0-6-6-0T Leader Class SR Profile and Models

The Leader was a class of experimental 0-6-0+0-6-0T articulated steam locomotive, produced in the United Kingdom to the design of the innovative engineer Oliver Bulleid. The Leader was an attempt to extend the life of steam traction by eliminating many of the operational drawbacks associated with existing steam locomotives. Design work began in 1946 and development continued after the nationalisation of the railways in 1948, under the auspices of British Railways. The design incorporated many novel features, such as the use of thermic siphons, bogies and cabs at each end of the locomotive, resulting in its unique - for a steam locomotive - modern diesel-like appearance. Several of its innovations proved to be unsuccessful however, partly accounting for the project's cancellation in the early 1950s. Five Leader locomotives were begun, although only one was completed. The operational locomotive was trialled on the former Southern Railway network around Brighton. Problems with the design, indifferent reports on performance and political pressure surrounding spiralling development costs, led to all locomotives of the class being scrapped by 1951.

(Information provided via Wikipedia)

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Surviving Examples