THE STEAM ENGINES OF WARTIME EUROPE
By the late 1930s, a second war in Europe was becoming inevitable. Preparations in both Germany and Britain included the construction of new steam locomotives. Initially both countries adapted an existing heavy freight design for their chief war engines. In Germany, this was the Deutsche Reichsbahn Gesellschaft (DRG) Class 50 2-10-0 and in Britain, the LMS Stanier 8F 2-8-0.
Large numbers of them were soon being produced for military use in Europe. Both classes were to evolve into ‘Austerity’ engines, built from 1942 using the minimum amount of materials and labour.
However, the war did not progress as expected by either side. Following the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk in May/June 1940, the 8Fs were not needed in Europe and were instead loaned to the ‘Big Four’ railway companies, numbered in the LMS 8F sequence.
Although no 8Fs went straight from Britain to Europe, several War Department (WD) engines did and were captured and used by the Nazis. These included eight LMS ‘Jinty’ tanks, five of which were returned to the LMS/BR after the war. The 8Fs were later reclaimed by the WD, renumbered and sent to the Middle East. In all, 258 8Fs were used by the WD during the conflict.
