South Devon Railway Buffalo class

Last updated

Buffalo
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Builder Avonside Engine Company
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 •  Whyte 0-6-0 ST
Gauge 7 ft 0 1⁄4 in (2.140 m)
Driver dia.4 ft 9 in (1.45 m)
Wheelbase 15 ft 5 in (4.70 m)
Cylinder size 17 in × 24 in (430 mm × 610 mm)
Career
Operators South Devon Railway,
Great Western Railway
Class Buffalo

The ten Buffalo class locomotives were 0-6-0 ST broad gauge locomotives operated on the South Devon Railway, Cornwall Railway and West Cornwall Railway. They were designed for goods trains but were also used on passenger trains when required.

Contents

These locomotives were built by the Avonside Engine Company and designed for easy conversion to standard gauge after the broad gauge was converted on 21 May 1892.

The locomotives of the three railways were operated as a combined fleet by the South Devon Railway but each was accounted to the railway that ordered it. 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.

Locomotives

South Devon Railway

Converted to standard gauge and worked in this form as no. 1324 until 1905 when it was sold to the South Wales Mineral Railway and became their no. 7, later returning to the Great Western Railway and running as no. 818 until finally withdrawn in 1932. The locomotive was named after Achilles, a Greek hero.
This locomotive was converted to standard gauge and worked in this form as no. 1320. It was named after an animal, the buffalo.
This locomotive was converted to standard gauge and worked in this form as no. 1322. It was named after an animal, the camel.
This locomotive was converted to standard gauge and worked in this form as no. 1325. It was named after a species of camel, the dromedary.
This locomotive was converted to standard gauge and worked in this form as no. 1321. It was named after an animal, the elephant.
Converted to standard gauge and worked in this form as no. 1318. Rather than being named after a snake, Python was named after the Greek mythological creature, the Python. [ citation needed ]
Vulcan worked the last train on the Falmouth branch on 20 May 1892 before it was converted to standard gauge. The locomotive itself was also converted to standard gauge and worked in this form as no. 1319. The locomotive was named after Vulcan, a Roman god.

Cornwall Railway

Converted to standard gauge and worked in this form as no. 1323. The locomotive was named after the dragon, a kind of mythological animal.
Converted to standard gauge and worked in this form as no. 1317 until 1905 when it was sold to the South Wales Mineral Railway and became their no. 6, later returning to the Great Western Railway and running as no. 817 until finally withdrawn in 1926. For other uses of the name, see Emperor (disambiguation).
The locomotive was named after Hercules, a Roman hero.

Related Research Articles

Great Western Railway British railway company (1833-1947)

The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest and west of England, the West Midlands, and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838. It was engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who chose a broad gauge of 7 ft —later slightly widened to 7 ft 1⁄4 in —but, from 1854, a series of amalgamations saw it also operate 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in standard-gauge trains; the last broad-gauge services were operated in 1892.

Locomotives of the Great Western Railway

The first Locomotives of the Great Western Railway (GWR) were specified by Isambard Kingdom Brunel but Daniel Gooch was soon appointed as the railway's Locomotive Superintendent. He designed several different 7 ft 1⁄4 in broad gauge types for the growing railway, such as the Firefly and later Iron Duke Class 2-2-2s. In 1864 Gooch was succeeded by Joseph Armstrong who brought his standard gauge experience to the workshops at Swindon. To replace some of the earlier locomotives, he put broad gauge wheels on his standard gauge locomotives and from this time on all locomotives were given numbers, including the broad gauge ones that had previously carried just names.

GWR Metropolitan Class

The Great Western Railway Metropolitan Class 2-4-0T broad gauge steam locomotives with condensing apparatus were used for working trains on the Metropolitan Railway. The equipment was later removed, though the class continued to work suburban trains on GWR lines in London. The class was introduced into service between June 1862 and October 1864, and withdrawn between June 1871 and December 1877.

