The

Illustrated

Encyclopedia of the Worlds

Pauenger Locomoli vei

CRESCENT BOOKS
New York

The

Illustrated

Encyclopedia of the Worlds

Paiienger locomot i wei

A technical directory of major international
express train engines from the 1820s to the present day
Brian Hollingsworth

A Salamander

The author

Book

BRIAN HOLLINGSWORTH,

M.A., M.I.C.E.

English Edition published by

Salamander Books Ltd. This edition is
published by Crescent Books.
Distributed by Crown Publishers, Inc.

Brian Hollingsworth has had an extravagant passion for railways ever since he can
remember. After qualifying in engineering at Cambridge University, and after a
brief excursion into the world of flying
machines, he joined the Great Western
Railway in 1946, his mathematical background leading him into British Rail's

hgfedcba

computers and also to a heavy involvement with BR's TOPS wagon and train

Salamander Books Ltd. 1982

All rights reserved.

First

control system.

He

Printed in Belgium

left

British Rail in 1974 to take

up

ISBN 0-517-374862

writing and has published nine major

books on various aspects of railways be-

Library of Congress Catalog Card

Number: 82-71276.

The consultant

correspondence concerning the

content of this volume should be
addressed to Salamander Books Ltd.,
Salamander House, 27 Old Gloucester
Street, London WC1N 3AF, United

Patrick

All

PATRICK

B.

WHITEHOUSE,

He

has also

been active in steam preservation, becoming the secretary of the very first
British line to be rescued by amateurs,
the Talyllyn Railway in North Wales. In
addition, he is a patron of the worldfamous Ffestiniog Railway and has a

Credits
Editor:

Ray Bonds

LMS

Yorkshire Moors Railway for tourists and

rail

enthusiasts.

O.B.E., A.R.P.S.

Whitehouse is the author of some

30 books on railway subjects, and has
been editor of and consultant to several
national railway magazines.

Kingdom.

sides contributing to technical railway

periodicals.
He is a director of the Romney, Hythe
and Dymchurch Railway and civil engineering adviser to the Ffestiniog Railway.
He has a fleet of one-fifth full size locomotives which run on his private railway
in his own 'back garden' (actually a portion
of a Welsh mountain!), and he actually
owns the full-size
'Black Five' Class
4-6-0 No. 5428 Eric Treacy, which operates as a working locomotive on the North

direct involvement in the preservation

of several main

and indeed ownership

line

steam locomotives.

An Associate of the Royal Photographic

Society, Patrick Whitehouse has been
taking photographs of railway subjects
since the age of eleven, and over the years
has built up a picture library of approximately 100,000 railway subjects worldwide. To keep himself up-to-date he sets
aside at least a month in every year to
travel the world not only to look at the
main lines but also to poke into the corners to seek out what is left of steam.

Designer: Philip Gorton

Color artwork: Terry Hadler, David

Palmer, Dick Eastland, Michael Roffe,
and TIG A Ltd. ( Salamander
Books Ltd.).
Picture research: Diane and John Moore
(lull picture credits are given at the back
ol the book)
Filmset:

Modern Text

Ltd.

Color and monochrome reproduction:

Rodney Howe

Ltd.

Printed in Belgium by Henri Proost et Cie

Author's acknowledgements
The author wishes to express his special
thanks to Arthur Cook who contributed
22 of the locomotive descriptions, including all the German entries, most of those
concerned with the Pennsylvania Railroad, and a number of others. His gratitude is also due to Peter Kalla-Bishop who
checked the manuscript, making many
valuable suggestions, and who prepared
the index, as well as to Margot Cooper
who took the main burden of the typing.

As regards

all

the wonderful artwork and

rare photographs in the book, the author

would also like to pay tribute to the team
of artists, to

Diana and John Moore, and to

those people and institutions who have

scoured their archives and treasured
photo collections to help make the book
one of the best illustrated on the subject
of steam locomotives.
all

Brian Hollingsworth

6
7
1
1

Contents
Locomotives are arranged

in chronological order,

except where production problems have prevented

Introduction

BESA

Class 4-6-0 (India)

72
74
76
76
78
80

P8 4-6-0 (Germany)
Cardean Class 4-6-0 (GB)
Class

14

Glossary

Northumbnan

0-2-2 (GB)

Planet Class 2-2-0 (GB)

Best Fnend of Charleston 0-4-0 (US)
Brother Jonathan 4-2-0 (US)
Vauxhall 2-2-0 (Ireland)

Bury 2-2-0 (UK)

Adler 2-2-2 (Germany)
Campbell 4-4-0 (US)
Hercules 4-4-0 (US)
Lafayette 4-2-0 (US)
Fire Fly Class 2-2-2 (UK)
Lion 0-4-2 (UK)
Beuth 2-2-2 (UK)

Medoc

Class 2-4-0 (Switzerland)

2-2-2 (France)

Buddicom Class

Gloggmtzer Class 4-4-0 (Austria)

Crampton Type 4-2-0 (France)
Pearson 9ft Single Class 4-2-4 (GB)
American Type 4-4-0 (US)
Problem Class 2-2-2 (GB)
Stirling 8ft Single Class 4-2-2 (GB)
Class 121 2-4-2 (France)
Class 79 4-4-0 (Australia)
Duke Class 4-4-0 (GB)
Gladstone Class 0-4-2 (GB)
Vittorio Emanuele II 4-6-0 (Italy)
Class X2 4-4-0 (GB)
Teutonic Class 2-2-2-0 (GB)
Rover Class 4-2-2 (GB)
Johnson Midland Single 4-2-2 (GB)
Class 17 4-4-0 (Belgium)
Class S3 4-4-0 (Germany)
Class 6 4-4-0 (Austria)
No. 999 4-4-0 (US)
I- 1 Class 4-6-0 (US)
Class D16sb 4-4-0 (US)
Class Ql 4-4-0 (GB)
Camelback Class 4-4-2 (US)
Class 500 4-6-0 (Italy)
Class E3sd 4-4-2 (US)
Claud Hamilton Class 4-4-0 (GB)
Grosse C Class 4-4-0 (France)
de Glehn Atlantic 4-4-2 (France)
4-6-2 (New Zealand)
Class
Class F15 4-6-2 (US)
Large Atlantic Class 4-4-2 (GB)
Midland Compound 4-4-0 (GB)
City Class 4-4-0 (GB)
Saint Class 4-6-0 (GB)
Class P 4-4-2 (Denmark)
Class 640 2-6-0 (Italy)

20
20
20
21

22
23
24
24
25
26
28
30
30
32
32
33
34
34
36
38
38
40
40
42
42
44
44
46
47
48
48
50
52
52
54

54
56
56
58
58
61

60
62
64
64
66
66
67
68
70
70

4-6-0 (Australia)
4-6-2 (France)
Class S 3/6 4-6-2 (Germany)
Class 10 4-6-2 (Belgium)

Class

4500 Class

Fold-out

81

82-89

90
90

50 1 Class 4-6-2 (Argentina)

Class A3/5 4-6-0 (Switzerland)
Class 3700 4-6-0 (Netherlands)
Fairlie 0-6-6-0 (Mexico)
George the Fifth Class 4-4-0 (GB)
Class S 2-6-2 (Russia)
1

Class 685 2-6-2 (Italy)

Class 23 1 C 4-6-2 (France)
Class 3 1 2-6-4 (Austria)
Remembrance Class 4-6-4 Tank (GB)
Class F 4-6-2 (Sweden)
K4 Class 4-6-2 (US)
C53 Class 4-6-2 (Dutch East Indies)
Class 231D 4-6-2 (France)
Class A 1 4-6-2 (GB)
Super-Pacific 4-6-2 (France)
Class P 1 2-8-2 (Germany)
El/Dl Class 4-4-0 (GB)
Castle Class 4-6-0 (GB)
Class 424 4-8-0 (Hungary)
24 1 A Class 4-8-2 (France)
4300 Class 4-8-4 (US)
Class 01 4-6-2 (Germany)
King Arthur Class 4-6-0 (GB)
Lord Nelson Class 4-6-0 (GB)
Class XC 4-6-2 (India)
Class S 4-6-2 (Australia)
Class Hv2 4-6-0 (Finland)
Royal Scot Class 4-6-0 (GB)
Class A 4-8-4 (US)
Class Ps-4 4-6-2 (US)
King Class 4-6-0 (GB)
Class J3a 4-6-4 (US)
Schools Class 4-4-0 (GB)
Class 500 4-8-4 (Australia)
KF Type 4-8-4 (China)
Class K 4-8-4 (New Zealand)
Class P2 2-8-2 (GB)
Class V 4-4-0 (Ireland)

Turbomotive

4-6-2 (GB)
Andes Class 2-8-0 (Peru)
Class 5P5F 4-6-0 (GB)
4-4-2 (US)
Class
Class F7 4-6-4 (US)

it.

92
92
94
94
96
97
98
98
100
102
102
104
106
1

06

107
108
1 1
1 1

1 1

12
114
14
116
1

1 1
1 1
1

18

120
122
122
124
1 26
126
128
128
130
130
131
1 32
132
134
134

A4

Class 4-6-2 (GB)

No. 10000 4-6-4 (GB)

Fold-out
Class 05

136
137
138-145

4-6-4

(Germany)

146

Dovregrubben Class

2-8-4 (Norway) 1 46
4-6-4 (US)
148
4-6-2
1 6E
(South Africa)
1 48
231-132BT Class 4-6-2+2-6-4 (Algeria)

Class
Class

1-5

150
150
52
154
1 56
1 58
1 58
160
160
162
1 62
1 64
166
166
168
168
170
172
174
176
178
180
182
182
184
184
186
186
1 88

Class 142 2-8-4 (Roumania)

Duchess Class 4-6-2 (GB)
Class GS-4 4-8-4 (US)
Royal Hudson Class 4-6-4 (Canada)
Class U-4 4-8-4 (Canada)
Class Ul-f 4-8-2 (Canada)
V2 Class 2-6-2 (GB)
Class E4 4-6-4 (US)
Class 56 4-6-2 (Malaysia)
800 Class 4-6-0 (Ireland)
FEF-2 Class 4-8-4 (US)
Class 12 4-4-2 (Belgium)
520 Class 4-8-4 (Australia)
Class C38 4-6-2 (Australia)
Class Tl 4-4-4-4 (US)
Challenger Class 4-6-6-4 (US)
Class J 4-8-4 (US)
2900 Class 4-8-4 (US)
West Country Class 4-6-2 (GB)
Niagara Class 4-8-4 (US)
242 A 1 4-8-4 (France)
C62 Class 4-6-4 (Japan)
Pt-47 Class 2-8-2 (Poland)
Class A 1 4-6-2 (GB)
4-6-2 (India)
Class
Class 241P 4-8-2 (France)
L-2a Class 4-6-4 (US)
Class 1 10 4-6-2 (Germany)
Class 23 1 U 1 4-6-4 (France)
P36 Class 4-8-4 (Soviet Union)
Gelsa Class 4-8-4 (Brazil)
Class YP 4-6-2 (India)
Class 1 1 4-8-4 (Angola)
Selkirk Class 2- 1 0-4 (Canada)
Class 8 4-6-2 (GB)
Class 25 4-8-4 (South Africa)
Class 59 4-8-2 + 2-8-4 (Kenya)
Class 1 5 A 4-6-4 + 4-6-4 (Rhodesia)
Class 498. 1 4-8-2 (Czechoslovakia)
242 Class 4-8-4 (Spain)
Class 4-6-2 (China)

RM

200
200
202
202
204

Index

206

WP

89
190
1 92
192
194
1 94
196
1 98
1

Introduction
book
the
THE PURPOSE
development, triumph and,
of this

is

birth,

to tell

story of the

finally,

slow

extinction of that best-loved of all mankind's

mechanical creations, the steam express passenger
locomotive. It attempts to do so by describing and
illustrating individually over 150 outstanding examples of the breed arranged (in general) chronologically.

The story begins over 150 years ago when those

legendary "Rocket" class locomotives were built by
George and Robert Stephenson for the world's first
inter-city railway between Liverpool and Manchester. All England held its breath as these little
fire chariots began to annihilate space and time at
speeds up to 35mph (56km/h). In this way journey
times were reduced by a factor of three or more, in
comparison with those achieved by road carnages
hauled by the flesh-and-blood kind of horse. Within
a dozen years even these speeds had doubled,
while locomotive weights had trebled, power outputs had quadrupled and a fair degree of reliability
had been achieved. In addition, two quite separate
development had emerged on either side of

lines of

the Atlantic Ocean.

Above: Southern Railway "West Country

4-6-2

Blackmore Vale hauls a tram on the Blueb

Iwaym

1981.

Even nowadays, when

far more wonderful exman's mastery over Nature's physical

forces are commonplace, we find a working steam
locomotive a thrilling sight, but for people living
then it must have been awesome indeed. No wonder
people expected the cattle to be made barren, the
crops to fail, hens to cease laying and fruit to rot on
the trees when a steam locomotive thundered by.

amples

of

None of these things happened but, nevertheless,

the coming of the steam locomotive changed the
world in a few short years by reducing both the
cost as well as the speed of travel again by a factor
of three or more. No longer did all but a favoured
few among people living in inland regions need to
spend all their lives in the same place. Of course, in
the wilder parts of the world the coming of steam
locomotion often marked the very start of civilisation: the railway actually opened up and built
many countries, the United States of America being
the most prominent example.
But there is another side to steam on rails and,
surprisingly,

Kemble who

it

is

and almost the

was
the
last

young

first

actress called

Fanny

person (and both the first

as having

woman) on record

realised that here was a new art-form to thrill the

senses. On 26 August 1830 she wrote to a friend
that ". .a common sheet of paper is enough for
love but a foolscap extra can alone contain a railroad
.

my ecstasies". She went on to speak of "this

brave little she-dragon
the magical machine with
its wonderful flying white breath and rhythmical
unvarying pace" and finally she felt as if "no fairy
tale was ever half so wonderful as what I saw".
and

not everyone was conducted by George

Stephenson personally the first time they met a
steam locomotive but, even so, this perspicacious

True,

lady really rang the bell in speaking of the iron

horse the way she did.
Many of the rest of us are only beginning to
realise the value of what we used to have now that
it has been or is being snatched away.
In most

Above: A construction tram on the Mexican Railway is pulled

across a spindly steel viaduct behind a Fairlie articulated locomotive.

countries one can no longer stand beside the railline and listen to the thrum, thrum, thrum of a

way

steam locomotive as an express train comes up fast

towards us, then watch it go by with rods flailing
and a white plume of exhaust shining in the sunshine; or maybe stand at the carriage window and
listen to the chimney music and the patter of cinders
on the roof as a mighty steam locomotive up front
pounds up some long hard grade in the mountains.
But this steam locomotive worship thing has
much more to it than that and for pointing this out
we again owe Miss Kemble our gratitude. Almost
without realising it not being familiar with today's
railway locomotives which are just noisy boxes on
wheels she pin-pomted one of the other great
charms of the steam locomotive, the fact that most
of its secrets are laid bare for those who have eyes
to see. Fanny wrote "...she (for they make all

Above: "Duchess" class

York, England,

4-6-2

on her first trip

Duchess

of Hamilton leaves

after restoration.

Left: "A4 " class 4-6-2 No. 60025 Falcon bursts

from Gasworks Tunnel, Kings Cross with the Flying Scotsman.

these curious

little

firehorses mares) consisted of a

she
bench
goes on two wheels which are her feet and are

boiler, a stove,

a small platform, a

moved by

bright steel legs called pistons; these are

propelled by steam and in proportion as more steam
is applied to the upper extremeties (the hip-joints, I
suppose) of these pistons, the faster they move the
reins, bit and bridle of this wondera small steel handle, which applies and
withdraws the steam from the legs or pistons, so
that a child might manage it. The coals, which are

wheels
ful

beast

The

is

oats, were under the bench and there was a

small glass tube fixed to the boiler, with water in it,
which indicates by its fulness or emptiness when
."
the creature wants water

its

Although steam locomotives up to six times larger, forty-six times heavier and with a nominal
pulling force sixty times that of Fanny's locomotive

steam locomotives as, say, the Niagara 4-8-4s of the

New York Central Railroad.
Efforts have been made to make the geographical
coverage as wide as possible; some priority has
been given to including examples from all those
nations some of

them

surprisingly small

and

agri-

culturalwhich built their own steam express locomotives. At the same time the examples chosen are
intended to have as wide a coverage as possible in
a technical sense: taking express trains across high
passes in the North American Rockies needed a
different sort of animal to doing high speeds across
the Plain of York in England.
Finally, not forgotten have been some brave
attempts to advance the technology of the steam
express locomotive beyond the original Stephenson
concept. Some of the most promising among compound, articulated, condensing and turbine locomotives are included with the sole proviso that the
examples chosen did at least run in traffic on important trains, even if they did not represent the
main-stream of development.
Further difficulties arose over drawing the line
between express passenger locomotives and others.
Apart from such obvious signs as coloured liveries
of names to help one to decide,
the principal question asked has been, "Was this
machine intended to be used on one of the world's
great trains?" If the answer was "yes", then we had
a candidate for inclusion.

and the carrying

The Descriptions
The

Above: A German Federal Railways class "01 " 4-6-2

makes a hne show of exhaust smoke setting out with an

individual descriptions which form the body of

the book attempt to look at each locomotive in
several different ways. First, one must take a glance
at its nuts-and-bolts that is, weights, pressures,
sizes, etc. Second, comes the bare bones of its
history how many there were, when they were
built, who designed and built them, how long they
lasted and the like. Thirdly, perhaps more interestingly, there are the technical aspects. The steam
locomotive came in fascinating variety and, with
most of its mechanism being visible, even the
smallest details have always attracted attention from

was Northumbrian, by the way) are included in

book, her enchanting description fits them too.
All the elements mentioned are similarly visible to
the casual observer in the same way; and whether
their maximum speed is 25mph (40km/h) or 125mph
(200km/h), their working follows exactly the same
(it

this

principles.

However much the steam locomotive's vital statmay vary and this is reflected in extremes of

istics

shape as well as size one thing does not, and that

is its degree of attraction for us. Whether it is
elaborately painted and lined or just coated with
bitumen (or even rust), or whether given a brassplate complete with romantic name or simply a
stencilled-on number, the result is the same it
us a desire to find out everything there is
of these wonderful machines.
In respect of the writing of this book, the most
difficult problem has been to select the best
examples from among so many well-qualified candidates. Naturally, the first choice has been those
that represent major steps along the road of evolution from Stephenson's Rocket to such ultimate
instills in

to

know about each and every one

and amateur alike.

Next comes the tale of what the class of locomotive was built to do as well as how (and whether)
if fulfilled its designers' aspirations. Then something
has to be said about the way it looks its success or
failure as a work of art if you like. Lastly, a brief
mention is made of any that survive today.
As regards individual items on the description, the
heading of each one begins with the class or class
name. Different railways had different systems;
many of the designations were designed to tell you
something about the locomotive. For example, the
British London & North Eastern Railway used a
letter which told you the wheel arrangement, followed by a number which identified the actual class
within that type. Hence the "A4" class were the
streamlined 4-6-2s (of which the record-breaker
Mallard was the outstanding example), the fourth
class of 4-6-2 introduced by the LNER or its
professional

express.

predecessors.

Other railways used

random

class

as those applied to

numbers which were

some modern aircraft

as
or

computers. Yet others (and these included such

opposite ends of the spectrum as feudal Great
Western of Britain as well as the Railways of the
Chinese People's Republic) had names "King" and

Type Designations

for

Steam Express Passenger Locomotives

Name

British and
N. American

Continental

0-2-2

Al

2-2-0

1A

alP#

2-2-2

1A1

mmw

4-2-0

2A

##W#
##W##

4-2-2

2A1

4-2-4

2A2

0-4-2

Bl

2-4-0

IB

^M,

2-4-2

1B1

,0.

4-4-0

2B

American

4-4-2

2B1

Atlantic

4-4-4

2B2

(Jubilee)*

2-6-0

1C

Mogul

2-6-2

1C1

Prairie

2-6-4

1C2

(Adriatic)*

4-6-0

2C

Ten-wheeler

4-6-2

2C1

Pacific

C^MM.

4-6-4

2C2

Hudson, Baltic

(^MM4

2-8-0

ID

Consolidation

2-8-2

1D1

Mikado

4-8-0

2D

(Mastodon)*

4-8-2

2D1

Mountain

4-8-4

2D2

(Confederation)*

4-6-6-4

2CC2

Challenger

Configuration

mm

,:

fc\ ?

&

#
Q

SM

mm

&&

f&\

B-

fk
*

jldLAJ

&
:-^4^^

These names were never frequently used.

4-6-2
2-6-4

4-8-2
2-8-4

European

2C1 +
1C2
2D1 +
1D2

Northern

Garratt
Garratt

"Castle" for the former and "March Forward" and

for the latter to distinguish different

"Aiming High"

designs in their locomotive fleet.

There then follows the type, the country of ownership, the railway
As regards individual items in the descriptions, in
general they are arranged as follows. The heading
tells of the class (or name) and type, the country,
the railway and the date of introduction of the
particular locomotive in question. For steam locomotives, "type" has a special meaning and refers to
the arrangement of driving wheels. Many common
types have names; others are only referred to by
code. The list of types mentioned in this book is
given in the table in this introduction.

Locomotive Particulars
Each individual description begins with a list of
dimensions, areas, weights, loads, forces and capacities applicable to the locomotive class in question.
Naturally these are offered to the reader in good
faith, but it must be realised that only one of them
the length of the stroke of the cylinders, is at all
precise. Some vary as the engine goes along and
coal and water in the boiler and in the tender is
consumed or taken on. Others vary as wear takes
place and there are one or two which were often
deliberately falsified. Usually, too, there are some
members of a class which differ from the others in
various particulars.
All these things mean that the information is
offered with a certain reserve. To emphasise this
uncertainty, most of the figures have been suitably
rounded. The first figure in each case is given in
English gallons, pounds, feet or inches as appropriate; then comes (in brackets) the figure in metric
measure. Where capacities are concerned there is
an intermediate figure in US gallons. It should be
noted that, since both the imperial and the metric
figures have been appropriately rounded they are
no longer the precise equivalent of one another.
This applies particularly in respect of weights; it is a
point that the metric ton and the imperial ton differ
by far less (2%) than the amount the attributes they
are used here to quantify can vary. This will be 10%
more. The individual entries are as follows.

Above: Indian Railways' metre-gauge class

No. 2539 at Agra Fort station.

4-b-ii

Tractive Effort This

is a nominal figure which

indication of the pulling force ("drawbar
pull") which a locomotive can exert. It assumes a

gives

some

of 85 per cent of the maximum

in the boiler acting on the piston
diameter. The figure takes into account the leverage
implicit in the ratio between the distance from the
axle to the crank-pin and the distance from the axle
to the rail. In locomotives with more than two cyl-

steam pressure
steam pressure

inders the valve found

number

of cylinders.

is

multiplied

by

half the

For compound locomotives

none

of the formulae available give results that are

meaningful m comparative terms, so this entry is
omitted in such cases. The value is specified both in

Above: The famous preserved locomotive Flying Scotsman

near Clapham, Yorkshire, England. Note auxiliary water tender.

the amount, but the other side usually specify the

limits with some margin to allow for this. Axle load
also varies according to the amount of coal and
water in the boiler and, in addition, there are the
dynamic effects while the engine is moving. The
axle load is specified in pounds and tons; but
note that the variability is far greater than the difference between imperial tons of 2,2401bs and
metric tonnes of 2,2041bs.

pounds and kilograms.

Axle load This

applied by any

figure gives the highest static load

pair of wheels to the rails. For any

particular line the permanent way department of

the railway places a limit on this value dependent
on the strength of the rails and the sleeper spacing.
Mechanical departments who control the use of the
weighing apparatus usually cheat by understating

Cylinders The number of cylinders as well as their

diameter and stroke are given; the latter can be
relied upon for accuracy, but the former will increase as the cylinder is re-bored to counteract
wear. When new cylinders or liners are fitted the
diameter returns to that specified. Compound locomotives have high-pressure (HP) and low-pressure
(LP) cylinders

which

differ in size

and may

differ in

Above: Laying-in continuous welded rail from a special tram ne

Northallerton, Yorkshire, England.

C WH

"King" class 4-6-0 rolls a speciaJ train

Above: A
alongside the crowded platforms of Snow Hill station, Birmingham.
Left: This picture of German Federal Railways
shows perfectly the power and glory of steam.

number both

are specified when appropriate. If a

is described, say, as "(3) I6K2 x 28in.
(419 x 711mm)", it means that there are three cylinders 16'/2 inches (419 millimetres) in diameter and
with 28 inches (71 1 millimetres) stroke.
set of cylinders

a measure of the size of its boiler and is made up

of the surface area of the fire-tubes, of the fire-box
and of any water tubes etc. in the firebox.
is

Superheater The area

is

Driving wheels The diameter of the driving wheels

might be thought to be reliable but they are
turned in a lathe from time to time in order to
counteract irregular wear. So the actual diameter
may be up to 3in (75mm) less than the nominal
amount recorded, specified in inches and millimetres. The difference in weight between wheel
sets with new tyres and with tyres turned to the
permitted limit would reduce the axle-load by Vi ton.

Heating surface The heating surface area of a locomotive (specified in square feet and square metres)

4-6-2 No.OOl- 192-4

of the superheater

elements

specified in square feet and square metres.

at which the
given here. It is also the
pressure at which the safety valves should be set to
open, but of course at any given moment during a
run the steam pressure may be less than this, sometimes considerably less if things are not going well.
Steam pressure is specified in pounds per square
inch and kilograms per square centimetre.

Steam pressure The steam pressure

boiler

is

intended to work

is

Grate area This is a particularly important figure

because it represents the size of the fire, and the

because

it represents the size of the fire, and the

the source of a steam locomotive's power. It
specified in square feet (square metres).

fire is
is

Fuel Unless otherwise stated, the fuel used in a

particular locomotive can be assumed to be coal.
The nominal amount which can be carried is specified in pounds (lb) and tons. If liquid fuel is used
the capacity is specified (with greater confidence
than for coal) in British gallons, US gallons and
cubic metres.

Water The amount

of

water carried in tender and/or

tanks is specified in British gallons,

cubic metres.

US

gallons

and

Adhesive weight A locomotive can only exert the

pulling power implicit in its nominal tractive effort
if there is adequate adhesion between its driving
wheels and the rails. The amount of adhesive
weight (often described as "weight on coupled
wheels") is specified in pounds and tons. The figure
quoted must be regarded as a nominal one.
Total weight The total weight of the engine and
tender fully loaded is specified in pounds and tons.
It is another figure (specified in pounds and tons)
whose variability is affected by the same factors as

Above: An American engineer at the

Grande Western 2-8-2 locomotive.

throttle of a

Denver & Rio

the axle-load.

Overall length This is the length either over the

buffers of engine and tender, or over the coupling
faces where centre buffers are used, and it is specified in feet and inches as well as in millimetres.

Abbreviations The usual abbreviations are used

both in these lists and in the text; lb=pounds,
ft=feet,
in=inches, sq ft=square feet; gall=
gallons, US = United States gallons, psi=pounds per
square inch, mph=miles per hour, kg=kilograms,
t=tons, mm = millimetres, m = metres, m 2 =square
metres, m 3 =cubic metres, kg/cm 2 =kilograms per
square centimetre, km=kilometres, km/h=kilometres per hour, hp= horsepower.
A less common measure which appears from time
to time is the chain, used for specifying the radii of
curves. A chain (abbreviated as "ch") equals 66ft,
the length of an English cricket pitch, l/80th mile
and, for practical purposes, 20 metres.

How a Steam Locomotive Works

The steam locomotive

is often derided for its

efficiency; yet few realise that its elegant
simplicity betokens a mechanical efficiency that
even today makes it a viable proposition in many
circumstances in spite of what those who have a
vested interest in its successors have to say.

modest

The

on which the steam locomotive

water heated above boiling point tries
to become steam and thus expands to a volume
1,700 times greater. Inside the boiler it remains
confined and therefore the pressure rises. Once
steam is transferred to a cylinder with a piston,
therefore, it will push. If the push from the piston is
transferred by a system of rods to the wheels, then
steam from the boiler will produce movement.
The steam engine consists of these two quite
separate parts the boiler part and the engine part.
works

The

principle

is

that

boiler is a closed vessel which in most locomotives contains a lire-box at the rear and tubes to

Above: New Zealand Railways class "K" 4-8-4 No. 905 near
Rotorua on an Auckland express, July 1956.

lead the hot gases from the fire to a smoke-box

attached at the front. Hundreds of rods called stays
are provided inside the boiler in order to resist this
pressure. A valve, known as the regulator (throttle)
is provided to control the flow of steam down the
main steam pipe to the engine part. Once the steam
has done its work there, it is exhausted through the
blast-pipe into the smoke-box and up the chimney.
The so-called blast-pipe is arranged so that the
steam issuing from it produced a partial vacuum in
the smoke-box and hence draws the fire (in the
fire-box) proportionately to the amount of steam
being used. Hence the more steam is used the
more steam is made. Other types of boiler have
from time to time been tried but rarely adopted.
Most steam locomotives are coal-burning and in
these the fire burns on a grate formed of iron
lire-bars. As the coal burns, ashes fall through these

Above: The biggest and most powerful steam locomotive ever

used m passenger service a Union

Pacific "Challenger" 4-6-6-4.

Above: German Federal Railways class "0 " 4-6-2 No.00 1-187-4
Wurzburg with a train to Hot, April 1970.

at Neuenmarkt

Left: The last steam locomotive built for British Railways,

2-10-0 Evening Star, at Didcot, Berkshire.

into an ash-pan underneath. Means of putting water

into the boiler have to be provided, as well as a
store of water to replace that which gets used as
If the water tank is on a separate vehicle it is
called a tender (and the locomotive a tender locomotive). A tank locomotive has the tank or tanks on

steam.

the locomotive.

The engine part consists of frames which can be

built up from iron or steel plates or bars, or may be
a one-piece steel casting. In this are formed slots for
axle-boxes which carry the wheel sets consisting of
pairs of

wheels mounted on

axles.

The axleboxes

are connected to the frame by a system of springs.

The cylinders are fixed to the frames and each one
contains a piston. The piston forces which result
from the admission of steam to these cylinders (it is
done alternately at either end) are transmitted to
the wheels by a system of rods and guides, the

consisting of cross-head and one or more

A circular piston rod connects the piston
to the cross-head via a steam-tight gland, while a
connecting-rod connects the crosshead to the
driving wheels. Further pairs of wheels may be
driven by means of coupling rods.
In order to lead the steam into or out of the end
of the cylinder when and according to the direction and speed of movement where it is required,
a valve or valves are provided. These are linked
with the wheels by means of valve gear. The types
of valves and valve gears used down the years have
been many and varied as the narrative to follow
bears witness. But all of them exploit the principle
that if steam is admitted to one end of a cylinder
with a piston inside it, that piston will be pushed
with a force dependent on the pressure of the steam
and the area of the piston.
latter

guide bars.

Glossary
American Railroad
English and British Railway Eng-

Notes

lish differ slightly.

Where

this is

the case the fact is noted thus:

Bogie (US = truck) or Truck (Br
= bogie). Both entries appear

but the definition

is

given only

Articulated locomotive - a
locomotive whose driving wheels
are in distinct sets one or more of
which are hinged or pivoted.
Fairlie, Beyer-Garratt and Mallet
types form the subject of individ-

diesel)
if

it

is

engine
to

work

smoothly Revolving masses can

easily be balanced by counterweights, but the balancing ofreciprocatmg parts is a matter of

compromise and judgement

which follow

ual descriptions

any steam (or

need balancing,

against the British one

Ash-pan 52 -

Bar frames

appropriate, items are

referenced to the cut-away drawing below, viz Clack valve or

a feature of a
locomotive which has the same

form and purpose as the dom-

Beyer-Garratt
locomotive
see "23 1 + 1 32BT" class, pages

Check

ashes which

fall

of the grate.

The only

Where

valve 72.

estic

variety,

ie.,

to collect

the

through the bars

difference is the size, measured

in feet rather than inches.

exert.

convenient to

Axlebox

44

the axle
bearings
locomotive are
known as axleboxes. It is usually
28,
of a

make them box-

to suit the guides and

openings in the frames which
should constrain movement in
the horizontal plane but allow

shaped

Arch tubes

tubes connected
water-space of the boiler
provided in and across the firebox in order to add extra hightemperature heating surface.
They also serve to support the
brick arch or equivalent.
to the

freedom

Balancing 88
the reciprocating and revolving masses of

King Class 4-6-0

drawing shows the working
parts of a King Class 4-6-0
(seepage 122), senior member
77ie

of a unique family of standard

engines. This uniqueness
appears on the drawing many
ways: e.g., the mouth of the
steam-pipe (67) is placed at the
highest point of the boiler instead
ofmside a separate raised dome
on top of the boiler as is more

mam

usual.
(Drawing reproduced with
acknowledgements to Railway Wonders of
Ihe World
)

vertically.

not being run under

is

valve a means of
releasing water, plus impurities
contained therein, from the lowest
water space of the boiler.

Blowdown

Boiler tubes 75

see frames

see

fire

tubes.

150-151.

significant

Adhesive weight the weight

on the driving wheels of a locomotive. On its amount depends
the frictional grip between wheels
and rail and hence the drawbar
pull which a locomotive can

motive
steam.

Blast pipe 7 the exhaust

pipes of a steam locomotive are
arranged so that the steam emerges as a jet through a nozzle in
the smokebox below the chimney This creates a partial vacuum

smokebox, which draws

through the boiler tubes and

in the
air

through the fire, so enabling

combustion to take place.

Blower 2
smokebox or

a steam ]et in the

at the base of the

chimney which can be used

draw up

the

fire

when

to

the loco-

Bogie (US=truck) 24,

27, 29,

30

a pivoted truck, usually fourwheeled, provided at the front or

rear of a locomotive to give
and support. Most
items of rolling stock and many

guidance

steam locomotive tenders.

