'Tommy' - When The LNER Went To Holland

[@laszlofyre845]

Woodhead tunnel was just over 3 miles long, not 2. And the EM1's rode better the faster they went-up to a point where the bogie frame might clout the body with an almighty bang. I know because I was there! Golden days working on them.

[@FlyingScott]

How interesting, considering all my sources listed in the description all state otherwise! Must be those men behind desks who've never held steel nor a control lever in their hand doing the reporting. Wouldn't be the first time!

[@allansmith4447]

I actually drove "Tommy" when i was a Secondman at Guide Bridge between 1966 and 1968, unofficially of course and it was just like driving the newer class 26000s. I always think such a historic engine should have been preserved.

[@GBOAC]

5:58 my dad grew up during the post war period in Holland and mentioned NS train stock was at that time “whatever they could get their hands on”, with a lot of steam locomotives brought in from almost anywhere. I doubt the Tommy would be the oddest sight, maybe it would be one of the most futuristic.

[@Markus-r2b3w]

Rubbish... Netherlands railways Had Had mat'36 Emus and diesel eqzivalents before wartime, in some mechanical Details even ahead of german "flying hamburger" dmus. British railways dreamt of such Trainsets even in the sixties!

[@MrJimheeren]

The Netherlands started electrification of the network far before the war. The Mat36 EMU was well ahead of its time and was in service all the way till the 80s. The class 1100 loco (which was already in development during this time was an awesome loco)

[@GBOAC]

What I'm saying is, for a child born just before or during WW2, like my dad, they wouldn't have known about the Stroomlijnmaterieel right, those got deported and much less of them returned. They would only see whatever was run right after the war and that was a very mixed bag, hence why I suggested a locomotive like Tommy wouldn't stand out as much as it would later on when Mat 46 and then 54 became the regular trainsets.

[@stephendavies6949]

Excellent story telling. I didn't know much of that. Thanks for sharing.

[@lukemendel8197]

They saved the nameplates! Nice

[@EpRoos]

Never knew that. Learned something new today! Thanks!

[@johnjephcote7636]

I was hauled by 'Tommy' herself, the last time I travelled through Woodhead from east to west. Closing that line was so short-sighted.

[@22pcirish]

No. It ran out of traffic. The coal trains disappeared as we cleaned up power generation. The passenger trains were diverted via more useful lines with bigger areas of population.

[@Tom-Lahaye]

Despite being the first country in Europe to fully electrify their main lines and the first country in the world where steam operations on the national network ended the Netherlands wasn't the first country to make use of electric locomotives on any scale. That's because up to the arrival of Tommy all electric trains were EMU's, and even after electric locomotives were introduced in the Netherlands the EMU would form the lions share of the electric fleet. The honours of the pre war development of electric locomotives and its use goes to Germany and Switzerland, followed by countries such as France, Sweden, Austria and Italy, and even in the US did the electric locomotive play a larger role in the past than it does now, with many examples been built for the Pennsylvania, Virginian, Milwaukee Road, New York Central and more.

[@corvanha1]

Indeed. We started in the Netherlands with the Rotterdam The Hague electrified line, "Hofpleinlijn". That was opened in 1908. So we were early adopters, but otherwise traditionalists. After WW 2 we sped up and ousted all steam in 1958.

[@Jiskpirate]

@@corvanha1 Not entirely true. If WW2 hadnt happened steam would have left much sooner. Sadly the war damaged much of the electricity infrastructure and the railways in general.

[@corvanha1]

Indeed I have to agree.

[@anindrapratama]

The Dutch did built electric locos before ww2 but for the Indies in 1925

[@JanMarkerink-z8i]

The 1500 serie locos also were named, plates removed before entering duty in Holland.

