WD Austerity 2 - 10 - 0 The War Department ( WD ) " Austerity " 2 - 10 - 0 is a type of heavy freight steam locomotive that was introduced during the Second World War in 1943 . Background . The Austerity 2 - 10 - 0 was based on the Austerity 2 - 8 - 0 , and was designed to have interchangeable parts by R . A . Riddles . It had the same power output as the 2 - 8 - 0 but a lighter axle load , making it suitable for secondary lines . Design . It had a parallel boiler and round - topped firebox . While the 2 - 8 - 0 had a narrow firebox , the 2 - 10 - 0 had a wide firebox placed above the driving wheels . This arrangement was common in the USA ( e . g . the USRA 0 - 8 - 0 ) but unusual in Britain . In Britain , wide fireboxes were usually used only where there was a trailing axle , e . g . in 4 - 4 - 2 and 4 - 6 - 2 types . One exception was the GER Decapod . These were the first 2 - 10 - 0 locomotives to work in Great Britain , and the first major class of ten - coupled engines — they had been preceded by two 0 - 10 - 0 locomotives ; the Great Eastern Railway ' s Decapod and the Midland Railway ' s Lickey Banker . The 2 - 10 - 0 wheel arrangement was later used by Riddles when he designed the BR standard class 9F . This , too , had a wide firebox placed above the driving wheels . Construction . Two batches were built by the North British Locomotive Company , the first batch of 100 introduced in 1943 / 1944 and the second batch of 50 in 1945 . Their WD Nos were 73650 – 73799 . 20 of the first batch were sent to the Middle East . During running - in they worked in Britain , but their length made them unsuitable . Most saw service with the British Army in France after D - Day . Post - war service . After the war the 150 locomotives were distributed as follows , the majority going to the Netherlands : Netherlands . In 1946 , the Netherlands bought those in continental Europe . They formed the NS Series 5000II , and were numbered 5001 - 103 . They had a short working life , the last being withdrawn in 1952 . British Railways . After the war , the British Railways ( BR ) bought twenty - five locomotives . These were initially numbered 73774 - 73798 but later re - numbered 90750 - 74 . They were mostly operated by BR ' s Scottish Region on heavy freight trains and were all withdrawn between 1961 and 1962 . Greece . Sixteen of the twenty Middle East locomotives went to Greece , where they formed Class Λβ of the Hellenic State Railways , numbered Λβ951 to Λβ966 . Syria . The remaining 4 Middle East locomotives remained in Syria and operated on the Chemins de Fer Syriens ( CFS ) . These engines formed the CFS Class 150 . 6 . Further WD services . In the 1952 WD renumbering scheme , the two remaining in WD service ( at the Longmoor Military Railway , Nos . 73651 and 73797 , were renumbered 600 and 601 respectively . The also received names : 600 " Gordon " and 601 " Kitchener " . Preservation . LMR 600 Gordon has survived and has been steamed on the Severn Valley Railway , though it is out of service , cosmetically restored and on display in the Engine House . Two more have been repatriated from Greece . One has been numbered 90775 , one higher than the last BR engine , and has carried the name " Sturdee " ( as WD / LMR No . 601 before being numbered 90775 ) . In service on North Norfolk Railway . The other is WD No . ( 7 ) 3672 which has been named " Dame Vera Lynn " . The loco is currently awaiting overhaul at Grosmont , NYMR . WD 73755 ( NS 5085 ) survives in the Dutch Railway Museum ( Nederlands Spoorwegmuseum ) in Utrecht . It carried the nameplate " Longmoor " , after the Royal Engineer ' s base at Longmoor , with the coat of arms of the Royal Engineers above .