Brakes

locomotives usually
(but not always) have a hand
brake and (also usually) some

form of power brake. Power

brakes can be actuated by compressed air, steam or vacuum.
Air and vacuum brakes normally
can be applied throughout the
tram by using the controls on the
locomotive

Great Britain:
Great Western Railway (GWR), .927

Chimney

2 Blower Connection
3 Smoke-box Door Baffle
4 Door-fastening Dart
5 Smoke-box Door

6 Smoke-box
7 Blast Pipe
8 Steam Port
9 Outside Steam-pipe
10 Steam-pipe from
Superheater
11 Superheater Header
12 Regulator Valve
13 Jumper Top

14
15
16
17
18
19

Steam Chest
Piston Valve

Valve

Rod

Piston
Piston

Rod

Stuffing Gland
20 Front Cylinder Cover

21 Buffer

22
23
24
25
26
27

Screw Coupling
Life

Guard

Bogie Frame
Cylinder Drain Cocks
Cylinder

Bogie Wheel

28 Outside Bogie Axlebox

29 Bogie Spring
30 Bogie Side-Control Spring
Housing
31 Crosshead
32 Inside Cylinder Steam
Chest

33
34
35
36
37
38
39

Valve Spindle Rocker

Guide Bars
Guide Bar Bracket
Bogie Bearing Angle

Engine

Mam Frame

Crank Pin
Coupling Rod

vision of a brick arch was necessary before coal could be used

without producing excessive

long-barrelled boilers

form of train brake, using compressed air as the medium of

application

smoke

inter-connection,

Air Brake

the

Vacuum brake
to an
brake

commonest

the alternative

brake is a vacuum
For steam locomotives

air

the vacuum is much simpler than

the air brake, mainly because a

Chimney (US/Smokestack)

the orifice through which the

exhaust steam and the gaseous
products of combustion are dispersed into the atmosphere

vacuum can be generated from

any steam supply by a simple
whereas comejector,
static
pressed air needs a relatively

complex

pump The objection to

the vacuum system is that the

pressure available is limited to
about three-quarters of the
atmospheric pressure, that is,
some 12psi (0.8kg/ cm 2 This
means either very large cylinders
or a limited brake force
)

Brick arch 79 a bnck or

concrete baffle provided at the
front of a locomotive firebox
below the tubes, in order to
extend the flame path. Early
locomotives burnt coke; pro-

40 Leading Driving Wheel

41 Connecting

42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50

Rod

Sand-boxes
Dnving Wheel Springs
Axle-box Horns
Sand-pipes
Brake Blocks
Middle Driving Wheel
Vacuum Brake Train Pipe
Trailing Wheel Spring
Covers for Indiarubber
Pads

51 Equalizer Guards

52 Ash-pan

Clack valve or Check valve .Y

a non-return valve attached to

the boiler at the points

is admitted.

where

feed water

Coal

pusher

operated device in
intended to push coal forward to
a point

Combustion chamber a

re-

cessing of the firebox tubeplate

the boiler in order to
increase the firebox volume at
the expense of reducing the
length of the tubes in order to
promote better combustion in
inside

of

equalising levers, of the springs

of adjacent axles The idea is to
avoid individual axles being over

or under loaded by
larities in

irregu-

boiler

61 Reversing Gear Handle

Fire

Door

Regulator Handle
Blower Valve
Whistle
Regulator Rod
Mouth of Steam-pipe
Vertical Stays

Boiler Casing
Internal Steam-pipe

(Br-Coupling)

then the

as usual,

Coupling US=Coupler) 22 couplings join the vehicles of a

train. Non-automatic couplings
on passenger locomotives are

remainder take the low-pressure

steam exhausted from the highpressure cylinders and use that
to produce further useful work.

usually of the screw pattern,

formed of two links connected
by a screw Vehicles are coupled
by placing the coupling of one
over the hook of the other and

Conjugated valve-gear
more man two cylinders were
used in order to provide
smoother running and also where
an adequate total cylinder volume
could only be provided in this
way. In order to reduce compli-

tightening the screw, so that the

buffers are in contact. Automatic
couplings are designed to couple
when, usually after the jaws have
been opened, the vehicles are
pushed gently together. The
couplings then engage and lock

the valves of all the

cylinders could be arranged to

Coupling rod 39

often

cation,

71 Safety Valves

Cab Side

(US=Main

rod

compound

steam engine has its cylinders

arranged so that one or more
take high-pressure steam from

72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80

Sand Gear Handle

Fire Door Handle

Connecting

rod) 41 these connect the

piston rods to the crank pins of
the driving wheels or crank-shaft.

Coupler

Compound

Damper Doors
Ash-pan Damper
Cylinder Drain Handle

them.

the track

Fire Bars

60 Footplate
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70

the

by means

where it can be shovelled

directly into the fire

53
54
55
56
57
58
59

from the valve gears of two of

Compensated springing

the

steamthe tender
a

be worked by conjugating levers

81

Clack Box
Water Delivery Trays
Longitudinal btays
Fire

Tubes

Superheater Elements
Superheater Flue Tubes
Firebox
Brick Arch

rirebox
Firebox
Firebox
Firebox
Firebox

Back

Plate

Crown

82
Tube Plate
83
Stays
84
Throat Plate
85 Expansion Bracket
Position

86 Splashers
87 Smoke-box Tube

Plate

connects

88 Balance Weight
89 Fusible Safety Plug
90 Foundation Pong
91 Tender Wheel Spring
92 Spring Hanger
93 Brake Block
94 3rakeRod
95

96
97
98
99
100

'.Vater

Scoop

Water Inlet Pipe

Deflector Dome
Rear Buffer

;ender frame
f ront

Tender Buffer

101 Water Scoop Handle

102 Brake Handle

103 Axlebox
104 Vacuum Brake Reservoir

the pressure of trapped water

when the piston reached the end

together the crank-pins of the

driving or coupled wheels on
one side of a locomotive.

of

Counter-pressure brake
using the pumping action of the

Drawbar horsepower hour

a unit of work done by a

cylinders to brake the train. Great

heat is generated and the cylin-

locomotive

ders are kept from overheating

dangerously by the injection of
water, which instantly flashes into
steam, thereby absorbing the
energy generated

Crank axles the inside cylinders of locomotives drive on to

axles with sections off-set to form
cranks
locomotive

wheels are driven by rods which

transmit the driving force to the
driving wheels through these
large steel pins fixed in the

hauling a train
One of these units represents the
exertion of a single horse-power
at the locomotive drawbar for an
in

hour.

Driving wheels

47

the
driven wheels of a locomotive,
sometimes referred to as coupled
wheels.
40,

Drop-grate or Dump-grate
of a locomotive

use the residue of the fire

needs removing Traditionally this
was shovelled out through the
fire-hole door, but an arrangement to allow the whole grate to
after

be dropped or dumped was

sometimes provided.

wheels

Crosshead 31

in conjunction
with the guide-bars the cross-

head guides and constrains the

piston rod to keep in line as it
moves in and out of the cylinder.
Cut-ofi the point during the
cylinder stroke at which steam is
cut off by the valves. It is usually
expressed as a percentage of
that stroke.

Typically,

and a metal strap, having the

purpose of converting revolving
to reciprocating motion and used
for valve-gears and pumps.
Equalisers

see compensated

running.

Feed-pump
water into the
in

steam

locomotive the energy contained

steam is turned into mechanical

--

pump

see

to feed

boiler; either

driven

from the motion or independently by steam from the boiler.

force in the cylinders. Each cylinder contains a piston and the

pressure of the steam on this
piston produces the force.
54, 55 the amount
produced by a fire is
governed by the amount of air
admitted to
This can be ad-

Firebox 80-84
or copper and
boiler. The box

made

fixed inside the

which the fire

in

burns.

Fire door or Fire-hole door

58, 62
firebox,

the entrance to the

through which coal is
shovelled is closed by a fire door

damper doors

by opening or closing
in the ashpan
assembly These are worked by

Fire tubes 75 the hot gases

from the fire pass through these

levers in the locomotive cab.

fire

justed

Deflector dome 97 This

provided in or on the tender

tubes (often, boiler tubes or

simply tubes) in the boiler beis

in

connection with the water pickup apparatus. Water scooped

from a set of troughs between
fed skywards

vertical pipe, the deflector

up a

dome

the top of this pipe then turns

the flow downwards so that the
at

tender

is filled.

Dome

the steam

is

usually

taken from the boiler at its highest

point. Where height is available,
a chamber known as the dome is
provided above the top of the
boiler barrel in
the steam

Draincocks

order to collect

26, 56
starting

when

a
locomotive is
from cold
the first steam which enters the

condenses to water.
Draincocks
are
provided,
worked from the cab, to allow
this water to escape. Otherwise
the cylinder would be burst by
cylinders

16

are generally formed of plates;

USA practice orginally favoured
bars, but cast-steel was used
generally in later years.

Fusible plugs 89

steam would
douse the fire.

(to

75

piston

Pony truck

tween the firebox and the smoke

box, so heating the water with
which they are surrounded

Flange lubricators

extent)

the

see valves.
a

two-wheel
at

the

front or rear of a locomotive to

provide guidance and support

Poppet valve 15 see

'

Port 8

valves

see valves.

Priming -

occurs either

this

when

the water level in the boiler

too high or when impurities
which cause foaming are present.
It
means that water is carried
over down to the cylinders

is

Grate 53

formed of
and on which the

usually

cast-iron bars
fire

burns

Indicated

power developed in

the
the cylinders

of a locomotive

Horns 44

these are guides,

attached to the frames, in which
the axleboxes can

Radial axles provide the

pony truck but without

effect of a

horsepower

a separate pivoted frame. The

of a radial
axle are made to allow sideways
movement and are shaped so
that such movement is sensibly
radial about a vertical axis

horns and axleboxes

move vertically
Regulator

running.

Injector
a static device for
feeding water into the boiler by
means of a series of cones It is
driven by a supply of live steam
taken from the boiler or (in the
case of an exhaust-steam injector)
from the locomotive's exhaust

Jumper blast-pipe 13

this

device was sometimes attached

order to limit
the draught when the engine is

US = throttle)

12

serves the same purpose as the

accelerator pedal on a car, in the
case of a locomotive, though, it is
a large and usually rather stiff
steel handle.

Return crank a revolving

on the end of a driving

lever fixed

crank-pin so that it provides the

reciprocating motion, of correct
magnitude and phase, to drive
the valve gear.

rails.

and reduce

devices to
lubricate these flanges are provided on the locomotive. More
usually, though, they are attached
friction,

cylinder is open when the appropriate piston is at its limit of travel

Liie guard 23

Provided in
front of the leading wheels of a
locomotive with the idea of throwing aside objects encountered
on the rails Often also called a
iron

Low-water alarm an
matic device

to

auto-

warn the crew

that boiler-water level

is

to

move

it

gear and
between forward and

Reversing lever a lever used

for the same purpose as the
reversing wheel, but not often

on express passenger

found

locomotives.

Rocking grate an

tion to

fall

down into the ash-pan.

getting

Safety valves 71 allow steam

to escape if pressure exceeds the

Main rod (BR = connecting rod)

safe

limit.

see connecting rod.

Sanding gear 42, 45

Flues 77

large fire tubes,

often referred to as superheater
flues, which contain the superheater elements.

Footplate 60 the surface on

which a locomotive crew stands
fact it usually extends all
round the engine, but the term is

In

taken to

the driving

mean

the floor of

cab

Foundation ring 90

the

rectangular ring which connects

arrange-

ment to enable the grate bars to

be rocked or shaken, to encourage the residues of combus-

dangerously low

to the rail

the wheel provided to alter the

cut-off point of the valve

Lead the amount which a

mam steam port of a locomotive

guard

To ease wear

Reversing wheel or handle 6

working hard.

on sharp

curves, wheel flanges bear heavily

against the

now

to

pivoted truck provided

some

rod

the

the

Piston valve 15

a last-ditch
defence against the consequences of boiling the top of the
firebox dry, consisting of screwed
brass plugs with a lead core If
there was no water present the
lead would melt and the leakage
of

rod

connecting
crosshead.

cylinders.

to the blast-pipe in

Dampers

it.

Piston

is

frames

of steel

of heat

is first

the locomotive

when running.

in

the rails

main
often
the foundation

built In British practice the

when

springing
Fairlie locomotive
pages 92-93

75% when starting and at

between 15% and 40% when

upon which

Guide bars 34 see crosshead.

Eccentric a device consisting
of an eccentrically-bored sheave

at

Cylinders 26

Frames 37
frames are

a steam

locomotive would be set to cut-off

vertical axis.

Piston 17 see

when disposing

Crank-pins 38

the firebox to the boiler at the

lowest point of both.

stroke

its

Mallet

'Challenger',

see

Union

Pacific

page 170

to

put

a device

on the

sand

improve adhesion,

rails

to

particularly in

damp
Manganese

steel

liners

hard wearing lining surfaces used

to minimise wear on the horns.

conditions It is worked
from the cab, and the sand is
either allowed to fall by gravity,
or is sprayed into position with

steam or compressed

air

Motion
to

a generic term used

describe the moving parts
(other than the wheels and axles)

Slide-bars 34

of the engine.

Slide valves

Nosing

an oscillating movement of a locomotive about a

Smokebox
the front

end

see crosshead

see valves.

chamber

of the boiler

at

which

admitted either in between or

outside the pistons; these arrangements are known as mside
admission or outside admission
respectively, the former being
the

most usual one

A few steam locomotives used

poppet valves, not
those

fitted to

dissimilar to
the family motor

provided in
order to move the valves of a
locomotive to a precise timing in
Valve gears

relation to the movement of

pistons It is necessary to cope
with requirements for early and
late cut-off, as well as forward
and reverse working Numerous
linkages have been devised to do
this Walschaerts gear became
almost universal in the later days
of steam. With reference to the

diagram herewith,
as follows:

A
Walschaerts valve gear. The letters

Throttle

m the glossary description under Valve gears. (The

regulator

Above and below: The parts of

are referred to

diagram was produced from reference

Eleanora Steel.)

BR = regulator)

see

TI A a form of water treatment,

developed by Louis Armand of
the French Railways, known as
Traitemant Integral Armand. It
involved dosing the water in the
tenders, regular tests of the acidity
or alkalinity of the water in the
boilers and
repair costs

decimated boiler
France and
in

elsewhere.

Top feed

feed water is relacold and is best fed into the

top of the boiler, with clack or
check valves fitted there. Hence
tively

the term 'top feed'.

Tractive effort this a theowhich indicates how

hard a locomotive can pull when
retical figure

85% (usually) of full-boiler pressure

is

return crank

its

working

is

RC is fixed to the

main crank-pin so that its little

end revolves 90 out of phase
with the main motion. By means
of the eccentric rod ER, a curved
slotted link EL is oscillated about
a centre TR A die-block which
slides in this link

is

pivoted to the

Valve-Rod VR It can be lowered

by the lifting arm LA, in which
case the fore-and-aft movement
of the eccentric rod ER is transmitted to the valve rod VR If LA
is

raised the

movement

of

VR

is

reversed In this way forward

and reverse timing of the valve is
catered for By a partial movement of the lifting arm LA a

reduced opening of the valve is

provided A combination lever
CL serves to bias the opening of
the valve towards the beginning
of the stroke by, as it were,
injecting a dose of the movement
of the cross-head into the movement of the valve rod

applied to the pistons.

Baker valve gear

serves to collect ashes

drawn

partial

through

the

tubes.

vacuum formed in the smoke

box by a jet of exhaust steam
emerging from the
provides a flow of

through the

pipe
from and

blast

air

fire

valves have the

function as by-pass valves
but function by admitting air to
the steam circuit at an appropriate
point when a vacuum is formed

Snifting

same

in

them

the boiler barrel Its shape, therefore, needs retaining and this is
done by a mass of rods known as
stays connecting the firebox to
the boiler shell

Stuffing gland 19 - where a

moving piston rod emerges from
a cylinder in which steam at high

pressure is contained, a form of

gland containing packing is
needed to prevent leakage

Tank locomotive one which

in

to

Stays 68, 74, 83

by its nature,
the firebox of a locomotive cannot
be circular like the front part of

see firetubes

series of plain links and this

used to some extent in the
in recent times.

Valves three types of valves

were used on steam locomotives.
The slide valve was virtually
universal during the first 75 years
of steam construction It consisted of a flat valve which slides
on flat port face in the steam

Stephenson's gear would certainly rival Walschaerts if a count

proving circulation

move The

a separate carnage
for fuel and water attached to a
locomotive

the proportion of the heat value of the

fuel consumed which appears as

Thermal efficiency

useful

work

Thermic syphon

vertical

near vertical water ducts

or

in the

in the boiler

is a version of
Walschaerts which- replaces the
curved slotted link EL with a

Tyres the wearing surfaces of

locomotive wheels are steel tyres
separate from the wheel centres

firebox provided with the idea of

adding heating surface and im-

Tender

Spring hangers 92 The tips

of leaf springs on a locomotive
are connected to the frames by
links known as spring hangers

and water
on

its own chassis rather than

a separate tender

on

prevent sparks being thrown

Splashers 86 Provided to
cover the portion of large driving
wheels if they protrude through
the footplate or running board

recess in the valve face

connects the exhaust port with
one or other cylinder according
to the position of the valve Also,
according to the position of the
valve, one or other cylinder port
is exposed by its edge as it
moves in time with the movement
of the piston, steam can then flow
into the appropriate end of the
cylinder
In the later years of steam
piston valves became almost
universal The steam chest is
cylindrical, boiler steam and exhaust steam are divided by two
pistons which cover and uncover
the cylindrical ports as the valves

carries supplies of fuel

Spark arrester a device

the smokebox or chimney

Tubes

chest.

boiler

steam can be

was

USA

of the total number of sets fitted

was the criterion Other gears

such as Allan, 'gab' and Gooch

were used in small numbers and
references are made to these
linkages in the body of the book,
as follows:

Stephenson see Beuth, page 30

Gooch see

page

'Rover' class,

46
Allan see 79' class, page 40.
'Gab' see Beuth, page 30

Water gauge

a glass

tube

fixed to the boiler to allow the

water level to be seen This is
the most important indication
that there is on a steam locomotive
and hence the gauge is usually

duplicated

Westinghouse brake
brake

see

air

Northumbrian 0-2-2

'-poohS^Manchester Railway (L&M), 1830

was what gave

father and son,

Tractive effort: 1,5801b

(720kg)

Axle load: circa 6,5001b

Cylinders: 2) 11 x 16in
(280 x 406mm)
Driving wheels: 52in

locomotives described in this

book, only one (London & North
Eastern No. 10,000) had another
type of boiler and only one
(South African Railways' class
"25") failed to have the blast-pipe.
This was not through the lack of

ft

Superheater: None
Steam pressure: circa 50psi

Grate area:
(0

75m 2

circa

ft

Fuel coke):
(

attempts were made to

introduce new ideas. But only
very few prevailed far enough to
enter revenue service at all and,
of course, none has managed to
topple the Stephenson boiler
from its throne whilst steam trac-

(480 US)

Adhesive weight:

circa

6,5001b (30

Total weight: 25,5001b

1 1

50

overall: 24ft Oin

(7,315mm)

tion exists Incidentally, credit for

Readers might be surprised that

Stephenson's immortal Rocket
does not lead this book's cavalcade of passenger-hauling steam
locomotives. The reason for this
is that between Rocket's triumph

October
1829 and the opening of the
world's first inter-city steam railat the Rainhill trials in

way on 15 September 1830,

had been as many fundamental changes in steam locomotive design as were to occur
over all the years that were to
follow Steam locomotives built in
1982 are no further from those
built in 1 830 than are those built
there

in

1829 at any

rate in funda-

mentals Of course they got a

little bigger and heavier by a
factor of 40 or thereabouts
Northumbrian, which hauled
the opening train on that disastrous opening day in 1830, had
several important things which
Rocket had not; first, she had a

smokebox in which ashes drawn

through the boiler tubes could
accumulate. Second, the boiler
was integrated with the water
jacket

two

round the firebox These

things meant
that
the

locomotive-type boiler, fitted to

99.9 per cent of the world's
steam locomotives to be built
over the next 1 50 years, had now
fully arrived.

better, for

many

circa 2,2001b (It)

circa 400gall

Length

something

trying for

Water:

(18m 3

8sq

their triumph.

It also says enough that the

boiler fitted to Northumbrian
came to be known as the
locomotive-type boiler Of all the

(3t)

1mm)
Heating surface: 4 2sq
2
(38m

the Stephensons,

The

that the cylinders

was
had now come

third thing

down

to the horizontal position

the

axis of Rocket's cylinders

were fairly steeply inclined at 35

to the honzontal and not surprisingly the out-of-balance forces

Above: 1980 replicas of 1829

locomotives. Rocket to left,

suggesting the multi-tubular boiler

was attributed by Robert Stephenson to a Mr Henry Booth,

caused the locomotive to rock

badly Moreover, Northumbrian's
were fitted in an acces-

Sans

treasurer of the

cylinders

position, attached to but

outside the wheels although, it is
true, still at the wrong end. The
Northumbrian weighed 7 35 tons
less tender, nearly double the
4.25 tons of Rocket and her
destructive forces were recognised by the provision of a front
sible

buffer beam complete with leather

buffers stuffed with horse-hair
Another quite important improvement was the use of vertical iron
plates as the main frames and a
proper tender rather than a

on wheels was provided

The features that made Rocket

barrel

success at the trials were

continued in Northumbrian, but
in larger and stronger form. The
multi- tubular boiler that is to
a

say one which had numerous

tubes instead of one big flue for
the hot gases to pass through
while they exchanged their heat
with the water in the boiler
Numerous little tubes have a
much greater surface area than
one big flue of equivalent size
and so heat is passed across to
the water at a higher rate, hence
such a boiler has high steamraising capacity in relation to its
size

Below: An early rephca of

Rocket before rebuilding.

Pareil to right.

The other important feature of

Rocket was the blast-pipe, once
more something that was fundamental to the success of 99 9 per
cent of the steam locomotives
ever built By arranging that the
exhaust steam was discharged
through a jet up the chimney, a
partial

vacuum was

set

up

at

the

chimney end Air would rush

to

fill

in

vacuum and the only

was hoped) it could do so

this

way (it
was through the fire grate at the
other end of the boiler. Hence
there was a situation where the
amount of air being drawn
through the fire and thus the
amount of heat produced would
depend on the amount of steam
being used. More than anything
else,

this

automatic connection

between the amount of heat

needed and the amount supplied

Below: Northumbrian depicted

(so far as is known) m new
condition, as the "brave little shelion "so a dmired by Miss Kemble.

L&M Company.

As regards the mechanical

part of Northumbrian, the principle of having two and only two
cylinders outside the frames and
directly connected to the driving
wheels became more and more
the world standard as the years
went by. Towards the end of
steam this principle became virtually universal, apart from articu-

Even so, the

actual layout of Northumbrian's
machinery had serious drawlated locomotives

backs
Because the driving wheels
were at the front, the heavy
firebox and the heavy cylinders
were at the end where the carrying wheels were There was only
a box full of smoke at the other
end and yet the driving wheels
needed all the weight the track
could stand to keep them from
slipping

Top

Moreover,

right:

when

the

A contemporary

engraving of the Stephenson

Northumbrian. Afote the headlights, and the crew's attire.

engine began pulling the force

on the drawbar tended to lift the
front end of the engine, thereby
further reducing the weight available for adhesion
Another
problem
arose
through the combination of outside cylinders with a short wheelbase The alternate piston-thrusts
tended to swing the engine about
a vertical axis so that

it

proceeded

with a boxing motion and in a

serpentine manner It was not
until the Northumbrian layout
was considerably altered by having an extended wheelbase and
moving the cylinders to the front
that these problems were solved.
In the meantime the route of
development left the main line for
a branch, as we shall see.
A rather dubious feature of
Northumbrian was the primitive
means of reversing. An eccentric
a device to convert rotation to

was provided on the

driving axle in order to move the
valve of each cylinder To reverse
the direction of rotation, the
eccentric on each side has to be
turned nearly 180 degrees relative
to the crank It is easy to leave the
eccentrics loose on the axle and
provide stops so that they take
up the correct position whichever
way the wheels turn. The drawback to this simple and excellent
valve gear is that it is difficult to
devise an arrangement to move
the eccentrics upon the axle
while the engine is stationary that
is not complicated and inconvenient Otherwise the locomotive
can only be reversed by giving a
push.
oscillation

Both Rocket and Northumbrian

had such an arrangement, one
snag was that it could not be
used while in motion. This was
vividly demonstrated on that

Above: A dubious wooden

replica of Northumbrian

constructed
1 930 for the
centenary celebrations.

L&M

opening day When William Huskisson MP, stepped out into the
path of Rocket, Joseph Locke
who was driving had no means
of breaking (to use the spelling of
the day) and the famous accident
took place Northumbrian covered herself with glory in rushing
the fatally injured man to medical
aid, but to no avail
Northumbrian is regarded as
belonging to the "Rocket" class,
seven examples of which had
previously been delivered to the
Liverpool & Manchester Railway
in 1829 and 1830 Rocket's immediate successors, Meteor,

Comet, Dart and Arrow, were

delivered with the cylinders in an
almost horizontal position, while
Rocket was so altered very
quickly Phoenix also had a
smokebox and so did North
Star. Majestic, which followed
Northumbrian, also had all the
new features Only Rocket's

remains survive, in London's

Science Museum, but in fact they

come much

closer to the later

engines than Rocket as delivered

Planet Class 2-2-0

Tractive effort: circa
(660kg)

Axle load:

and hence weakened so

that they could be removed and
replaced Even so, some 5 per
cent of the world's steam locomotives were to have two inside
cylinders and crank-axles, Robert
Stephenson & Co. supplied some
to British Railways as late as

,4501b

split

1,2501b (50

Cylinders: (2)
(292 x 406mm)

UHx

16in

Driving wheels: 62in

(1,575mm)

Heating surface: I07sq

(38m 2

ft

1953

Planet was quite successful

and many of these engines, some
with four coupled wheels, were

Superheater: None
Steam pressure: circa 50psi

cm 2

(3 5kg/

Grate area: 7 2sq ft (0 67m 2

Fuel (coke): circa 2,2001b (It)
Water: circa 400gall (480 US)

made

8m 3

Great Britain:
Liverpool & Manchester Railway, 1830

both by the Stephensons

and by
amongst

others.

Outstanding

the imitations was a

2-2-0 called Old Ironsides, built
in Philadelphia, USA in 1832 by
a Matthias Baldwin Starting with
this

first

full-size

locomotive

Baldwin went on to build up the

greatest locomotive manufactory
the world has ever known, with a
production
during the

of
1

60,000 locomotives

30 years

of

its

exis-

said that Baldwin had

such trouble getting payment for
tence.

It

is

first locomotive that he declared he would build no more!

the other
hand, when they developed
Planet into their celebrated sixwheel locomotives, decided that
this time they would discourage
imitators by taking out a patent.
Even so it was Planet that
finally
convinced a sceptical
world that a form of reliable
mechanical
transport
had
arrived and that the Stephensons

his

The Stephensons, on

Adhesive weight:

1,2501b

(5t)

Total weight: 29,5001b

Length

( 1

3 50

overall: 24ft 4in

(7,420mm)
Planet arnved on the Liverpool

&

Manchester Railway in October

1830, soon after it was opened
The Stephensons had changed
two things since they completed
Northumbrian only a few weeks
before The first one was to put
the cylinders at the front end
instead of the back This helped
to get a good weight distribution,
the dnve was on to the rear pair
of wheels which supported the
heavy firebox, and, moreover, 99
per cent of the world's steam

locomotives were to have two

horizontal cylinders at the front

end
The second thing which was
done was aimed at curing the
"boxing" motion which plagued
the earlier locomotives. This was
achieved by putting the cylinders
between instead of outside the
wheels and connecting them to
the driving wheels by making the
main axle in the form of a double
crank. Crank-axles continued to
present a senous technical problem, not only in themselves but
also because the big-end bearings
of the connecting rods had to be

Best Friend of Charleston 0-4-0

Tractive effort: 4531b (206kg)

Axle load: 4,5001b (2t).

Cylinders: (2) 6 x 16in
(152 x406mm)
Driving wheels: 54in
(1,371mm).
Steam Pressure: 50psi

(35kg/cm 2
Grate area: 2 2sq ft (2m 2
Fuel (coke): not recorded
Water: 140gall (165 US)
)

(0

64m 3

Adhesive weight: 9,0001b (4t)

Total weight: 9,0001b

Length

(4t).

overall: 14ft 9in

(4,496mm)
History was certainly made on
the day when
1 5th January 1 83 1
the first full-size steam locomotive
to be built in the United States
went into service. Thus was Best
Friend of Charleston, running on
the New World's first commercial
steam railway, the South Carolina
Railroad. This little contraption
foreshadowed the building of
,

170,000
20

further

steam

loco-

Tank u

South Carolina Railroad (SCRR), 1830

Brother Jonathan 4-2-0

were the people

to

provide

United States:
Mohawk & Hudson Railroad (M&HRR), 1832

it.

Soon enough it took them from

a humble cottage by the Tyne to
being millionaires

in

the 's of

those days, as well as a

that

and

is

wherever

will

name

be remembered

and

while

railways

exist

Below: A drawing of the Planet

locomotive of the Liverpool

&

Manchester Railway, Stephenson s

first

msirle-cylinder locomotive.

Above: Brother Jonathan, a

pioneer bogie locomotive.

Tractive effort: circa 1,0231b

(464kg)
Axle load: 7,0001b (3.2t).
Cylinders: (2)
x 16in

None
became

(241x406mm)
Driving wheels: 60in
(1,524mm).
Boiler: details not recorded
Boiler pressure: circa 50psi

(3.5kg/cm 2 ).
Adhesive weight: circa
7,0001b (3

2t)

Total weight*: 14,0001b

Length overall*:

16ft

(6.4t).

5^m

(5,017mm)
''Engine only without tender

As regards express passenger

one of the great
benefactors of mankind was John
B. Jarvis, who in 1 832 introduced
trains, certainly

pivoted

the

leading

truck

or

bogie into the locomotive story,

an idea suggested to him by
Robert Stephenson when he
visited England Although very
few particulars have survived,
this

little

4-2-0, originally

as Experiment,

was

known

the vehicle

used This pathfmding design of

locomotive was built at the West
Point Foundry in New York and

motives for service in the USA

during the years to come Best
Friend was constructed at the

West Point Foundry in New York

in late 830 Features included a
1

vertical boiler, a well tank integral

with the locomotive, four coupled

wheels and two modestly inclined

cylinders It was built at the West
Point Foundry in New York to
the design of
Miller engineer
of the South Carolina Railroad.
Although, apart from the
coupled wheels, none of its prin-

EL

ciples of design were adopted

generally, the locomotive was
quite successful, but the next one
built for this railroad followed the
same principles only as regards

mechanical parts the

sion

later ver-

had a horizontal boiler, the

be built in America Even

first

to

so,

the

original

design could

Left: Best Friend of Charleston

Some contemporary accounts

of additional cylinders
driving the tender wheels
tell

handle a

train of five cars

carrying

more than 50 passengers

20mph(32km/h).
In

one rather

tragic way,

at

how-

ever, the locomotive did contribute to the story of steam traction

development The firemen had

become annoyed with the noise
steam escaping from the safety
valves and used to tie down the
lever which controlled them One
day in June 1 83 1 he did this once
too often and the boiler exploded and he was killed In due
of

time tamper-proof valves became

the rule people normally need
shock before they take action
Later, the locomotive was rebuilt with a new boiler and
re-entered service, appropriately
named Phoenix. By 1834, the

South Carolina Railroad went

the whole 1 54 miles from Charleston to Hamburg, just across
the river from the city of Augusta,

Georgia When opened, this was

by far the longest railway in the
world

delivered to the Mohawk &

Hudson River Railroad
Amongst the features of the
locomotive, one notes that the
boiler was rather small (copied

from

Robert

Stephenson's

"Planet" type) and that there was

for the connecting rods in
the space between the sides of
the firebox and the main frames,
which were situated outside the
driving wheels These in turn
were located behind the firebox,
as on a Crampton locomotive

room

of these other features

the norm on the world's
locomotives, but as regards express passenger locomotives, the
four-wheel bogie certainly is much
used. It will be found that all the
classes of locomotive described
in this book have leading fourwheel bogies according to the
principle pioneered with Brother
Jonathan. Incidentally, Brother
Jonathan was then an impolite
way of referring to the English,
no doubt the name was a gesture
of triumph at having thrown off
any possible continued dependence on English technology
The idea was to provide guidance by having two wheels pres-

sing against the outer rail of

curves as near as possible in a
tangential attitude For any particular radius, or even at a kink in
the track, the bogie would take
up an angle so that the three
contact points between wheel
and rail on each side would lie
correctly on the curve This was
particularly important on the light
rough tracks of the time.
This locomotive demonstrated
very clearly that the principle
was a sound one and for many
years thereafter the majority of
American locomotives of all kinds
had the advantage of this device
Brother Jonathan itself was successful in other ways, converted
later to a 4-4-0 it had a long and
useful

life

Below: A

replica of Brother
Jonathan, alias Experiment.

Vauxhall 2-2-0

Ireland:
Dublin & Kingstown Railway, 1834

world's first locomotive

with accessible outside cylinders
at the leading
horizontally
placed
line
end Incidentally, the
was built to the English standard

Tractive effort: circa 1.5501b

(700kg)
Cylinders: 2) 1 x 18in
(280 x 457mm)
Driving wheels: 60in

built the

(1,524mm)
Steam pressure:

gauge of 4ft 8^in (1,435mm), it

was long before the days when
the railway gauge in Ireland was

cm 2

circa

Overall length: circa 24ft

(7.315mm)

George Forrester of Liverpool

was a locomotive builder whose
name is now hardly known; yet
he introduced two fundamental
improvements in the mechanism
of the steam locomotive, one of
which prevailed to the end of
steam The other was also an
important move forward
How Northumbrian had two
outside cylinders but at the wrong
end and how Planet had two
cylinders at the front but hidden
away inside, has already been
described With Vauxhall, constructed in 1 832 for the Dublin &
Kingstown Railway, Forrester

D&K

standardised at 5ft 3m ( 1 ,600mm).

So already the cylinders had
reached their final position with
this arrangement. Since then it
has been applied to most of the
world's locomotives built over
the subsequent 1 50 years, even
though express passenger locomotives are the ones most prone
to being given sophisticated

cylinder layouts.

One way in which the Forrester

engines differed from modern
steam locomotives (except for
those built for very narrow
gauges) was that the cylinders
may have been outside the
frames, but the frames were
outside the wheels. Separate
cranks were provided at the

ends

Even

of the axles

years

later

so, in

arrangement

this

was much used on locomotives

which ran on very narrow gauges,
that

is,

3ft (9

4mm) or less.

Forrester's

provement

of

fundamental
the

valve

im-

gear

was also important but as a

stepping-stone rather than an
arrangement which became
much used in the long term. It
has been mentioned that the "slip
eccentric" valve gear was difficult
to reverse from the cab, so
Forrester provided a separate
eccentric set for each direction
for each cylinder making four
in all on the driving axle The
reversing lever could move the
eccentric rods (which were set
vertically) and engage or disengage the appropnate valve pin

by means
skill

V-shaped "gabs"
ends of the rods No

of

fitted to the

was required

previous

as

arrangement,

enough muscle

to

the

in

merely

move

the

reversing lever into the appro-

priate position

But

it

could not

be used while the engine was

in

motion.

Another feature

of

the

first

Forrester locomotives which was

not repeated was the substitution
of a swing-link parallel motion
This was intended to constrain
the joint between the end of the
piston rod and the little end of the
connecting rod to travel in a
straight line, even when the latter
was at an angle and therefore
trying to force the former out of
line The Stephensons had previously used a cross-head running between slide-bars for this
purpose and this simple arrange-

ment has never been displaced

from its throne The only engine
apart from Vauxhall in this book
which did not have it was the
"Turbomotive" and that one
because there were no

only

cylinders!

Wide apart outside cylinders

combined with a short wheelbase
was not a recipe for steady

Great Britain:
Birmingham Railway (L&B), 1837

Bury 2-2-0 London &

Edward Bury had

Tractive effort: i, 3861b

(629kg)
Axle load: 2,6001b (5.7t)
Cylinders: (2) llxl6^in
(280 x415mm).

neering works
in

Driving wheels:
(1,546mm)

2m 2

ft

Superheater: None
Steam pressure: 50psi
(3 5kg/ cm 2
Grate area: 7sq ft (0.65m 2
Fuel (coke): c2,2001b (It).
Water: c400gall (480 US)

locomotive with a view to entering

for the Rainhill trials, but it was
not completed in time In the end
he supplied the locomotive, which
was called Liverpool, to the
Liverpool & Manchester Railway
during 1830. It had two large

coupled wheels 72m. (1829mm)

).

).

Adhesive weight: 12,6001b

(5.7t)

Total weight: 22,0001b lO.Ot).

