No. 26000 Tommy

Born in 1940 as LNER No. 6701 and then renumbered as No. 6000 in 1946, before becoming BR No. 26000 in 1952 and finally No. E26000, the first locomotive of what would be the ‘EM1’ Class has long held a special place in the hearts of Woodhead route enthusiasts. This book looks at all aspects of its construction, testing, working trials for several years in the Netherlands and then its years with BR on Britain’s first electric main line across the Pennines. No. 26000 was named Tommy in 1952 after returning from its time with Dutch Railways – the name affectionally bestowed on it whilst over there. Using construction pictures, plans and many newly published at work photographs, this book details the history of a locomotive that should have been preserved but which instead was sadly scrapped in 1972.