[@JaapFilius]

The EM2, BR series 27000, (so the NS series 1500 bought by NS in 1969, you are mentioning towards the end of the video) was very popular indeed and many regretted their withdrawal in 1986. The 1501 (now in our railway museum) was taken over by a group of drivers and they did succeed in keeping the locomotive in running condition for about another 15 years, till that became too much of a challenge for them (NS is not very cooperative, when it is about historic trains...). I found it always fun to see: the locomotive with its small British profile, pulling the higher and wider European carriages (from NS and other countries). The series 1500 were the very first electric locomotives in the Netherlands which received the (back then) new yellow/grey colour scheme. They also had their "own" line: they were always to be found on the Hook of Holland (international boat trains) / Den Haag Central - Rotterdam - Eindhoven - Venlo line, so they were driven by a selected group of engine drivers.

[@Backwardlooking]

Thank you. Very interesting.

[@krimskrams]

great content. glad I found this! subscribed!

[@nkarsdorp8694]

A porcelain plate with the text "A souvenir of the visit of L.N.E.R. Locomotive No. 6000 to the Netherlands - N.S. 1947 - 1952 B.R.' and an image of the locomotive near a windmill is present in the National Railway Museum in York.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

The prototype EM1 was initialled referred to as the 0-4+4-0 Mixed Traffic locomotive until September 1945 when it was classified as the EM1.

[@DennisLora2001]

Fantastic video my friend 🙏 2:08

[@thestarlightalchemist7333]

You briefly mentioned American types being bought for use in the Netherlands, and that's reminded me of something. At some point, do you think you'll cover those locos? If I recall, the electrics in question are either the immediate precursors or the direct developments of a stateside design, the iconic, yet oft forgotten, New Haven EP-5 "Jets".

[@FlyingScott]

I think you're referring to the NS Class 1200, which were designed by Baldwin shortly before their merger. The EP-5s were pure General Electric machines, were they not?

[@sierkdejongh8984]

@@FlyingScott The 1200-class was an American design, but only the cast steel bogies were made in the USA. All the rest of the engines was built by Dutch companies. They built 25 of them, about 3 are still in some sort of service. For most drivers they were the most popular class.

[@sirmatsdubois2509]

There's actually a bit of an irony with this episode for me. because I actually drew both Tommy and one of the production versions. and I finished both yesterday. so yeah this is quite ironic. Also I was at the railway museum where that plate was and I didn't see it! I must have missed it! still it is quite interesting that the first electric engine in the Netherlands was of British construction. But then again we belgiums can't really say anything because our first steam locomotors also came from the United Kingdom.

[@theothertonydutch]

That's not irony, that's just coincidence.

[@vincentstuer]

I have been to the museum in Utrecht many times and have never seen it (or at least from what I can remember) Also our first steam engines also came from the UK but the network was build by us dutch instead of the British (hence us driving on the right instead of the left like Belgium and France)

[@ivardewit]

it was not the most needed train for the netherlands, but the old trains had to go out of full service and there where trains needed for the internationals, so they bought a few em1 and renamed them 1500

[@Steven_Rowe]

They did do some testing in the UK. The LMS had an electrified line to Altrhincham and they did some testing on that line. How goumay ask did they charge the LNER for the electricity used? Well i have a photo in an LNER bookand it show an electricity meter similar to household ones. That way they could charge the amp hours used. Pitythey dont have a bit of 1500DC at York, i would love to see it run even if up and down a short siding.

[@1258-Eckhart]

But "Tommy" was an EM1 (Class 76) and NS 1501 in the NS museum is an EM2 (Class 77)?

[@FlyingScott]

Indeed. Did I not say the very thing?

[@novuutheneolf]

> the most important electric locomotive in Europe BLS Ae 4/4: Am I a joke to you?

[@Thomas_TdK]

you call it the netherlands in your video, the correct way. but in the title you put Holland, the wrong name, why???

[@FlyingScott]

There's a simple reason, actually! The title is already long, for KZbin standards, so the commonly confused "Holland" gets the same message across with fewer letters, so the chance of the title being cut off, on embedded links for example, is lower.