Length overall: 26ft 9^in
(8,168mm).
(

a small engiLiverpool and

it

60%n

Heating surface: 357sq

(33

in

1829 he began work on a

diameter.

arranged
Planet,

It

had cylinders

like Planet's but, unlike

had frames formed

of

bars rather than plates This was

a significant innovation, for Bury
sold some bar-framed loco-

motives to America and bar

frames for many years became a
trademark of engines built on
that side of the Atlantic, this

went

on until bar frames were superseded by cast steel ones Bury

managed

secure the contract

for providing locomotives for the
to

London and Birmingham

Rail-

way, by far the most important

be completed in the
1830s All 58 of these passenger
supplied by 1841
had
been
2-2-0s
One problem with these locomotives was their small size and
this was a fundamental limitation
of the design, rather than something that could be overcome
just by a little stretching. Bury
railway to

considered nghtly that pressure

vessels should be circular and so
his outer firebox

was

circular in

plan and domed on top, attached

to a

normal

cylindrical barrel

circumferential

joint.

by

The inner

fire-box was D-shaped, with the

flat part facing towards the front,
to allow the insertion of the tubes
at right angles. The trouble was
that with the circular shape the
length could not be larger than
the width. Since the width was
also limited, because it had to go
between the wheels, the size of
the fire (and hence the power
output) was strictly limited. Nor
could the frames be extended
backwards past the round firebox, so a 2-2-2 development

would cause some difficulty

So in 1837 England's

first

long-distance trunk railway route

out of London was opened,
using a fleet of locomotives that

were under-powered even by

the standards of the day. For

running and by 1836 these

2-2-Os, as well as others supplied
to the Liverpool & Manchester,

London & Greenwich and other

railways had been converted to
2-2-2s

day

Even

so,

in Ireland,

on the opening

31mph (50km/h)

was achieved, passengers were

delighted and amazed that they
could read and wnte with ease
while moving at this stupendous
speed. Few particulars of this
pathfinding engine have survived, but the details missing
from the specification above
would approximate to those of
Planet (see page 20).

Left: George Forrester's Vauxhall

locomotive built for the Dublin
& Kingstown Railway m 1834.

Note the horizontal outside

cylinders at the front end, a

mechanical arrangement which

most of the world's locomotive
engineers followed m time

example,

London

in the

same year

the

to Bristol railway (then

under construction) received a

Stephenson 2-2-2 called North
Star which had double the grate
area and double the adhesive
weight of a Bury 2-2-0
The small size and power of
these engines had advantages
They were cheap to build and
reliable in service the low
stresses on the crank axles
brought these always trouble-

some

items

more

within

the

scope of the technology of the

day And if heavy passenger
trains needed two or three
locomotives (or even four) at the
Labour was
head, then so be
cheap, while powerful locomotives were expensive as well
it.

as relatively untried

Bury was nght

in thinking like this in 1 837 and
subsequent
exthere are many
amples in locomotive history his
railway had certainly fallen behind

Assuming

that

the times a few years later

Below: 2-2-0 No.lof

the London & Birmingham
Railway, the most

reliable

and Bury held

on to his principles of
httle-and-often
locomotive design for

many years,

in fact

to have
been opened during
the 1830s. Edward Bury
designed these rather
small locomotives which
tended to be a little under-

until he was- forced to

resign in 1847 This
was soon after the

powered for express

Grand Junction
and London &

important line

passenger work. Even

they were cheap and

so,

LNWR had been

formed from the
amalgamation of the

Birmingham lines

23

Adler 2-2-2

Germany:
Nuremberg-Furth Railway, 1835

Tractive effort: 1,2201b

(550kg)
Axle load: 3.2501b (6t).
Cylinders: 9 x 16in
(229 x 406mm)

contractors had decamped to

Austria He pursued them there,
and was told that the price had
doubled The opening of the
railway was approaching, and

Driving wheels: 54in

(1,371mm)
Heating surface: 96sq

to place

ft

(18

2m 2

Scharrer had no alternative but

an urgent order with
Robert Stephenson on 15 May

1835 for a 2-2-2 locomotive, at a

price of 1 ,750 delivered to the

Superheater: None
Steam pressure: oOpsi

line.

2kg cm 2
Grate area: 5 2sq ft (0 48m 2
Adhesive weight: 13,2501b

(4

Despite the historical importance of this engine, information

about

(60

Total weight*: 3 ,5001b 14

Length

5t)

0m

overall: 25ft

not available

The first locomotive to be built in

Germany was constructed in
1816, but was unsuccessful, as
was a second one built in the
following year It was not until 7
December 1835 that successful
steam locomotion was inaugurit

with the

Nuremberg to
Furth
known as the
Ludwigsbahn, after Ludwig of
opening

of the
railway,

Bavana, who had given his royal

assent to the railway in 1834.
The promoter of the railway,
Herr Scharrer, tried Robert

Stephenson &
for the supply

Co

of

Newcastle

of material to the

but Stephenson's pnces were

considered to be too high, and
Scharrer therefore resolved to

line,

"buy German".

is

scanty,

even

its

name

the definite article, and is usually

known simply as "Adler". Surviving records of the builder do not
record details of the engine, but

(7,620mm)
* Engine only tender details

ated in the country,

it

being uncertain Early references

are to "Der Adler" (The Eagle),
but more recently it has dropped

Two Wurtem-

to supply
an engine for the equivalent of
565, "equal to the best English
engines and not requmng more
fuel". Time passed and Scharrer
enquired about the progress of

bergers then contracted

his engine, only to find that the

contemporary

illustrations

loading of Stephenson's engines

supplied to the L&M had been
increasing steadily since "Rocket",
which had been built to the

severe weight restrictions which

directors of the railway
necessary.
The improvements incorporated in the 2-2-2 were patented,
and the first engine to incorporate
the patents was named "Patentee". This engine weighed 1 1.45
tons, but the weight of "Adler"
the

deemed

was quoted
as

6.6

in

tons,

English sources

and

in

German

sources as 14 tonnes, with 6

tonnes on the driving axle. A
similar uncertainty applies to the
boiler pressure, which has been

quoted

in

an English source as

show

a locomotive resembling the

"Patentee", supplied to the Liver-

pool and Manchester Railway

in

of which
amongst products
Stephenson's Newcastle works

developments

1834,

figure largely
of

at this

In

period

830 Robert Stephenson &

Co supplied to the L&MR a 2-2-0

named

"Planet", which was notable as being the first engine

with inside cylinders and a crank

axle However.the art of forging

axles was new, and the combination of the forces from the flanges
of the wheels and from the

connecting rods soon showed

the vulnerability of these delicate
forgings. In
1833, therefore,
Robert Stephenson designed a
2-2-2 locomotive, in which the
driving wheels had no flanges,
so that the crank axle was relieved
of flange forces. A further advantage of the extra axle was that the
axle loading was reduced, a
desirable measure, as the axle

Campbell 4-4-0

United States:
Philadelphia, Germanstown & Nornston Railroad (PG&NRR), 1837

Tractive effort: 4,3731b

(1,984kg).

and successful

Driving wheels: 54m

(1,370mm)
Heating surface: 723sq
(67

2m 2

ft

Superheater: None
Steam pressure: 90psi
(63kg/cm 2
Grate area: Circa 2sq

all

passenger-

crank axle, an arrangement

which was to become popular
on a few railways back in Europe,
even if very rarely repeated in
America The high boiler pressure

).

of

hauling wheel arrangements

The layout of Brother Johnathan
was followed, the additional
driving axle being coupled to the
first by cranks outside the frames.
The cylinders were thus inside
the frames, driving the leading
coupled wheels by means of a

Axle load: 8,0001b (3 6t)

Cylinders: (2) 14 xl5^in
9356 x 400mm)

ft

(1.1m 2 ).

Adhesive weight: 16,0001b

is

(7.25t).

remarkable locomotive demon-

Length overall:*

16ft

5)&n

strated great potential, the

(5,017mm).
* Engine

bility

only tender details not

Henry Campbell, engineer to the

Germanstown &

Nornston Railroad had the idea

of combining coupled wheels, as
Best Friend of Charleston, with the leading truck of
Brother Johnathan. In this way
he could double the adhesive
fitted to

weight, while at the

same

have a locomotive

could ride

24

that

time

provided

in

order

to

this

flexi-

cope

with poorly lined tracks was not

accompanied with flexibility in a
vertical plane to help with the
humps and hollows in them. In
consequence, Campbell's 4-4-0

known.

Philadelphia,

notable for the time. Whilst

was not
satisfactorily

round sharp or

irregular curves. He patented the

idea and went to a local mechanic
called James Brooks (not the

Brooks who founded the famous

Brooks Loco Works of Dunkirk,

New York) and he produced the

world's

first

4-4-0 in

May

1837.

Although in fact this locomotive

was intended for coal traffic, it
has its place here as the prototype
of perhaps the most numerous

in itself successful.

Left: The world's

first 4-4-0,

designed by Henry Ft. Campbell,

engineer to the Philadelphia

Germanstown and Nornston

Railroad. It was built in 1837
by James Brooks of Philadelphia.

601b/sq

(4.2kg/cm 2 ), and

in

in

German source as 471b/sq in

Amongst details
(3 3kg/cm 2
of the engine which are known
)

had 62 copper tubes,

and that it had shifting eccentrics.
The "Adler" was followed by
are that

it

other parts, for its scrap value

In preparation of the centenary
of the Nuremberg-Furth Railway,
a working replica of the engine
was built at the Kaiserslautern
Works of DR This replica is now
in the transport museum at Nu-

was
without wheels and some

remberg A second non-working

replica was made in 1 950 for use
at exhibitions Both are based
on contemporary paintings

Left: This Adler rephca was built

for the German State Railways'
centenary celebrations in 1 935.
It appeared
the ill-starred
"der Stahltier" film, whose
director was imprisoned by the
Nazis for emphasising Adler s

Below: Adler was built lor the

Nuremburg-Furth Railway m
1835. This was the first railway
to be built in what is now known
as Germany, but the locomotive
was built by the famous firm of
Stephenson & Son of Newcastle-

English origin.

upon-Tyne, England.

other engines
at

work

sold,

until

type

similar

of

from Stephenson's
1857,

It

remained

when

it

Hercules 4-4-0 u

Beaver Meadows Railroad, 1837

Tractive effort: 4,5071b

pivoted

(2,045kg).

were connected

at its

centre

The

pivots

Axle load: area 10,0001b

to the mainframe of the locomotive by a

(4.5t).

large leaf

Cylinders
(305 x

(2)

spnng on either side.

way eight wheels were
the body of the
locomotive at three points. It was
In this

12 x 18in

made to support

457mm)

Driving wheels: 44in

(1,117mm)
Steam pressure: 901b/sq

3kg/cm
Adhesive weight:

a brilliant notion which solved

the problem of running on rough
tracks and was the basis of the
three-point compensated springing system which was applied to
most of the world's locomotives
from simple ones up to 4-12-2s.
Hercules was well named and

in

(6

20,0001b

circa

(9t)

Total weight: *30,0001b

(14t)

Length

overall:* 18ft

lin

many

(2,564mm).
* Without tender boiler and
tender details not recorded.
1836, the Beaver Meadows
Railroad ordered a 4-4-0 from
Garrett & Eastwick, in nearby
In

The workshop foreman, Joseph Harrison, had become aware of the problems
encountered by Henry Campbell
in keeping all the wheels of his
4-4-0 pressing on the rail, yet he

remembered

4-2-0 Brother

Jonathan of 1832 which sat on

the

rough tracks

like a three-

were

Standard" 4-4-0, of which 25,000

were built for the USA alone, was

from this most

Philadelphia

also

similar locomotives

supplied. Joseph Harnson was

made a partner in the firm which
(since Garrett was retiring) became known as Eastwick &
Harrison. The famous "American

directly derived

legged

stool

on

the floor

The

saying "right as a trivet" comes

vividly to mind, the three legs
being, respectively, the two
driving wheels and the pivot of
the leading bogie or truck There
was also the example of one or

two early 4-2-0s by Noms, also of

Philadelphia Harrison had the
idea of making his two pairs of
driving wheels into a kind of
non-swivelling bogie by connecting the axle bearings on each
side by a large cast iron beam,

innovative engine.

Left: Hercules, built by

Garrett & Eastwick of
Philadelphia
1836, marked
an important step forward

locomotive development.

United
Lafayette 4-2-0

States:
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O), 1837

and frames and the valves were

on top of the cylinders The
driving wheels were in front of

Tractive effort: 2,1 621b

(957kg)
Axle load: 3.0001b (6t).
x 18in
Cylinders:
(268 x 457mm)
Driving wheels: 48in

Washington County Farmer and

mania and Jugoslavia) were the

best customers, but even before
1840 Norris had also sent his
4-2-0s to the Brunswick and
Berlin & Potsdam Railways in
Germany. A large fleet of 15
went to the Birmingham and

asked him to build a series of

eight similar engines. The first
was Lafayette delivered in 1 837;
locomotive to
it was the first
have a horizontal boiler. Edward
Bury's circular domed firebox
and bar frames were there and
the engine is said to have had
cam-operated valves of a pattern
devised by Ross Winans of the

where they had some success in

easing the problems involved in
taking trains up the
in 37 (2.7

B&O. It says enough that later

members of the class had the

per cent) Lickey Incline at Bromsgrove in Worcestershire

normal "gab" motion of the day.

The locomotives were a great

Adhesive weight: 30,0001b

the front while Forrester's

VauxhaJJ had cylinders outside
and at the front Bury's locomotives had the bar frames and

fuel

con-

(5t)

Brother Jonathan had the bogie

sumption. They were also

rela-

The demand for Norris locomotives was so great that the firm
was able to offer the design in a
range of four standard sizes.
Class "C" had a cylinder bore of

Now we

tively

rather than behind the firebox,

so increasing the proportion of
the engine's weight carried on
them.
In this way the final form of
the steam express passenger

(1,220mm)

Heating surface: 394sq

(36

6m 2

ft

Superheater: None

locomotive had almost arrived.

Steam pressure: 60psi

Grate area: 8 6sq ft (0 80m
Fuel (coke): 2,2001b (It)
Water: 450gall (540 US)

Total weight: 44,0001b

Length

2
)

(20t)

overall: 30ft 40>4in

(9,250mm).

The so-called Norris locomotives

have a very important place in
locomotive history, being a design
which took steam another great
step forward
William Norris had been building locomotives in Philadelphia
since 1831. Although a draper
by trade, after a few years in
with
a
Colonel
partnership

Stephen Long, he set up on his

own and by the beginning of
1 836 had produced some seven
locomotives. In that year he built
a 4-2-0 for the Philadelphia &
Columbia Railroad called Wash-

ington County Farmer. In arrangement it bore some resemblance to Brother Johnathan with
leading bogie, but the two cylinders were outside the wheels

Northumbnan had the locomotivetype boiler and two outside cylinders, Planet had the cylinders
at

find outside cylinders,

B&O

success, giving

formance

at

(318mm). Grate areas were, respectively, 6.4, 7.3, 7 9 and 9 5sq

proper locomotive exported from

America, and the hill-climbing
ability of these remarkable loco-

(0.6, 0.69, 0.73 and

88in 2 )
while
engine weights were
15,750,
20,600, 24,100 and
29,6501b (7.1, 9.4, 10 9 and

built a similar

passengers

and

freight transport to receive a

charter It was opened for twelve
miles out of Baltimore in 1830,
but for a number of years horses

provided
haulage
power
although there were trials with
steam locomotives. Steam took
over in 1834 in the form of
vertical-boiler locomotives,

known

as the "Grasshopper" type

The Ohio River was reached
in 1842 via a route which then
included a series of rope-worked
inclined planes, but long before
this more powerful locomotives
than could be encompassed
within the vertical-boiler concept
were needed. The B&O management were impressed with Norris'

Champlain & St. Lawrence Railway in Canada This was the first

combination.
In 1827, the Baltimore & Ohio
Railroad was the first public
for

Britain,

9in (229mm), class "B" 10&in

(268mm),
class
"A"
1 1 J^in
(292mm), class "A extra" 12^in

repairs.

railroad

in

locomotive for the

and needed few

The same year Norris

reliable

bar frames and a leading bogie

in

much better per-

reduced

Gloucester Railway

motives led to
abroad.

many

further sales

13.45t).

The first Old World customer

was the Vienna-Raab Railway
and their locomotive Philadelphia
was completed in late 1837.
Before the locomotive was shipped it was put to haul a train
weighing 200 tons up a 1 in 100
(

ft

per cent) gradient, a

feat then

descnbed as the greatest performance by a locomotive engine so

recorded. Railways in Austria
(not the small republic we know
today but a great empire also
far

embracing much

of

Czechoslovakia,

Poland,

what

is

now
Rou-

The Norris locomotives which

came to England were particuas of course the
English railway engineers were

larly interesting

more accustomed

to sending
engines abroad rather than importing them Seventeen locomotives came over from Philadel-

phia between March 1839 and

May 1842 and they included
examples of the three larger out
of the four

standard Norris sizes

There were nine B's, three A's

and five A extras, the latter used
as bankers on the heavy grade

improvements were
reduce what was orig-

Certain

made

to

inally a

very high coal consump-

on the arduous banking

duties All five A-extras were
tion

converted to tank locomotives

and this saved hauling the weight
of the tenders Steam blown from

and some exhaust steam was turned back

the safety valves

the new saddle tanks

Copper fireboxes replaced iron
ones and various other examples
into

rather shaky workmanship

replaced. The result was that a
coal consumption of 921b/mile
of

(26kg/km) in 1841 was reduced

by 53 per cent by 843
1

The best of

the Norris engines

remained in service until 1856.
In his native America, Norris'
list
of other customers in the
1

830s included 27 predecessors

age

of the railroads of the great

of steam, situated in Connecticut,

Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland,

Massachusetts, New York State,

North Carolina, Pennsylvania,

Tennessee and Virginia. One of
them, the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad, is
even still trading under the same
name today Norris went on to

become for a time the largest

locomotive builder in the USA,
supplying 4-4-0s, 0-6-0s and fi4-6-0s in addition to the
4-2-0s which made his name. On
the other hand the success of
these engines in Europe did not
bring commensurate prosperity
there. Although William Norris
nally

and

his

Vienna

brother Octavius went to

in

1844 and

set

up

locomotive building plant, it was

other builders who adopted
Norris' ideas, produced
of locomotives based

hundreds

on them,
and made the money.
The first of the European

who built Norris-type

locomotives was John Haswell of
Vienna Others were Sigl, also of
builders

Vienna and Guenther of Austria,

Cockenll of Belgium, Borsig,
Emil Kessler and his successor
the Esslingen Co of Germany. In
Bntain, Hick of Bolton and Nas-

myth of Manchester also

built

4-2-0s of this pattern. A 4-2-0

called La Junta supplied to Cuba
circa 1840, was for many years
preserved at the United Railways
of

Havana

station in

Havana.

No

reports have been received either

of its survival or destruction. A
full-size replica of an early Norris

locomotive was constructed in

USA about 1941 and was
reported to be preserved on the
Tallulah Falls Railway in northern
Georgia.
the

Below: A

typical standard Norris

4-2-0 locomotive is portrayed

side view. The elementary
controls of a locomotive of the
1840s can all be clearly seen.
The horizontal handle behind the
firebox is the throttle, while the
vertical one alongside the firebox
controls the "gad" reversing
in this

gear The spring balance

pressure gauge is above the
firebox together with the whistle.
A brake on the engine was
regarded as a luxury.

Above:

77ie gravestones

m the churchyard at
Bromsgrove, Worcestershire,
m memory of a locomotive
crew who were killed in
a boiler explosion in
November 1870. The engine
concerned was not a
Norris one, but nevertheless
the headstones display
carvings of locomotives
of this type, more typical
of the railway at

Bromsgrove.

Fire Fly Class 2-2-2

Great Britain:
Great Western Railway (GWR), 1840

Tractive effort: 0491b

<929kg)
Axle load: 25,0001b (11.20.
Cylinders: (2) 15 x 18in

larger than the one employed by

the Stephensons This 7ft 0'/4in
40mm) gauge was the largest
ever employed by any railway in

man

locomotives

north

trains

381x457mm)

the world

all

When

Driving wheels: 84in

1mm)
Heating surface: 700sq

(65m 2

ft

Superheater: None
Steam pressure: 50psi

rm 2

Grate area:

25m

( 1

3 5sq

ft

2
)

Fuel (coke): 34001b (1

Water: 1,800
(8

25m 3

gall (2,

5t)

160 US)

Adhesive weight: 25,0001b

1.20

(1

Total weight: 92,5001b

Length

(42t).

overall: 39ft 4in

(11.989mm)
In

1833 Isambard Kingdom Bruwas made engineer to what

he referred as "the finest work in

England" He was not one to be a
follower and he thought little of
"the coal

called contemptuously

waggon gauge" He

thought the means employed was not commensurate

said, "I

be done ." and

accordingly chose a gauge for
his railway almost 50 per cent
with the task to

Right: Centaur was

one of Daniel Gooch s
famous standard
locomotives, and was
built by Nasmyth,

Gaskell & Co. of

Manchester, and
delivered
1841.

It

ceased work
1867.

it

came

to locomotive
Western Rail-

matters the Great

truly great, but this was
not so at the beginning. Brunei
perhaps a little casually had
ordered a series of locomotives
from various manufacturers; and
it was not one of his best efforts.
They were given a free hand
within certain almost impossible
constraints, that is, that the weight
of
a six-wheeled locomotive
should not exceed 10!^ tons and
that piston speeds should not exceed 280ft per minute (85m per
minute) at 30mph (48km/h). The

way was

were totally unsatisfactory

and in its earliest days the GWR
had only one locomotive upon
results

nei

what he

(2,1

which it could rely, the fortuitously

acquired Stephenson six-wheel
'Patentee' locomotive North Star
which weighed 18.2 tons, over
75 per cent above Brunei's stipulated weight Even the piston
speed at 30mph (48km/h) was
over the top at 320h7min (98

m/min)

To take charge of the locomoBrunei had engaged a young

tives

called Daniel Gooch, a

countryman who had
worked with the Stephensons.

Following long struggles often

night in the running shed at

Paddington with the collection of

not-too-mobile disasters which
locomotive
formed the
fleet of the time, Gooch formed
some very strong views on what
should have been done. In the

GWR

end when it was

clear that

no sort

could be kept to with

things as they were, Gooch had
to report over this chief's head
of timetable

upon the situation to the Directors.

Brunei was angry but soon made
up and the two remained
it

friends as well as colleagues until

the older man's death in 1859.

Eventually
sible for

Gooch was respon-

drawing up plans and

specifications for a wholly prac-

100
fleet of more than
six-wheeled locomotives, based
Stephenson's
'Patenagain on
tees', and including 2-4-0s and
0-6-0s for freight work, as well as
tical

passenger traffic.
motion and many
other parts were common to all
the types it was standardisation
on a scale the world had never
seen before. This time the manufacturers were allowed no latitude
as was to be the case so often
in future years, there were only
two- ways to do things the
Great Western Way and the
2-2-2s

for

Boilers, tenders,

first

were for express

and these concern us. The
be delivered was

of these to

Fire Fly which

Turner

&

came from

Evans,

Jones,

Newton-le-

Willows, Lancashire, in March

1840, to be followed by Spit Fire,
Wild Fire, Fire Ball, Fire King
and Fire Brand from the same
firm. On 17 March Fire Fly took
a special tram from Twyford to
Paddington in 37 minutes for the
30% miles (49 5km). The maxispeed was 58mph (93
km/h). By the end of 1840, for
the opening to Wootton Bassett
beyond Swindon, a further 25 of
these locomotives were available
and a timetable worthy of the
name could be issued at last.
None of these little fire-horses
had their dignity insulted by the
attachment of numbers, but there
was some attempt at giving related names to the products of

mum

each supplier. The

ing

results,

some considerable

show-

bias to-

wards the

classics, were:
Sharp, Roberts and Co, Manchester Tiger, Leopard, Panther,
Lynx, Stag, Vulture, Hawk, Fal-

con, Ostrich,

Greyhound.

Fenton, Murray & Jackson, Leeds

Charon,
Cyclops,
Cerberus,
Pluto, Harpy, Minos, Ixion, Gorgon, Hecate, Vesta, Acheron,
Erebus, Medea, Hydra, Lethe,
Phlegethon, Medusa, Proserpine,

Ganymede, Argus.
J Renme, Blackfnars, Lon-

Wrong Way As well as drawings,

G &

templates were issued to the

makers, moreover, the builders
were responsible for any repairs
needed during the first 1,000
miles (1,600km) running with
proper loads Sixty-two of the

don: Mazeppa, Arab.

R.B. Longndge & Co Bedlington Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Lucifer,
Venus, Mercury
Stothert & Slaughter, Bristol:
.,

Arrow, Dart.

Nasrnyth. Gaskell

&

Co, Man-

chester: Achilles, Milo, Hector,

Castor, Mentor, Bellona, Actaeon,
Centaur, Onon, Damon, Electra,
Priam, Pollux, Phoenix, Pegasus,
Stentor (which was the last to be

delivered in

December 1842)

both the custom

naming as well as the style and
shape of the brass letters used
persisted for the company's exIncidentally,

of

press locomotives until after the

railways of Britain were nationalised in 1948 The frames were
interesting, being of the sandwich
type made from thin sheets of
iron enclosing a thick in-falling of
oak The "gab" type valve gear
was used This was later altered
to Stephenson's
so allowing for expansive
working of the steam All the locomotives were coke burners and
had large domed "gothic" type
fireboxes Both four-wheel and
six-wheel tenders were attached
in

most cases

pattern,

to different members of the class

at different times; the dimensions
given refer to the use of the

six-wheel pattern

Phlegethon had the honour of

the first Royal Tram,
provided for Queen Victoria's
first railway journey from Slough
to Paddington on 13 June 1842
Gooch drove and Brunei was on
the footplate with him The journey
of 18!^ miles (30km) took 25 minhauling

utes and the

delighted

young Queen was

Castor hauled the opening

train between London and Bristol
on 30 June 1841 This was the
original

but

full

at that

Bristol

&

extent of the GWR,

time the associated

Exeter Railway was

under construction and Castor

was able

to continue as far as

Taunton
Brunei, as is well known,
the idea of extending the

had

GWR

from

Bristol to

was on
day,

New York and

yet another fane

19 July

1843

it

summer

that Daniel

Gooch took the Queen's husband

Prince Albert down to Bristol to
launch the famous steamer Great
Britain, using an unrecorded locomotive of this class As Gooch

records in his diaries, "On the

down journey we had some long
stops for the Prince to receive
addresses, but having no delays
on the return journey it was done
in 2hrs 4mins. Few runs have
been made as quick as this since
over so long a distance" In fact,
the average speed was 57mph

(92km/h) for the 1 18fc miles.

There is little doubt that the
stability afforded by Brunei's
broad gauge tracks with 7ft L 4in
(2,140mm) between the rails,
plus the remarkable running
qualities of these early standard
locomotives led to locomotive
performances unequalled in the

world at the time.

Another example was on
May 1844, the opening day

to

Exeter, when Gooch personally

drove the official party there and
back with the locomotive Onon.
The 194 miles (312km) back

from Exeter

to

to the

The mam difference was the

absence of outside frames

London were run

280 minutes including several

stops for water A year later this
journey was being performed by
regular express trains with a
schedule of 270 minutes, including stops (totalling 1 3 minutes) at

in

Didcot, Swindon, Bath, Bristol

and Taunton.
During

the "Battle of the

Gauges"
1845, Ixion made
test runs on behalf of the broadgauge faction for the Govern-

ment's Gauge Commissioners,

runs were made from Paddington
to Didcot and back With 60 tons
the 53 miles (85km) journey was
performed in 63 h. minutes with a
maximum speed of 61mph (98
km/h), a feat far beyond anything
the narrow gauge people could

do on

Above: Queen belonged

later 'Prince" class of 1847.

their tests

between York

and Darlington. Ixion was the

these famous locomotives

last of

remain in service, ceasing to

run in 1879 The class thus
spanned almost 40 years, during
which railways grew up as a
to

means of transport When Ixion

stopped work the decision to
abandon the broad gauge had
been taken, although it was not
to

disappear

finally until

3 years

later

By 1879 that young man who

had (with the aid of another
young draughtsman, also to be
famous, called Thomas Crampton) laid out the original Fine Fly

on

his

drawing board, had be-

come Sir Daniel Gooch, MP, and

Chairman
Railway

of the

Great Western

Company

29

Great Britain:

Lion 0-4-2

Manchester Railway (L&M), 1838

Tractive effort:

of

Leeds and was one

of a class

named after
Cylinders:

beasts

1!

the

.:ien

began

Driving wheels:

to

led

was

Grand

x press

e locoLiverter

Railway

in

.usual claims

a time.

nit at

decade after

the

famous

locomotive design had begun to

lown and one could order
is

for specific duties with

confidence
Lion
dd, Kitson & Laird

able

Beuth 2-2-2
Tractive effort:

Jur.

Railway, London & North Western Railway, London, Midland &

overall:

own

its

has
successive
world's firs:
a policy that

through

Steam pressure:
Length

also a
railway

L&M

manufacture
:

Superheater: None

It

Railway and British

'

59, for

use as a shunting engine

Some

years later the Board set her up

as a stationary engine In this
guise the engine lasted in commercial service until 1920, when
the LMS railway bought the

Right: Liverpool and Manchester

Railway 0-4-2, Lion still m
running order after 140 years.

Germany:
Berlin- Anhalt Railway,

many was

1201b

Rail-

happy chance led to Lion

>ld to the Mersey Docks

1843

well illustrated in a

2-2-2 locomotive supplied to the

Axle load; 0.0001b (9.5t).

Cylinders:! 2) 13 1 x 22 3 in
(330 x 560mm)

Berlin- Anhalt

The

Stephenson's

Total weight: *4 1,0001b

overall: *20ft 2in

(6,143mm)
only Tender details

not known).

The year 84
1

the

was important

development

of the

in

German

locomotive-building industry, for

in that year three works delivered
their first locomotives Borsig of
Berlin, Maffei of Munich and Emil
Kessler of Karlsruhe. August
Borsig was a man of immense
ability and energy, who built an
industrial empire which included
an iron works and a large water
works At the time of his entry
into locomotive building the
4-2-0s built by Norns of Philadelphia were being imported by
a number of European railways,
and Borsig's first products were
1 5 engines of this wheel arrangement supplied to the BerlmAnhalt Railway They closely

resembled the Norns products

in having bar frames and a large
haycock fire-box, but they included a number of improvements due to Borsig They were
highly

successful

and

side valves above the

were driven by the new
link motion, which
been first applied in 1842. It
actually an invention of an
flat

cylinders

118 50

Length

1843

than in the Norns 4-2-0s The

design was advanced for its day.

r Engine

in

Professor Beuth of the Royal

Industrial Institute of Berlin.
The equal spacing of the axles
gave a better weight distribution

Driving wheels:

Heating surface: 500sq ft

Superheater: None
Steam pressure: 78psi
(5 5kg cm 2
Grate area: 8 9sq ft (0.83m 2
Adhesive weight: 20,0001b

Railway

and named Beuth in honour of

August Borsig's former teacher,

further

orders followed.
By 1843 Borsig had incorporated further improvements,
some of his own devising and
some drawn from English practice This blending of the practices
of America, England and Ger-

had
was
employee of Robert Stephenson,
by name William Howe, whose
part in the affair was always
acknowledged by his employers.
Like all great inventions it was

very simple. Existing valve gears

had separate eccentrics for forward and reverse, and "gabs" or
claws on the ends of each
eccentric rod which could engage or disengage with the valve
spindle as appropriate Howe's
idea was to connect the two
eccentric rods by means of a link
with a curved slot formed in it In
this slot was a die-block to which
the valve spindle was connected.

The

now

just needed to be
one direction of travel
and lowered for the other, the
arrangement worked very well
and the majority of the world's
steam locomotives over the next
60 years used it

link

raised for

It
was also possible to use
intermediate positions to give
cut-off of the steam at an early
point in the stroke, to allow of

more economical working through expansion of the steam

Borsig, however, used an auxiliary slide-valve to control expansion The fitting of cylinder drain
cocks operated from the footplate

was an improvement on Norns'

in
which the drain
cocks were operated by levers

engines,

on the cylinders themselves. The

boiler feed pumps were dnven

by levers attached to the crank

pin, and extending back to a
position under the cab As in the
Norns engines, bar frames were
used The firebox was elliptical in
horizontal section and the upper
part formed a capacious steam
space A cylindrical casing on
top of the firebox housed the

remains for restoration In 1930

Lion was run at the centenary
celebrations of the Liverpool &
Manchester Railway and afterwards the engine was preserved
to what is now the Merseyside
County Museum at Liverpool
Lion also ran in the cavalcade to
celebrate the 150th anniversary
of the L&M, in 1980, and is now
the world's oldest working loco-

motive
Interesting features of the loco-

motive include the impressive

"haycock" shape firebox and
sandwich frames enclosing the
wheels
Lion has also been a film star,
playing the

title

role in that en-

chanting frolic called "Titfield

Thunderbolt", still a favourite-

Right: 140 years of railway

progress- Liverpool & Mancheste.
Railway Lion of 1841 alongside
the

Advanced Passenger

steam pipe and one

Tram.

of the

two

Salter safety valves The firebox

bnght metal, and
was finished
the boiler barrel was lagged with

wood. The six- wheeled tender

had outside frames, and screwoperated brakes acted on both
sides of all tender wheels
This

was

the 24th engine built

by Borsig, and it enhanced his

growing reputation as a locomotive builder Orders flowed in,
the works expanded, and by
1846 a total of 120 locomotives
had been built, a remarkable
achievement for the first five
years of a new works Beuth was
typical of

many of the products of

works in that period

The original engine was scrap-

the

ped, but

made

housed

Below,

in

1921 the builders

full-size replica

in

the

which

is

German Museum

left: ."he locomotive

Beuth as built for the Berlin
to Anhalt Railway m 1843.

Medoc Class 2-4-0

Switzerland:
Swiss Western Railway (O-S), 1857

Tractive effort: 8.9861b

kg)

Axle load:

20. 1501b (9 2t)

24m

Cylinders: (2) 16 x
(408 x612mm)

Driving wheels: 61
(1,686mm)
Heating surface: ,023sq
(95m 2
Superheater: None
1

ft

Steam pressure:
(8kg

cm 2

14psi

Grate area: 10 75sq

Fuel: 5,2801b

Water: 880

(40m 3

ft ( 1

00m 2

).

(2 4t)

gall

(1,050 US)

Adhesive weight: 40,0001b

(18

It)

Total weight: 88,5001b

Length
1

(40t)

overall: 44ft 9!^in

3,650mm)

Below: 2-4-0 No. 58 Simplon of

the Jura-Simplon Railway,
previously No. 1 1 of the Swiss

Western Railway

It

Above: The "longboilertyp'

2-4-0 of the Swiss Western
Railway, later the Jura-

Simplon Railway.

ran from

1857 to 1901.

Buddicom Class 2-2-2 F

Pans-Rouen Railway, 1843

Tractive effort:

3,

001b

pleasure today

The designer, W.B Buddicom,

was one of that band of British

(1,460kg).

Axle load: 14,5501b (6.6t).

engineers who spread the gospel

according to Stephenson round
the world though in this case

Cylinders: (2) 12 5 x 21in

(318 x533mm)
Driving wheels: 63in
(1,600mm).
Heating surface: 534sq ft
(48

5m 2

travelling his

Superheater: None

Steam pressure: 70psi

(5kg/ cm 2
Grate area: 9 5sq ft (0 86m 2
Adhesive weight: 14,5501b
).

).

