20/35 H.P.

20/35 loco w/n 5260, preserved at the Abbey Pumping Station, Leicester. (D. Hall)

 The 20/35 H.P. type was first introduced with w/n 5201, which was a 4-Ton model ordered by Contractor’s Plant Ltd. and despatched on 28th July 1930 to J. Makin Ltd. Sand & Ballast Pits, Great West Road, Hounslow, Middlesex.

 The 20/35 used the new style of straight channel frame that was introduced on the last batch of 2JO engined 20 H.P. locos in 1929. The engine used was Dorman’s 4-cylinder 4MRX petrol engine, with cylinders of 80-mm bore and 130-mm stroke. This was the first locomotive type to use right-hand drive. In other words, the gear levers were operated by the driver’s right hand, a mirror image of the layout of earlier locos. It appears that the layout was dictated by the position of the carburettor on the engine, it being simpler to place the throttle control on the carburettor side.

 Number Series (built between 1930 and 1937)

 5201-5421, 5451-5459, 5461.

Note 1: 5413 was a rebuild of 5329.