CR 66 Class
The Caledonian Railway 66 Class was a series of inside-cylinder 4-4-0 express passenger locomotives designed by Dugald Drummond and built at St Rollox Works, Glasgow, from 1884. They represented a development of Drummond's 171 Class 4-4-0 design of the same year, reflecting his continued work on standardising and refining the Caledonian Railway's express passenger motive power during his tenure as Locomotive Superintendent between 1882 and 1890.
The 66 Class, like the 171, followed the inside-cylinder 4-4-0 layout that had become the standard British express configuration by the early 1880s. Drummond specified 6 ft 6 in coupled driving wheels, inside cylinders, and his characteristic neat boiler design, giving a locomotive well suited to the West Coast main line's express working north of Carlisle. The Westinghouse air brake was fitted from new, continuing the Caledonian Railway's progressive stance on continuous braking that Drummond had established.
The class worked Caledonian express services through the 1880s and 1890s, sharing express duties with the 171 Class and other CR passenger engines. None was preserved following withdrawal.
Design and development
The 66 Class was a development of the contemporary 171 Class, built at St Rollox under Drummond in 1884 as part of the Caledonian Railway's express passenger fleet standardisation. Both classes used the inside-cylinder 4-4-0 layout with 6 ft 6 in driving wheels characteristic of Drummond's CR express designs.
Service and withdrawals
Worked CR express services from 1884 on the West Coast main line north of Carlisle. All withdrawn before or shortly after the Grouping. None preserved.
Identification features
Inside-cylinder 4-4-0 with 6 ft 6 in coupled wheels and leading 4-wheel bogie.
Notable locomotives
- Various — none preserved
