NER 66 Aerolite

NER 66 Aerolite
Aerolite
66 Aerolite preserved in the National Railway Museum
Power type Steam
Configuration 2-2-2T, rebuilt as 4-2-2, rebuilt again as 2-2-4T
Leading wheel
diameter		 3 ft 7 in (1.09 m)
Driver diameter 5 ft 7 3⁄4 in (1.721 m)
Trailing wheel
diameter		 3 ft 1 1⁄4 in (0.946 m)
Wheelbase 20 ft 7 in (6.27 m)
Length 32 ft 8 1⁄2 in (9.970 m)
Axle load 19.5 long tons (19.8 t)
Locomotive weight 44.95 long tons (45.67 t)
Fuel capacity 2.5 long tons (2.5 t)
Water capacity 1,620 imp gal (7,400 l; 1,950 US gal)
Boiler 3 ft 9 3⁄4 in (1.162 m) diameter
Boiler pressure 175 psi (1.21 MPa)
Firegrate area 11 sq ft (1.0 m2)
Heating surface:
Tubes		 701 sq ft (65.1 m2)
Heating surface:
Firebox		 65 sq ft (6.0 m2)
Heating surface:
Total		 766 sq ft (71.2 m2)
Cylinders 2 inside (1 HP 1 LP)
High-pressure
cylinder size		 13 × 20 in (330 × 510 mm)
Low-pressure
cylinder size		 18.5 × 20 in (470 × 510 mm)
Valve gear Stephenson
Tractive effort 6,390 lbf (28.4 kN)
Career NER, LNER
Class X1
Number 66
Official name Aerolite
Retired 1933
Disposition static display

North Eastern Railway (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 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, destroying much of the original engine. The well tank was removed, the side tanks expanded, and the two-cylinder Worsdell-von Borries compounding 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Aerolite was withdrawn in 1933 and preserved in 1934 at the LNER's York museum. It can be seen as a static exhibit at the National Railway Museum in York.

In fiction

An engine of this type is seen in the TV Series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, as the character Whiff.[citation needed] The character carries the number 66 just like the engine he is based on.

External links

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Pre-grouping railway designs:
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B12 • D13 • D14 • D15 • D16 • E4 • F3 • F4 • F5 • F6 • F7 • G4 • J14 • J15 • J16 • J17 • J18 • J19 • J20 • J65 • J66 • J67 • J68 • J69 • J70 • N7 • Y4 • Y5 • Y6 • Z4/J92
D38 • D39 • D40 • D41 • D42 • D43 • D44 • D45 • D46 • D47 • D48 • G10 • J90 • J91 • Z4 • Z5
A1 • C1 • C2 • C12 • D1 • D2 • D3 • D4 • E1 • G1 • G2 • J1 • J2 • J3 • J4 • J5 • J6 • J7 • J50 • J51 • J52 • J53 • J54 • J55 • J56 • J57 • K1 • K2 • K3 • N1 • N2 • O1 • O2 • Q1 • Q2 • Q3 • R1
C10 • C11 • C15 • C16 • D25 • D26 • D27 • D28 • D29 • D30 • D31 • D32 • D33 • D34 • D35 • D36 • D50 • D51 • E7 • G7 • G8 • G9 • J31 • J32 • J33 • J34 • J35 • J36 • J37 • J81 • J82 • J83 • J84 • J85 • J86 • J88 • N14 • N15 • Y9
A2 • A6 • A7 • B13 • B14 • B15 • B16 • C6 • C7 • C8 • D17/1 • D17/2 • D18 • D19 • D20 • D21 • D22 • D23 • E5 • E6 • F8 • G5 • G6 • H1 • J21 • J22 • J24 • J25 • J26 • J27 • J71 • J72 • J73 • J74 • J76 • J77 • J78 • J79 • N8 • N9 • N10 • Q5 • Q6 • Q7 • T1 • X1 • X2 • X3 • Y7 • Y8 • EB1 • EE1 • EF1 • ES1
D24 • J23 • J28 • J75 • J80 • N11 • N12 • N13 • Q10
LNER designs:
Gresley (1923–1941):
A1 • A3 • A4 • A8 • B17 • D49 • J38 • J39 • J50 • K4 • P1 • P2 • U1 • V1 • V2 • V3 • V4 • W1 • EM1
Thompson (1941–1946):
A1 • A2/1 • A2/2 • A2/3 • B1 • B2 • K1 • K5 • L1 • O1 • Q1
Peppercorn (1946–1947):
A1 • A2 • K1
Other designs:
D52 • D53 • D54 • H2 • J64 • J94 • L2 • M2 • O6 • O7 • Y1 • Y3 • Y10 • Y11 • J45/DES1 • DES2


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