(66t)
(Original tender details not
available).
is the 2nd
oldest in this book of which a
genuine survivor (not a replica)
survies in runnable condition.
French National Railways must
take the credit (together with
their predecessors the Western
Railway and the State Railway)
because it is their loving care

This locomotive class

which has enabled this significant

and wholly

delightful 139-year
old creature to be there to give us

32

own

different

road

and one that in the end proved

the right one. The Buddicom
2-2-2s represent one more step
as regards the European loco-

motive from Northumbrian via

Planet and Vauxhall towards the
world standard steam locomotive
with two outside cylinders
although it was a close race with
very similar and equally famous
2-2-2s built at Crewe to the
design of Alexander Allan for the
London & North Western Railway
in England and known as the
"Crewe" type. The motivation
behind the new design lay in the
constant breakages of the crank
axles of inside-cylinder locomotives.
In addition to just two outside
cylinders, Stephenson's new link
motion was fitted, as well as a
deep firebox between the rear

li

two wheels. The

results

were

Above right: "Buddicom" 2-2-2

extremely successful and the

engines continued in use for

as restored to original condition

at Bricklayers Arms depot,

many

London, 1951.

years. Latterly 22 of them

were converted to 2-2-2 tank
locomotives, but in 1 946 the last
survivor, long out of use, was

Above: "Buddicom " 2-2-2 as

converted

to a

tank locomotive

Gloggnitzer Class 4-4-0

The

Stephensons

pioneered

much concerning the locomotive,

yet Forrester, Norms, Crampton
and others were ahead in adopwhat became the final
ting
arrangement of the cylinders
The famous 'long-boiler' sixwheeled design offered by Robert
Stephenson & Co from 1846
onwards, with two horizontal
outside cylinders at the front,
was usually combined with an
increased length of boiler, in an
attempt to extract more of the
heat from the hot gases in the
tubes Many of the earlier longboiler engines had a raised haycock firebox instead of a dome
The firebox was outside the
wheel-base which was proportionately rather short This

to a tendency for these

locomotives to pitch at speed,
but their other qualities led to

led

Austria:
Vienna-Gloggnitz Railway, 1848

many being

Tractive effort: 5,7501b

2-4-0

(2,610kg)
Axle load:

built of the 2-2-2,

and 0-6-0 wheel arrangements, both at home and under

licence (or not) in

many European

countries The word longboiler

entered the railway vocabularies
of several lands
The example depicted in the
artwork below was a late longboilertyp of which 1 5 were built

1856-58

Karlsruhe in Germany for the Swiss Western

Railway, later the Jura-Simplon
Railway The design was known
as the Medoc, an almost standard
French type of the period They
all had long and useful lives, the
last being withdrawn in 1902.

in

at

6,5001b

Pass in 1857 their sphere of

action except over the pass
itself became extended beyond
Gloggnitz to Laibach, 284 miles
(460km) from Vienna Laibach is

(7.5t).

Cylinders: (2) 14^x23in

(368 x 579mm)
Driving wheels: 55%in

now known

(1,420mm)

(706m 2

Adhesive weight: 33,0001b

(15t)

movement

).

Fuel: 4,5001b

).

(2t)

Water: l,500gall( 1,800 US)

(6.8m 3

).

Total weight: 70,0001b

(32t).

42ft 2in

how

the Norns
brothers had better-than-average
technical insight but less-thanstory

of

average commercial acumen has

already been related One of
those who combined these qualities

was a Scotsman

Haswell

some locomotives

exported from
vice.

called John

who in 1836 went out to

Austria to put

Britain into ser-

He did this satisfactorily and

was asked to stay on in charge of

the locomotive department of the
27-mile (43km) Vienna-Gloggnitz
Railway. He died in 1897 at the
age of 85 having twice been
knighted by the Emperor for
services to Austria.
One of his most successful
designs was for some 4-4-0s
based on the Norris layout They
were known as the "Gloggnitzers" even though with the completion of the Southern State
Railway over the Semmering

The preserved engine is No.

of the Pans to Rouen Railway,

33

named

Saint Pierre.

It

visited

England for the 1 95 1 Festival of

Bntain and was actually steamed

of the bogie was important Haswell introduced this

device well before Levi Bissell of

New York (whose name

(12,853mm).

The

restored to near original con-

is

locomotives should be mentioned

the leading bogie, which was
arranged to be able to move
radially instead of merely to pivot
about its centre, as in the Norris
engines Because the coupled
wheels were situated close to the
bogie, thus constraining the axis
of the locomotive, some sideways

Superheater: None
Steam pressure: 78psi
(5. 5kg/ cm 2
Grate area: lOsq ft (0 94m 2

Length overall:

dition

as L)ublana and

situated in Jugoslavia
Amongst the features of these

Heating surface: 760sq ft

it

usually

bears) obtained his patent. Also

are the gen-u-ine
Yankee pattern spark-arresting
smoke stack (there was not a
Norns factory in Vienna for
circular-section
nothing),
the
coupling and connecting rods,
and the bundles of brushwood
attached to the leading guard
irons to sweep the rails clear of
stones and other small obstrucinteresting

tions

One of these famous engines

has survived and is displayed in
the Vienna Railway Museum
This is the Stembruck, which
happily in 1860 passed into the
hands of the Graz-Koflach Railway, a concern whose kindly
reluctance to scrap ancient machinery is greatly appreciated by
the locomotive historian

Below: Haswell "Gloggnitzer"

4-4-0 Stembruck as preserved
Vienna Railway Museum.

in the

and run in the Bncklayers Arms

Locomotive Depot, London It
was welcomed into Bntain by
Miss Buddicom, a descendant of
the builder Normally it is kept at
the National Railway Museum at

Mulhouse.
33

Crampton Type 4-2-0

France:
Eastern Railway

(Est),

1852

Tractive effort: 5,0401b

Axle load: 27,5001b (12.50.

Cylinders: (2) 15^x21^in
(400 x 500mm)

Driving wheels: 82%iin

(2.100mm)

Heating surface: l,059sqft

(98

4m 2

Superheater: None
Steam pressure: 92psi
(6 5kg cm 2
Grate area: 5 3sq ft 1
)

42m 2

Fuel:

).

5,5001b (70.
Water: l,540gall( 1,850 US)
1

(7m 3
Adhesive weight:
)

27, 1001b

(12 50

Total weight: 105,0001b (47.50

Length

overall: 4

ft

9in

(12,728mm)

Thomas

Russell Crampton's engines are a legend the word

Crampton for a time entered the

French language to mean "train"

yet they in no way formed a
step forward in the art of loco-

very convenient layout as the

machinery was all accessible in
fact, in that respect (but little else)
the Cramptons followed the final
form of the steam locomotive
Crampton was working on a

they

broad gauge railway and he

must have regarded standard

Crampton was born in August

same month as Daniel

gauge locomotives as having

motive engineering
were magnificent

But

1816, the

Gooch He

learnt his trade as

an

engineer under Marc Brunei,

father of the Great Western Railway's builder In due tone Cramhimself
pton joined the

GWR

and worked with Gooch on

the

design of his celebrated standard

locomotives
still working for
company, he applied for a

In 1842, whilst
this

patent for a high-speed express

locomotive with a low centre of
gravity yet having an adequatesize boiler The problem was the
driving axle if you used big

wheels

permit

of the centre of the boiler

was

about the same measurement as

the rail gauge, very similar to the

same

ratio

for

design on the

gauge
He was
pitching,

conventional

7ft 0!4in (2,

140mm)

concerned about
which affected certain
also

locomotives having a short wheelbase, especially if this was combined with having much of the

weight of the engine concentrated

also low Crampton put the driving axle behind it. The cylinders
were outside the wheels and
were mounted well back from
the front of the engine It was a

on a single central driving

It could be said that the

idea was only dubiously original

but even so Crampton got his
patent and went into business. It
was a case of a "prophet not
being without honour save in his
own country" and the first engine

was

the 4-2-0

Namur

for

the

Namur-Liege Railway in
gium The builders were the

Bellittle

known and long vanished firm of

Tulk and Ley of Lowca Works,
Whitehaven, and since the Belgian
line was not complete when the
locomotives was ready, trials were
held in Great Britain as well as on
the Belgian State Railway
Altogether some 320 Cramp-

Pearson 9ft Single Class 4-2-4

Tractive effort: 7,3441b
(3,330kg)
Axle load: 41.5001b
Cylinders:

2)

18x24in

Driving wheels: 106in

(2,743mm).
Heating surface: l,235sqft

Superheater: None
Steam pressure: 120psi

Grate area: 23sq

ft

(2.15m 2 )
Fuel: 4,4801b (20.
Water: 1 ,430gall( 1 ,720 US)
(6.5m 3
Adhesive weight: 41,5001b
).

(18 50.

Total weight:

Length

1 1 2,0001b (49
overall: 30ft 9m

(9,372mm).
34

7t).

museum exhibit we know today.

day In the typical Crampton

design illustrated here the height

wheel

had to be mounted high. So that

he could set the boiler low and
thus keep the centre of gravity

before restoration as the working

better stability than the

penny-farthing bicycles of the

then the bottom of the boiler had

to clear the revolving cranks and

fast

Below: Eastern Railway of

France Crampton 4-2-0 No.80

little

running,

to

Above: Crampton 4-2-0 No. 170

of the French Northern Railway.
Note the huge single pair of
driving wheels at the back.

p^:

-^i

tons were built, most of them for

various French railways, notably
the Northern and Eastern companies Amongst many notable

doings of theirs in that country

might be noted the haulage of
the last train to leave Pans when it
was besieged by the Germans in

Railway <b&eri. 1854

1 870 Another Crampton belonging to the Eastern Railway and

rebuilt with a strange doublebarrelled boiler, was responsible
for breaking the world speed
record not only for trains but
for everything when No 604

was run

89 5mph (144km/h)

at

with a load of 157 tons, during

on the Pans-Laroche main
line of the Pans, Lyons & Mediter-

trials

ranean Railway on 20 June 1890

The main drawback of the
Crampton design was the limited
adhesive weight which could be
with a single
driving axle right at the end of
the wheelbase this limitation was

applied to the

rails,

a fundamental one Because of

this the success of the Cramptons
in handling light trains at high

speeds was

driving wheels to last longer.

Crampton was also one of the
first locomotive engineers to understand and apply the principles
of balancing the reciprocating
and revolving weights of a locomotive mechanism. This also contributed to the success of his
engines, as did his patent regulator or throttle valve.

Crampton

steam loco847 by the

London & North Western Railway
at their Crewe Works. It had 9ft
(2,742mm) diameter wheels and
presented an exceedingly strange
appearance It was not a success.
of the world's first

motive,

was

built in

Crampton took out

a further

patent in 1849 to cover locomotives provided with an inter-

had clearly a most original mind,

although sometimes his ingenuity
outran his good sense In addition
to the well-known Crampton lay-

mediate

out which was only secondary in

the application, his original patent
1842 claimed the idea of
of
locomotives with a driving axle
above the boiler. The first (and
almost certainly the last) of these,
named Trevithick after the builder

locomotives was brief (but not

quite so brief as the underslung
boiler) but after Crampton had
died in 1 888 and the patent had
expired the idea found extensive
use for the drive mechanisms of
early electric locomotives.

shaft, either oscillating

or revolving, between the cylin-

ders and the driving wheels or

axle

Its

application

to

steam

The considerable mark which

Thomas Crampton made in the
world of locomotive engineering
is recognised by the preservation
of 4-2-0 No.80 Le Continent,
originally of the Paris-Strasbourg

Railway, later the Eastern Railway

of France This beautiful loco-

motive

superbly restored

relic,

and in working order (but only

steamed on great occasions) is
usually to be found in the French
National Railway Museum at Mulhouse. She is the subject of the
vital statistics

given

at the

head

of

this article.

Below: Crampton 4-2-0 of the

Eastern Railway of France as now
superbly restored makes one of
her rare appearances in steam.

some

extent selfdefeating because of the fast

service more people used the
to

trains, more coaches had to be

added and the limit of these
engines' capacity was soon

also true to say that,

sight it would
appear that a low centre of
make
a locomotive
gravity would
more stable, in fact it is a case
where the cure can be worse
than the disease. Such loco-

reached
whilst

It

at

is

first

motives may be less liable to

overturn when driven round curves at two or more times the
permitted speed, but liability to
serious oscillation and consequent derailment from that cause
is increased.
Nevertheless, other features

made the Crampton engines into

sound propositions Their layout
enabled beanngs of really adequate size to be applied to the
driving axle and this made for
long periods of trouble-free running between visits to the shops
Similar advantage sprung from
the fact that a rear wheel of a
vehicle tends to run with its
flanges clear of the rails on
curves, leaving the leading wheels
to do the guidance Hence the
small (and cheap) carrying wheels
bore the brunt of the flange- wear,
leaving the large and expensive

These

remarkable tank locomotives were designed for the

broad-gauge Bristol & Exeter
Railway by Locomotive Superintendent Pearson and eight (running numbers 39 to 46) were
built by Rothwell & Co of Bolton
in

1853 and 1854 They were

intended specially for working

the

B&ER's

section of the

London

Exeter express route, including

famous train "Flying Dutchman", at that time the fastest train
to

the

the world They had the largest

driving wheels ever successfully
used on a locomotive and no one
has come up with an authentic
in

to one of 81 8mph
30km/h) made behind a Pearson single while descending the

previous
(

Wellington

incline

south

of

The B&ER had only taken over

from the Great Western the work-

own

railway in 1849, a
years before this very
of
locomotive thinkonginal piece
ing was turned into hardware. It
says enough of the relationship

bare

its

own works

at

so-onginal
followed

first

B&ER's

But the
design was

Bnstol.

The engines were guided by

Taunton

ing of

a replacement at the

five

between the two companies that

they were as far as possible
removed from the Gooch 4-2-2s
first supplied Most onginal pieces

recording of any higher speed

of thinking in respect of locomotive design spent more time in

Left: A side view of a Pearson

4-2-4 tank locomotive as used
on the broad-gauge fines of the
Bristol & Exeter Railway.

sidings than on the road, but it

was not so with these so-called
nine-footers After 14 years in
traffic four of them were rebuilt
to an extent that counted more as

four-wheel bogie at each end,

and they were propelled along

by that mighty pair of flangeless

dnving wheels placed more or
less centrally between the bogies.

As
on

with all locomotives that ran

Brunei's broad-gauge lines,
the cylinders and motion were
inside the frames.
Water was carried in the tank
at the rear as well as in a well-tank
between the frames Pearson's
singles were untypical, though,
in that they earned no names,

only numbers.
In 1876, shortly after the
had finally taken over the B&ER,
a Pearson single (No 39, renum-

GWR

bered 200 1 derailed with loss of

life at Long Ashton near Bnstol
In consequence the remaining
three locomotives were again
completely rebuilt on more con)

ventional lines as 4-2-2 singles,

regarded by some as the most
handsome (this was not hard to
achieve) ever to run on the 7ft
0!4in (2, 140mm) gauge
Had the broad-gauge continued into the twentieth century,
would seem as though these
it
rebuilds might have formed the

basis

upon which development

might have taken place The

design of a modern broad gauge
4-6-0 with two large inside cylinders and a power and size similar
to that of the Saint class 4-6-0s
would be a fascinof the
if
especially
exercise,
ating
followed up by a working model

GWR

35

American Type 4-4-0

United States:
Western

&

Atlantic Railroad

(W&ARR), 1855

Tractive effort: 6,8851b

(3.123kg)
Axle load:

Cylinders:
(381 x

,0001b

2)

(9.5t).

15x24in

610mm)

Driving wheel: 60in

(1,524mm)
Heating surface: 98 Osq

(91m 2

ft

Superheater: None
Steam pressure: 90psi
(6.35kg
Grate area: 14 5sqft

(135m 2
Fuel
(7 25m 3

)
.

ood) 2 cords

Water: 1,250

(575m 3

US)

gall (2,000

Adhesive weight: 43,0001b

(19

5t)

Total weight: 90,0001b

Length

(4

1 t).

overall: 52ft 3in

(15,926mm)

The General was built by Thomas

Rogers of Paterson, New Jersey
in 1855 and it is a wholly appromost numerous and successful locomotive
design ever to have been built
The reason is that Rogers was
responsible for introducing most
of the features which made the
true "American" the success it
was The most significant developwas
ment, so far as the
concerned was the general introduction of Stephenson's link
motion, which permitted the
expansive use of steam This was
in place of the "gab" or "hook"
reversing gears used until then,
which permitted only "full forpriate example of the

USA

ward"

and

"full

backward"

positions
In other

aspects of design
Rogers gained his success by
good proportions and good detail

An
innovation.
example was the provision of
the
cylinadequate space between
ders and the driving wheels,
which reduced the maximum
angularity of the connecting rods
and hence the up-and-down forlong
ces on the slide bars.
rather

man

wheelbase

leading

truck

(in

English, bogie) allowed the cylinders to be horizontal and still

clear the wheels. This permitted
direct attachment to the bar
frames, which raised inclined
cylinders did not

To allow flexibility on curves,

examples of the breed

that

by the 1880s a bigger breed

early

of 4-4-0 as well as "Ten-wheelers"

inhented flangeless leading driving wheels from their progenitors,

but by the late 1 850s the leading
trucks were being given side

(4-6-0s)

produce the same

Naturally the compensated

movement
effect.

to

spring suspension system giving

three-point support to the locomotive was continued. Woodburning was also nearly universal
in these early years of the type,
and the need to catch the sparks
led to many wonderful shapes in
way of spark-arresting
the

smokestacks
Within two or three years other
makers such as Baldwin, Grant,
Brooks Mason, Danforth and

were taking over from

the "American"
There was another revolution
taking place too The earlier
years of the type were characterised by romantic names and

wonderful brass, copper and

paint work, but the last quarter of
the nineteenth century was a time
of cut-throat competition, with
weaker roads going to the wall.
There was no question of there

being anything to spare for frills

of this kind so it was just a case
of giving a coat of bitumen and
painting big white running numbers in the famus "Bastard Railroad Gothic" fount on the tender

Hinkley began offering similar

locomotives. To buy one of these
locomotives one did not need to
be a great engineer steeped in
the theory of design it was
rather like ordering a car today.

sides.

on which
One
certain options could be specified
and very soon an adequate and
reliable machine was delivered.
Speeds on the rough light
tracks of a pioneer land were not
high average speeds of 25mph

the

filled

in

a form

For most of the second half of

the nineteenth century this one
type of locomotive dominated
railroad operations in the USA.
It was appropriately known as

"American Standard" and

Below:

Typical United
States "Standard" 4-4-C

implying
a maximum of 40mph (64km/h),
were typical of the best expresses

illustrating the elaborate

Although the 4-4-0s were completely stable at high speeds, the

of American railroading

but which was aband-

increased power required meant

oned in

(40km/h)

start-to-stop,

decor that was

often

applied in the early years

the 1880s.

Above: The "General" as

currently preserved in working
order. The wood "stacked" in
the tender hides an oil fuel tank.

about 25,000

of

them were

built,

differing only marginally in design. The main things that varied

were the decor and the details
They were simple, ruggedly constructed machines appropriate
for what was then a developing
country, at the same time a
leading bogie and compensated

made them suitable

rough tracks of a frontier

springing
for the

land.

The subject of the specification

above is perhaps the most famous
of all the 25,000. The General
came to fame when hijacked by a
group of Union soldiers who had
infiltrated into Confederate territory during the American civil
war.

The idea was

to

disrupt

communications behind the

in particular

on the 5ft

( 1

lines,

,524mm)

gauge
long

line 135 miles (216km)

connecting Atlanta with

Chattanooga The Union forces

were approaching Chattanooga

and
were expected

after their victory at Shiloh

the Confederates
to

bring up reinforcements by

before what had

now become

Confederate posse came within

rifle range In the end, after eight
hours and 87 miles the General
expired when it ran out of fuel,
the

Union group then scattered

woods All were later

into the

There was a major trestle

bridge at a place called Oosten-

captured and seven of the senior

abula and the intention was to

steal a train, take it to the site and
burn the bridge A replacement

Leaving out the human drama

moment two qualities of the
"American Standards" emerge
from this affair First, in spite of
the rough track high maximum
speeds of around 60mph (100
km/h) were reached during the
chase and both locomotives

rail

would take weeks to build

The Union force, twenty in
number under the command of a
Captain Andrews, having stayed
overnight at a place called Marietta

and having bought tickets to

on the train, took over the

travel

locomotive

at

a place called Big

Shanty, some 30 miles (48km)

north of Atlanta, while the pas-

sengers and crew were having

breakfast

house
train,

in

the depot's eating

of the

The conductor
whose name was

Fuller,

gave chase first on a handcart

and then on a small pnvate
ironworks loco, the Yonah.

The raiders' intention was to

cut telegraph wires behind them,
remove the occasional rail and

demand immediate passage at

stations they came to in the name
Confederate General Beauregard A problem Andrews
faced was the presence of trains
of

coming

the other

way on

the

and perhaps the game

Kingston where he
to wait an hour and twenty
minutes until one divided
two sections had finally

single line

was
had
five

into

lost at

arrived
In the end the Yonah arrived
there only four minutes after
Andrews and the General had
left Here Fuller took over another
"American" 4-4-0, the Texas and
after

this

Andrews never got

enough time

to

block the track

men shot
for a

stayed on the rails The second

thing was that the range between
fuel stops was very short. A full
load of two cords of wood fuel (a
cord is 1 28cu ft or 3 62m 2 ) would
last for a mere 50 miles (80km).
Both the General and the Texas

what purports to be them)

have survived. The former, normally in store at Chattanooga, is
occasionally run Oil fuel is used,
the tank being concealed under

(or

a fake woodpile. The Texas, as

befits a Confederate conqueror,
has an honoured place in Grant
Park at Atlanta Both were converted from the 5ft (1,524mm)
gauge of the Western & Atlantic
Railroad after the war was over

The American

Civil

War was

great wars to be
fought using railway transportation, most of which was provided on both sides by this

one

of the

first

"American" type. The

earliest

were
and then operated by

transcontinental railroads
first built

them, the well-known picture of

the last spike ceremony at Promontory, Utah, has placed the
Cental Pacific's Jupiter and the

Union

Pacific

No

119 second

only to the General on the scale

of locomotive fame It is said that

"America built the railroads and

the railroads built America"; substitute "American 4-4-0" for "railroad" and the saying

is

equally

true

The "American" type was a

universal loco, the only difference

between those built for passenger

and those for freight was

between 66in (1,676mm) diamdriving wheels and 60in

Above: American Standard

4-4-0, as

refurbished to

resemble the Cental Pacific RR s

Jupiter, ready to re-enact the
completion ceremony of the first
transcontinental railroad at the

Golden Spike National

Monument, Utah.

traffic

eter

(1,524mm). It also served all the

thousands of railroad companies
who then operated America's
100,000 miles (160,000km) of
line, from roads thousands of
miles long to those a mere ten.
The last "American" class in
the U.S.A. did not retire from
normal line service for more than

a century after Rogers put the

first on the rails in 1852 A few
survive in industrial use in the
remoter parts of the world even
today. Numerous examples are

preserved in museums and elsewhere all over North American, a

few (a very few) perform on
tourist railroads, while others are

set

aside for and occasionally

star in

western

films.

Problem Class 2-2-2

any locomotive John Ramsbottom's "Problem" or "Lady of

Tractive effort: 9.8271b

kg)
Axle load: 33,0001b (15t)
Cylinders: (2) 16 x24in
x

the Lake" class singles,

duced on the

Heating surface: ,097 sq

(102m 2
1

ft

Superheater: None
Steam pressure: 50psi
(8 54ku
Grate area: 5sq ft
39m 2 )
1

( 1

1.0001b

(5t)

Water: 1,800 gall (2,160 US)

(8m 3
Adhesive weight: 26,5001b
)

(12t)

Total weight: 133,0001b

(60

intro-

in

1859

nearly 50, although a

considerable element of luck entered into the achievement
In the tradition of all the best

steam locomotives from Northumbrian of 830 to the Chinese

1

"March Forward"

class of 1980,
characteristic of the
"Problem" was simplicity No
one could call the Stirling singles

the

mam

described elsewhere complex,

but the "Problem's were simpler
still, having no bogies, the leading
axle being earned in the frames

overall: 43ft 8in

others

like the

The

5t)

Length

LNWR

managed

610mm)

Driving wheels: 93in

(2.324mm)

Fuel:

Great Britain:
London & North Western Railway (LNWR), 1862

first

turned out

of the
in

60

built

1859, the

was

last in

(13,310mm)
Right:

A working

career on top main

line expresses lasting more than
40 years is quite exceptional for

at speed

"Problem " class 2-2-2

on the LNWR mam

hauling an almost
unbelievable 15-coach load.

line

Stirling oft Single Class 4-2-2

riain

rea

.
:

Tractive effort: 1 1 ,2451b

(5,101kg)
Axle load: 34,0001b
(15 5t)
Cylinders: (2) 18x28in
(457 x711mm)
Driving wheels: 97m
(2,463mm).
Heating surface: l,165sqft

(108m 2

Steam pressure:
8kg/ cm 2
Grate area:

(9

( 1

40psi

).

64m 2

7 65sq

ft

Fuel: 7.5001b (3.5t)

Water: 2,900 gall (3,480 US)

(13m 3
Adhesive weight: 34,6001b
)

(15.5t).

Total weight: 145,5001b

(66t)

Length overall:

50ft 2in

(15,240mm)

Above right: Preserved Stirling

No. 1 ready to take part m the
Cavalcade celebrating 150
years of mam-hne railways,
August 1975.

38

Below:

Stirling 4-2-2 No. 1 of the

Great Northern Railway of England,

8-foot diameter driving wheels.

elegant brass safety valve cover

and, on the tender, the gong which
was connected to an early form
of communication cord. No. 1 is

Note the domeless boiler and the

preserved in working order

showmg the huge smgle pair of

Left

1865 The outside-cylinder mside-valve arrangement was extremely basic, and a further
simplification occurred after the
first ten had been built when the
Giff ard injector

pumps

]ob for which the "Problem"

locomotives were noted was the
Irish mail trains,
known as the "Wild Irishmen",

haulage of the

their

from Euston to Holyhead, changing engines at Stafford,

Francis Webb took over from
John Ramsbottom in 1871 and
he, like other locomotive engineers both before and after, made

"Stirling

8-foot

single"

is

considered by many to be the

epitome of the locomotive regarded as an art form The
graceful lines set off by lovely

and brass-work combine

produce a sight that has few

paintto

rivals for

beauty

Patrick

Stirling,

Locomotive
Great Nor-

Supenntendent

of the

thern Railway

had the

them

first

of

1870 at the line's

own Doncaster Locomotive Plant.
built in

the GNR custom, subsequent numbers were allotted

at random, but the prototype
was actually No 1 and as such
enjoyed considerable fame It
was 23 years before the last and

As was

identities

The

changes

numbers
and names chosen and allocated
at random. Many of the names
were evocative, for example,
Erebus, Harlequin, Atalanta, Lady
closely followed, with

compound

The

LNWR s

made, however, did little to obviate

their worst fault which was the
tendency to violent oscillation
about a vertical axis at speed
As regards these identities, a
hallowed LNWR tradition was

the mistake of thinking that complexity was the nght path. The

LNWR

bemg

but in

per cent increase in the total

weight over the original An
earlier rebuild had provided the
locomotives with cabs and no
doubt little remained of the originals of 1859 by the end except

locomotives that resulted were not as reliable as

they should have been and in
operating departtime the
ment laid down that any express
with a load greater than the
equivalent of 1 7 six- wheel coaches

Problem " class No.610

"blackberry black" livery

replaced tiresome

for feeding the boiler

Princess Royal before

fitted with a cab,

(about 270 tons) should be

1890s

pi-

discreetly rebuilt in the

loted In this task the "Problem"

locomotives, now 30 years old,
found a niche and for it they were

The dimensions given

in the
specifications refer to the final
rebuilding, which involved a 25

of the Lake, Tornado, Pandora,

but others such as Problem,
Soult, Edith and Fortuna, less so

47th of the class was completed

The domeless boiler was very
apparent to the onlooker, it was
both unusual for the time as well
as being a Stirling trademark.
Mechanically the engine was as
simple as can be, with outside
cylinders but inside valve chests,
the slide valves being driven
direct by sets of Stephenson's
link motion.
In those days, when trains
were formed of six-wheel noncorndor coaches, these engines
handled all the crack expresses
of the line including the famous

Many authentic recordings were

made showing speeds around
75mph (120km/h) with surpris-

stock for the "Flying Scotsman"

10am Kings Cross to Edinburgh

express, known then only unofficially as the "Flying Scotsman".

ingly

heavy loads being hauled

by these locomotives, but the

coming of such developments as
eight- and twelve- wheeled bogie
stock, corridor carnages and
dining cars spelt their removal to
All had been withdrawn by 1 9 6 except the legen-

lesser tasks

which survives at what

was the boundary of her home
dary No.

territory at the National

Railway

Museum at York.
In

1938

Stirling's

No.l was

taken out of the museum, restored

for a publicity stunt in
connection with some new rolling

and used

express Journalists were invited

to Kings Cross for a preliminary
run on the Flying Scotsman of
1888, before joining the new
luxury train at Stevenage The
event caused a group of railway
enthusiasts known as the Railway
Correspondence and Travel Society to charter No. and its train
of six-wheelers for an excursion
from Kings Cross to Cambridge
It was the first occasion that a
museum piece main-line steam
locomotive was run to give steam
1

enthusiasts pleasure, and was

the precedent for such activities
starting in earnest after World

War II

Class 121 2-4-2

France:
Pans, Lyons

&

Mediterranean Railway (PLM), 1876

Tractive effort: 12,2251b

^5,545kg)
Axle load: 3 1,0001b (140
Cylinders: (2) 19 7 x 23 7in
(500 x 650mm)
Driving wheels: 82^ir.

(2,100mm)

Heating surface: l,280sqft

(119m)

Superheater: None
Steam pressure: 129psi
:n 2 )

Grate area: 23sq ft (2.2m 2

Adhesive weight: 61,0001b
).

(27

5t)

Total weight: 109,5391b (49

Length overall: 56ft S^in
(1,7215mm)
(Tender details not available).

7t).

French steam locomotives always

had great

and none

distinction

more so

than these enchanting

creations which belonged to the
famed Route Impenale, otherwise
known as the Pans, Lyons &

Oullms shops shanng the work

Below: Pans, Lyon &

Mediterranean Railway Previous

of construction.

Mediterranean Railway class

"121 " 2-4-2 No.90. Note the

to

their

had

construction the

PLM

on Crampton-type

relied

4-2-0 locomotives Finding they

needed more power, in 1 868 the
company built 50 long-boiler

both

2-4-0s,

CI
ace
ViaSS

and

Pans

their

7Q
19

ZL 4. ft

close to working on its

100th birthday, for it was shun-

ting at the

shops as

(9.8kg/cm 2

top-line

).
).

(29t)

Total weight: 1 33,5001b (60.5t).

(Tender details not available).
active working life of over 80
years says more for the qualities
of these handsome locomotives
than pages of print One of them

40

as mid- 1972.
ongins as an under-

late

city railway

locomotive,

were intended for

express passenger' trains

these 4-4-0s

40psi

Grate area: 14.75sq ft (1.40m 2

Adhesive weight: 64,0001b

An

NSWGR Clyde Work-

In spite of

ground

ft

later

came

x610mm)

earlier

converted to a
4-4-2 tank locomotive in fact

Axle load: 32,0001b (14.5t).

Cylinders: (2) 18x24in
Driving wheels: 67in
(1,702mm)
Heating surface: 1 2 1 sq
(104m 2
Superheater: None

the

They were based on the layout of

some famous and successful
4-4-0 tanks built by Beyer, Peacock of Manchester from 1864
onwards for London's Metropolitan Railway. The original
Australian order was for 30,
delivered between 1877 and
1879. Later 26 more were supplied by Dubs & Co. of Glasgow
(later

part of the North British

A further four

Locomotive Co)

class

were built

outside Gooch valve gear, the

dome nearly as fat as the boiler,
the spring-balance safety valves,
the bell to provide communication
and the flap to cover the chimney

Australia:
New South Wales Government Railways

which was

(6,260kg).

Steam pressure:

ment and, indeed,

** W

Tractive effort: 13,8001b

(457

Still more power was found to

be necessary and in 1876 an
enlarged version of these 2-4-0s
was produced. It was necessary
to go to the 2-4-2 wheel arrange-

Above: PLM 2-4-2 locomotive

67. Four hundred of this

No.

(NSWGR), .877

came from

Beyer, Peacock in
88 1 and the final four were built
in New South Wales by the Atlas
1

Engmeenng

Pty

of

Sydney,

making 68 in all. It was a pleasant

change from so much contemporary locomotive engmeenng,
most of which was to NTA (No

Two Alike) standards

As we have seen and will see
again many times throughout
this narrative, simplicity

was the

steam locomotive's trump card

and designers who thought to
introduce complications, however
promising they might seem, did
so at their peril. Beyer, Peacock's
classic design (the original is
attributed to Sir John Fowler),
repeated so many times for so
many railways, came near the
ultimate

in

this

respect

One

feature which is hidden from

sight is the Allen's straight-link

motion which was fitted to these

locomotives.
Originally the locomotives had
no sides to the cab but later some
shelter was provided The resulting side-sheets had plain circular
windows and this is a trade mark
of these

and other contemporary

NSWGR

locomotives

Another

odd aesthetic feature of the "79"s

the sloping front to the smokebox door, inhented from their
is

Metropolitan progenitors

The New South Wales railways were notable for a large

Right:

New South

Wales

Government class "79" 4-4-0 as

restored and displayed at the

NSW Railway Museum

2-4-Os were soon rebuilt with the

extra rear carrying axle This
extra pair of wheels gave increased stability when running.
Interesting features included a
Belpaire firebox, outside Gooch's
valve gear (described in connection with Gooch's "Rover" class
4-2-2s) and, later on, big reservoirs on the boiler in connection
with the PLM air brake system
Delicious rather than vital were
vanous lesser features The magnificent

chimney, for example,

is

immense

pure poetry, with

that

capouchon

lever-worked

and

shut The sandbox

too, whilst a plain rectangle in the
view,
is
exohcally curved
side
when seen from the front. The
superb dome with spring-balance
safety valves certainly is no anticlimax, while the shape of the
cab (if that is the right word for
flap to close

it

a sbghtly elaborate wind-shield)

is

distinctive

seen

from

any

direction.

Sixty of this sub-class (to which

the dimensions etc given above
refer)

were

built,

numbered from

1 1 0, following the 50 earlier

2-4-0s converted to 2-4-2s
So successful were these engines that between 1879 and

5 1 to

1883 their numbers were increased to 400, all except 40 of

this huge fleet, being built "in
house" by the PLM These 40
were built by Sharp, Steward &

Co of Manchester. They worked

all

kinds of passenger

further

trains.

development took

place in 1888, when yet more

2-4-2s were built. This final version of the design was a water-

shed of steam development in

Although in overall
France
weight they were a mere 10 per

cent greater than the originals,

there were three features incorporated in the design, each of
which meant a "Great Leap
Forward" in French locomotive
design: first, there was Walschaert's valve gear, later to
become a world standard for
steam locomotives, second the
boiler was designed for
pressure
unprecedented

15kg/cm

2 (2 14psi),

an
of

again typical

day steam engines the

world over and representing a
65 per cent increase over the
of latter

boiler

design.

pressure of the parent

the
design
Thirdly,

marked a change on the part of

the greatest of French railway
companies from simple

loco-

motives to compound. This was

eventually to lead, in France, to
locomotives that beat the world
by a big margin in thermal

efficiency, that
fuel

is,

in the

amount of

burnt per unit of power

produced.
Other very similar 2-4-2s were
built from 1 876 onwards for the
neighbouring Pans-Orleans Railway. In fact, it seems likely that
the PLM copied what they saw
being done over the fence by one
of the greatest of French locomotive engineers, Victor Fourquenot In all 126 of the 2-4-2s
were built for the P-O and some
were even in use 70 years later.
One has survived to be restored
and displayed in the National

Railway

Museum

Not only the

Mulhouse

at

PLM

copied the

P-O Between 1882 and

1891,

were built for

the Austro-Hunganan State Railway Co. The P-O is said to have
had a financial interest in the
Austro-Hunganan company
forty of the 2-4-2s

number of long lightly-laid

branch lines serving the farming
community. While the crops -are
growing traffic is minimal and so,
long after the "79" class has been
superseded on the crack trains
were the mail
on these branches needing
and light-footed locomotives. Hence one finds these

of the system, there

trains

agile

4-4-0s, now re-designated class

"Z- 12", (between 1885 and 1923

known

they were
class)

still

85 years

at

work

after the

introduced

as the "C"
the 1960s,

design was

One notes, however,

one interruption to this peaceful

and prolonged old age when,
one day in 1932, 7,000 tons of
elderly locomotives placed bufferto-buffer were used to test the

Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Duke Class 4-4-0

Tractive effort: 12,3381b

When

Axle

1874
"Duke"

load: 3 1 ,5001b (14.250.

