Caledonian Railway 49 and 903 Classes

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Caledonian Railway 49 and 903 Classes
Caledonian Railway 4-6-0 locomotive, 903 Cardean (Howden, Boys' Book of Locomotives, 1907).jpg
903 Cardean
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Designer John F. McIntosh
Builder St. Rollox Works
Build date
  • 49: 1903
  • 903: 1906
Total produced
  • 49: 2
  • 903: 5
Specifications
Configuration:
   Whyte 4-6-0
   UIC 2′C n2
Gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Driver dia.6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) [1]
Loco weight70 long tons (71.1 t; 78.4 short tons) (as built)
71.5 long tons (72.6 t; 80.1 short tons) (as rebuilt) [1]
Tender weight55 long tons (55.9 t; 61.6 short tons) [1]
Boiler pressure200 psi when built, 175 psi as rebuilt [1]
SuperheaterSchmidt (as rebuilt) [2]
Cylinders Two, inside
Cylinder size New: 21 in × 26 in (533 mm × 660 mm) [20 in × 26 in (508 mm × 660 mm)]
Rebuilt: 20.75 in × 26 in (527 mm × 660 mm) [1]
Valve gear Stephenson
Performance figures
Tractive effort 25,000 lbf (110 kN) [22,700 lbf (101 kN)] when built, 21,300 lbf (95 kN) as rebuilt [1]
Career
Operators
Class CR: 49 and 903 classes
Power classLMS: 4P
Numbers
  • CR: 49–50, 903–907
  • LMS: 14750–14755
Withdrawn
  • 49: 1933
  • 903: 1915, 1927–1930
DispositionAll scrapped

The Caledonian Railway 49 Class and 903 Class were 4-6-0 express passenger locomotives designed by John F. McIntosh and built at the Caledonian Railway's own St. Rollox Works in 1903 and 1906 respectively.

Contents

49 Class

Locomotive no. 49 in 1903 Caledonian Express engine no 49.jpg
Locomotive no. 49 in 1903

In 1903, the Caledonian Railway had no passenger locomotives larger than 4-4-0s, and the heaviest trains over its main line between Glasgow and Carlisle required to be double headed, even in the less demanding southbound ('up') direction. Northbound ('down') trains also required banking assistance on the climb to Beattock Summit. In an effort to avoid these requirements, McIntosh designed a large 4-6-0 based on his 'Dunalastair' series of 4-4-0s. Two locomotives were built in 1903, and immediately became the Caledonian's flagship locomotives. Nonetheless, their performance did not live up to expectations, and it was soon clear that banking assistance was still required over Beattock. [3] Until 1906 the Caledonian railway had no turntables long enough for the 49 Class, and arrangements for turning them included use of the Cathcart Circle or turning locomotive and tender separately. [4]

903 Class

By 1906, experience with the 49 Class had enabled McIntosh to design an improved version, and the installation of new turntables at major engine sheds presaged the arrival of five new locomotives. The first of these, number 903, was named "Cardean" after the country estate of one of the CR directors, and immediately became the company's new flagship locomotive, with its name becoming a nickname for the whole class. The Caledonian gave the new locomotives a great deal of publicity and "Cardean" thus achieved some fame. Even so, the performance of the 903s was still unremarkable. [5]

Rebuilding and subsequent service

Neither class was equipped with superheating when built, but all seven locomotives were rebuilt with Schmidt superheaters and new cylinders during 1911. These modifications reduced coal consumption but made little difference to the locomotives' performance, [2] and McIntosh built no more large passenger 4-6-0s (although he did build smaller 4-6-0s for goods traffic). His successor William Pickersgill had no greater success with his sluggish outside-cylindered 60 Class or the disastrous three-cylinder 956 Class, so the Caledonian Railway continued to rely heavily upon 4-4-0s for express passenger traffic until the Grouping.

One 903 class locomotive was withdrawn in 1915 due to accident damage, but the other six locomotives passed to the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923. The two 49 class locomotives were extensively renewed around 1924 with new frames and cylinders, [6] but all of the Caledonian passenger 4-6-0s were quickly eclipsed by new LMS Compound 4-4-0 and Royal Scot 4-6-0s. The four surviving 903s were withdrawn in 1927–30, whilst the two 49s lasted until 1933. All were scrapped.

Accidents and incidents

Numbering and locomotive histories

Table of locomotives [8]
CR no.CR nameLMS no.DeliveredWorksWithdrawnClassNotes
4914750March 1903St. RolloxMarch 193349 Class
50Sir James Thompson14751April 1903St. RolloxDecember 193349 ClassLast to be withdrawn
903Cardean14752May 1906St. RolloxDecember 1930903 Class
90414753June 1906St. RolloxMay 1929903 Class
90514754June 1906St. RolloxSeptember 1927903 ClassFirst to be withdrawn
90614755June 1906St. RolloxFebruary 1928903 Class
907July 1906St. RolloxMay 1915903 ClassAccident write-off

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Atkins 1976, pp. 98–101.
  2. 1 2 Atkins 1976, p. 43.
  3. Atkins 1976, p. 38.
  4. Atkins 1976, p. 39.
  5. Essery & Jenkinson 1986, p. 35.
  6. 1 2 Atkins 1976, p. 44.
  7. 1 2 Earnshaw 1990, p. 10.
  8. "BritishSteam locomotive information". BritishSteam.com. Archived from the original on 4 April 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.