South Devon Railway 0-4-0 locomotives

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Tiny on display at Buckfastleigh Buckfastleigh Tiny.jpg
Tiny on display at Buckfastleigh

The South Devon Railway 0-4-0 locomotives were small 0-4-0 broad gauge locomotives operated on the South Devon Railway, Cornwall Railway, mainly on the dockside lines around Plymouth.

Contents

On 1 February 1876 the South Devon Railway was amalgamated with the Great Western Railway, the locomotives were given numbers by their new owners but continued to carry their names too.

Tiny

Tiny
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Builder Sara and Company
Specifications
Configuration:
   Whyte 0-4-0 VBT
Gauge 7 ft 14 in (2,140 mm)
Driver dia.3 ft 0 in (0.91 m)
Wheelbase 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Cylinder size 9 in × 12 in (230 mm × 300 mm)
Career
Operators South Devon Railway,
Great Western Railway
DispositionStatic display

Tiny was built by Sara and Company. It has a vertical boiler and was similar to four locomotives that later worked in the docks at Falmouth in Cornwall. [1]

After withdrawal it was used at Newton Abbot where it was used to power machinery in the workshops there. In 1927 it was no longer required for this purpose and displayed on the platform at the station opposite the workshops. It has since been moved to Buckfastleigh railway station where it is displayed in the museum of the South Devon Railway Trust.

Tiny is the last surviving locomotive originally built to Brunel's 7 ft 0 1⁄4 in (2140 mm) broad gauge. [2]

Owl class

Owl
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Builder Avonside Engine Company
Specifications
Configuration:
   Whyte 0-4-0 WT
Gauge 7 ft 0+14 in (2.140 m)
Driver dia.3 ft 0 in (0.91 m)
Wheelbase 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Cylinder size 11 in × 16 in (280 mm × 410 mm) [3]
Career
Operators South Devon Railway,
Great Western Railway,
Pearson & Son
Class Owl
DispositionAll scrapped

The three Owl class locomotives had well tanks and were built by the Avonside Engine Company. [3]

Raven class

Raven
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Builder Avonside Engine Company
Specifications
Configuration:
   Whyte 0-4-0 ST
Gauge 7 ft 14 in (2,140 mm)
Driver dia.3 ft 0 in (0.91 m)
Wheelbase 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)
Cylinder size 14 in × 18 in (360 mm × 460 mm) [4]
Career
Operators South Devon Railway,
Great Western Railway,
Wantage Tramway,
Powlesland & Mason
Class Raven
DispositionAll scrapped

The seven Raven class were saddle tank locomotives and were again built by the Avonside Engine Company. They were highly unusual for broad gauge locomotives in having outside cylinders. [4]

References

  1. Sheppard 2008 , pp. 68–69, Tiny
  2. "Tiny 0-4-0WT South Devon Railway (Broad Gauge)". Preserved British Steam Locomotives. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Sheppard 2008 , p. 69, Owl
  4. 1 2 3 4 Sheppard 2008 , pp. 69–70, Raven