    Likes Received:
    2,217
    Miff doesn't anyway!
     
    Jamessquared likes this.
  11. Miff

    Miff Part of the furniture Friend

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2008
    Messages:
    2,857
    Likes Received:
    2,793
    No doubt you do! Nowadays 'Bucket' is often heard too and J94 rarely - I conceed.
     
  12. Miff

    Miff Part of the furniture Friend

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2008
    Messages:
    2,857
    Likes Received:
    2,793
    H.A. Gamble's IRS 1969 article titled The 18in Hunslets lists the three distinct classes, the '48150' (introduced 1937); the '50550' (1941) and the 'Austerity' (1943) and goes into some detail about the development of these 18in designs and the differences between them. http://www.irsociety.co.uk/Archives/23/18in_Hunslets.htm

    I hope someday to read Don Townsley's history of the Hunslet Engine Co. I wonder if he said anything about the Austerity name.
     
    Last edited: Oct 22, 2014
  13. ragl

    ragl Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 3, 2010
    Messages:
    1,749
    Likes Received:
    1,637
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Consultant Engineer
    Location:
    Shropshire
    good morning Miff,

    In his book, Don Townsley refers to the locomotive as "Austerity" . He summarised the Austerity as being an amalgam of the 48150 and the later 50550 classes and both the latter types being a development of Hunslet 1506, which was an 18" side tank locomotive that was sold to John Bowes & Partners for the Pontop & Jarrow Railway in 1930. Despite references to the contrary, there was very little of R. Riddles in the Hunslet Austerity.

    Cheers

    Alan
     
    Miff likes this.
  14. Fred Kerr

    Fred Kerr Resident of Nat Pres Friend

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2006
    Messages:
    8,239
    Likes Received:
    5,250
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Freelance photo - journalist
    Location:
    Southport
    Sadly not - a quick perusal of my copy identifies the concept and the elements (i.e. which design parts from earlier classes were drafted into the final design) but doesn't identify how or why they were classified "Austerities" - possibly the same problem as the 90700-732 + 90750 - 774 BR series being simply called "WD /Dub-Dee".
     
    Miff likes this.
  15. Miff

    Miff Part of the furniture Friend

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2008
    Messages:
    2,857
    Likes Received:
    2,793
    I wonder if the name, if little else, came from Riddles. As the Gamble article states the design was initiated at a Ministry of Supply conference. Riddles was Director of Transportation Equipment at the MoS and his 2-8-0 and 2-10-0 Austerity locos also appeared in 1943.
     
  16. Quite right they are almost entirely a Hunslet design which because of demand were farmed out to many other builders to complete the number required. The Austerity bit simply comes from the need for a cheap war engine produced with whatever materials were available in those austere days.

    You can see quite a number of the Hunslet's on

    http://steammemories.blogspot.co.uk/
     
    Corbs likes this.
  17. 45581

    45581 Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2007
    Messages:
    3,120
    Likes Received:
    652
    Nobody's mentioned the nickname 'Bed irons' yet on this thread or was it just a local West Riding term?
     
  18. david1984

    david1984 Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Sep 13, 2005
    Messages:
    12,910
    Likes Received:
    1,387
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Birmingham

    J94!



    *runs for cover*
     
  19. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
    Messages:
    26,106
    Likes Received:
    57,445
    Location:
    LBSC 215
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    An earlier use of the term was the Bulleid Q1.

    The original design remit to the drawing office from Bulleid and CS Cocks included the following (in 1941):

    "(3) Aim at a weight of 51 tons [...] and make a virtue out of necessity by (a) extending weight-saving techniques [...] and (b) eliminating all non-essentials, remembering the shortage of materials and applying austerity." [Original emphasis].

    Subsequently, when the locomotives were introduced the SR press office stressed the austerity angle, which was duly reported in the press. The SR also produced New Year greeting cards for 1943 that used the term. It was only after that that the word became associated with the Riddles 2-8-0s.

    Tom
     
    Miff likes this.
  20. mickpop

    mickpop Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2010
    Messages:
    6,408
    Likes Received:
    5,603
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Cheshire
     

Share This Page