(2) 18x24in
0mm).
Driving wheels:
nm)
ft

Steam pressure: 40psi

1

84kg cm 2
Grate area: 16 25sqft

(9
(1

51m 2

Fuel:

Water:

.800 gall

(2,

160 US)

(8m 3
Adhesive weight: 59,5001b
)

(270
Total weight: 161,5001b
(73 50

Length

were introduced in
Highland Railway
were the most

class

in Britain

Although a small concern with

fewer than 60 locos on its books
the HR needed strong engines to

Highland Railway (HR), 1874

they
the

powerful locomotives

Cylinders:

Heating surface: ,228sq

(114m 2

Great Britain:

across the mounten 4-4-0s, built by

Dubs of Glasgow and the first
design of newly appointed Loco

tains.

trains

These

motive

Superintendent

David

Jones, were the forerunners of

several other very similar classes
These were the "Lochgorm
Bogie" of 1876, the "Clyde Bogie"
of 1886 and the "Strath" class of
1889. The celebrated "Skye
Bogie" class of 1882 were also
very closely related, but with

overall: 5 1 ft 3in

(15,621mm

smaller
driving
wheels. In all, these engines added
up to a very competent fleet of 30
locomotives, which profoundly

considerably

improved speeds and loads on

the Highland lines That famous

HR feature the louvred chimney,

intended to throw the exhaust up
clear of the cab as well as assist
the draughting, appeared for the
first time on this class, which also
had the graceful double frame

arrangement
locomotives.

whose

first

of

As

previous

HR

befitted a line

locomotive chief was

Alexander Allan, Allan's straight

link valve gear was used.
Another interesting feature was
Le Chatelier's counter-pressure
brake, by means of which the
cylinders could be used to provide the brake force as well as

drive the
ii|

train.

'[in ill

ili
'i

The

h.ini

.i|

was

idea
i|

1m

'.

gear.

The later-fitted

front

vacuum

brake pipe was arranged to fold

down to permit the mounting of a
wedge-type snowplough Running numbers were 60 to 69
Although a ride over the Highland main line was and is one of
the finest railway journeys of the
world, it has never been one of
the fastest In the early days of
David Jones' locomotives the journey from Perth to Inverness 143
miles (230km) took 5!4 hours by
the best train, and the continuation
on the Wick, a further 162 miles

Right: David Jones' "Duke"

class 4-4-0, depicted in original
hvery. Later a more sombre
green was adopted.

Gladstone Class 0-4-2

Great Britain:
London, Brighton & South Coast Railway (LBSCR),

882

Tractive effort: 13,2111b

(5,993kg)
Axle load: 32,5001b (14.750.

Cylinders: (2) 18>4x26in

(464 x 660mm).
Driving wheels: 78in
(1,980mm).
Heating surface: l,492sqft

(139m 2

Superheater: None
Steam pressure: 40psi
(9.8kg/cm 2
Grate area: 20.3sq ft
(1.88m 2 )
1

).

Fuel: 9.0001b (4t).

Water: 2,240 gall (2,700 US)
(10.2m 3
Adhesive weight: 63,5001b
(290
Total weight: 153,0001b
)

(69.50

Length overall:

51ft lOin

(15,800mm).

Ever since the days

of Stephen-

"Patentee" 2-2-2 it had

been taken as a matter of course
son's
that

42

first

express

passenger loco-

motives needed guiding wheels

ahead of their driving wheels. So

when one

of the

most able

of

locomotive engineers introduced

0-4-2 type locomotives to haul

the London, Brighton & South
Coast Railway's principal expresses, his colleagues won-

to

H'.iki

blocks on the long down grades

but the equipment never became
standard The principle was very
similar to descending a long hill
in a motor car by engaging a low

Above: "Gladstone" class

No. 188 Allen Sarle at Oxted

1901. Note its

spectacular cleanliness.
Surrey,

(260km), occupied another 8

hours When this fleet of bogie

engines had become established,
improvements were made, the
timings for the two sections of
main line coming down to 4
hours and 6 hours respectively
This occurred in 1 890
One of the problems of the HR
that traffic was either a
feast during the beginning and
end of the shooting season for
example or a famine. Foxwell
{Express Trams, English and

was

1895) records the

Foreign,
Euston-Inverness mail train leaving Perth one August morning
1888 with two 4-4-0s and 36
carnages, including horseboxes
and saloons from companies all
over Britain Not surprisingly
and in spite of a banker being

provided for the 18 miles (29km)

of 1 in 75 ( 1 3 per cent) from Blair
Atholl to Druimachdar Summit,
22 minutes had been lost against
the schedule by the time King-

was reached. These 4-4-0s

stayed in charge of principal
Highland expresses until Peter
Drummond's bigger 4-4-0s and
4-6-0s arrived at the turn of the
century
ussie

David Jones' predecessor

at

Inverness was William Stroudley,

who introduced to the HR his
original,

handsome and

cele-

brated livery of yellow ochre,

more famous for its use on the
London, Brighton & South Coast
Railway. The "Duke" class first
appeared in this colouring although it was not long before
David Jones's own green livery
was adopted The only Highland
locomotive which is preserved,

centre axle

main-line express locomotive to

be preserved by a pnvate group
in this case the Stephenson

age of 56 But some

of his locomotives (the famous
"Terner" class) were still in service

was

in this

company's own Brighton works

in December 1882
Over the
next eight years 35 more were
built In 1889 No 189 Edward
Blount crossed the channel and
won a Gold Medal at the Pans
Exhibition

Once

the exhibition

lines to the left

springs on the leading axle and

of

economical, and that good looks

were important in locomotives
Stroudley belongs to that handful
of locomotive men whose creations stayed in service for more
than seventy years
The last of his masterpieces
the express passenger locomotive class known as the "Gladstone", after the name bestowed
on the prototype which first saw
the light of day outside the

The

ranean Railway's Pans-Laroche

section of the main line The
locomotive did very well, achieving 69^mph (1 1 lkm/h) on level
road with a heavy train, but, alas,
William Stroudley caught a chill
during the tnals and died in Pans

No 103

preserved Highland 4-4-0. The

was a man who believed that the

best practice was also the most

south.

was over No 189 was tned out

on the Pans, Lyons & Mediter-

4-6-0

1894, is (incorrectly) decked out

yellow colour this being
as near as one can get to a

order to put the

Company's then rather messy
locomotive affairs in order He

Fife passing Welch s Cabin at

Inverness en route to the

lead into the departure platforms

of the station. Amvmg trams
both then and now proceed

Goods"

in the

tors in 1871 in

Above: "Duke" class No.82

the last of the associated classes

(No.95 Strathcarron) was withdrawn as London, Midland &
Scottish No 14274 in 1928, well
before the age of preservation

"Jones'

dered But there was no need.

William Stroudley had been
enticed away from the Highlands
of Scotland by the LBSCR direc-

"Duke" to survive was the

one which gave the class its
name No.67, The Duke, later
Cromarbe, ceased work in 1923;
last

at the early of

with Bntish Railways in the 1960s

The success of the "Gladstone"

locomotives

lay, like

that of

most

described
book, as much in their
robustness and simplicity as in
their sound design For example,
the slide-valves were placed under

of the successful types

the cylinders, but the port faces

were inclined when seen in elevation so that the Stephenson's
valve gear would work them
direct without the intervention of
rocking levers In the absence of

guiding wheels in

had

front,

springing

special attention with leaf

more

flexible coil

spnngs on

the

One

complication
that was considered worthwhile

was the installation of equipment

to allow the exhaust steam to be
condensed in the feed water,

some

of the waste heat being

recovered thereby Another was
air-dnven assistance air was
conveniently available from the
Westinghouse air brake supply
for the screw reversing gear
Whilst Stroudley was a man of
his time and therefore a strict
disciplinanan, the above was an
example of his consideration for
the men. He also insisted that the
driver's name should be painted

up

in

gold paint

in the

cab

of the

locomotive he drove; anyone visiting No.216 Gladstone, now on

display in the National Railway
Museum at York, should look for
William Love's name This practice
led to a wonderfully high standard
of service Incidentally, Gladstone
was almost certainly the first

straight on and back

the arrival platforms.

mto

Locomotive Society, who bought

her in 1927 from the Southern
Railway, successor to the

LBSCR

They were asked the princely

sum of 140 and this included
re-boilenng and other work to
restore the engine to near enough
her original appearance She
was painted in that wonderful
Stroudley yellow ochre livery
and given a home m the London
& North Eastern Railway's original

museum at York

As regards their work, the

"Gladstone" class worked most
of the principal LBSCR expresses
including the

Pullman

trains,

London-Bnghton
predecessors of

famed "Bnghton Belle" They

were capable of keeping a 60minute timing with the Bnghton
Sunday Pullman train, introduced
in 1898 The fastest timing today
by express electric train is only
the

five

minutes less

Vittorio

Emanuele

Tractive effort: 15,3351b

(6,958k
Axle load: 35.5001b (160

Cylinders:
(470 x 620mm)

Driving wheels: 66in

(1.675mm)
Heating surface: 720sq
1

Superheater: None
Steam pressure: !421b/sqm

m2

Grate area: 24sq ft (2.25m 2

Fuel: :7001b (3 5t)

ponsible for ending the Austrian

occupation in the north of Italy
and going on to create a united
Italy, had one of the first important

was united and in

1865 the Giovi line became part
Upper
Italy
Railroads
of the

(48t)

Total weight: 184,4751b

7t)

54f1

pairs back-to-back with

Place
ItO
vldSS AA

d. J. ft
"*-*V

Tractive effort: 16,4261b

Axle

load: 33,5001b (15.5t).

Cylinders: (2) 19x26in
(483 x 660mm)
Driving wheels: 7ft lin

London

Bournemouth and

Exeter services of the

company, constructed over the
years 1891 to 1896. In the usual
tradition of the day, a few small
dimensional differences divided

).

to

the group into four classes known

as "X2", "T3". "T6" and "X6".
The main difference lay in the 7ft
lin (2,160mm) driving wheels
fitted to the X2s and T6s and the
6ft 7in (2,008mm) ones fitted to
the others. All four classes, how-

).

).

(15m 3
Adhesive weight: 65,0001b
)

ever,

were uniform

in

859

for

Total weight: 182,0001b (82.5t)

Italy

(SFAI), which concern in 1872

set up the first railway locomotive

design office in Italy The last

production of this establishment
before the SFAI was absorbed
into the Mediterranean System in
1885, was this absolutely remarkable machine, Europe's first 4-6-0, -

8m

giving

first

front covers of

each

cylinder, so

be seen plunging
out and in when the engine was
in motion. These were removed
after Adams had retired in 895,
Adams' elegant store-pipe chimneys were also replaced The
inside slide valves were worked
by Stephenson link motion. Running numbers were: "X2"
577 to 596, "T3"-557 to 576,
the rod could

"T6"-677
666, there

"X6"-657 to
was no change when
to 686,

L&SWR

was absorbed into

the
the Southern Railway

The

coming

of

corridor

coaches and restaurant cars

in

Speeds over

the early years of the century

meant that the Adams 4-4-0s

were soon displaced by larger
locomotives from normal top-line

(16,383mm)

on the excellent nding

were the
brain-children of William Adams,
who, having served his time as a
machine engineer and spent a
period in charge of the locomotive affairs of the North
London Railway, became Mech-

design of bogie, which gave the

drivers confidence to run at
these speeds.

years these handsome engines

could occasionally be seen on
such fast prestige trains as the

The outside cylinders originally

had the unusual and spectacular
feature of naked tail-rods that
is, the piston rods were extended

threeand four-car pullman

specials from Southampton to

of the

These

anical

No.

8 Vittorio Emanuele
was proposed to use

1 1

It

11.

class for

80mph 128km/h) were recorded

on many occasions, a reflection

class performances.

(29.5t).

53ft

In

State

some success

incline

this

working the new and

more

sensibly graded Giovi

diversion line then under construction, on which (at some cost
in extra mileage) the ruling grade

would be reduced to in 62 1 .6
per cent) It was opened in 1889,
by which time many more 4-6-0s
had been completed By 1896
the class numbered 55 Ansaldo
of Genoa, Miani & Silvestn of
Milan and Maffei of Munich,
1

Great Britain:
London & South Western Railway (L&SWR), 1891

the London to

(2,160mm)..
Heating surface: l,350sqft

Length overall:

working the

one crew.

South Western Railway in 1878.

His masterpiece was a group of
60 express passenger 4-4-0s for

(7,453kg).

(126.3m 2
Superheater: None
Steam pressure: 1 75psi
(12.3kg/cm 2
Grate area: 18.2sqft(1.7m 2
Fuel: 8,0001b (3.5t).
Water: 3,300gall (4,000 US)

Railroads with

of

Overall length:
(16,500mm)

Railroads (SFAI), 188

1,180ft.
the Apenines at
(360m) altitude, 14 miles (22 5km)
from Genoa. The chosen grade
up from the port involved an
horrendous 1 in 28^ (3^ per
cent) 0-4-0 and 0-6-0 saddle
tank locomotives, working in

Water: 2.200gall (2.630US)

(10m 3
Adhesive weight: 106,0001b

(83

Italy

were used by the Piedmont

a nine-year construction period

The problem was the crossing

).

Italy:

Upper

The old kingdom of Piedmont,

home of Count Cavour, who with
King Victor Emmanuel was res-

mountain railways in Europe. It

connected the capital, Turin, with
the port of Genoa, via the Giovi
Pass The 103-mile line was
opened throughout in 1853 after

ft

(124m

4-6-0

II

lovely engines

Engineer of the London

&

to

Adams own

qualities

celebrated

pass through glands

in the

express work, but

London

in their last

in connection with ImAirways' Empire flyingboat services. Of course, like

perial

everything that had wheels in the

south of England, the war-time
survivors were pressed into
moving heavy troop trains at the
time of the evacuation from Dunkirk.

No.657 starred in the absurd

but famous and still shown film

"Oh, Mr. Porter", which was shot
on the long-closed Basingstoke
to Alton line

Withdrawals began in 1930

the outbreak of war in
1939 the Adams 4-4-0s had
almost vanished, only a dozen or
so examples being left. Most of

and by

these were reprieved for the

duration but by 1946 all had
gone, except No 563 which in
1948 was restored for an exhibition held at Waterloo Station,
London, in connection with its
centenary. In due time No. 563
became part of the national collection

and can be seen

in the

museum at York.
Right: London & South Western
Hallway class "X2" 4-4-0
No. 563, designed by Wilham
Adams, as now restored.

Bavaria, shared
struction

in

the

con-

The locomotives had several

including
features
unusual
Gooch's valve gear outside the
wheels The working of this gear
is explained in connection with
Gooch's "Rover" class 4-2-2s,
but here its workings are displayed in full view. The gear is
actuated by two eccentrics
mounted on a return crank, which
in turn has its pivot set in line with
the centre of the driving axle.

It

Below: The "Vittono Emanuele

II"

4-6-0 as built for the

Upper Italy Railroads in 1884.

These locomotives worked the
famous Giovi incline near Genoa.

be seen that when the

reversing rod leading from the
cab is moved, the valve rod is
raised or lowered, rather than the
eccentric rods and link, as in the
can

Stephenson's gear
The rearward position of the
and the forward position of the short-wheel base bogie
and smoke-box will be noted
The designers were concerned
cylinders

too long to allow the

would be
fire to be

drawn properly and

to obviate

that the boiler-tubes

this they recessed the firebox

tubeplate into the boiler This
reduced the length of the tubes
and increased the firebox volume,
thereby forming one of the
first-ever applications of a very
modern feature known as a

combustion chamber The steam

was later raised to

1561b/sqin(llkg/cm 2 )
These engines were very successful and could climb the new
pressure

Giovi line with 130 tons at a

25mph
of
steady
speed

(40km/h). The maximum permitted speed, of course, was double

that.

These 4-6-0s had another

cordthe unenviable one
being the

first

re-

of
main-line steam

locomotives to be displaced from

the work for which they were
built by a more modern form of
traction The old Giovi line went
over to three-phase electric traction at 3,300 volts, 15 cycles (Hz)
in 1910 and the diversion line
followed in 1914.

Great
Teutonic Class 2-2-2-0 London &

Britain:

North Western Railway (LNWR), 1889

Axle load:

-5,0001b (16t)
Cylinders, HP: i") 14 x 24in

mm)
Cylinders, LP:

30 x 24in

^Omm)
Driving wheels: 85in

mm)
Heating surface: ,402sq
(130m 2
1

ft

Superheater: None

Steam pressure: 75psi

1

(12.3kg
Grate area: 20 5sq
( 1

9m 2

ft

Fuel: 11, 0001b

Water: l,800gall(2,160US)
(8m 3
Adhesive weight: 69,5001b
(5t).

(31 5t)

Total weight:

Length

58,0001b (72t)

overall: 5

ft

un

(15,552mm)

The story of Francis Webb, the

London & North Western Railway
and the compound locomotive is
of the saddest episodes in
the whole of locomotive history
Both the man and the railway
were of gigantic stature and with

one

good reason Not for nothing

was the LNWR known as "the
Premier Line, the largest joint
stock corporation in the World",
whilst

Webb himself made Crewe

Works

manufacturing unit

into a

without a rival in its ability to

make everything needed by a
great railway, starting with raw
His
superb
nonmaterial
compound 2-4-0s (on which his
first three batches of compounds
were based) included Hardwicke
which still survives and runs.
This locomotive showed what
Webb locomotives were capable
of when on 22 August 1895, the
last night of the famous Race to
Aberdeen, she ran the 141 miles

(226km)

road from Crewe

an average speed of

of hilly

to Carlisle at

67Mmph(107 5km/h) and with a

maximum of 88(141).
In the late

1870s the idea

of

compounding was in the air and

Webb made up his mind that this
was a world that he was going to
conquer. He first had a Trevithick
2-2-2 Medusa converted to a
two-cylinder compound 2-4-0 and
then in 882 came his first three1

cylinder

compound

2-2-2-0 No.

66 Experiment The system Webb

adopted was to have two outside
high pressure cylinders, 1 1 Mm
(292mm) diameter driving the
rear driving wheels and a great
dustbin of a low pressure cylinder
26in (660mm) diameter to drive
front driving axle. There
were no coupling rods. Three
sets of Joy's valve gear were

the

provided
Apart from the mechanism of

compounding and

the three cylinders, the rest of the locomotive

was basically a standard
2-4-0 of which a large number

LNWR

were

in

use Experiment needed

modifications and the

duction batch of 29,
1883-84, had 13^in

first

pro-

built

in

(343mm)

diameter high pressure cylinders

in place of 1 1 Vz (292) They were
not specially economical and

starters
men with
pinch bars were needed to give
the engines an initial starting
movement before they would go
One of the problems was that
Webb was an autocrat and any-

were bad

one who suggested that his beloved compounds were less than
perfect was regarded as questioning his superior officer's judgment and hence offering his
resignation So no one told Webb

how

awful they were even when,

the
another
40,

Above: A 2-4-0 Webb

compound being given an

initial

starting movement, manually

with a pinch bar. Note the
single central large lowpressure cylinder.

manufacturers of steam

inevitably,

familiar to

"Dreadnought" class only slightly

modified, appeared 1884-88 The
only thing his hard-pressed staff

toys than to full-size builders In

this arrangement a single eccentric is mounted loose on the
driving axle A pin attached to
this eccentric and a stepped
collar on the axle is arranged to
drive it in one position relative to
the crank for forward motion,

could do was
to

renew

the

in

fleet

to "repair"

actually

more powerful form

of

simple

express

this means
256 new non-compound locomotives were turned out under
the Chief's nose between 1887
and 1901.
In 1889 came the best of the
Webb compounds, the ten "Teu-

passenger 2-4-0s By

tonic" class, they are the basis of

the drawing on this page and
their particulars are listed above
The further modification in this
case concerned the valve gear of
the inside low pressure cylinder
Its Joy's valve gear was replaced
by a "slip eccentric", a gear more

and in another one for going

backwards The cut-off point of
steam admission to the high
pressure cylinders could be adjusted in the normal way, using
the unusual inverted outside arrangement of Joy's valve gear

drawing above The

arrangement worked well except

visible in the

L&NWR Webb
compound 2-4-0 Jeanie Deans of
Below:

the "Teutonic" class.

Rover Class 4-2-2

one problem,

for

this

Great Britain:
Railway (GWR), 1888

typically

occurred when a locomotive,

having first backed on to its train,
tried to start

The

gear naturally

still

slip

eccentric

would be

in

when

the driver
reverse, but
opened the throttle, the idea was
that the two high-pressure cylinders would taken in the steam
and move the train By the time it

moved forward half-arevoluhon of the driving wheels

had

the inside slip eccentrics would

have moved round into the forward position, therefore, when
the first puff of steam exhausted
from a high pressure cylinder
into the low, off she would go
Alas, should the engine slip' or
spin its rear high pressure driving
wheels when starting (which, as
on all the 2-2-2-0 compounds

were not coupled to the front low

pressure ones), the low pressure
cylinders would still have their
valve gear in reverse when they
received steam The result was a
stationary locomotive with its two
pairs of driving wheels revolving
opposite directions!
Even so, the "Teutonic" locomotives were good once they
going No. 1304 Jeame
got
in

Deans was famous for regularly

working and keeping time on the

pm Scottish Express from

Euston to Crewe dunng the
whole of 1890s No.l309/5c/rafic
even starred in that legendary
2

night of racing in 1895,

although her run from Euston to
Crewe at an average speed of
final

63-

mph 02km/h) was not quite

(

as great as achievement as that of

her simple equivalent Hardwicke
on the next stage, still it was
certainly a very respectable effort
These ten "Teutonic" class which

almost managed to approach

simple performance, were the
pinnacle of Webb's achievement
with his compounds. It says little
for the

management

structure of

LNWR

that no one could

stop him building a further 140
compound express locomotives
before he retired in 1 903, none of

the old

which approached even the modest abilities of the "Teutonic",

and

of

which were an embarass-

ment

to the operating authorities

all

of the

Premier Line

Tractive effort: 9,6391b

.;g)

Axle load: 35,8001b (16.3t).

Cylinders: (2) 18x24in
(457 x610mm).
Driving wheels: 96in
(2,438mm)
Heating surface: 2,085sq
(193

7m 2

ft

Superheater: None
Steam pressure: 140psi

Grate area: 24sq

(227m 2

ft

).

Fuel: 7,0001b

5m 3

Adhesive weight: 36,0001b

(160
Total weight: 160,0001b
(73t)

Length

Above: Great Western Railway

subject of this description ap1888, over 40 years

peared
after the prototype was built and
only 4 years before the broad
gauge was finally abolished Typically about 24 were in service at

broad-gauge "Rover" class

4-2-2 locomotive Tornado
Engines of this basic design
ruled the broad gauge lines
from 1846 until their demise m
1892 and were renowned for
their speed and power. Daniel
Gooch was the designer

again, each time with slight

enlargement and modernisation
until the final batch which is the

time, 54 being built

altogether.
In order to provide for the
expansive use of steam the gab
valve gear originally fitted to the

any one

standard locomotives was

(3t)

Water: 3,000gall (3,600 US)

(13

and

overall: 47ft 6in

(14,478mm)
the leaders of the Great
Western's broad gauge express
fleet, these legendary locomotives
were the direct successors to the

As

"Fire Fly" class 2-2-2s, the passenger version of Gooch's famous

standard locomotives. The proto-

type Great Western of 1 846 was

basically a stretched version of
the 2-2-2 with the grate area

dimension enhanced by 68 per

cent and the nominal tractive
effort by 36 per cent The penalty
was a 21 per cent increase in
weight, the pnce being paid
when Great Western broke her
leading axle at speed near Shnvenham soon after completion.
Alteration to a 4-2-2 followed, but
the leading pairs of wheels were
held in the frames rather than
mounted in a pivoted separate

bogie

Even before this had been

done, on 13 June 1846, Great
Western hauled a 100-ton tram
from Paddmgton to Swindon in
78 minutes for the 77 2 miles
(124km) The design was so
sound that it was repeated again
;

re-

placed by Gooch's own valve

gear, probably devised to get
round the Stephenson patent to
which the gear related closely.
Both valve gears have a pair of
eccentrics, one set for forward
running and the other for reverse,
the little ends of the eccentric
rods are connected by a curved
link. The curve of the Gooch link,
however, faces the opposite way,
being concave towards the cylinders instead of convex The gear
is adjusted by lifting or lowering
the valve rod and die block,
rather than by moving the link
and eccentric rod assembly as in
the Stephenson gear

Apart from general sound conthe reasons for the

success and longevity of these
locomotives lay very much in the
struction

broad gauge

itself

Most

British

locomotives of the day earned

their cylinders and motion as
well as their fire-beds between
the frames, which themselves
had to be between the wheels, it
is therefore not surprising that an
extra width of 27% inches

(705mm) which there was to play

with the difference between the
.in (2,140mm) and 4ft 8!- 2 in
(1,435mm) gauges could be
used to advantage by designers
For example, the wide firebox,
which was later to come as a
rightly extolled

development

at

the expense of some complication

on standard gauge, had come

automatically many years before
on the broad. Ample-sized valve
chests could be placed between
ample-sized cylinders and there
was also plenty of room to get at
the very sturdy and simple layout
that resulted.

For 46 years, then, the Gooch

4-2-2s ruled the Great Western
The "Flying Dutchman" express
Paddington to Newton
Abbot was entrusted to one of
them m 1892 just as it was in
1848 when it was the fastest train
from

world Later versions nathad much modification in

respect of details and fittings,
there were even such mollycoddling devices as exiguous cabs for
the enginemen! Right up to the
end also, no numbers were car
ned, only names, and what names,
too Rover, Swallow, Balaklava,
Hirondelle, Timour, Iron Duke,
Tartar, Sultan, Warlock, Lightning,
Amazon, Crimea, Eupatona, In
in the

urally

kerman, Courier, Bulkely, Dragon,

Great Britain. Emperor, Sebasto
pol, Alma, Prometheus, Great
Western, Tornado. Tornado was
the last broad gauge engine built
in July

1888.

E L Ahrons,

that distinguished

observer of late-Victonan train

working, described how, in the
last years of the broad gauge, he
timed Lightning running down
Wellington bank just west of
Taunton at just over 8 1 mph ( 1 30
km/h). It was, he said, "his highest
speed, not only on the broad
gauge but also on any railway
until

many years

afterwards"

G
Johnson Midland Single 4-2-2

Midland Railway (MR), 1887

one
town on the system Kettering
the
did
in Northamptonshire
company not have to face comcertainly the fact that at only

Tractive effort: 145061b

(6,582kg)
Axle load: 39,5001b (18t)

Cylinders: (2) 19x26in

(483 x 660mm)
Driving wheels: 9

petition

Heating surface: l,237sqft

(115m 2
)

Superheater: None
Steam pressure: 170psi
(12kg cm 2
Grate area: 1 9 6sq ft ( 1 82m 2 )
)

Fuel: 8,8001b

One

result

Midland was the

Britain to have a

(2,375mm)

(4t)

Water: 3,5O0gall(4,2OO US)

(16m 3
Adhesive weight: 39,5001b
)

was

last

that the
railway in

fleet of single-

driver locomotives and the only

one to build them on into the
twentieth century
The first of the single-wheelers
of S.W. Johnson,

known colloqui-

as "Spinners", was constructed at the Company's Derby

Works in 1887, after an interval
of 21 years during which only
ally

made By
were 95 locomotives

coupled engines were

(18t)

1900, there

Total weight: 181, 5001b (82.5t).

in the class,

Length

batches which differed slightly in

main dimensions Standardisation
was then something the Midland
left to newer and brasher railways The dimensions given
above refer to the " 1 1 5" batch of
1897, considered to be the best.

overall: 52ft 7 Sin

l

(16,038mm)

The Midland Railway of England

was noted for having trains which
were fast, frequent and, consequently, light One reason was

made up of successive

Their elegance was enhanced

by a noble cnmson lake livery
which was kept unbelievably
clean. In fact, it
the practice for
to feel

is

said that

it

was

MR shed foreman
behind the backs of the

wheels with white gloves to find if

the engines had been sufficiently
groomed to be allowed out in

Above: Midland Railway 4-2-2

No. 176 at Bedford station circa
1900. Note the horse-box as the
leading vehicle of the tram.
traffic

Trays were placed under

the engines

when on shed

in

order to collect any oil drips

which might sully the clean floor

B
Class 17 4-4-0

Belgian State Railways (SNCB), 1902

Tractive effort: 20,2611b

(9,193kg).

Axle load: 40,0001b (18t).

Cylinders:

(2)

19x26in

(482 x 660mm).

Driving wheels: 78?4in

(1,980mm).
Heating surface: l,370sqft

(128m

2
)

Superheater: See Text

Steam pressure: 200psi
(14kg/cm 2
)

Grate area: 22.5sq

Fuel: 9,9001b

Water:

4,

(18.5m 3

).

ft (2. 1

m2

).

(4.5t).

125gall (4,950

US)

Adhesive weight: 80,5001b

(36.5t)

Total weight: 219,5001b

Length overall:
(17,475mm).
48

57ft 4in

in the nineteenth century,

the railways of Belgium were
specially notable for originality
in
locomotive design. Some
strange-looking 2-4-2s whose
appearance was made the stuff
of nightmares by the use of
square chimneys, were to the
fore on prime passenger workings; also, of course, the names
Alfred Belpaire and Egide Walschaerts are those of two Belgian

the most simple and conventional

and which included among its

blue livery All were built at the

company's St. Rollox works in

features neither a Belpaire firebox

Glasgow
The Caledonian Railway was
so proud of their new locomotive
giant that they sent her to be

locomotive engineers whose inventions were used world-wide

on the steam locomotive.
So it is rather strange that just
before the turn of the century this

question Most of those built

survived after 1923 into London
Midland & Scottish Railway days

Late

(99.5t).

oldest of nationalised railway systo a foreign

builder for a foreign design;

tems went overseas

moreover, one that was

among

nor sets of Walschaerts valve

gear.

Locomotive engineer

J.F

Mc-

intosh of the Caledonian Railway

displayed

had produced

tion of 1897,

famous "Dunalaistair" 4-4-0s in 1897 and for

many years these engines were
his

the mainstay of express passenger operations on the line in

at the

Brussels exhibi-

from whence the

engine returned with a gold
medal. An unexpected result
was an order from the Belgian
State Railways for 5 duplicate
locomotives, to be built by Nielson
Reid & Co. (a predecessor of the

North

British

Locomotive com-

into the British

pany), also of Glasgow. Follow-

Railways era after 1948. There

were four "marks" (known as

ing this, 40 more were built by

Belgian firms in 1899 and 1900;
all the locomotives were known
as Belgian class "17". Sub-

and some even

Dunalaistair

to Dunalaistair IV)

and before 1914 they were bedecked in the superb Caledonian

sequently, an enlarged version,

of a Midland loco depot! In such

circumstances it is hardly surprising that the quality of maintenance was very high and this
was also a factor in enabling
low-powered locomotives to
handle the traffic satisfactorily It

heavier loads could be managed

and there are records of trains
up to 350 tons being handled
and time being kept. They were
also certainly very speedy, with

maxima

of around 90mph (144

km/h) having been recorded
Another role for these beautiful
locomotives was that of acting as

was also a factor in permitting all

the mechanism two sets of main
motion plus two sets of Stephenson's valve gear to be tucked
away out of sight, but not out of
mind so far as the fitters and
drivers were concerned.

pilots to the equally

Before a logical system was

adopted, numbers were allocated
at random, but after 1907 the
"Spinners" class occupied Nos.
600 to 694. Naming, like standardisation in those days, was
not a Midland thing but, quite

Another reason for the return

of the single-wheeler was the
invention of the steam sanding
gear, which blew sand under the
driving wheels just that bit more
reliably than the gravity sanding
previously used. Air sanding

would have been

more

reliable

still

just

Midland showed a preference

for the

vacuum rather than the air

brake and so compressed

air

MR

Above: The restored Midland

was not

Railway "Johnson Single" 4-2-2

No. 673 as it appeared during
the crowd-pulling "Rocket 150"
1975.
celebrations

motives. Good sanding gear was

absolutely essential for a singledriver locomotive with limited
adhesive weight.

Below: Midland Railway

eight bogie carnages weighing

between 200 and 250 tons were
just right for these celebrated

available

Express
"Johnson Single" 4-2-2
the glory of its superb
crimson lake livery.

m all

trains

on

of

exceptionally, one of the last and

twentieth-century
batch the
ones with the big bogie tenders
heavier than the locomotive was
given the name Princess of Wales.
One Midland single has survived, No.l 18 of the batch built
in 1897 was set aside in Derby

that bit

but, alas, the

celebrated

Midland 4-4-0s

loco-

seven or

locomotives In dry calm weather

Works

after

withdrawal

Beautifully restored

fake

in

1928.

and with a

wooden chimney now

re-

placed by a proper one, she ran

15r
in steam at the Rocket
Cavalcade in June 1980

"18", was constructed,

bringing the total to 185 locomotives by 1905 There was also
a 4-4-2 tank engine version,
constructed to the tune of 115
examples, which never existed
on the Caledonian Railway
class

Such

continental features as

bogie tenders and

air

brakes

were already part of the design

and the only obvious modification
specified concerned the exiguous
cabs of the original Scottish
locomotives. These were altered
to provide greater protection for
the enginemen by the addition of
side windows

Left: Belgian State Railway

class 18 4-4-0 as restored

and preserved today.

