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Mr 0-10-0 Lickey BankerThe nickname Big Bertha was used in the United Kingdom for a steam locomotive with the unusual wheel configuration of 0-10-0. It was designed by James Clayton specifically for use on the Lickey Incline south of Birmingham, England. It was constructed at the Derby works of the Midland Railway in 1919 and was in use up to the year 1956 by the London Midland and Scottish Railway and British Railways. Its function was to provide extra power by being located at the rear of a goods train and the 10 driving wheels with a diameter of 4'7.5" provided considerable grip on the steel rails. The weight of 105 tons also assisted in the power transfer. The railway term for such a locomotive is a banker. Its demise was heralded by the introduction of diesel powered locomotives. The 0-10-0 was not the only engine to bank on the Lickey. In 1949 the pending electrification of the Woodhead route made the 2-8-0+0-8-2 Beyer-Garratt machine (2395/69999), used on that route since 1925, potentially surplus and it was tried on the Lickey. This was not wholly successful and the engine was withdrawn for modifications. A second trial was made in 1955. (One problem apparently was that the unique construction of the engine made it difficult for the crew to judge the distance to the train they were banking.) External links
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