‘No. 417 Class’ 0-6-0 1867-1869

417-476

GERS Collection 798 0125

These fifty 0-6-0s for goods work were the progenitors of those that Johnson was later to construct for the Midland Railway. They were built concurrently by Neilson & Co. and the Worcester Engine Co. There were some slight differences between the engines supplied by each of the builders. Between 1879 and 1888 twenty-three engines were reboilered with boilers of the same size as that used on the rebuilds of the ‘No. 477 Class’. The class was scrapped between 1888 and 1899.

LPC 3362/ GERSHC 7030/014

This is Johnson ‘No. 417 Class’ 0-6-0 No. 473 c.1880. The Johnson 0-6-0s were progressively modified during the Adams and Bromley periods with stovepipe chimneys, larger leading sandboxes integral with the splashers, and larger cabs, as demonstrated here. In addition, this example has a hinged chimney to enable it to pass to and from the North Woolwich line via Stratford Low-Level and the bridge beneath the main line, which had limited head-room. In earlier days, some engines of various classes had ‘telescopic’ chimneys, but more-commonly permanent short chimneys were fitted. The location of this photograph is unknown, but it is probably somewhere on or close to the North Woolwich branch, possibly at Silvertown Yard. Note that the chimney is in the short position, and the engine is standing under a lower-than-standard loading gauge. The tracks at Stratford Low Level were deepened in 1896, enabling normal height locomotives to be used, but increasing their tendency to flooding!