NCC Class X
History
History
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There was only one member of Class X, No.17\. It was built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast and delivered to the NCC in 1936 under a lease arrangement; it was not actually taken into stock until 1941 when the NCC purchased it. No.17 had an 0\-6\-0 wheel arrangement and was powered by an eight\-cylinder diesel engine developing  at 1200 [rpm](/wiki/Revolutions_per_minute "Revolutions per minute").

Transmission was via a [torque converter](/wiki/Torque_converter "Torque converter") and a [jackshaft](/wiki/Jackshaft "Jackshaft") final drive mounted ahead of the leading coupled wheels. In addition, there was a two\-speed gearbox with ratios of 5\.76:1 and 19\.52:1 giving top speeds of  and  respectively in both forward and reverse. As delivered, it had its [maker's trade name](/wiki/Builder%27s_plate "Builder's plate") *Harlandic* on a plate just below the front headlight.

No.17 spent its career working out of the limelight on the Belfast Harbour Commissioners’ lines at Belfast and within the NCC's own yards. It survived [Ulster Transport Authority](/wiki/Ulster_Transport_Authority "Ulster Transport Authority") (UTA) ownership and entered [Northern Ireland Railways](/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Railways "Northern Ireland Railways") stock in 1967 but saw little or no work before it was scrapped in mid\-1970\.


Can Class X locomotives be used for passenger transportation?