49

CI ASS

S3 4-4-0

RoydTpmssian Union Railway (KPEV), 1893

Axleload: 35 ,0001b 15 6t)

8 9 x 23 6in
Cylinders, HP:
(

Cylinders, LP:
(680 x 600mm)

26 6 x 23.6in

Driving wheels: 78in

(1,980mm)

Heating surface:

/m 2

,267sq

ft

Superheater: See descriptive

Steam pressure:

171psi

Grate area: 25 Osq

Fuel: 11.0001b

ft

(2

3m 2

(5 Ot)

Water: 4.730gall (5.680US)

(21

5m 3

Adhesive weight: 69,0001b

(30

9t)

Total weight*:
(50

12,0001b

5t)

Length

overall: 57ft 7in

(17,560mm)

Cengme only)
The passenger engines

built

by

the Royal Prussian Union Railway

the 1880s were 2-4-0s with
outside cylinders, but towards
the end of the decade the desire

for higher speeds and great

comfort (and thus greater weight)
brought a need for larger locomotives At that time August von
Bornes, well known for the
system of compounding which
bears his name, was locomotive
supenntendent at Hanover, and
the Minister of Public Works sent
him on a tour of England and
America to study locomotive
developments in those countries
Von Bornes reported that to

the larger boiler which

would be needed, the engines
would need an extra axle, and
that the best arrangement would
be the American type of 4-4-0
This would give better riding at
speed than the existing 2-4-0s
with their long front overhang

carry

engines of this design

Prussian rail-

In 1890 Henschel built a pair

of two-cylinder compound 4-4-0

of 1,027

locomotives to von Bornes' design, and in the following year

ways, as well as 46 for other

German state railways The engines eventually worked most of
the express trains in Prussia In
addition to the "S3"s, a further
424 locomotives were built to the
same design, but with smaller
dnving wheels, and classified

firm built four more

engines of the same wheel arrangement to the designs of
Lochner, the locomotive supenn-

the

same

at Erfurt, two compound

and two with simple expansion.
A total of 1 50 engines were later

tendent

were

built for the

"P4".

simple-

The bogie was placed sym-

expansion design, but expenence with these engines con-

metncally under the cylinders

and smokebox, and with the
leading coupled axle set well
back to give as long a connecting
rod as possible, the layout showed
clearly the influence of von
Bornes' Amencan visit. Outside
Walschaert's (Heusinger) valve

built

to

vinced the

the

Erfurt

management

of the

supenonty of von Bornes' compounds, and in 1892 he produced

an improved version of his design
This was the "S3", the "S"
denoting "schnellzuglokomotiv",
or express engine, and the digit

being the serial number of the

type from the introduction of this
method of classification. The "S3"

was

highly successful,

and

in the

period from 1892 to 1904 a

total

Below: The class "S3 " 4-4-0 was

The class was notable as being the
one of the most successful
first major application of superpassenger locomotives to run
heating to steam traction; this
m Germany. Over 1,000 were built offered a ma/or improvement in
around the turn of the century.
efficiency at little cost.

slide valves set at an

angle above the cylinders The
engines were rated to haul 320
tonnes at 47mph (75km/h) on
the level, and 150 tonnes at
31mph (50km/h) on a gradient

gear drove

Above: A Prussian

class "S3"

5,000th locomotive
built by the engineering firm of
Borsig for the Prussian Railways.
4-4-0, the

of

in

100

(1

established

economy

in

cent), and they

reputation for
coal consumption

per
a

and for smooth nding

By its sheer size the "S3"

class

earns a notable place in locomotive history, but it is also

important as being the first class
to which steam superheating

was

applied. The need for supercomes from a physical

phenomenon that water evapor-

heating

steam at a definite temperature dependent on the prepressure; thus at the

working pressure of the "S3",
2
1 7 1 psi ( 1 2kg/cm
the temperature is 376F (197C). With
water present in the boiler, the
steam temperature cannot exceed that of the water When
ates to

vailing

),

steam
with

drawn from the boiler it

some particles of water
and when the steam

is

carries
it,

comes

contact with the

comparatively cool metal of the
into

valves and cylinders, it loses that,

further particles of water

and

form by condensation

Much

of

the work done on the piston is by

the steam expanding after the
valve has closed Water has no
capacity for expanding, and its
presence in the cylinder is therefore a loss, it has been heated to
the temperature in the boiler to

no

effect

the steam can be heated after

it has left the boiler, and is no
longer in contact with the mass of
water there, the particles of
moisture in the steam can be
evaporated, making the steam
dry Still further application of
heat causes the temperature of
the steam to rise, and it becomes
If

superheated The mam advantage of superheated steam is that

if it is cooled slightly on making
contact with the cool cylinder

no condensation occurs
superheat has been
removed- Superheating is thus a
means of eliminating condensawalls,

until all the

header, and passed through the

main steam pipes to the cylinders.
In Schmidt's first design, known
as the flame tube superheater, a
number of the boiler tubes were
replaced by a large tube 17.5m
(445mm) in diameter, and the
elements were inserted into this
tube It was intended that the
tube should be sufficiently large
for flames to reach the elements
(flames from the firebox die out
quickly on entering a small tube)

Schmidt found an enthusiastic

supporter of his ideas in Robert
Garbe, who was chief engineer
Berlin division of the
Prussian railways With Garbe's
support the flame tube superof

the

heater was fitted to two 4-4-0

locomotives, an "S3" and a "P4".

The "S3" was completed in

April 898, and made its first trial
trip on the thirteenth of that
1

month, a notable date in locomotive history. Although the

results were encouraging, trouble
was experienced with distortion
of the large flame tube. Schmidt
therefore produced two more
designs, in one of which the
bundle of elements was housd in

the

smokebox, and in the other

which a number of the boiler
tubes were replaced by tubes
slightly larger, and each element
made a return loop in one of

smokebox was too low for a very

of

high degree of superheat

these tubes.

tubes.

1899 two new "S3" locomotives were fitted with the

smokebox superheater, and they
were also given piston valves in

temperature of the steam brought

In

place of slide valves With the

combination of superheater and
well-proportioned piston valves,
these engines contained the
essential ingredients of the final

phase of development of the

steam locomotive.
One of these two engines was
exhibited at the Pans Exhibition
of 1900, and attracted considerable attention. In service a reduction in coal consumption of
12 per cent was achieved compared with a standard "S3", but
it was recognised that the temperature of the gases in the

further

design with the elements in smoke

oils,

it

Class 35 Caledonian type 4-6-0

m 1 903. For a modest outlay, and
with little increase in weight, an

"S3" class were these "SI "class

2-4-0s, of which 242 were built

in coal consumption of up to 20 per cent was

obtained, and, equally important
in some countries, a similar

between 1877 and 1885 for the

economy

Prussian railway system.

engineers the superheater was

improvement

Below: The predecessors of the

an

The
various schemes produced had
in

common

boiler, the

that, after

leaving the

steam flow was divided

between a number of small tubes,

known as "elements", by a distribution box or "header" After
being heated in the elements, the
steam was collected in another

in

For many

water.

alternative to compounding,
gave a fuel economy similar

ing,

of Kassel

super-

The intensive development

work needed to perfect superheating was largely due to the
genius of Schmidt, and in little
more than ten years after the first
application of the smokebox
superheater, the smoke tube
design was virtually a standard
fitting for large new locomotives;
was first applied to a Belgian

the steam.

Wilhelm Schmidt

smokebox

fitted
with
heaters

as

the 1890s that practicable designs of superheater were produced, by far the most important
being those designed by Dr

However, increasing the

need

for improved lubricating

and whilst the problems of
lubrication were being solved,
many engines of class "S3" were

the

tion in the cylinder, and thereby

making better use of the heat in

The attractions of superheating

had been known to engineers for
many years, but it was not until

to be
and that the scope for
development lay in the

attained,

it

obtained by compoundbut without the mechanical

complications of the compound.
Others regarded superheating
as an extra advantage to be
to that

added to that of compounding

Over a period of years after the
fitting

of

the

first

superheater,

both these points of view were

apparent on the Prussian railways, and after a succession of
superheated simple engines, a
four-cylinder

was

compound

4-6-0

built.

total

of

34

of

the

"S3"

locomotives survived to be incorporated in the stock of German

State Railway in 1924

United
No. 999 4-4-0

States:
k Central

& Hudson

River

RR (NYC & HRRR).

1893

Below: The famous recordbreaking 4-4-0 No. 999 of the

New York Central & Hudson
River Railroad.

Tractive efiort: 16,2701b

(7,382kg)
Axle load: 42,0001b (19t)
Cylinders: (2) 19 x 24in
(483

Fuel:

5,4001b

5mph

it

only problem is that it is not a

question of "when" but of "if".
The conductor toned the train
(presumably with his service

ft

190psi

ft

12

350 (0.28

world record for steam railways

but for any kind of transport The

Grate area: 30 7sq

in

New York State, was not only a

x610mm)

Steam pressure:
6kg/cm 2

at
1

per cent) grade near Batavia,

Driving wheels: 86m

(2,184mm)
Heating surface: l,927sq
(179m 2
Superheater: None
(12

Express
180km/h) down a

pire State
(

(2.85m 2

).

(7t).

Water: 2,950gall (3.500US)

watch) to travel between two

marks a mile apart With four
heavy Wagner cars weighing
50-55 tons each, about 2,000

Adhesive weight: 84,0001b

cylinder horse-power would be

needed and this would seem to
be ]ust a little too much to expect,

(38t)

not so

(135m 3

much as regards steam

production at a corresponding
rate, but in getting that steam in
and out of the cylinders in such

Total weight: 204,0001b

(925t)

OveraU length: 57ft lOin

(17,630mm).

quantities

A speed of 102.8mph

(166km/h) over 5

When on 10 May 1893 New

York Central & Hudson River
Railroad No 999 hauled the Em-

CI ASS

6 4-4-0

Axle load: 32,0001b (14 5t)

Cylinders HP: 1 1 9% x 26%in
)

(500 x 680mm).

Cylinders LP: 1) 29 x 26?4in

(740 x 680mm).
Driving wheels: 82)^in
(2,190mm)
(

Heating surface: l,507sqft

(140m 2
)

Superheater: None
Steam pressure: 185psi

(13kg/cm 2
Grate area: 3 1 sq
).

Fuel: 16,0001b

ft

(2.9m 2

).

(7 25t)

Water: 3,650gall (4,400 US)

(16.5m 3
Adhesive weight: 63,0001b
).

(28t).

Total weight: 207,0001b

Length overall:
(16,480mm).
52

54ft lin

(94t)

miles, timed
the previous night, is a little more
credible, but both must, alas, be

regarded as "not proven".

and Royal

Imperial

of

compounding,

that

is,

the complexity that normally results.

Of course, with a two-

cylinder
vital to

compound

salesman called Daniels, taken

on as the line's passenger agent
in New York. He persuaded the
management to run this exclusive
Empire State Express between
New York and Chicago during
the period of the Colombian
Exposition, the fane of 20 hours
for the 960 miles 1 ,536km) was
an unprecedented average speed
for any )ourney of similar length
This combination of speed and
(

luxury

was shortly to result in one

of the

most famous

it

is

absolutely

be able to admit highpressure steam to the lowpressure cylinder when starting,

trains of the

world, the legendary year-round

"Twentieth Century Limited",

New York to
Chicago
No. 999 was specially built for
the job and the train name was
even painted on the tender. The
NYC&HRR shops at West Albany
running daily from

State Railways (KKStB),

Karl Gblsdorf, head of the locomotive department of the Imperial

and Royal Austrian State Railways
was an original thinker as well as
a first rate engineer and, whilst
his ideas never became part of
the main stem of development,
they not only worked but suited
local conditions extremely well.
These little 4-4-0s built at Floridsdorf (a suburb of Vienna)
illustrated this very vividly. They
were compound locomotives but
with only two cylinders, thereby
avoiding one of the chief draw-

backs

The man responsible for this

locomotive's existence was no
great railroad tycoon, but an
irrepressible
patent medicine

turned out this single big-wheeled

version of the road's standard
4-4-0s, themselves typical of the
locomotive of their day, with
slide-valves, Stephenson's valve

US

gear and

more normal 78in

(1,981mm)

diameter

driving

wheels.

On

account of the record

exploit, No 999's fame is worldwide, the locomotive even figured

on a US two-cent stamp in 1900

Today, much rebuilt and with
those high-and-mighty drivers
replaced by modest workaday
ones, No. 999 is on display at the
Chicago Museum of Science
and Industry
Right: No. 999 as preserved
for postenty. Although painted
the style of the original as
built, the big 86m (2 184mm)
diameter driving wheels have
been replaced by less
distinctive 79m (2,006mm) ones.

1893

otherwise the locomotive would

often never move at all. Even

was very low and these

means to do this result

in making the engine more difficult to drive, another drawback

accommodated by means

so, the

normally associated with com-

pounding.
Golsdorf got over this problem
by giving the locomotive low
pressure cylinder starting ports
which were only uncovered by
the valves when the valve gear
Walschaert's in this case was in
full gear, as at starting from rest.
Once the train was moving, the

would reduce the cut-off

and compound working would
commence. In this way the
method of driving differed little
from that of handling a normal
simple locomotive The permitted
axle load on the Austrian railways
driver

relatively

heavy locomotives could only be

of an-

other piece of originality. The

wheelbase on these engines as in
others, was set far back, so that
the leading wheel was almost in
line with the chimney By this
means the bogie would carry
more of the weight than it would
if placed in the more usual position, and the maximum axle load
was reduced in relation to the
total weight.
this class proved
be not only powerful but

In service,
itself

to

maximum permitted speed of 81mph (130km/h).

was possible to reduce the
It
scheduled time of the best exspeedy, with a

presses from Vienna to Karlsbad

(now known as Karlovy Vary)

no credit
Europe that
the fastest time between the
same two cities today nearly 90
years later is
hours 29 minutes
from

2 hours to 8

It is

to the politicians of

feature

striking

appearance

in

the

some Golsdorf

of

locomotives,
including
these
class "6" 4-4-0s, was the pipe

connecting the two domes.

Technically, this is not so remarkable since in most steam
locomotives a
steam pipe
runs forward from the point at
which steam is collected al-

mam

it is customary except
Russia and China to have it

though
in

inside the boiler

Right:

KKStB class

"6" 4-4-0.

Note the external steam pipe connecting steam dome to throttle

Class 4-6-0

1-1

Tractive effort:

Axle

United States:
Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad (LS&MSRR), 1900

8001b

load:

Cylinders:

Driving wheels:

Heating surface:
Superheater:
Steam pressure:

-XX)psi

Grate area:
Fuel:

00 US)

Water:

Adhesive weight:
Total weight:

Length

overall:

been

an

3in

ft

described,

the

4-4-0
Standard"
USA passenger
ns from the 1850s

most

Class D16sb 4-4-0

Tractive effort:

9001b

Axleload:
Cylinders:

Driving wheels: 68in

Heating surface:

^JOsqft

Superheater:
Steam pressure:

ft (23
75psi

5m 2

;2sqft(3 1m 2

Grate area:

Fuel:

Water:

":

1,61

Adhesive weight:

600US)
3E

Total weight:

Length

overall: 67ft Oin

end of the 19th century

.ania Railroad had
-ned a reputation for large
y built in own
terized

box, a

rarity in

North America Its

no ex-

1895.
26in

in

2
)

boilers, they

engines for

were large
and their

their day,

appearance was the more im:

was

placed above the frames, making

tan

was usual

/nod-

speed,
:

ad on

United States:
Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), 1895

1880s However, there

until the

came a time when loads b>

outstep the capacity
motives with only two driven
axles

The obvious development was

simply to add a third coupled
axle,

and

this is

what was done

Some of the best features of the

4-4-0 were retained in the 4-6-0
such as the bogie or leading
truck to guide the locomotive,
but in other ways problems arose
The ashpan was liable to get
mixed up with the rear axle, for
example, and the gap between
the leading driving wheels and
the cylinders, which on the 4-4-0
made

the 1800s when the 4-6-0 ruled

the express passenger scene in
the USA- About 16,000 examples
into service there all told,

most between 1880 and 1910

high-wheeled example
chosen to illustrate this famous
type was built by the Brooks
Locomotive Works of Dunkirk,
New York State in 1900 for the
Lake Shore & Michigan Southern
Railroad They were intended to
take charge of the prime varnish
trains of the Western part of the
New York to Chicago main line
belonging to what was soon to
become the New York Central
Railroad

ng wrote

the motion so easy to'get

became filled up Even so,

there was a period at the end of

days

Left:

were

at,

called

"007"

Central Railroad
4-6-0 No.604 heads the
"Twentieth Century Limited"

City On this service

driver was credited
an eight-mile
(

164km,

they

the

same

one famous

repair. This

built

driver wo:
hia

City

at

was

to

an average of
the

design was well demon

nne No.816,
covi
guished
itself
by
300,000 miles (483,000k
RR
the middledr,
:

Wlthoi

years and

Left:

and

the

a notable feat for

426 engines were

in five sub-classes of "D16"
en 1895 and 1910 Apart
total of

from the two driving wheel sizes,

their main dimensions wet
heal as built With the introduction
i

and then

of Atlantics
[uality of

three

new

Pacifies in

the "D16'"s
were displaced from the best
the

century,

but the class was

new
in

fi

lease

of

life

1914

from

onwards when nearly

them were modernised

of

half
in

line

with the later engines

On the Strasbu

preserved Pennsylvania RR class

"Jo '1223 Co;

pony truck of the 2-6-2s to

up over the head of the rails
at high speeds put these 4-6-0s
back in charge of the legendary

axle
ride

Twentieth Century Limited service running between New York

and Chicago shortly after it was

introduced on 15 June 1902.
The timing over the 960 miles
bi

New

tween

Below:

three sleeping cars, the

complete with
platform

brass-raile'

(he equivalent of

estgra

One

The coml
th>

factor in

this

all

comfort

and luxury w
3m) Pullman cars
:iough there were oi
them So soon enough it was

of these 80ft (24

of

necessary

to increa

led

York's

Chicago
was 20 hours, an average speed
of 48mph (77km
;

eluded several stops for servicing

and changing locomotives and
much slow running in such places

were

fitted,

and

superb quality of
work done by

toration

the Strasburg Tourist

RR is

irD164-4-0.

reduced

locomotives with their 80-mch

mm) drivers did wonders
with what was then one of the
hardest schedules in the world

witl

still

Stephenson's valve gear,

boiler was given a Scl
superheater, with the pressure
.

lential spi

Jersey

brii

fireboxes, slide valves

On another oi.

h)

be

the ha;

Salle Street station in

t

to

one of

'

Grand Central Terminal and La

(coll<

reboxes,
piston valves and superheaters
were shortly to replace narrow

"1-1" class

of these great

evocative sho;

in that

use of saturated steam, so changthe world of steam for ever In

le paint was hardly dry on
these locomotives before the
LS&MS ordered some 2-6-2s
reboxes over the
pony trucks However,
the propensity of the flanges of
the wheels of the leading single-

slightly

/ork early in

Most

World War

Road

came "D16sb"

Below:

(see

sions at the head of this article) In

-.
this form they settled d<
bra

One

N
preserved on the Strasbu;

were the sn
wheeled engines, and these berebuilds

II

in its

native state.

D 16" class 4
'23atStrasbui
'ISA.

Ql 4-4-0

Class

Great Britain:
North Eastern Railway (NER), 1896

Tractive effort: 16.9531b

(7.6901

fast-running

Axle load:

racing locomotive Not just a

that
locomotive
sometimes went very fast, but one
that was specially and uniquely
built for the competitive racing of
public trains The intention was
to get a trainload of passengers
from London to Scotland before
a rival one running on a competing line The East Coast and the

-12,0001b (19t).

Cylinders: (2) 20 x 26m

(508 x 660mm)
Driving wheels: 9 Kin
1

imm)

Heating surface:
(113m 2

1,2

16sq

ft

Superheater: None
Steam pressure: 75psi
1

Grate area: 20 75sq

ft

Fuel:

(5t)

il

1.2001b

93m

2)

West Coast companies had raced

each other day after day in 1888
from London (Kings Cross and

Edinburgh and night

895 from London
Aberdeen Dunng the racing

Euston)

Water: 4.000 gall (4,800 US)

(18m 3
Adhesive weight: 77,0001b (350
Total weight: 206,0001b (93 5t)
)

Length

overall: 56ft 3in

(17,145mm)

to

after night in
to

present night
trains from Kings Cross take just
short of 10 hours for the 525
miles (840km) On the whole in
1895 the West Coast had |ust the
best of it and so their rivals were
determined to obtain revenge
How seriously that matter was
taken is illustrated by the fact that
the North Eastern Railway, otherwise the staidest of companies
and which ran the racing trains
over (mostly) straight and level
tracks from York to Edinburgh,
ordered some specially-designed
inside-cylinder 4-4-0s to be ready
in perspective, the

the regular timing of about 12

for a

hours was reduced to 8hrs32min

from Euston and 8hrs40min from
Kings Cross To put these figures

1896

resumption of

hostilities in

derailment
at Preston on the West Coast
route which, although not conIn the event, a

Right: North Eastern

Railway "Ql" class
4-4-0 built in 1896 for
the railway races.

CcimeibcICk CIcISS 4-4-2

Tractive effort: 22,9061b
(10,390kg)
Axle load: 40,0001b ( 18t).
Cylinders: (4) see text.
Driving wheels: 84in
(2,134mm).
Heating surface: l,835sq

(across the river from Philadelphia) to Atlantic City and there

was intense competition from the
mighty Pennsylvania Railroad
which had direct access into the
ft

(170m 2
Superheater: none
)

Steam pressure: 200psi

(14kg/cm 2 )
Grate area: 76sq ft (7m 2
Water: 3,300 gall (4,000 US)
(15m 3 )
Adhesive weight: 79,0001b
).

(36t)

Total weight: 218,0001b

(99t)

big city In July and August, for

example, it was noted that the
booked time of 50 minutes was
kept or improved upon each day.
On one day the run is reported to
have been made m 46M; minutes
start-to-stop, an average speed
of 7 1 .6mph ( 1 1 5km/h). This certainly implies steady running
speed of 90mph (145km/h) or
more, but reports of lOOmph
(160km/h) (and more) speeds
with these trains should be regarded as conjecture. The "Atlan-

The unusual appearance of these

tic

strange-looking but path-finding

locomotives belied a capability

fastest

well

ahead

of

their

time.

The

Atlantic City Railroad (ACR) ran

them on fast trains which took
people from the metropolis of
Philadelphia to resorts on the

New Jersey coast It was a 55!^

mile (90km) run from Camden
56

Atlantic City Railroad (ACR), If

City Flier"

was

scheduled

certainly the
train

in

the

world at that time.

Apart from broad-gauge locomotives, here is the first appearance amongst the locomotives in
this book of a feature which was
in the future to become an integral part of most steam passenger express locomotives the

nected with the racing, was attributed to high speed, made the
competitors lose their taste for
the fast running and accordingly
only two of the five (Nos 1869
and 1870) ordered were ever
completed They were known as
the
to

class.

Wilson Worsdell's approach

the problem was to connect

quite conventional boiler, cylinders and motion to very large

driving wheels which at 7ft 7!4in
(2,315mm) were some of the
largest ever provided on a coupled engine Huge wheels might
well have meant a very bizarre
appearance but the proportions
were worked out in such a way
as 'to produce one of the most

clerestory roof was provided for

the comfort of their crews The
slide valves were placed on top
of the cylinders and were driven

A favourite turn was the

Newcastle-Sheffield
express,
which had a remarkable scheduled start-to-stop timing of 43
minutes for the 44 \k miles (71km)
from Darlington to York, at 61 .7
mph (98km/h) the fastest in the
world at that time Speeds in

beautiful designs ever to run on

the rails of the world Unusually
for the time, a large and comfort-

able cab with side

trains

windows and

80mph (128km/h)

by rocking shafts and Stephenson

excess

The usual NER Westmghouse air brakes were fitted

When it was apparent their

were needed

exceptional services were not

enough

valve gear

going
racers

to

their

to

keep time

being non-standard,
both survived until 1930, long
to

become London &

North Eastern class D 1 8 after the

amalgamation of 1923, they kept

be needed, the two

joined

of

In spite of

normal-

wheeled sisters of Qass Q on

normal top express passenger

numbers although
and polished
metalwork had been replaced by

their original

the green livery

work This continued until the

coming of Atlantics in 1903 displaced them on the heaviest

plain black long before

Left: North Eastern Railway

class "Q" 4-4-0. These engines
were similar to the racing "Ql"
class with normal-size wheels.

wide deep

firebox, for which the

4-4-2 wheel arrangement is wholly

appropriate In this case it was

adopted in order to allow anthracite coal to be burnt satisfactorily,
but later it was realised that a
large grate was also an advantage
with bituminous coal and even
with

oil

Two other features of these

locomotives are fascinating but
some

extent freakish. As can

pairs of comcylinders on each side,
driving through a common crossto

be seen they had

pound

The arrangement was

head

named
head

of

Samuel Vauclain
the Baldwin Locomotive
after

Works, and his object was to

attain the advantages of compounding without its complexities
In this case the high-pressure
cylinders, 13in bore by 26in
stroke (330 x 660mm), were

improve

mounted on top and

went on to build many "Camelbacks" and the idea spread to

the low-

pressure ones 22in bore x 26in

stroke (559 x 660mm) below A
single set of valve gear and a
single connecting rod served
both cylinders of each compound
pair Alas, Vauclain compounds
soon went out of fashion, as so
often occurred, the work done by
the

HP and

by the LP cylinders

did not balance, and

in the

case

arrangement
meant an
on the crosshead
and consequent problems with

of this

it

offset thrust

Left: Atlantic City Railroad

"Camelback" class 4-4-2
locomotive No. 1027, built
1896. Note the high- and
low-pressure cylinders mounted
one above the other, the
separate cab lor the driver
(engineer) on top of the boiler
and the ornate decoration on the
sides of the tender

maintenance.
The other

oddity was the

"Camelback" or "Mother Hubbard" cab on top of the boiler for
the driver The fireman, of course,
had to remain in the normal
position and for him a second
and very exiguous shelter was
also provided The object was to

visibility at

the

expense

of separating the two members

of the crew. The Philadelphia &

Reading Railroad (later known

simply as the Reading RR) which
took over the ACR at this time

other railroads in the area But

was a practice which never
it
became widely used
Strangely enough, the name
"Atlantic", which even today refers
the world over to the 4-4-2 type,
did not originate with these re-

markable machines Instead,

was

first

given to

some

it

rather

prosaic 4~4-2s (without wide

fire-

in 1893 for the

Coast Line, a railroad
which ran southwards towards

boxes)

built

Atlantic

Florida

Even

if

the

ACR

4-4-2s

did not give the type name to the

world, the mighty Pennsy took
note of the beating its competing
trains received at their hands and
adopted the principle involved
with results described later in
this narrative

57

Class

500 4-6-0

Italy:

Adriatic

System (RA), 1900

Axle load: 32,50011

Cylinders, HP:

Cylinders, LP:

.:)

:ix25in

23 x25in

50mm).
Driving wheels: 75^in
Imm)

Heating surface: l,793sqft

Superheater: fitted later
Steam pressure: 200psi

2
)

Grate area: 32sq

ft

(3m 2

Fuel: 9,0001b (4t)

Water: 3,300 gall (4,000 US)

(15m 3
Adhesive weight: 98,0001b
)

Total weight: 22 ,0001b

1

(lOOt)

Length

overall: 79ft 2in

(24,135mm)

Even as early as 1825, at the time

the Stockton & Darlington Railway was opened, the direction in
which a locomotive went and the
position from which it was driven
had been established. The chim-

Class

of Locomotion, the S&D's

original locomotive, came first in
front, while the driver and fireman
did their work at the other end of

carried

the boiler, that

water Almost all steam locomotives built since then have

followed this arrangement.
Questioning what almost seems
a natural law is a hard thing to do,
but there were some original
minds who did so One was

to the rear,

is,

where the controls and firehole

door were situated Behind them

came

again

E3sd 4-4-2

the tender which

(12,400kg)

attractive alternatives, the 4-6-0

Axleload: 64,5001b

and

ft

Superheater: 412sq ft (38m 2

Steam pressure: 205psi
(14

4kg/cm 2

).

Grate area: 55.5sq ft (5.2m 2

Fuel: 34,2001b 15 5t)
Water: 5,660gaU (6.800US)
(25.7m 3
Adhesive weight: 127,5001b
).

),

Length

(21,640mm).

Century the standard

American passenger engine was
the 4-4-0, but towards the end of

In the 19th

the century the type was reaching

the limit of size which was
possible on eight wheels, and
train

loads were

A move
58

to

still

ten

increasing

wheels

was

Above: Italian "500" class

back-to-front express engine.
Giuseppe Zara, locomotive
gineer

of

the

Italian

enAdriatic

System (Rete Adnatica or RA),

charge of the design office
Florence He decided that

in

at
it

and there were two

ionally heavy rails, which could

accept a very high axle load,
whilst the locomotives had to be

able to burn coal of moderate

quality in great quantities.
"In 1899 Altoona works proits first

two

Atlantics,

and

they exploited the wheel arrangeto the full, with an adhesive

weight of 1 1 ,6001b (46. 1 1) and a
grate area of 68sq ft (6.3m 2 ),
more than twice that of the
largest PRR 4-4-0 However, a

ment

overall: 71ft 6in

coal

the 4-4-2 or Atlantic. The

former could have a greater
adhesive weight, but the grate
was restricted by the need to fit
between the rear coupled wheels.
The Atlantic had more restricted
adhesive weight, but could have
a very large grate. For the
Pennsylvania Railroad the Atlantic
was the obvious choice The
road was already laying except-

duced

Total weight: 363,5001b

(165t).

of

Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), 1901

inevitable,

(29.30.

supplies

United States:

Tractive effort: 27,4001b

Cylinders: (2) 22 x26in

(559 x 660mm).
Driving wheels: 80in
(2,032mm)
Heating surface: 2,04 lsq

and

ney

engine had a more modest

grate of 55.5sq ft (5.2m 2 and it
third

),

was

this

size

standard for
tics,

all

which became
subsequent Atlan-

as well as for

many

other

engines of the same period With

this

engine the pattern was set

Above:

576 more

class

Atlantics, all having the same

wheel diameter, boiler pressure

New

for the construction of

but the next two batches,

96 engines, had the

and grate

tice,

basic dimensions were common to all the

engines, successive improvements were made The three
prototypes had Belpaire tops to
the fireboxes, in accordance with
established Pennsylvania prac-

totalling

area.
Although the

a Pennsylvania Railroad
a

"E2" 4-4-2 at speed with

York-Chicago express.

more usual round-topped firebox Thereafter the Belpaire box

reappeared, and was used on all
subsequent engines. The two
batches mentioned above differed
only in their cylinder diameter,

while the low-pressure pair were

similarly arranged on the other.

the arrangement whereby a

small opening of the regulator
admitted live steam to the low-

was

would be best to have the driver

and to that end produced
a 4-6-0 with the boiler and cylinders reversed on the frames
Coal was earned in a bunker on
one side of the firebox, which
itself was above the bogie rather
than between the driving wheels
The tender trailed behind the
chimney and of course earned

to the pair on the other side, as in

a normal locomotive A single
valve and valve chest each side,
dnven by sets of outside Wal-

pressure cylinders, essential for

schaert's valve gear, controlled

the admission of steam into each
pair of cylinders. A number of

matically to

water only

locomotives

The advantages claimed were,

first, that the lookout was excel-

arrangement

as good as that of any

electnc or diesel locomotive today
Second, the exhaust was dis-

its inventor. One drawback

was that was difficult to equalise
the work done between the highpressure and the low-pressure
cylinders The result was that a
sideways swinging motion was

in front

lent,

charged some distance behind

the cab and this reduced the

smoke menace

in tunnels,

so

far

as the crew were concerned

There were four compound
cylinders with an unusual arrangement The two high-pressure
cylinders were on one side, set at
180 degrees to one another.

class

"E2"

(521mm)

having

cylinders,

and

20.5in
class

"E3" 22m (559mm), the intention

being to use the "E3"s on heavier
work All these engines had slide
valves,

but

starting in

were used,

the next series,

1903, piston valves
in

at first

with Stephen-

son's valve gear, but from 1906

with Walschaert's
By 1 9 1 3 a total of 493 engines
had been built, all having a boiler
with a maximum diameter of
65 5in (1,664mm). By that time
the Pacific was well established
on the railway, and it seemed that
the heyday of the Atlantic had
passed However, Axel Vogt, the

Chief Mechanical Engineer, was

still averse to incurnng the expense of six-coupled wheels if
four would suffice, and in 1910
he built a further Atlantic with
another type of boiler, having the
same grate area as the earlier
Atlantics, but a maximum diameter of 76.75in (1,949mm),
almost as large as the Pacifies,
and with a combustion chamber
at the front. The new engine,
classified "E6", developed a
higher power than the existing

Each

pair

was

set at

90 degrees

had this
compounding,

in

Italy

of

known as the Plancher system

after

it

liable to occur.

The prototype was exhibited

meeting of the International
Railway Congress held in Paris.
A detail that impressed R.M.
Deeley of the Midland Railway
at

Pacifies at

speeds above

40mph

(64km/h). Two more "E6"s were

then built, but with superheaters,
this made the performance
even more impressive, and it was

and

possible to increase the cylinder

diameter to 23.5in (597mm),
After four years of intensive
development work, a production
batch of eighty "E6"s were built,
having a number of changes
from the prototypes, including

longer boiler tubes. These engines were built at great speed

between February and August

the same year that

1914, that is, in

the first of the
Pacifies

was

built.

famous "K4s"
These engines

loco-

pect of drivers actually bothering

to make this adjustment.
Whilst in France, tests were
run with the prototype and 78

auto-

mph

When the regulator was

starting

opened a little further, the

motive changed over

compound working

this arrangement
in his successful Midland compounds, but Zara did not use it
remaining 42 "cabfor
his
forward" locomotives, prefernng
an independently worked valve
instead One reason might have

Deeley adopted

was desirable to
it
valve to equalise the
work done between the highland low pressure cylinders
Normally this would be a pious
hope, but in the case of a Plancher
compound it would coincide with
making the ride more comfortable, since the high and low
pressure cylinders were on opbeen

use

that

this

"K4s" Pacifies appeared after the

war, the "E6s" engines settled
down to work on the less busy
routes, mainly in

New

Jersey
The smaller Atlantic soon established a reputation for high

speed, but their

full

potential

was

670001

Italian State

to

670 043

were nationalised in 1905, successfully worked

express trains in the Po Valley for

after the railways

many

years They finally ceased

in the early 1940s Most
were later superheated, becoming
class 67 1 when this was done

work

Below: This strange back-tofront steam locomotive was

designed for the Italian
Adriatic system at the turn
of the century, GuiseppeZara

was

the engineer responsible.

18-hour schedule from

Wayne and 75.3mph( 121 lkm/h)

average speed of 50.2mph

(80 lkm/h), with an average of
57.8mph (92.9km/h) over the
189 miles (304km) from Jersey

over
Fort

an

to

overall

City to Harnsburg.

It

was on

the

westbound run to this

schedule that "E2" No 7002 was
credited with exceeding 1 20mph
(193 km/h), but the claim was
based on dubious evidence On
this service the "E2" and "E3"
engines kept time with up to
eight wooden coaches, totalling
about 360 (short) tons, but with
first

the introduction of the heavier

I they achieved prodigious feats of haulage for

When
four-coupled engines
large numbers of production

Railways

Jersey City to Chicago, giving an

steel stock,

World War

which had become

to stop average of 75.5mph

(121.4 km/h) over the 64 1 miles
(103km) from Plymouth to Fort

realised in 1905 when the Pennsylvania Special was accelerated

workings on

the less hilly

parts of the system, and during

(126km/h) was reached

with a 130-ton train Back at

home these strange locomotivs,

took over the principal express

all

posite sides of the locomotive.

There was therefore some pros-

double heading be-

came common.
The "E6s" engines were
to

handle

trains of

able

800-900 tons

on the New York-PhiladelphiaWashington trains, but it was on

lighter trains that they produced
their most spectacular perfor-

mances. Their greatest

distinct-

was to haul the Detroit Arrow

between
Fort
Wayne and
Chicago, for in 933 this was the
ion

world's fastest tram, with a start

123 miles (198km) from

Wayne

to

Gary.

