By Justin Franz
A coal-burning, American-built 2-8-0 will be converted to burn oil this winter in Britain in an ongoing effort to “future-proof” steam operations in that country. The North Yorkshire Moors Railway recently announced that U.S. Army Transportation Corps 2-8-0 2253 would be the first full-size steam locomotive to be converted in Britain since the end of steam.
Earlier this year, the railroad in North Yorkshire announced it was working with U.S.-based FMW Solutions to restore War Department 2-10-0 3672 to service as an oil burner. That plan is still moving forward, but North Yorkshire Moors recently decided to convert the 2-8-0 first so they had an operating oil burner even sooner. The conversion comes as domestic sources for high-quality steam coal have dried up in the United Kingdom, and changing climate patterns have forced the North Yorkshire-based heritage railway to not run steam on certain days due to fire danger.
“In recent years, domestic sources for high-quality steam coal have dried up in the UK and sourcing coal from across the world is extremely expensive,” said Paul Middleton, Director of Mechanical Engineering at the NYMR. “The conversion of 2253 to oil is key to ensuring the NYMR is resilient and can operate during the peak summer months.”
Locomotive 2253 was built by Baldwin Locomotive Works and shipped to Britain in May 1943 to work on the London & North Eastern. It was one of more than 2,000 S160 locomotives built by Baldwin, Alco and Lima during World War II. The 2-8-0s saw service in North Africa, Asia, Great Britain, South America and almost all of Europe. Following the end of World War II, locomotive 2253 was bought by the Polish State Railway and became TR203-288. It was brought back to Britain in 1992. It was restored to service in 2019 and named “Omaha” to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
More than two dozen S160 locomotives have been preserved and several are in operating condition in Europe and North America.
In North America, a number of locomotives have been converted to burn oil because of environmental concerns (such as at Colorado’s Durango & Silverton) or for operational convenience, especially with larger main line locomotives (such as Chesapeake & Ohio 2-8-4 2716, currently being restored in Kentucky).
