Drawing by DOUG CLAYTON

Story by KEN PLANT

    Hunslet locomotives of this type were built for the War Department and used on the Continent on light railways serving the forward areas during the First World War. They were limited in weight to a load of 3˝ tons per axle, whilst the bogie was provided with sufficient lateral side play to allow curves of 20 metres radius to be traversed. In all no less than 155 were constructed between 1916 and 1919, but not all saw active service. The first batch to be built (War Department Light Railways 301-375) was sent to France, followed by 2323-2337 for Italy. Two (or more?) were sent to Egypt, but the remainder probably got no further than the Purfleet or Barnbow (Leeds) storage depots.

    After the War many were returned to Hunslet for overhaul and regauging prior to resale, and they have since been reported as working in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Burma, Chile, France, Hungary, India, Italy, Malaya, Mauritius, Spain, and the Soudan not to mention England, Scotland and Wales!

    No less than sixteen were to be found in the Argentine on the Buenos Ayres Great Southern Railway where they were used on Decauville feeder lines in agricultural districts. Some took on a most unusual appearance when the side tanks were removed and carried on a wagon coupled to the rear of the locomotive. This was done to reduce oscillation which was caused by the indifferent nature of the ballast.

    Those used in this country include several rebuilt to 3'0" gauge for Balfour Beatty & Company Ltd. and used on the construction of the pipe-line to the aluminium works at Fort William. Others were 352 at Hook Norton Ironstone Mines, 2351 (masquerading as Kerr, Stuart 4213) at Trevor Granite Quarries in North Wales, 2352 at Sydenham Ironstone Pits, 3224 at Harrogate Gas Works, and lastly the subject of our drawing. This depicts Hunslet 1356 of 1919 which was built for the War Department, WDLR 3240, but not delivered. At the time, Jee’s Hartshill Granite & Brick Company Ltd., near Nuneaton, were in urgent need of a locomotive and, after alteration of gauge at Hunslet from 60 cm. to 2'6˝", 3240 was despatched to Jee’s on 28th June 1919, the necessary authority having been obtained from the Ministry of Munitions on 3rd May 1919. 3240 was scrapped in August 1948, and this type of locomotive is now extinct in this country.

Details of construction are as under:-

1916 :   Hunslet      1213 - 1250  (WDLR       301 -   338)    60cm. gauge

1917 :   Hunslet      1251 - 1287  (WDLR       339 -   375)    60cm. gauge

1918 :   Hunslet      1295 - 1328  (WDLR     2323 - 2356)    60cm. gauge

1919 :   Hunslet      1329 - 1334  (WDLR     2357 - 2362)    60cm. gauge

1919 :   Hunslet      1336 - 1355  (WDI.R     3220 - 3239)    60cm. gauge

1919 :   Hunslet      1356 - 1375  (WDLR     3240 - 3259)      2' 6" gauge

The main dimensions of this type (Hunslet “War Office” class) were :