On

this

service they hauled five or six

steel

coaches, weighing 300 to

350 tonnes.
Over the years many of the
were modernised with superheaters and piston
valves, making them into modern
earlier Atlantics

engines for light duties Five of

them survived until 1947, and
one of them, by now classified
"E2sd", was preserved- It was
renumbered to 7002, thus purporting to be the engine of the
1905 record. The "E6s" engines
survived well into the 1 950s, and
one of them, No 460, has been
This engine had
preserved
achieved fame by hauling a
two-coach special from Washington to New York carrying news
films of the return of the Atlantic
flyer Lindbergh The tram averaged 74mph 1 9km/h), the films
were developed en route and
shown in New York cinemas
before those carried by air.
(

59

Claild

HamiltOn ClaSS 4-4-0

Tractive effort: 17, 1001b

(7,757kg)
Axle load: 4 1 ,0001b (18 50

A new

Cylinders: (2) 19x26in

(483 x 660mm)
Driving wheels: 84in

named Claud Hamilton after the

chairman of the company and

1mm)
Heating surface: ,631sq
(151m 2
Superheater: none
1

century was not yet three

months old on the day when a
really superb 4-4-0 locomotive,

appropriately numbered 1900,

emerged from the Great Eastern
ft

Steam pressure:
(12 7kg/cm 2

180psi

3sq ft (2m 2
Fuel(oil):715gall(860US)

Grate area: 2

(325m 3

Water:3,450gall(4,150US)

(16m 3
Adhesive weight: 82,0001b
)

(37

5t)

Total weight: 2 3,0001b

1

Length

(97t)

overall: 5

variable

orifice.

Below: The glorious royal

brass and copper
hveryofthe "Claud Hamilton"

oil

Axle load: 38,6001b 17 5t).

Cylinders, HP: (2) 1 3 4 x 24.4in
(340 x 620mm)
Cylinders, LP: (2) 2 1 .3 x 24.4in
(540 x 620mm)

locomotive engineers. In the 1 9th

century the most important fuelsaving development was the in-

Driving wheels: 78 7in

(2,000mm)
Heating surface: 2,040sq
(190m 2
Superheater: None

passes through two sets of cylinders in series. By this means a

greater overall expansion ratio is
possible than in a "simple" en-

ft

Steam pressure:

(15kg/cm )
Grate area: 26 7sq
Fuel:

ft

(2

5m2

).

1,0001b (5t)
Water: 4,400gall (5,280
1

US)
(20m 3
Adhesive weight: 76,0001b
)

and more work is thus

extracted from each cylinder-full
of steam. One of the problems
facing the designer of a compound locomotive was to even
out the stresses in the moving
parts of the engine, it was generally

agreed

that the

work done

high-pressure and in the

low-pressure cylinders should
be as nearly equal as possible.

in the

(34.4t)

Total weight: 223,5001b

(101.5t).

Length overall:

troduction of compounding. In
a compound engine the steam

gine,

2 1 3psi

63ft Oin

(19,200mm)
France produced insufficient coal
to meet the needs of its railways,
and any means of saving fuel was
therefore important to French

sets

The ratio

of the work done in the

cylinders depended partly on
the sizes of the cylinders, but also
on the "cut-off", that is, the point
in the piston stroke at which the
admission of steam is shut off. In
a full-blooded compound the

in

of

Railway (PLM),

the

ten

"Super-Claud"s

of

1923. As these improvements

were introduced on new conmost earlier locostruction,
motives of the class were rebuilt
to conform The original "Claud's
suffered several rebuildings and
in due time most of them emerged
as one or other of the last two
sub-classes of "Super Claud"

The

latest of

these varieties of

rebuilding, done under the auspices of the London & North

Eastern Railway, reverted to the
round-topped firebox of the orig-

The "Claud Hamilton" class

has a complicated history. Eventually 1 2 1 of these engines were
built between 1900 and 1923.
Up-to-date features such as enlarged boilers, superheaters and

GrOSSe C ClaSS 4-4-0 Pans^Lyons and Mediterranean

(

Two

frames. Before 1914, the livery of

polished metal and royal blue
was as magnificent as any applied
to any steam locomotive anywhere at anytime.

4-4-0s of the Great Eastern

Hallway of England was one
of the finest ever used.

of slide- valves

successive batches, culminating

big side windows and many

other features were way ahead of
their time. Some of them, such as
the power-operated reversing
gear and water scoop, were still
waiting to be adopted generally
when the last steam locomotive
for Britain was built 60 years
later Even energy conservation
was considered, because the

"Claud"s burned waste

instead

were gradually introduced on

available

Stephenson's valve-gear filled

such space as was left after two
sets of main motion had been
accommodated between the

first

piston

from the com-

pany's oil-gas plant Other equipment very up to date for the day
an exhaust steam
included
injector and a blast-pipe with

were

Railway's Stratford Works Although its inside-cylinder layout

was typical of the century that
had gone, the large cab with four

(16,276mm)

blue,

Great Easte^Railway, 1900

residues instead of coal, these

No. 1900, while intermediate

construction and re-construction
provided for a Belpaire firebox.

inal

Using the

If

LNER

classification

de Glehn Atlantic 4-4-2

France:

Axle load:
Cylinders,

HP

Cylinders.

LP

Driving wheels:

Heating surface:
Superheater

Steam pressure:
-5m 2 )

Grate area:
Fuel:

Water:

Adhesive weight: 78,5001b

Total weight:

Overall length:
'mm)
ite

of

his

5001b
<:

**_
name partly

French and partly German

Alfred de Glehn was born an
Englishman, yet he rose to be

reversing gear, as well as intercepting valves, to control the

working. The locomotives could
be set tc .. jrk in five modes as

shown

set to

blow off at 851b/sq in (6kg/

compounding

cm 2

in

for

steam loco-

motives which stood the

test of

time In France a majority of

twentieth-century express pas-

senger locomotives were de

Glehn compounds
One major factor in its success
was the fact that French locomotive dnvers were not promoted
from firemen but instead were
trained as mechanics. In fact, the
actual word used was mechanician. This meant that the man in
charge on the footplate could be
expected to know the reasons
for the complexities of a compound's controls and act accordingly to get the best results.

The de Glehn system was

certainly
driver's

complicated from the

of view there

point

were two throttles and two sets of

in table

position of the inter-

cepting valve, the exhaust from

the HP cylinders was delivered
to the receiver and steam chest of
the

LP

cylinders

safety valve

vessel limited the

pressure applied on the LP side.
In the B position, this connection was closed and the HP
exhaust sent direct to the blast
pipe Settings IV and V were
used only to move the engine
under light load, or in an emerg)

ency
in

if

the

this

some problem developed

LP or HP engines respec-

III could boost the

pressure on the LP side up to the
851b/sq in (6kg/cm 2 to which

tively Setting

the receiver safety valve

Of course

Above: Northern Railway of

France de Glehn 4-4-2 No.
2.

674. Th ese to ur-cyhn der

compounds were outstanding.

Du Bousquet and de Glehn

Director of Engineering of the

Societe Alsacienne de Constructions Mecaniques at Mulhouse in
the 1870s while still under 30
Together with Gaston du Bousquet of the Northern Railway of
France he developed a system of

In the

driving a compound could be

likened to moving up from strumming a piano to conducting a
whole orchestra

was

in addition to

set.

choo-

sing the correct setting, it was

necessary to select the correct
combination of cut-offs by adjusting the two independent reversing gears With all these alternatives to think of, the move from
running a simple engine to

began

their

nection with
ful

co-operation in consome very success-

compound

during

the

4-4-0s produced
1890s, but their

lasting place in the hall of

was assured

fame

when Northern

Railway Atlantic

No 2

641 was

Pans Exhibition
of 1900 Outside bearings on the
leading bogie and inside ones on
exhibited

Table

at the

the trailing wheels gave an unusual look, but the 4-4-2 was
certainly a good-looking example of the locomotive builders'
art and the engine was the first of
a class of 32 built for the

Northern Railway

The
in line

inside LP cylinders were

with the front bogie wheels
the leading coupled

and drove

Table

III

Country

Q 4--2 N

CI ASS

(8,863kg)
Axle load: 23,5001b ( 10

5t)

Cylinders: (2) 16x22in

(406 x 559mm)
Driving wheels: 49in

Heating surface: ,673sq

(155m 2
1

ft

Superheater: None
Steam pressure: 200psi
(14kg/cm 2
Grate area: 40sq ft (3 72m 2
)

1,0001b (5t)
Water: 1 ,700 gall (2,000
(7

7m 3

US)

Adhesive weight: 69,5001b

(31 5t)

Total weight: 165,0001b

Length

(75t)

overall: 55ft 4)^in

(16,872mm)

The year 1901 was marked by

the construction of the

of a

first

famous type arguably the most

famous type of express passenger locomotive, which was to go
on being built until the end of

(14,696kg).
Axle load: 52,5001b (24t)
Cylinders: (2) 23! x 28in

x711mm).

Driving wheels: 72in

(1,829mm)
Heating surface: 2,938sq

ft

Superheater: None
Steam pressure: 180psi
(12

7kg/cm 2

ft

(4.4m 2 ).

Fuel: 30,0001b
(13.5t)
gall (9,000

(34m3
Adhesive weight:

US)

57,0001b

(71 5t)

Total weight: 408,0001b

Length

overall: 74ft Oin

(22,555mm).
54

Railroad operations did not begin

until 1836 when the Louisa Rail-

road in Virginia was opened.

Only a few weeks after the
Missouri Pacific

RR

got the

first

company took delivery from the

American Locomotive Company
of the prototype of their famous
"F15" class Pacifies. This time
there was no ambiguity the
standard North American express passenger locomotive of
the twentieth century had finally

C&O

(185t)

Below: NZGR class "Q"-she

was the world's first class of
when built

Pacific locomotive

m USA m

1901.

Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O), 1902

of their 4-6-2s, this historic

).

Grate area: 47sq

Water: 7,500

railways.

The Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad

(C&O) can trace its corporate
history back to 1785 when the
James River Company received
a charter. The first President was
George Washington in person!

Tractive effort: 32,4001b

(273m 2

motives yet to be built In due

time the word "Pacific" entered
of
the English
that
dialect
language used for describing

F1S 4"6"2

wlcISS

(597

And it was not one of the

great railway nations which was
responsible for conceiving the
idea (and to whose order it was
built) but tiny New Zealand.
Beattie, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Government Railways,
wanted a locomotive with a big
firebox capable of burning poor
quality lignite coal from South
Island mines at Otago
American manufacturer Baldwin suggested a "camelback"
4-6-0 with a wide firebox above
the rear coupled wheels, but the
New Zealander proposed a 4-6-0
with the big firebox earned by a
two-wheel pony truck, making a
4-6-2 The 13 engines were
and dequickly completed
spatched across the Pacific
Ocean, and in this way a name
was given to thousands of loco-

AW

(1,245mm)

Fuel:

Zealand Government Railways (NZGR), 1901

steam

Tractive effort: 19.5401b

arrived. This path-finding

No. 147 was also fitted with piston
valves, but

it still

had Stephenson's

Above: Class "Q" No.343on

the southernmost passenger
railway
the world between
lnvercargill and Bluff Southland.

A feature which was also to

appear on most of the world's
steam locomotives built after this
time was the type of valve gear
used on these engines Of 105
locomotives yet to be descnbed
in this book, 86 have Walschaert's
The invention was not
Belgian engineer called

valve gear.

new a

Egide Walschaert had devised it

back in 1844 and a German
called Heusinger had reinvented
since but this application
entry into general use
outside continental Europe. The
it

marked its

gear gave good steam distribution, but the main advantage lay

engine came closer than ever

before to the final form of the
steam locomotive. Only two fundamental improvements were still
to be applied generally insideadmission piston valves in place
of outside, and superheating
After some minor modification
the "Q" class gave long and
of

the last of them

work until 1957.
Dunng their pnme, in addition to
working the principal trains on
the South Island main line, some
came to the North Island for use
faithful service,

not ceasing

in its simplicity, as well

on the Rotorua Express, running

between Auckland and the
famous hot springs of the same

fact that

name

as in the
it could conveniently be
outside the frames in the
position most accessible for mainfitted

tenance In

this

case the gear was

arranged to work outsideadmission piston valves, which

piston valves themselves were in
the forefront of steam technology
at the beginning of the century
It should be said that this class

Right: The splendid New

Zealand Government class "Q"
4-6-2 No. 343 as running in
1956 when neanng the end of

more

than

50 years service

to

6m gauge railway
system which had adopted US
this 3ft

practice fonts locomotives.

valve motion between the

frames Naturally no superheater,
but her size and power set a new
standard A further 26 followed
during the years 1903-1 1 Most
survived until the C&O turned to
diesels in the early 1950s and, in
a country that was not then given
to hanging on to old machinery,
link

that said a great deal for the

qualities of the "F15" class. Of

course, as the years went by,

top-line

on

express work was passed

to their successors, yet there

A latter-day Chesapeake &

Ohio 4-6-2 of class "F16",
introduced m 1937 and built by
Baldwins of Philadelphia. Note
Left:

that special

C&O trademark,

mounting of two duplex

pumps on

air

the front of the

smokebox of No. 174.

the

were routes whose weak bridges

meant that these comparatively
engines continued being
used on pnme trains nearly to the
end. Dunng the 1920s all the
"F 1 5" locomotives were modern-

light

ised with Walschaert's valve gear,

superheaters, larger tenders, different cabs, mechanical stokers,
new cylinders and, in some cases,
even new frames; in fact, just in
the manner of the legendary
Irishman's hammer "a hundred
years old, only two new heads
and three new handles"
In addition to setting the style
for nearly 7,000 USA 4-6-2s to
follow, the "F15" founded a

dynasty on their own road The

"F16"4-6-2sof 191 3 represented
a 34 per cent increase in tractive
effort and a 28 per cent increase
of grate area, while for the

"F17"

1914 these increases were 45

per cent and 7 1 per cent respectively, in each case for a penalty of
a 27 per cent increase in axle

of

load After World

War

I,

classes

"F18" and "F19" appeared, notable for 18,000 gallon 12- wheel

tenders These 6 1 4-6-2s handled

C&O's express passenger
assignments until the coming of
all

4-6-4sm 1941.
will be noted that these
It
4-6-2s showed something else.
Dunng the age of steam no
major system outside North
America ever had track strong

enough

to carry an axle load

greater than 22^ tons, so these
locomotives were as good an

indicator as any that the USA,

having come up from well behind,

was now

starting to

go

far into

the lead in industnal might

65

Large Atlantic Class 4-4-2

Great Britain:
Great Northern Railway (GNR), 1902

Tractive efiort: 173401b

kg)

Axle load :45, 0001b (20.50

Cylinders: \2) 20 x 24in

x610mm)

(508

Driving wheels: 80in

:nm)

Heating surface: ,965sq

1

5m 2

(182
(52

8m 2

ft

Superheater: 568sq

ft

Steam pressure:

170psi

(12 0kq
Grate area: 3 sq
1

ft

(2.88m 2

Fuel:

Water: 3.500

gall (4,200 US).

Adhesive weight: 90,0001b

Total weight: 252,5001b
(1150

Length

overall: 57fl

(17,634mm)
These famous engines introduced
the big boiler with wide firebox
to Britain, 94 were built between
1902 and 1910 Until the arrival
of 4-6-2s in 1921, they ruled the

Great Northern Railway's portion

of the East Coast mam line from

London

to Scotland, that

be-

is,

tween Kings Cross and York

Even after this, the light formation

pilots at

places like Peterborough,

Grantham and Doncaster, demonstrating on various occasions

circumstances
with a crew willing to 'have a go'
timings
"Pacific"
they could keep
that in favourable

with the streamliners as well as

17-coach expresses.
The coming of the "Green
Arrow" class 2-6-2s which could

the de-luxe all-Pullman expresses introduced in the 1 920s

was just right for these Atlantics.
By the mid- 1930s, new streamlined Pacifies made the older
4-6-2s available for the Pullmans,
but the thirty year old warriors

stand in on any mam line train

and, in addition, the war-time

found a new and

and 2822,

of

life

skittish lease of

on the famous high speed

light-weight

"Beer

Trains"

between Kings Cross and Cambridge They also stood by as

lack of light fast trains, was the

end for the 4-4-2s The first one
(GN No. 1459, LNER No 4459)
ceased work in 1943 and the last

romance of the railway, their

owners liked them too at an
original price of 3,400 each
they could hardly be described
as a bad investment. Their crews
also liked the ease with which
they could be driven and fired,
even if the exiguous cabs gave
little shelter from the elements
Like most of the world's greatest steam locomotives they were
the

starkly simple, but yet up-to-date

Cylinders were outside, valves

and valve gear (Stephenson's)

inside. The first 81 came out
unsuperheated,

with

balanced

(GN No 294, LNER Nos.3294

slide valves

British Railways No.

62822) in November 1950. She
reached 75mph (121km/h) on
her last run To the British public
of 70 years ago they epitomised

1910, had piston- valves and

superheaters. In time all were
fitted with the latter and most

The

last ten, built in

were converted from slide to

piston valve. There were also

Midland Compound 4-4-0 Great

Britain:

Midland Railway (MR), 1902

Axle load: 44,5001b

Cylinders, HP:
19 x 26m
(483 x 660mm)
Cylinders, LP: (2) 2 1 x 26in
(533 x 660mm)
1

Heating surface:

5m 2

,3

Eventually 240 of
them were built. Their numbers
ran from 900 to 939 and 1000 to
1 199 in MR and LMS days and
most survived to become British
Railways' Nos 40900 to 4 199
The LMS examples had wheels
3in (76mm) less in diameter. The
last of them ceased work in 1 96

organisation
ft

(14 1kg
Grate area: 28 4sq

63m 2

the

surprisingly) as the standard

express locomotive for the new

ft

Steam pressure: 200psi

(2

motion

1923 to
form the London Midland &
Railway,
Scottish
the "Midland
Compound" was chosen (]ust a
in

little

17sq

Superheater: 272 sq
(25 3m 2

sets of Stephenson's valve gear

as well as the inside cylinder's

Midland Railway was amalga-

mated with others

Driving wheels: 84in

(2,134mm)
(122

application of the compound

principle in Britain, and when the
ful

(2050

ft

Fuel: 12,5001b (5.75t).

Water: 3,500 gall (4,200 US)

(16m 3
Adhesive weight: 89,0001b

only seven years before the "final"

(40 50

No. 1000 has been preserved in

working order at the York National Railway Museum Most were
built at the Midland's Derby
Works but a number of orders
went to outside manufacturers in

finish of

Total weight: 234,0001b 1060

(

Length overall:

56ft 7!^in

(17,260mm).

The "Midland Compound"

loco-

motives have a place in any

locomotive hall of fame S W.
Johnson introduced them in 1902,
later they

were developed by

successor
tially

RM

rebuilt (in

his

Deeley, substanwhich form they

are portrayed) by Henry (later Sir

Henry) Fowler in 1914. They
were the only long-term successhr

early

steam on

BR

Midland

LMS days.

Unlike the Webb compounds,

these locomotives had a single
high-pressure cylinder and two
low-pressure ones. The highpressure cylinder was between
the frames and the two lowpressure ones were outside Also
between the frames were three

When

partly

the throttle

open

was

position,

in

live

steam was admitted to the lowpressure cylinders, resulting in

"simple" working. This was
necessary for starting At full
throttle, the port which allowed
this "simple" operation closed
and proper "compound" working

ensued
This resulted in an anomaly
confused many drivers from
non-Midland depots to which the
engines were allocated in LMS
days that is that more steam
was used when the throttle was
that

partly closed than

fully

open Even

when

it

was

so, the long-lived

"Midland
Compound" locomotives were considered to be
reliable and useful machines For
the

fast,

of their

the

frequent but short trains

parent Midland Railway,

"Crimson Ramblers" were

adequate and

found to be
economical

Right: "Midland Compound"

No. 1000 piloting enthusiasts'
special at Settle Junction,
Yorkshire, in May 1950. The

second locomotive is LNER

No. 4771 Green Arrow

three experimental four-cylinder

compounds, but none

of

them

prospered against the standard

version All the 4-4-2s except one
of the compounds were built at
the company's own Doncaster
Plant, to the design of Henry
Ivatt

One starkly simple feature,

wholly unusual in the twentieth
century for an express passenger
locomotive, was the lever or
this was
more usually applied to shunting

Johnson bar reverse,

locomotives which ran slowly

but needed to change direction
frequently It was difficult to alter
the cut-off at speed with the
lever the combined strength of

both dnver and fireman were

needed sometimes There was
certainly no chance of making

City Class 4-4-0

Great Britain:
Great Western Railway (GWR), 1903

Tractive effort: 17,7901b

(8,070kg)
Axle load: 41,0001b (18 50
Cylinders: (2) 18 x 26in
(457 x 660mm)
Driving wheels: 80)^in

minton" and "Atbara" classes.

They represented something of

GWR

stop-gap, while the old

was making a huge and sudden
leap forward from a locomotive
fleet that was old-fashioned for
the nineteenth century to one that
was far ahead of its time for the

(2,045mm)

Heating surface: ,35 Isq

(126m 2
Superheater: 2 6sq ft (20.
1

ft

twentieth. In the

2
)

Steam pressure: 200psi

(14. lkg/ cm 2
)

Grate area: 20 56sq

(191m
Fuel:

).

1,0001b

Water: 3,000
(13

ft

6m 3

(5t).

gall (3,600 US).

Adhesive weight: 81,0001b

Total weight: 207,0001b
(94t).

Above left:

"Large Atlantic"
No. 4458 at the head of a Pullman
Express in pre- World War I! days.

Above: "Large Atlantic" No.25

as restored to the original Great
Northern Railway hvery. This
locomotive is preserved
the
National Railway Museum.

the fine adjustments en route

which were behind the lower
coal consumption of certain contemporary types. But coal was a
cheap part of the cost equation
and if the the
Atlantics did
burn a bit more, their overall
economics were quite beyond
suspicion
The first of the Ivatt large
Atlantics,
No 251, LNER
No-3251 (later renumbered as

GN

GN

LNER

No.2800) has survived to

find an honoured place in the
National Railway Museum at
York. Whilst stored in the paint
shop at Doncaster waiting for a
vacancy, it was taken out and in
company with preserved "small"
Atlantic Henry Oakley, was set to
run a special tram from Kings
Cross to Doncaster to celebrate
loco
the centenary of the
works The use of these two
locomotives on this "Plant Centenarian" special tram of 20 September 1953 was important as it
maintained the precedent so far
as British Railways is concerned,
for the running of museum pieces
for entertainment purposes The
veterans did the 1 56 mile (250km)
run in a respectable 192 minutes
running time

GN

Length

overall: 56ft 2)4in

(17,126mm).

The Great Western

4-4-0s

owe

occasion

in

their

"City" class

fame

to

an

May 1905 when

special mail train from Plymouth

to Paddington descended the
winding alignment of the Wellington incline, just west of Taunton,
at a very high speed That famous
train-timer and journalist Charles
Rous-Marten, had been invited

and he recorded 102 3mph 164

km/h) then a world record for
(

respect of an authentically and independently recorded

occasion
A careful analysis of the timings
at successive quarter-mile posts
has since suggested that RousMarten mistook some other object

steam

in

GWR

were 60 "Duke" class, 1 56 "Bulldog" class, 20 "Flower" class,

and 40 "Stella" class in addition
to "City" and conversions mentioned The outside-framed 4-4-0
was very much a trademark of
the turn of the century

gaps, the "City" class had only a

short reign on top express work,
but even apart from the record
had a reputation for fast running.

The

last of

1931,

them ceased work

although

Swindon

3710-3719.

There were only ten "City"

class proper,

all

built at the

GWR

in

City of Truro

went back into traffic for a short

time after World War II so that it
would be available for enthusiasts' specials

was numbered originally from

3433 to 3442 then renumbered

GWR

passenger locomotive fleet.

In consequence of being stop-

Even

preservation of its heroine No

3717 City of Truro. The series

this

cylinders and outside-cranks, as

well as both outside- and msideframes,
but with up-to-date
boilers, was turned out
The mechanical layout, superficially at least, was very close to
that very earliest 4-4-0 of all,
Campbell's 4-4-0 of 1837 for the
Philadelphia & Norristown Railroad in the USA. Few others,
least of all those in the inventor's
native land had built any similar
locomotives, but many had been
constructed in the last decade of
the century for the
There

for one of them and that the

actual speed was a little less
so, the incident led to the

meantime

series of locomotives, with inside-

She now resides

the Great Western

Museum

m
at

Below: Great Western No.3717

on a

City of Truro as preserved,

tram near Hullavmgton, Wiltshire.

This locomotive held the world

speed record of 1 02. 3mph

( 164km/ h) for many years and is

works at Swindon, but a further

27 were created by rebuilding

now preserved m the Great

Western Railway Museum at

locomotives of the related "Bad-

Swindon,

Wilts,

England.

Saint Class 4-6-0

Great Britain:

(GWR), 1902

Tractive effort: 24,3951b

(11.066kg)
Axle load: 11, 5001b (190.
Cylinders: (2) 18^x30in
(470 x 762mm)

Driving wheels: 80^in

(2,045mm)

Heating surface: ,84 sq ft

(171m 2
Superheater: 263sq ft (24 4m 2
1

Steam pressure: 225psi

(15 8kg/ cm )
Grate area: 27 lsq ft (2 52m 2 ).
Fuel: 13,5001b (60
Water: 3,500 gall (4,200 US).
2

(16m 3
Adhesive weight: 125,0001b
)

(560
Total weight: 25 1 ,0001b
(1140
Length overall: 63ft OWin
(19.209mm)

When, shortly before the turn of

the century, a not-so-young man
called George Jackson Churchward found himself heir apparent
William Dean, Chief Locomotive Engineer of the Great
Western Railway, he (Churchward) had already decided that
there would have to be very
great changes when he took over
Corridor trains and dining cars,
as well as the demand for faster
schedules meant a whole new
express passenger locomotive
to

even by nineteenth century standards the then current

locomotives were both
heterogenous and unsatisfactory
fleet,

for

GWR

Whilst

Churchward was number

two under an ageing chief at the

Swindon Factory, he was able to
test his ideas by causing to be

number of very strange

designs indeed. Because so many
peculiar oddments already existedsuch as 4-4-0s converted
from standard gauge 0-4-4s(!),
themselves converted from the
built a

broad gauge on its abolition

1892 -they attracted little

in

attention.

But 1 902 was the year

big outside-cylinder 4-6-0
(later

(later

when

No 00
1

2900), tactfully named Dean

William Dean), saw the

By the standards of
the locomotive aesthetics of the
penod it was one of the strangest

light of day.

looking locomotives of all, though

to those few who knew about the

design and appearance of the

typical North American Tenwheeler, No. 100 was totally familiar, despite being disguised by
ornate Victorian brass and paint
work. This reflected Churchward's friendship with A.W.
Gibbs, Master Mechanic (Lines

compromise between USA

and British practice. Plate frames
were used for the main portion in
which the driving wheels were
held, but the cylinders were in
true Yankee style, each together
with one half of the smokebox
a

East) of the Pennsylvania Rail-

saddle, the front of the locomotive

being earned on a short length of
bar frame. The domeless boiler
had less of the
and more of
Churchward than the engine
part about it (but very little previous
practice), however,

road

some

American
Ten-wheeler prototype was followed exactly Both cylinders
and valve chests were mounted
outside the frames in the most

The

layout of the

accessible possible position, the

Stephenson's valve gear inside
the frames drove the msideadrmssion valves via transverse

and pendulum cranks

With some refinement the arrangement was used by Churchward and his successors on
some 2,000 locomotives. The
frame arrangement for Churchward's standard locomotives was
shafts

USA

GWR

was

Above: "Saint" class No. 2937

Clevedon Court. The "Courts"
were the

result

to take full

on most

charge, not only

British railways) of

the building and repairing of

locomotives, but also of their
running He would sit round a
drawing board together with its
incumbent, the incumbent's boss
and the Chief Draughtsman and
they would discuss the job in
question. If doubts arose over
manufacture, an expert from the
works the foundry foreman,
maybe would be sent for. If it

1911.

haps Churchward would ask

what others did about the problem, in which case the Record
Office would quickly produce a
book or periodical tabbed to
indicate the relevant page The

GWR

about

was a point about the locomotive

then the running superintendent would come over Per-

component
became fully developed
At this time Churchward was
(as

batch of the

in service,

to elapse before

time

the design of this

last

"Saints" built

was

that before

long the

possessed a locomotive
many ways had few
rivals the world over.
It was a far cry from the ways
fleet that in

of

some

of the autocratic, self-

important and "know-all" characters

chair

who occupied

the chief's
of other

on a number

Bnhsh lines in those days Churchward did it all, not by cleverness,

but simply by listening to others
and then applying that rarest of
qualities,

common sense

Church-

ward took some time to make up

his mind whether to have as his
best express power the 77 two-

ted impurities deposited as the

water gathered heat. There, now
fairly hot, the feed water mixed

cylinder "Saint" class 4-6-Os, derived from William Dean, or

whether the four-cylinder contemporary "Star" class 4-6-0s of

with that already in the boiler

without detriment
In due time the whole "Sajrit"
class (except the prototype) was

speed and power, of

which there were 60 before
similar

Churchward

retired

in

1921,

would be the better He finally

decided on the latter and it does

brought up to the standards

the last ones to be built

seem

building these latter.

this is

to this writer at least that

one of the very few times

when the judgment of one of our

greatest locomotive engineers
could be seen to be

cylinder versus the four-cylinder

question because at the last minute he cancelled the final five
Courts, yet continued to build
four-cylinder "Star" locomotives.
Further development of the

at fault

The jump from

the

first-line

express power of 1 892, the grace-

GWR

"Dean Single" to William

Dean of 1 902 involved the following increases in the various meaful

4-2-2

express passenger locomotive

was

sures of power; tractive effort

20 per cent, cylinder stroke 25
per cent (the bore was the same
heating surface 35 per cent,
steam pressure 12 per cent;
grate area 30 per cent, adhesive
weight 204 per cent. In addition
to these shocks, there was that
arising from the full side nudity of
exposing wheels, cylinders and

be known as the

32 had been

four-cylinder

diameter wheels in place of 80H:in

(2,045mm) Tractive

was

effort

proportion and
maximum speed was very little
affected. In this form and described as the "Hall" class, a
increased

Cylinder diameter was increased

by !^in and, more obviously, the
very characteristic "top-feed" fit-

May 1906 Nos 2901-10 were

later named after Ladies.
No 2901 well named Lady

tings either side of the safety

valves on the domeless boiler
were added These came to be

Superior was the first British

locomotive to have a modern
superheater, in this case of the

very

built,

could

sisters

produce
In 1925 No 2925 Samt Martin
was fitted with 72in (1,828mm)

"Saint" class,

In

to

match anything in the way of

performance which its complex

built

yet

remarkable engine and able

before the first

Saint name appeared, No.2911
Saint Agatha in 1907 Following
on William Dean, in 1903 there
came a second prototype (No 98,
later 2998 Ernest Cunard) and
then in the same year another
(No 1 7 1 later 297 1 Albion). No.
171 was turned out temporarily
as a 4-4-2 in order to make direct
comparison with a French de
Glerin compound 4-4-2 No. 102
La France, which had been imported as an experiment The
first production batch of 19 (Nos
1 72- 1 90, later 2972-90) appeared
in 1905, and some of these also
had a short period as 4-4-2s, they
were named after characters in
Sir Walter Scott's Waverley novels.
,

based on the "Star"

the "Saint" was a

all

layout,

motion
Although the locomotives came
to

In

Churchward
on the two-

decided

finally

of

further

most

in

330 "Saint"s were

which went on

built,

of

until

dieselisation.

Schmidt pattern and all had been

given superheaters (now of Swindon design) by 1912.
In the 20 genuine Saints which
followed in 1907, the austere
staight lines of the running boards
were mitigated by providing the
curved drop-ends so much a
characteristic of

motives

since

built

Finally in 191
all

most

GWR locotime
Courts,

that

came 25

superheated from the outset

and with

further

improvements

much a GWR trademark.

Churchwards boilers were his

greatest triumph and the best
among them was this No which
was not only fitted to the 77
1

Saints

but

4-6-0s, the 3

also to 74 "Star"
"Frenchmen" 4-4-2s,

Above: Going and coming. Two

views of "Saints" at work. The

upper photograph shows that

they were far from neglected
even

British Rail days.

these views show, most of
the "Saints' were altered to have
the curved foot-plating of the
later batches of these
path-finding locomotives.

As

330

"Hall" 4-6-0s, 80 "Grange"

4-6-0s and 150 "28XX" 2-8-0s.
Amongst the No 1 boiler features were measures to avoid the
damage to boiler plates etc.
caused by delivering relatively
cold feed water straight into the
hot boiler water, as was normal
before his day. By placing the
non-return feed valves (clack
valve is the technical term) on top
of the boiler and directing the
delivery forward, the feed water
flowed to the front of the barrel
via a senes of trays which collec-

A particularly pleasing feature

the exceptional precision
with which all these later engines
were built and repaired This was
the main contribution of Churchward's successors, who saw to it
was

that Swindon had the kit

the
Zeiss optical setting out apparatus
was one item to achieve dimen-

sional accuracy higher than

was

normal practice elsewhere The

story that British Railways' standards of fits and tolerances for a
locomotive

when

it

was new

corresponded to Swindon's standards when they considered it

was worn

out,

was not

entirely

apochryphal

No.2920 Samt David was

final

the

sunvior of the Saints proper

when withdrawn

in

1953

Below: No.2902 Lady of the

Lake as depicted here retains
the straight foot-plating of the
original members of the class.

69

Class

P 4-4-2

Denmark:
iys(DSB), 1907

The

Axle load:
Cylinders.HP

second batch was designated

ind had larger cylinders
360
x 640mm) and higher

Cylinders, LP:

pressure (2131b/sq

Driving wheels:

Heating surface:

in

i-yhnder com;essure
.wide the frames and
valve spindle
with a
serving both high and low pressure valves on each side Heusinger's (Walschaert's) valve-gear
was used, but out of sight inside
the frames instead of in the usual
position outside All cylinders
drove on the rear coupled axle,
the inside ones were raised and
their axis sloped downv
towards the rear so that the
inside connecting rods would
clear the leading coupled axle
Maximum permitted speed was
:

Superheater: None

Steam pressure: 785psi

0m 2

Grate area:

Fuel:

Water

5,550 US)

Adhesive weight: 80.0001b

Total weight:

Length

overall:

lid

ark

be argued that flat

was uninteresting loco-

motive country Nevertheless,

Danish steam engines were both

and handsome and

none more so than the "P" class
distinctive

introduced in 1907
Nineteen came from the Hannoversche Maschinenbau AG of
Hanover, Germany (Hanomag)
and in 1910 a further 14 from
Atlantics,

62mph(100kVisually the Danish 4-4-2s were

very striking, the chimney was
adorned with the Danish national
colours red, yellow, red and
there were such details as that

near-complete circle described

by the injector pipe on the side of
the boiler before homing on to
the clack valve

Class 640 2-6-0

Tractive effort:

1,8101b

1907

State Railways (FS)

load:

Cylinders:

Chief Mechanical Engineer of

Driving wheels:

the new organisation, Guiseppe

Zara, was the design of a stan-

Axle

dard range

Heating surface: l,163sqft

was a man

of locomotives

both

of

original turn of

Superheater: 361sq

Steam pressure:

(33
71psi
ft

5m 2

Fuel:

ft

(2

42m 2

interesting feat

Overall length:

some

irs after

in

the

are

still

in

use

one took

first

The class "640" 2-6-0 appeared

1907 and the first batch was

built

Total weight: 197,9701b

that

if

3,3001b (6t)
Water: 3 300gall (3.940US)
'

certainly

express passenger
locomotive w
musual

Adhesive weight:

mind

He

and an

ability

his smaller

and

Grate area: 26sq

by Schwartzkopff

Prodi:

of Berlin
til

1930

built

The

and 188

in

majority

were constructed by

Italian

of Danish passenger
services from 19 1 to 1935.