The Great Western Railway Sir Watkin Class were 0-6-0T broad gauge steam locomotives. They were designed for working goods trains through to the underground Metropolitan Railway in London. This class was introduced into service between December 1865 and the last was withdrawn at the end of the GWR broad gauge in May 1892. They were all named after directors and senior officers of the railway.

The Great Western Railway Swindon Class 0-6-0 broad gauge steam locomotives for goods train work. This class was introduced into service between November 1865 and March 1866, and withdrawn between June 1887 and the end of the GWR broad gauge in May 1892. The entire class was sold to the Bristol and Exeter Railway between July 1872 and September 1874, where they were numbered 96-109, but returned to the GWR when that railway was absorbed. The locomotives were then renumbered 2077-2090; their names were not restored.

South Devon Railway locomotives

South Devon Railway locomotives were broad gauge locomotives that operated over the South Devon Railway, Cornwall Railway, and West Cornwall Railway in England. They were, at times, operated by contractors on behalf of the railways.

The West Cornwall Railway was a railway company in Cornwall, Great Britain, formed in 1846 to construct a railway between Penzance and Truro. It purchased the existing Hayle Railway, and improved its main line, and built new sections between Penzance and Hayle, and between Redruth and Truro, and opened throughout in 1852.

South Devon Railway 0-4-0 locomotives

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.

The Eagle class were sixteen 4-4-0 saddle tank broad gauge locomotives operated on the South Devon Railway (SDR), Cornwall Railway (CR) and associated adjacent railways. They were designed for passenger trains on this steep and sharply curved line but were also used on goods trains when required.

The Gorgon class were six 4-4-0 saddle tank broad gauge locomotives operated on the South Devon Railway, Cornwall Railway and West Cornwall Railway. They were designed for passenger trains on this steep and sharply curved line but were also used on goods trains when required.

Taurus was an 0-6-0ST broad gauge locomotive operated by the South Devon Railway.

South Devon Railway 2-4-0 locomotives

The South Devon Railway 2-4-0 locomotives were small 2-4-0T broad gauge locomotives operated on the South Devon Railway, mainly on its branch lines such as that to Ashburton.

South Devon Railway Leopard class

The Leopard class were four 4-4-0 saddle tank broad gauge designed for passenger trains but were also used on goods trains when required. They were built by the Avonside Engine Company for the South Devon Railway, but also operated on its associated railways. Although designed for easy conversion to standard gauge this was never carried out.

The four Tornado class locomotives were 0-6-0ST broad gauge locomotives operated on the South Devon Railway and associated railways. They were designed for goods trains but were also used on passenger trains when required.

South Devon Railway <i>Dido</i> class Class of 8 British broad-gauge 0-6-0ST locomotives

The eight Dido class locomotives were 0-6-0ST broad gauge locomotives operated on the South Devon Railway and Cornwall Railway and associated other adjacent railways. They were designed for goods trains but were also used on passenger trains when required.

The Torbay and Brixham Railway was a 7 ft broad gauge railway in England which linked the Dartmouth and Torbay Railway at Churston railway station, Devon with the important fishing port of Brixham. It was a little over two miles long. Never more than a local branch line, it closed in 1963.

The 26 Bristol and Exeter Railway 4-4-0ST locomotives were broad gauge 4-4-0 saddle tank steam locomotives. They first entered service in 1855 and the last was withdrawn in 1892. The Bristol and Exeter Railway was amalgamated into the Great Western Railway on 1 January 1876.

Vale of Neath Railway 0-6-0ST locomotives were 0-6-0ST steam locomotives for working the heavy goods traffic on the Vale of Neath Railway and its associated lines in Wales. The first of 13 broad gauge locomotives entered service in 1854 and the last was withdrawn in 1886. The remaining four were standard gauge locomotives.

GWR 1076 Class

The 1076 Class were 266 double framed 0-6-0T locomotives built by the Great Western Railway between 1870 and 1881; the last one, number 1287, was withdrawn in 1946. They are often referred to as the Buffalo Class following the naming of locomotive 1134.

References

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