In 1919 the North Eastern Railway made plans to electrify its
York to
Newcastle stretch of the
East Coast Main Line, as part of this scheme, they had this locomotive built as a prototype for hauling passenger trains. It had an electrically heated
boiler to generate steam for train heating. The wheels were arranged as in a
4-6-4 steam locomotive with the driving wheels being diameter. Each of the three driving axles was powered by a pair of traction motors. Electric locomotives of this design were common in continental Europe and the United States, but this was the only example on a British railway. After
grouping in 1923 the NER's successor, the
London and North Eastern Railway dropped the electrification project so (apart from some trials on the
Shildon line) the locomotive was never used. It survived into British Railways ownership but was withdrawn in August 1950, and scrapped on 15 December 1950. In common with other LNER electric locomotives, no classification was given to this locomotive until 4 October 1945, when no. 13 was classified EE1 (Electric Express 1). In May 1946, no. 13 was renumbered to 6999; and under
British Railways, it became no. 26600 in 1948. ==Specification==