GWR Leo Class

Last updated

GWR Leo class
GWR Leo Class 2-4-0 Locomotive.jpg
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Designer Daniel Gooch
Builder
Total produced18
Specifications
Configuration:
   Whyte 2-4-0
   UIC 1B n2
Gauge 7 ft 14 in (2,140 mm)
Leading dia. 3 ft 6 in (1.067 m)
Driver dia.5 ft 0 in (1.524 m)
Wheelbase Loco: 12 ft 9 in (3.886 m)
Firebox:
  Grate area11.5 sq ft (1.07 m2)
Boiler50 lbf/in2 (340 kPa)
Heating surface:
  Firebox71 sq ft (6.6 m2)
  Tubes396 sq ft (36.8 m2)
Cylinder size 15 in × 18 in (381 mm × 457 mm)
Performance figures
Tractive effort 2,868 lbf (12.76 kN)
Career
Operators Great Western Railway
Withdrawn1864 - 1874
DispositionAll scrapped

The Great Western Railway Leo Class 2-4-0 was a class of broad gauge steam locomotives for goods train work. This class was introduced into service between January 1841 and July 1842, and withdrawn between September 1864 and June 1874.

Contents

These locomotives were the first for the railway with coupled wheels as they were designed as goods locomotives, but they later found use on passenger trains too. All the class were altered to 2-4-0 ST s.

The locomotives were built by three different workshops, each with its own naming convention. The first three came from R and W Hawthorn, who named them after strong animals. The next three were named after volcanoes by Fenton, Murray and Jackson, while the final twelve came from Rothwell and Company carrying the names of the twelve houses of the zodiac.

Locomotives

NameManufacturerSerial
BuiltWithdrawnNotes
Elephant R. & W. Hawthorn & Co. 319January 1841December 1870
Buffalo R. & W. Hawthorn & Co.320March 1841April 1865
Dromedary R. & W. Hawthorn & Co.321March 1841December 1866
Hecla Fenton, Murray and Jackson 35April 1841September 1864 [Note 1]
Stromboli Fenton, Murray and Jackson36April 1841July 1870
Etna Fenton, Murray and Jackson37June 1841December 1870
Aries Rothwell and Company 66June 1841June 1871
Taurus Rothwell and Company67July 1841December 1870 [Note 2]
Gemini Rothwell and Company68September 1841March 1866
Cancer Rothwell and Company69October 1841June 1874
Leo Rothwell and Company70October 1841December 1870
Virgo Rothwell and Company71December 1841December 1870
Libra Rothwell and Company72February 1842June 1871
Scorpio Rothwell and Company73February 1842December 1872
Sagittarius Rothwell and Company74April 1842June 1871 [Note 3]
Capricornus Rothwell and Company75April 1842July 1870 [Note 4]
Aquarius Rothwell and Company76June 1842July 1870
Pisces Rothwell and Company77July 1842June 1874 [Note 5]

Notes

  1. Hecla: On 24 December 1841 it was involved in a fatal accident in Sonning Cutting near Reading. It was hauling a so-called "baggage train" consisting of both passenger and goods trucks, when it ran into an earth slip in the cutting, killing eight passengers. At the coroner's inquest on the passengers killed the jury returned a verdict of accidental death in all cases and a deodand of one thousand pounds on the engine, tender and carriages. The deodand was later overturned.
  2. Taurus: worked the first South Devon Railway train from Newton to Torquay on 18 December 1848.
  3. Sagittarius: worked the first train to Warminster on 9 September 1851.
  4. Capricorn: Along with Pisces, worked the first train from Totnes to Laira, the temporary terminus of the South Devon Railway at Plymouth on 5 May 1848.
  5. Pisces:Along with Capricornus, worked the first train from Totnes to Laira, the temporary terminus of the South Devon Railway at Plymouth on 5 May 1848.

References