GER A55 Class

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The GER Class A55, or Decapod, was an experimental 0-10-0T steam locomotive designed by Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) James Holden in 1902. 
== Background ==
The locomotive was built purely for political purposes in order to block the passage through Parliament of a new rival scheme for an electric railway, with the goal of producing a locomotive capable of a rate of acceleration on passenger trains comparable to electric traction on the Great Eastern Railway (GER) over long distances. 
As the first Ten-coupled locomotive in Britain, the Decapod was larger than any previous design built for domestic UK service, using a unique 3-cylinder arrangement with a boiler pressure of 200 PSI to achieve the results desired. 
== Performance ==
The specifications from the Great Eastern's Stratford Works required a locomotive capable of accelerating a 315-ton train to 30 MPH from a standstill in 30 seconds. With an axle load of 16.75 tons, total weight for the Decapod was by no means excessive, but with a rigid wheelbase of 19.5 ft, the construction of an entire class of this type would have necessitated a considerable strengthening of bridges throughout the GER mainline system. 
== Rebuild / Class A55R ==
In 1906, the Decapod returned to Stratford Works for a rebuild, converted to a conventional, 2-cylinder 0-8-0 tender engine designed for freight work and reclassified as A55R. 
The new design consisted of a new boiler reduced to 180 PSI, combined with a Belpaire firebox and 39-ton GER standard tender. 
For a short period, she was re-assigned to coal train service on the March district, but as the only Eight-coupled locomotive on the GER roster, she proved no more capable than Holden's G58 Class 0-6-0's, and was quietly scrapped in 1913.
== Trivia ==
* This engine was the basis for Hurricane from Thomas and Friends.
== Gallery ==
File:Hurricane'sBasis.webp
File:GER Decapod and James Holden.jpg
File:GER Decapod, rebuilt as 0-8-0 (Boys' Book of Locomotives, 1907).jpg|Decapod rebuilt as an 0-8-0 Tender Engine
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:Built in 1902
Category:Built in 1906
Category:0-10-0T locomotives
Category:0-8-0 locomotives
Category:Scrapped locomotives
Category:United Kingdom
Category:Eight-coupled locomotives
Category:Ten-coupled locomotives
Category:Tender locomotives
Category:Locomotives
Category:Standard gauge locomotives
Category:Tank locomotives
Category:Rebuilds
Category:Experimental locomotives
Category:Unique locomotives
Category:Decapod Locomotives
Category:GER Locomotives
Category:GER