during world war i, the company devoted itself to munitions work. however, between 1917 and 1920, a large batch of rod 2-8-0 and sncv type 18 0-6-0 tram locomotives were ordered by the war office for use on the continent. from then on, business was slack, for various reasons. notable were thirty 2-6-0 mixed traffic locomotives for the gwr in 1921, a batch of thirty 0-6-0 tank engines for the lner and five 7f 2-8-0s for the somerset and dorset joint railway. in 1936 and 1937, only forty six were built, including eleven b17 class ("sandringham") 4-6-0s for the lner, and seven 2-6-4 passenger tank locomotives for the south indian railway company.