The Northern Counties Committee (NCC) Class S1 was a class of two-cylinder compound

Compound locomotive

A compound engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages.A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure cylinder, then having given up heat and losing pressure, it exhausts directly into one or more larger...

 2-4-2

2-4-2

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-4-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle...

T steam locomotive

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

s that was introduced for service on the 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railways of County Antrim

County Antrim

County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...

 in north-east Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. The members of the class were rebuilds of the BNCR Class S

BNCR Class S

The Belfast and Northern Counties Railway Class S was a class of 2-4-2T two-cylinder compound steam locomotives that was introduced for service on the 3ft narrow gauge railways of County Antrim in north-east Ireland.- History :...

.

History

The Class S1 was a class of two locomotives that were rebuilt by the LMS (NCC)

Northern Counties Committee

The Northern Counties Committee was a railway that served the north-east of Ireland. It was built to Irish gauge but later acquired a number of narrow gauge lines...

 from BNCR Class S Worsdell

Thomas William Worsdell

Thomas William Worsdell was a British locomotive engineer. He was born in Liverpool into a Quaker family.-Family:...

-von Borries

August von Borries

August Friedrich Wilhelm von Borries was one of Germany's most influential railway engineers, who was primarily concerned with developments in steam locomotives....

 two-cylinder compound locomotive

Compound locomotive

A compound engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages.A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure cylinder, then having given up heat and losing pressure, it exhausts directly into one or more larger...

s. They had outside cylinders and Walschaerts valve gear with the smaller diameter high-pressure cylinder on the left and the larger low-pressure one on the right.

The rebuilding was carried out to increase the coal capacity by fitting a bunker behind the cab. This was accommodated by increasing the length of the radial truck, the wheelbase and overall length of the locomotives by two feet. On the modified engines the coal capacity was nominally unaltered at one long ton but the bunker enabled their footplates to be kept free from coal and improved working conditions in the rather cramped cabs. The weight was increased by 1 long ton 3 cwt (2600 lb (1.2 t)).

No.101 (ex-113) was rebuilt as Class S1 in 1928 and No.102 (ex-112) was rebuilt in 1930.

No.101 was renumbered No.41 in June 1939 and spent most of its later career on the Ballycastle line. During the harsh winter of 1947, No.41 famously became stuck in a snow drift between Capecastle

Capecastle

Capecastle or Cape Castle is a small village and townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, between Armoy and Ballycastle.-Transport:Capecastle railway station opened on 1 February 1882, closed for goods traffic in 1927, and finally closed altogether on 3 July 1950...

 and Armoy

Armoy

Armoy is a small village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is 9 km southwest of Ballycastle and 13 km northeast of Ballymoney. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 414 people. The village is on the River Bush between two of the nine Glens of Antrim; Glenshesk and Glentaisie...

 while working the afternoon up train to Ballymena on 12 March. Passengers and train crew spent the night in the guard's van (which had a stove) and while the passengers were rescued by a relief train on the following day, it was not until two days later that No.41 and her train were finally freed from the snow drifts.

No.102 also worked for a while on the Ballycastle line before spending its last years working between Larne

Larne

Larne is a substantial seaport and industrial market town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a population of 18,228 people in the 2001 Census. As of 2011, there are about 31,000 residents in the greater Larne area. It has been used as a seaport for over 1,000 years, and is...

 and Ballyclare

Ballyclare

Ballyclare is a small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,770 people in the 2001 Census...

 paper mill. It was renumbered No.42 in March 1942. Nos 41 and 42 were scrapped in February 1954.

Technical details

When starting a locomotive from rest, a simpling valve was opened which admitted steam directly from the boiler to the low pressure cylinder as well as the high pressure one. Not only did this provide maximum tractive effort when starting but also avoided problems that might arise if the high pressure piston was in a dead centre position. Once moving, the simpling valve was closed and the locomotive continued in compound operation.

LMS (NCC)

After rebuilding to Class S1, Nos.101 and 102 were outshopped in LMS livery. They were painted in LMS maroon. The smokebox was black and the buffer beam was red. The LMS (NCC) crest was carried on the cab side-sheet. The initials "NCC" were sited on the side tanks in shaded serif gold capitals, placed ahead of the number plates. The number plate backgrounds were painted red. The lining was as follows:

Panel:	maroon
⅜in line:	yellow ochre	square corners
2½-3in band:	black	square corners
Edge

During World War II, the engines were painted unlined black. Only the red buffer beams and number plate backgrounds relieved the somber effect.

UTA

Under the Ulster Transport Authority

Ulster Transport Authority

The Ulster Transport Authority ran rail and bus transport in Northern Ireland from 1948 until 1966.-Formation and consolidation:The UTA was formed by the Transport Act 1948, which merged the Northern Ireland Road Transport Board and the Belfast and County Down Railway...

, the narrow-gauge engines, for which there was no long term future, continued in the unrelieved black wartime colour scheme. This was eventually enlivened on Nos.41 (ex-101) and 42 (ex-102) by vermilion and yellow lining:

Panel:	black
⅜in line:	vermilion	square corners
1in band:	black	square corners
¼in line:	yellow	square corners

The UTA roundel, 14 inches (355.6 mm) in diameter, with "Ulster Transport" in orange block capitals, lined in red, surrounding a white shield bearing the red hand of Ulster

Ulster

Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...

, all on a mid-green background, was placed in the middle of the side tanks, in line with the dome

Steam dome

A Steam dome is a vessel fitted to the top of the boiler of a steam locomotive. It contains the opening to the main steam pipe and its purpose is to allow this opening to be kept well above the water level in the boiler...

, on Nos.41 and 42.