North Eastern Railway

North Eastern Railway (UK)

The North Eastern Railway , was an English railway company. It was incorporated in 1854, when four existing companies were combined, and was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923...

 (NER) No. 66 Aerolite is a preserved British steam locomotive. It was classified X1 by the LNER.

Aerolite was built in 1869 as a replacement for an engine of the same name built by Kitson's for the Great Exhibition in 1851 and which was destroyed in a collision in 1868. The engine, like its predecessor, was used to haul the Mechanical Engineer's saloon. Originally a 2-2-2WT

2-2-2

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-2-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle two powered driving wheels on one axle, and two trailing wheels on one axle. The wheel arrangement both provided more stability and enabled a larger firebox...

 well tank, side tanks were added 1886, and around this time it received the number 66.

In 1892 Aerolite was rebuilt into a 4-2-2

4-2-2

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

, destroying much of the original engine. The well tank was removed, the side tanks expanded, and the two-cylinder 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....

 compounding

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...

 system applied. In 1902 it was again rebuilt into a 2-2-4T.

Aerolite was withdrawn in 1933 and preserved in 1934 at the LNER's York

York

York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

 museum. It can be seen as a static exhibit at the National Railway Museum

National Railway Museum

The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001...

 in York.

In fiction

An engine of this type is seen in the TV Series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends

Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends

Thomas and Friends is a British children's television series, first broadcast on the ITV network in September 1984. Until 2003, it was named Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. This series was shot on 35mm film...

, as the character Whiff. The character carries the number 66 just like the engine he is based on.

External links

• http://www.lner.info/locos/X/x1.shtml