The War Department ‘Austerity’ 2-10-0 will be the first OO gauge steam locomotive to roll off the Clark Railworks production line. We wanted to create a stir and capture the imagination when we announced our Quad Art coaches. And with an engine as impressive and fascinating as the WD 2-10-0, we’re aiming to do just that once again. 

As with our O gauge ‘Black 5s’, we’ll be pushing the boundaries of detail and quality. Designed and engineered in the UK, our 2-10-0s will feature a multitude of separately fitted parts complemented by a top-quality coreless motor and gear train. We’ll be catering for both left- and right-hand drive variants and a range of liveries, including LMR blue, WD khaki green, BR black (early and late crest) and Brunswick green. 

The models will be available either DCC Ready (£295) or DCC Sound Fitted with a bespoke sound project (£TBA).

All versions are available to pre-order from Clark Railworks (either online, via email or over the phone) at no upfront cost.

Our heartfelt thanks go to the M&GN Society, North Norfolk Railway, Severn Valley Railway and Keighley & Worth Valley Railway for their invaluable support and assistance with this complex project

A Short History of the WD 2-10-0 Austerity

The War Department Austerity 2-10-0 was Robert Riddles’ answer to the demand for a  no-frills warhorse to support the battle for Europe in the early 1940s. An Allied fightback against the Axis powers would require huge amounts of supplies to be moved across the continent. But a lack of materials and manpower meant any new locomotive needed to be quicker and cheaper to build than previous designs as well as rugged and easy to maintain. 

The first ‘Austerity’ engine – a 2-8-0 – rolled off the North British Locomotive Company’s (NBL) Glasgow production line in early 1943. The ‘Austerity’ moniker was chosen by Riddles himself to echo the necessary corner-cutting imposed on industry at the time. It was a term that had become so familiar across society that he hoped it would resonate with crews enduring the locomotives’ basic working environment.

While the 2-8-0 locomotives possessed an admirable power-to-weight ratio, an even lighter axle load would prove useful on quickly-laid temporary rails or the sharp curvature and lightweight construction of railways in the Middle East. Riddles rose to the challenge by designing a similar locomotive 4ft longer and 8t heavier but with the weight spread across 10 driving wheels – a trick he would later repeat on his successful ‘9F’ locomotives for British Railways. 

NBL had the first WD 2-10-0 (by now nicknamed ‘Dub-Dees’) ready by December 1943 and went on to build 150 of the class, which were the first 2-10-0 locomotives produced in Britain. 

20 locomotives were immediately deployed to Egypt but later stored in the wake of the Axis surrender in North Africa. Back on home soil, one entered service with the Longmoor Military Railway while the others were trialled on (and loaned to) the LNER and LMS. Their long wheelbase caused some issues with domestic railway infrastructure and led to the LNER in particular prohibiting them from crossovers between station platforms as well as from certain goods yards. 

But ‘Dub-Dee’ 2-10-0s were never intended to be used in Britain. D-Day (6 June 1944) resulted in a call to arms for the locomotives and almost all were shipped to France, from where they advanced northwards through Belgium and the Netherlands in support of Allied troops as the tide of conflict turned. Their haulage capabilities were especially useful when working alongside the Royal Engineers to rebuild railway infrastructure destroyed by retreating German forces. 

Few of the 2-10-0s were destined to return. The Netherlands’ locomotive fleet had been decimated during the conflict, and by far the lion’s share of the class – 103 locomotives – made their homes there, where they continued in front-line service until 1952. The 20 ‘Egyptian’ locomotives were split between Syria (4) and the Hellenic State Railways of Greece (16), where they were entrusted to prestigious passenger services from Thessalonica, including the overnight Istanbul Express (between Thessalonica and Pithion) and the Yugoslav International Express. 

26 WD 2-10-0s never left the UK, and apart from one retained by the Longmoor Military Railway, all were initially allocated to Scottish sheds at the creation of British Railways. They worked heavy coal and mineral trains from Lanarkshire and could be seen daily charging Beattock Bank transporting fuel to the nation. 

Three WD 2-10-0s are today preserved in Britain, with a further five remaining abroad. No. 600Gordonwas based on the Longmoor Military Railway (LMR) throughout the war and afterwards used for driver training with the Royal Engineers. Moving to the fledgling Severn Valley Railway in 1971,Gordon has been one of the SVR’s prize exhibits at The Engine House at Highley since 2016 and wears the eye-catching blue and red colours of the LMR.Gordon is named in honour of General Charles Gordon – a famous Royal Engineer. 

‘90775’The Royal Norfolk Regimentis the only operational WD 2-10-0 at the time of writing. Having been repatriated from Greece in 1984 (originally to the Mid-Hants Railway), it can now be seen at the head of passenger trains amidst the rolling coastal scenery of the North Norfolk Railway. 

The final WD 2-10-0 on British shores is no. 3672 (formerly 73672) – another Greek veteran that returned to the UK in the early 1980s. Named Dame Vera Lynn by the lady herself while on the Lavender Line (East Sussex) in 1985, ‘3672’ is now undergoing extensive restoration on the North York Moors Railway.

Acknowledgement & Thanks

We would like to express our sincere thanks to the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway Society (M&GN), the volunteers and staff at the North Norfolk Railway, Ian Foot and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, The Severn Valley Railway (SVR) and the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway (KWVR).

Without their invaluable help and passion for their respective engines, this project would not have been what it is.

Key Info