Italy:

the Italian State Railways

formed
1905, one of the
isks undertaken by the

was

Above and below: Danish

State Railways class "P"
4-4-2. These striking
machines were the mainstay

buildi

all

were

class also

included 15 rebuilt from class

"630" two-cylinder compounds
Class "630" was originally intended as the standard class, but
the advent of superheating meant

have four wheel bogies,

were superseded by the

"640" almost as soon as they

such as Italy However, Zara had

a card up his sleeve his Zara

that they

came

work but combine it with large

wheels, inside cylinders and outside steam chests and valve gear
and you really have something
is worth a detour to see
The reason why 2-6-0s have

that

not often hauled the world's

great trains is that the two-wheel
leading pony trucks have been
suspect for a fast running locomotive Most express engines

truck, called in Italy the Italian

into service

It was fairly original to choose

the 2-6-0 or Mogul wheel arrangement at all for express passenger

yet

has a higher proportion

of adhesive weight in relation to
total weight, an important advantage in a mountainous country
2-6-0, say,

bogie The lead::

wheels are allowed about sin
|

20mm)

side-play in their
axle-boxes, spherical ]ournals
and bushes are provided on the
crank pins and coupling rods so
that the coupling of the wheels
will still work properly when the
wheels are not in line The leading
pony wheels are mounted in a
truck which also carries the
leading axle, in such a way that
both the pony wheels and the
leading driving wheels play a
1

of

Denmark was a pioneer in the

adoption of diesel-electnc traction
and

the

first

diesel-electnc ex-

press trains went into service as

long ago as 1935 They were
known as the "Lyntog" Lightning
trains and, whilst there was no
threat to steam haulage of heavy
expresses, the Atlantics found
duties on fast light
were affected For this
reason between 1943 and 1955
a number were converted to
that

their

trains

rather close-coupled 4-6-2s at

DSB's Copenhagen shops The

boiler was lengthened by adding
an

additional
original wide

ring, while the

firebox was re-

placed by a narrow one the same

size as that belonging to the class
"R" 4-6-0s The original cylinders
and motion were retained but
new wheels of lesser diameter
(68m 1,727mm) were provided
The new engines were redesignated class "PR"
The forty-year long process of

Above:
w of a
Danish State Railways' class
:

diesel power came to fruition in

the end, but a little before this
time the last 4-4-2 was withdrawn

This was

mark
their

No 912

is full

in

1968 Denand

and 93 1

recognised

in the

of steam-lovers

enthusiasm

is

"P" 4-4-2, showing the clean

lines before air brakes.

by the preservation of two of

superb 4-4-2s (Nos917

the

latter is

museum

one (No908) as

displayed

Odense) and

at

rebuilt into

Pacific.

part in guiding the loo

>i

round a curve The device has

been very successful and 2-6-0s
and 2-6-2s have dominate*
I

express passenger operati

Italy

ever since

Main
in Italy

the
that

line electrification

no

No 640 (X

before
so it

is

rails,

further

not surprising

new designs

for

express passeng*
peared after 1928
cation

was also a factor in the sur-

vival of engines like the "640"

obsolescence would have over-

taken them long before if tl

engines built had been stea
Left:

Italian State

Railways'

class "640" 2-6-0 No.640.004

at

Allessandna Locomotive

Depot in June

1972.

DESA ClaSS 4-6-0

indifn Railways, 1905

Tractive effort: 22,5901b

(10,250kg)
Axle load: .'9.5001b (18t).
Cylinders: (2) 20^ x 26in

(521x660mm)
Driving wheels: 74in
(1,880mm)

Heating surface: l,476sq ft

(137m 2
Superheater: 352sq ft (32 7m 2
)

Steam pressure:

1801b/ sq in

(12.7kg
Grate area: 32sq ft (3.0m 2 )
Fuel:
Water: -iOOOgall (4,800 US)

(18m 3
Adhesive weight: 118,0001b
)

(54t)

Total weight: 273,0001b ( 1 24t)

Length overall: 62ft 3Uin

(18,980mm)
(These dimensions refer to later

examples with Walschaert's valve

gear, outside valves

and super-

heater).
More British than anything that

ran in Britain, this archetypal

Mail Engine gave over 75 years
of service

and

is still

actively in

is the British EngineerAssociation

Standards
"Heavy Passenger" 4-6-0, introduced in 1905, of which a
number (but not one of the
onginals) are still in passenger

use. This

ing

service in India at the time of

writing
The railways of India were
developed mainly by private
enterprise under a concession
system whereby the then Bntish
Government of India guaranteed
a modest return on investment in
return for a measure of control,
as well as eventual ownership.

locomotive manuAt a time when there

was an explosion of demand for
steam locomotives, they found it

by the

British

facturers.

their

cope efficiently with

orders for small batches of similar
locomotives which differed only

standards

in

The government

felt

that

one

of

perquisites was to set

and, having made
rather a mess of the gauge
question, made up for it with an
excellent job of setting out a

range

standard designs for

locomotives
of

The decision to do this was the

result of representations

made

difficult to

minor

For

detail

the

broad

1676mm) gauge

(5ft

there

6in

was

"Standard Passenger" 4-4-0, a

"Standard Goods" 0-6-0, a
"Heavy Goods" 2-8-0 and, finally,
a "Heavy Passenger" 4-6-0, all of
which were successful enough

be still in use 75 years after the

designs were conceived. The
"Heavy Passenger" 4-6-0s were
still being supplied in 1950, well
after independence, while the
4-4-0s operate still in Pakistan
State-owned railways such as

Above: Indian Railways BESA

4-6-0 No.24256 now allocated to
the Eastern Region, was built by
the Vulcan Foundry in 1949.

the North Western obeyed without question, but some of the

others were slower to abrogate
their independence in such a

sories,

matter as locomotive
design However, the qualities of
the standard product in due time
spoke for themselves Of course,

Below: 4-6-0 No.24328 of the

Western Railway this is a 1 923
product of William Beardmore &

to

sensitive

it

was

still

possible to specify
way of acces-

alternatives in the

even if one had to accept

the fundamental features of the
design

Co. of Glasgow.

Willows as well as by Robert

Stephenson & Co A few came

from Kitson of Leeds and, shortly
some were
after World War
made by William Beardmore of
Glasgow, better known for
marine engineering than for
Early examples
locomotives
were non-superheated with outI,

side cylinders, inside slide-valves

and Stephenson's valve gear but,
early on, outside Walschaert's
gear, outside piston valves and

BESA

4-6-0s were
solid hunks of sound engineering,

The

first

superheaters were adopted The

boilers had Belpaire pattern
fireboxes Between the wars a
few small batches were turned
out with poppet valves Some
later examples had bogie tenders

The BESA 4-6-0s stayed in

work even after their

top-line

successors,

Standard

India

the

XA

(IRS),

Railway

and

XB

4-6-2s had arrived in the mid1920s, because of unsatisfactory

qualities amongst the new arrivals The great success of the

BESA designs seems to lie in the

fact that they

were taken from

it existed, with
the difference that both average
and maximum speeds in India

British practice as

were 25 per cent lower than at

home while loads were about the
same. This more than compensated for rougher working conditions, one notes, for example,

bigger when introduced than

almost anything that ran in the
same country. Their closest relations at home seem to have been

instead of six- wheeled

When the all-India locomotive

that in dusty areas, locomotives

ran hot so frequently that pipes

numbenng system was adopted

were provided to trickle cold

water on to vulnerable bearings!

some 4-6-0s built in 1903 for the

Glasgow & South Western Railway by the North British Loco-

gauge

One factor in the good perform-

both East (now Bangladesh) and

West. All but a very few were
either built to the BfiSA design
or close to it The new running
numbers ran from 24,000 to

lay in the extra 9'/in

motive

were

to

Glasgow. NBL
supply the first standard

Co

of

4-6-0s to India
Down the years
were built there

Vulcan Foundry

at

many more
and

at

the

Newton-le-

in

1957 there were 387 broad-

4-6-0s still running in

India. More existed in Pakistan,

24,470; the few gaps were for

some 4-4-2s and a few non-

ance offered by the older engines

space available

(240mm)

of

for the firegrate

Below: The condition of 4-6-0

No. 24280, supplied by the North
1915, belies
British Loco Co.

its

age,

approaching 70 years.

Above: Some of the Indian

Hallways' surviving "BESA"
4-6-0s have bogie tenders
instead of the six-wheel variety
originally provided.
between the wheels compared
with similar engines in Britain,
because of the broad gauge
track
Even so, the coming of the
post-war 4-6-2s as well as diesels
and electrics did spell out the
beginning of the end for the
BESA 4-6-0s. By 1980 the num-

ber

m use had fallen to about

still be found
work on passenger trains

100, but they could

at

And

if the importance of trains

can be measured by the amount
of humanity packed into or

on to them, then those in

question are important indeed
However, they are a far cry from
clinging

the days when the "Imperial

Indian Mail", hauled by one of

these locomotives, provided

luxury accommodation for 32
persons only and their bearers
(servants),

1,230

from

mile

of

course for

the

(1,968km) journey

Bombay

to Calcutta.

73

Class

4-6-0 Germany:

P8

Tractive efiort:

Axle load
Cylinders:

Driving wheels:

8in

Heating surface:

Superheatei

Steam pressure:
rim 2 )

Grate area:

Fuel:
Water:-; .'uall( 5,700 US)

Adhesive weight:

Length

overall:

14,00011

Total weight:

5001b

!it0in

At the beginning of the century

the Prussian state railways were
faced with a problem which
other railways were to meet in the
next ten years -was the newly
invented superheater an alternative to, or an adjunct to, compounding? Since 1 884 the railway
had built both simple and compound locomotives, compounds

predominating for express passenger work and simples for

secondary passenger work Connon-superheated
struction
of
compounds continued until 1911,
e some other
types had been introduced
with superheaters and simple
expansion One of these was a
mixed-traffic 2-6-0, Class "P6",

new

which 272 were built between

1903 and 1910 However, the

of

63in (1,600mm) driving wheels

of these engines were found to
be too small for the speeds that
had been intended, and there
were difficulties with weight
distribution
In

1906 an enlarged design, a

Below: In due time the "P8"

class 4-6-0s of the Prussian
railways became class "38" of
The German State (now Federal)
Railways whose smart red-andblack colours are depicted here.

4-6-0 with wheels of 69in (1,750

mm) was introduced

It

was

orig-

envisaged that this new

engine would have a permissible
speed of 68mph 1 lOkm/h), and
that it could undertake express
passenger work on the hilly
parts of the system Unfortunately
the first engines of the type
proved to be unreliable and
unpopular, and suffered many

inally

failures in service

The

solution to the

problems

included a reduction in the cylinder diameter and adjustments to

the weight distribution between
the axles, but it was also decided

motion and valve gear

for speeds in
62mph (lOOkm/h),
and the engines were rated as
secondary passenger and mixedthat the

was unsuitable

excess

of

engines, with the classification "P8" Thus a locomotive

traffic

originally had been intenfor express passenger work

a limited part of the Prussian
system became the most widelyused and popular mixed-traffic

which

ded
on

engine ever built, serving eventually over much of Europe

many of the most successand popular steam engines,

was simple in layout,
and initially at least, elegant in
outline The round-topped boiler,
with a long narrow firebox, was
well proportioned, and although
Like

ful

Above: Class "38" 4-6-0 No.

38.3635 at the head of a
German Federal Railways local
tram at Lippstadt

the "P8"

at

least

two variants

of

boiler

due course, the

basic shape was not changed In
addition to Dr Schmidt's superheater, the engines also had
were

fitted

in

long-travel piston valves, which

he recommended as an adjunct

superheater The combination of superheater and piston

valves, with a well-proportioned
Walschaert's valve gear, gave the
engines an efficiency which apto his

proached the highest that was

ever to be attained with simple
expansion Their load rating was
700 tonnes on the level at 50mph
(80km/h) and 300 tonnes on 1 in
100 (1 per
(50km/h)

Once

the

cent)
intitial

at

31mph

snags had

been cleared from the "P8",

was built in large numbers, its
it

axle load permitting its use over

much of the Prussian system It
was also built in small numbers
for the state railways of Olden-

burg, Mecklenburg and Baden

as well as for export Although
nominally a secondary passenger
engine, it took a full share in

passenger work on
speed was limited to
62mph(100km/h).
At the end of World War by
which time 2,350 "P8"s had
been built for the K.PEV, Germany
was required to hand over large
numbers of locomotives as reparations, and 628 "P8"s were
express

which

I,

allocated to other countries The

Belgian railways had been particularly badly affected, and they
received 2,000 locomotives, of

which 168 were "P8"s These

engines survived a second invasion by the Germans, and.

adorned with an elegant lipped

chimney, they lasted until the end
of

steam

in that

made good by

On

country

in

966

were:.'

lusts

Two

of the

number of engines were equipped for push-and-pull w<

the original tenders How-

the Gei
.ginesbecan.-

38
Under the Germa:
ownership ai

ever, the

much reboilenng

"P8"

made

of the engines.

appearance were the

smoke

spread

rapid

class,

was down

--.onswhicha:
their

DB

engines were
converted to quasi tank engines
by coupling them to four-wheeled
tenders by a

both

building n

'

fitting

th<

tc

south
awal then slowed,

deflectors,

feed water heaters and oth<

of dieselizaaon
into the

inroads

and by 1968

last

engine survivec

a:

:hree years after the

P8"s
spreading

into Eastern

them on DR had bee

in even wide:
bution than before They worked
in Czechoslovakia, Greecr
slavia, Poland, Roumania and
Russia
mamed in those countries. In
severa.
ey were modi-

externally in accordance
.ational prar:
basic design was rarely altered
Eventually a total of 3,438 "P8"s
fied

were built in Germany, and about

500 in other countries In addition
the Polish railways, which acquired a large

number of genuine

"P8"s, built 190 engines in which

a larger boiler, with wide firebox,

was mounted on a "P8" chassis

After World War II a nominal
2,803 "P8"s remained in
Germany, but many of them
were unservicable On the formation of the DB and DR (in West
and East Germany respectively)
the engines were divided between
total of

the

two systems

the full-depth

On both railways

smoke

deflectors

were mostly replaced by the

post-war variety Although difficulties with steaming had never
been a weakness of the "P8"
class,

some

of the

Europe as

the Germans moved east, and this

DR

engines

n other coun-

genera
r^Poland and Rour.

--.sions

Above:

some 1,500
although the ancesof the British engine-

were very

similar to

British 4-6-0s,

duebe
preserved

try
at

interesting to nc:-

indepe:

ones The valve events

"P8" v
those of the L
-

of the

Below:

Great
Cardean Class 4-6-0

Britain:

Tractive effort

Axle load:
Cylinders:

Driving wheels:
id

her

Heating surface
Superheatei

Steam pressure:

OOpsi
orres-

Irom Euston

Grate area:
Fuel:

>

doubt

that

Gibson

as his per-

Water:

and lavished on
his locomotive a concern and a
that nowadays only a very
few men give even to their own
motor cars The result was a
degree of reliability that is far out
rty

Adhesive weight:
Total weight:

Length

v 0001b

overall:

tt

6in

of reach of

No

have a
be regarded as

engines ever

built

better claim to
the epitome of the

Golden Age of
Steam than Cardean and her
sisters The complex and beautipolished Caledonian F
blue livery as depicted in the
illustration speaks for itself, but in
many other ways the running of
fully

Class
^kg).

Axle load: 39,5001b (lot)

Cylinders:

2)

22 x 26in

Driving wheels: 73in

Heating surface: 2,048sq ft

(190fc:

Superheater: 375sq

Steam pressure:

ft

(35m 2

_85psi

Grate area: 9sq ft (2.7m 2

Adhesive weight: 1 18,C

).

Total weight: 263,5001b

(119.5t.

(Tender details not available).

The first of these "A"

class 4-6-0s,

followed this now wellestablished tradition of self-help

in locomotive building, wa L
ered in 1905 from the Victorian
Government Railways own Newport Workshops. They were large

which

all

76

became detached and bowled

automatic Westinghouse brake,

the locomotive (now a 4-5-0!)
went merrily on but quite amazingly stayed on the rails This
happened during the reign of
James Currie, Gibson's pre-

away down

decessor

A 4-6-0

Tractive efiort: 27,4801b

any railway administra-

tion today There were of course

occasional happenings and one
such took place in April 1909
when a crank axle broke at
speed One of the driving wheels

the bank. Although

the train parted from the engine,
became derailed and was
brought quickly to a stand by the

Gibson is today remembered

almost as well as John Farquharson Mcintosh, the designer of

Australia:

rays(VGRi, 190;

Above: Cardean's lesser

A class "908" mixed

cousins

There were 10
engines of this class, all built
Hollox works in 1906.
traffic 4-6-0.

at St

"

these fine engines The five members of the class were built at the
Caledonian Railway's own St
Rollox shops in 1906 and were
very conservative in design Inside cylinders

and motif;

Stephenson's valve gear driving

slide valves situated on top of the
cylinders via rocking levers, was
an entirely nineteenth-century
arrangement Mcintosh believed
that the better riding and aesgiven with the cy]
and motion inside the fi
than balanced the ho:
of inaccessibility, as well as the
extra costs involved in making a
crank axle Superheater:
added in 1911-12 Later, vo

brake equipment was fitted to

enable vacuum-braked trains of
other companies to be worked,
for the Caledonian Railway was
an air-brake line
A steam servo-mechanism for
the reversing gear was a help
and large bogie tenders were

Ar

provided for non-s:

such distances as th<

(243km) from Carlisle to Perth
Rather oddly, only one of the

was named and

also
seems strange that the one chosen
should be that of the house in
which the Deputy Chairman of
class

the

it

company

lived So all except

to be connumbers which ran

No.903 Cardean had

vith

from

Ii

No 907

perished

in

Britain's

worst-ever

railway disaster at
Quintinshill near Carlisle on 22
May 1915 The other four sur-

vived through the railway grouping of 1 923 The last survivor was
Cardean herself, withdrawn as
London Midland & Scottish No.
14752 in 1930. Only one Caledonian feature was adopted by
the LMS, and that a few years
later, when William Stanier specified
the
CR's
deep-toned
"hooter" style whistle for his

Below: Caledonian Railway 4-6-0

No. 903 Cardean in all her glory
as running between Glasgow

locomotives

and

Carlisle prior to 1914.

Above: The sole preserved

Caledonian Railway locomotive.
4-2-2 No. 123 ol 1886, currently
on display in Glasgow.

iiiLi
handsome

engines,

typical

British practice of the

seven years
of

them,

all

later there

of

day and
were 25
1

with outside cylinders,

and inside slide-valves actuated

by Stephenson link motion and
bogie tenders. Originally, none
had superheaters but these were
added gradually over the years,
the last being converted in 1949.
1923, non-superheated en1
gines became class "A- ", superheated ones class "A-2" All the
".en took the running numbers 8 16-839
Some 4-6-0s for freight traffic
had arrived from Baldwin of
Philadelphia as early as 1879
The famous "DD" class 4-6-0 for
In

mixed
from

traffic

was

built

locally

1902 onwards and they

Left: A Victorian Railways'

class "A " 4-6-0. These were
the principal express passenger
locomotives for many years.

formed the progenitors of the

most numerous and long-lasting

smoke deflectors, conversions to

express passenger locomotives

Boxpok

of the state of Victoria

There were a few modifications

such as the conversion of 57 to
oil-firing during the late 1940s

and a group

of five with

disc wheels
considers that there

When one

oil firing

were only

some 640 locomotives on

the

,600mm)
gauge railway system, it can be
whole Victoria

5ft

3in

and, earlier, the addition of smoke

deflectors A group of 5 were extensively modernised with new
front-ends and "Boxpok" disc
wheels,
which
considerably

seen

changed their appearance

Between 1915 and 1922 sixty
more "A2" class engines (Nos
940 to 999) were delivered and
these had Walschaert's valve gear
and outside valves. There was no

70
In 1950 some "R" class 4-6-4s
were delivered from Britain and
these made numerous class "A 1
and "A2" 4-6-0s redundant. Even
so, the class lasted until 1963 in
normal service Three have been

difference in classification between the "Walschaert A2s" and

the "Stephenson A2s" and together the 1 85 locomotives were
the mainstay of Victoria's passenger services until after World
War II There were a few modifications such as the fitting of

that the position the "A2"

4-6-0s occupied was an important

one

It

was

if

the

London,

Midland, Scottish Railway had

2,300 "Royal Scot" 4-6-0s instead
of

preserved, No 995 at the Australian Railway Historical Society

at Newport, No 964
Edwardes Lakes and No 996

museum

at
in

the public park at Echucha. So

ended an era in the history of
the state

77

4500 Class 4-6-2

Axle load: 39,0001b
Cylinders,

HP

>

(17

France:
Pans-Orleans Railway (P-O), 1907

5t)

6 5 x 25 6in

Cylinders, LP (2) 25 2 x 25 6in

x")mm)
E>riving wheels:

(1,900mm)

Heating surface: 2,100sq

(195m 2
Superheater: 684sq ft

ft

(63

5m 2

Steam pressure: 232psi

-m 2 )
Grate area: 46sq ft (4 27m 2 )
Fuel: 1 3,5001b (6t)
Water: 4.400gall (5.280US)

(20m 3
Adhesive weight:
)

17,0001b

Total weight: 301,0001b

(136 5t)
Overall length: 68ft 2^in

(20,790mm)
(These dimensions refer to the
superheated version of the class
before rebuilding by Chapelon).
the number of express passenger locomotives to be included in
If

book was reduced

this

to

one then this locomotive

might well be the choice. It was
by a short head the first Pacific to
run in Europe (not the first to be
single

Bntam
same year)

built some were built in

for

Malaya

earlier the

and later became not only the

most powerful but also the most

rebuilt into a 4-8-0

superiors against their better

mam

Changes in the administrameant further patient persuasion but eventually in 1929

the transformed No 3566 took

A new era in steam

had begun, there was a
25 per cent increase in power
production for the same amount
the road

ments which made more steam

30 (Nos.454 1 -70) by the

of

Amencan Locomotive Co

of steam, while the boiler

improve-

available took the possible cylinder horsepower up to 3,700, an

85 per cent increase over the

ongmals
Chapelon achieved this ap-

of

parent miracle after a careful

Schenectady, USA. There were

also another 90 of class "3500"
which were identical except for
wheels 4m (100mm) smaller in
diameter. The "3500"s were
constructed between 1909 and

analysis of the shortcomings of

the original design. He considered the whole process of

1918.
All

these Pans-Orleans 4-6-2s

were four-cylinder de Glehn com-

pounds An interesting feature

was the trapezoidal grate which
was wide at the back in the usual
manner of Pacific grates At the
front, however, it was narrow
and sat between the frames
Later, examples were delivered
with superheaters and some had
them fitted later. The high :
pressure cylinders had piston
valves

while

the

specially
in

began

(c)

complicated) design
(d)

(f)

remarkable machines

to

show

adequacies of the

up

the

in-

Pacifies, yet a

commitment to electrification
absorbed totally any resources
there might have been for new
construction.

A young man

called

Andre

Chapelon, who had an appointment as development engineer

exhaust.
Provision of extra heating
surface in the firebox, using
flattened vertical ducts known
as thermic syphons
Provision of a superheater 24
per cent larger in size and of
a more efficient (but also more

(b)

those days, capable of cylinder

horsepowers of around 2000.

In the 1920s the replacement
of wooden carriages by steel

78

producing steam power from

cold water to exhaust steam and
took the following measures to
improve it:
(a) Pre-heatmg the feed-water
with waste heat from the

low-pressure

ones had balanced slide valves.

They were competent but not

Pans-Orleans Railway design.

tion

complex
One hundred "4500" Pacifies
were built between 1907 and
1910 mostly by French builders
batch

Below: French National Railways

4-6-2 No.231E23, as rebuilt by
Chapelon from the original 1 907

ideas

traction

but rather strangely including a

4-6-2

(No.240P2)

for the Pans-Lyons Mediterranean

line in 1940.

judgement to put the work in

hand in accordance with his

4-6-2 ever to run in

Europe. It was also certainly the
most technically advanced Pacific
but also, of course, somewhat

efficient

Above: A Pans Orleans

on the Pans-Orleans Railway,

proposed a drastic rebuilding
and in 1926, persuaded his

(f)

Much

larger steam pipes to

improve steam flow
Poppet valves to give quicker
and larger openings to steam
and exhaust, replacing the
existing high-pressure pistonvalves and low-pressure slidevalves

An improved exhaust system

giving greater draught with

back pressure. This took
the form of a double chimney.
The existing Walschaert's valve
gears were retained to work the
oscillating
camshafts of the
poppet valves
less

The

P-O

No 3566 had

announced that
hauled 567 tons

from

70
at

Poitiers

miles

(1

to

Angouleme,

13km), start-to stop

an average speed

of

67 3mph

In 1932, sixteen further locomotives of the "3500" senes

were given a rather less drastic

engmeenng.
To cover requirements on the

rebuilding, in which poppet

valves were not provided, but
instead a form of twin piston
valve head was used This gave
double the amount of port opening for a given amount of movement and was known as the
Willoteaux valve after its inven-

P-O, thirty-one further "3500"

tor,

(107 7km/h), a 1 in 200 (0.5 per

cent) gradient was climbed at
77.5mph (124km/h) This was a

performance unprecedented in
France and caused a sensation in the world of locomotive

were rebuilt As electnfication proceeded, some of the

originals became surplus, and
other railways in France could
not wait to get their hands
on these miracle locomotives
Twenty were rebuilt for the Northern Railway and later 23 for the
Eastern Later on a further 20
were built new for the Northern
4-6-2s

an assistant of Chapelon's
During the same year one of
the remaining unsuperheated
"4500" class 4-6-2s was rebuilt
into a 4-8-0 at Tours. The intention was to provide a locomotive

with one-third more adhesive

weight, more suitable for the
gradients of the line to Toulouse,
altogether steeper than those en
route to Bordeaux A different

was needed, having a

narrow firebox to fit between the
rear driving wheels and one
based on those carried by the
Northern 4-6-2s was used
Otherwise the recipe was as
before, except that some improvement in detail enabled
4,000 cylinder hp to be developed Eleven more were rebuilt
in 1934 and in 1940 a further
twenty-five "4500" were rebuilt
for the PLM (now South-Eastern
Region SNCF) main line, desigboiler

nated class "240P". This time a

mechanical stoker was fitted

Dimensions etc. of these engines which differed substantifrom the originals were as

ally

follows

Axle

load: 44,0001b (20t).

(2) 25.2 x 27.2in
(650 x 690mm)
Heating surface: 2,290sq ft

Cylinders LP:

(213m 2

Superheater: 733sq

(68m 2

ft

Steam pressure: 290psi

(20 4kg/cm 2
)

Grate area: 40sq

Fuel: 26,5001b

ft

(3

75m 3

several miles at 1 in 125 (0.8 per

cent) During the war the "240P"

had

(12t).

to

manage 28 coaches and

53mph (85km/h) on

Water: 7,500gall (9.000US)

could reach

(34m 3
Adhesive weight: 177,5001b

the level with this load Alas, after

the Pans-Lyons line was electrified in 1952, proposals to use

(80

5t)

these 4-8-0s were capable of

included the surmounting of
Blaisy-Bas summit between Pans
and Dijon with 787 tonnes at
59mph (94)km/h) minimum after

engines elsewhere in
France foundered, for reasons
which have never been adequately explained
In the 1960s the remaining
Pacifies of Pans-Orleans design
had become concentrated

Below: Pans-Orleans Railway

4-6-2 No 4546 shown as restored

effortless

these

The

sort

of

achievement

that

the delight of their many

Bntish admirers at Calais. Their
performances with
heavy boat trains up, say, the 1 in
125 (0 8 per cent) climb to
Caffiers between Calais and

much to
to original condition for display
at the

French National Railway

Museum at Mulhouse,

Alsace.

Boulogne

will

long remain

in the

memory
In

1956 some

tests

were made

behaviour of electric lococurrent

motive
pantograph
collectors at high speeds, and
of the

(177km/h)
was
110.6mph
reached by 231E19 pushing an
equivalent of 220 tons This was
the highest speed achieved by
these engines
Against this was the sad fact
that, economical as the Chapelons
were in respect of coal consumption, in overall terms they
were more expensive to run than
the fleet of simple rugged 2-8-2s
the 14 1R class supplied from
North America at the end of

World War

II.

These could

also

Above:

Calais Maritime Station.

Chapelon 4-6-2 No.231E39 has

just arrived from Pans with the
"Golden Arrow" express. The
connecting steamer is on the right.

manage,

say,

850 tons on

in

125 (0 8 per cent) gradient at

over 52mph (84km/h), even if
you would not describe the
performance as effortless. So in
the end at Calais as elsewhere in
France, simple engines out-lasted
even these superb compounds

No231E22

is

displayed

at

Mulhouse Museum and

No.231E41 is being restored at
the
St

Pierre-les-Corps

Pans-Orleans
preserved

Unrebuilt

No 4546

is

also

79

ClaSS S 3/6 4-6-2

Axleload: J9,5001b
Cylinders, HP:

16 7

Cylinders, LP:
(650 x 670mm)

:5

State Railway (KBStB),

1908

x24 0m

6x26 4in

Driving wheels: 73 6in

,870mm)
Heating surface: 2,125sq

RoyTiavanan

(18t)

ft

4m)

Superheater: 798sq

ft

Steam pressure: 228psi

-m 2
Grate area: 48 8sq
)

Fuel:

ft

(4

5m 2

8,8001b (8 5t)
Water: 6,030gall (7.240US)
(27 4m 3
Adhesive weight: 1 16,0001b
.

Total weight: 328,5001b

(149t)

Length

overall: 69ft

lin

of

(21,317mm)
(Dimensions refer to the
series)

in

1923

in

feedwater heaters, an increase

boiler

as were the Bavarian Alps from

the stark North

German

for this

was

plain.

simple:

most of the Bavarian engines

were designed by A G Maffei,
and in the present century that

and were supplied over

a period of 23 years to the
railways of Bavaria and Baden
and to the German State Railway
From 1895 all the passenger
engines bought by the Bavarian
Railway were four-cylinder compounds, Bnd these included two
in 1908,

Atlantics acquired in 1901 from

of Philadelphia. Contact

Baldwin

with these engines seemed to

influence Maffei, for it became
the first European locomotive
builder to adopt the bar frame as
standard. Associated with this
was the American practice of
casting the cylinders in massive
blocks which incorporated the

All

to

were

228psi

classified

In

1925 the

first

German

State

Railway standard Pacifies were

built, but these engines had a 20
tonne axleload, and pending the

firm's chief designer, Hemnch

Leppla, had a flair for locomotive
lineaments which was quite
lacking in the centrally-controlled
designs of Prussia The supreme

achievement of Maffei was the

family of Pacifies which originated

pressure
)

S3/6, which indicated an express

locomotive (schnellzuglok) with
three driving axles in a total of
six Of these engines 16 went to
France and 3 to Belgium as
reparations after World War I

The locomotives of Bavaria were

as different from those of Prussia
The reason

and an increase

axle load,

(16kg/cm 2

Above: A

class

Top: The luxurious

one of the saloon

"S3/6" 4-6-2

at speed. Note right-hand

running.

interior of

smokebox

within the cylinder block

cars of the

saddle. All four cylin-

ders drove the same axle, which

in the Pacifies

was

the middle

one. The inside high-pressure

cylinders were steeply inclined
to allow the connecting rod to
clear the leading coupled axle,
and their valves were level with,
but outside, the cylinders, which
placed them conveniently alongside the outside valves, which

were above

their

cylinders.

simple vertical rocker enabled

the outside valve gear to drive
the inside valves also,

steam

pipes

were

and

all

contained

Rhemgold Express.

The first engines

were supplied

in

to this

design

1908

to the

Baden Railway; Bavaria took

delivery of its first batch in the
following year. By 191 1 twentythree had been built, with driving
wheels 73 6in (1,870mm) in
diameter and a boiler pressure
Then
213psi (15kg/cm 2
of
came 18 engines with 78.7 in
(2,000mm) wheels, and between
1 9 1 3 and 1 924 a further 78 with
the smaller wheels Succeeding
detail
incorporated
batches
changes, including the addition
).

introduction of a smaller version

of the class there was a need for
more Pacifies with an axle load of
18 tonnes. So impressed were
authorities with the power
the
output of the Maffei engines that
they ordered a further 40, which
were delivered between 1927
and 1931. These were the only
to a
engines ordered by
design which originated on a
state railway other than the
Prussian The class was then
numbered from 18 401 to 18 548,
with 8 blanks.
With these extra engines the
class spread from its native
haunts, and until the introduction
of the standard "03" Pacific with
18 tonnes axle load they worked
from sheds as far afield as

DR

DR

Osnabruck and
But

even

the

Berlin Anhalt

"03"s

did

not

Class 10 4-6-2 ?"9 ""

Belgian State Railway (EB), 1910

displace them from the Rhine

main

Valley

and

line,

was

it

Bavarian Pacifies which worked

the prestigious Rhemgold express both before and after World
War II So successful were they

on

this

service that 30 of the

final

batch of 40 engines were given

new welded

com-

boilers with

bustion chambers between 1953

and 1956, as part of the German

Federal Railway reboilenng proengines were

renumbered 18 601-30. When
displaced from the Rhine Valley

gramme These

electrification they retired to

Bavaria, and their last duties
were the expresses between

by

Munich and Lindau on Lake

Constance The last of them were
withdrawn from Lindau shed in
1966
One engine passed into the
hands of the new German State
Railway in East Germany, and

was given

this also

and used

new

boiler,

high-speed testing
It is scheduled to be amongst the
13 locomotives of the family
which are preserved in various
places

for

Amongst them is Bavanan

No 3634

of 1912,

which

Germany Museum

in

is in

the

Munich

restored to its original livery

In side view the Bavarian
Pacifies had a slender appearance, with "daylight" showing

under the

and through

the
bar frames, but head-on the
massive cylinder block gave a
days
blunt impression In
small smoke deflectors were
boiler

DR

and these helped to mask

bluntness of the cylinder
block At first stovepipe chimneys
were fitted, but late chimneys
were of a graceful flared shape,
which was almost British. Usually
modifications made to German
fitted,

the

designs worsened their appearance, but the Bavanan Pacifies

became

gradually better looking,

although they suffered by losing

their original holly

green

livery

with yellow lines and black bands

(19,800kg)

tests,

he

motive stock after World War I,

the superheaters of the Pacifies

Axleload: 43,2001b (19 6t)

Cylinders: (4) 19 7 x 26 0in

could revert to the simplicity of

the non-compound, but for the

were enlarged, double chimneys

were fitted, designed by the then

largest classes it would be desirable to use four cylinders, to give

the improved balancing which
had been demonstrated by the
four-cylinder compounds

Chief
Mechanical
Engineer,
Legein, the frames were strengthened at the front, and many
improvements were
smaller

The outcome of this decision

was the introduction of two

ment continued over the years.

Smoke deflectors were added
and ACFI feed water heaters, so

(500 x

660mm)

Driving wheels: 78in

(1,980mm)
Heating surface: 2,500sq ft
(232m 2
Superheater: 816sq ft (76m 2
)

Steam pressure:
(14kg.

cm 2
1

199psi

Grate area: 49 2sq

Fuel:

5,4001b

ft

(4

6m 2

(7t).

Water: 5,280gall (6.340US)

3

(24m
Adhesive weight: 130,0001b
)

(59t)

Total weight: 352,6401b

(160t)

Length

overall: 70ft 3in

A German State Railway

class "S 3/6" 4-6-2 poses with a

set of Rhemgold Express cars.

of these

that

classes of very large locomotives,

a Pacific for express work and a
2-10-0 for freight work Apart

ders and motion protruding

ahead

of

boiler

itself

which accounted

for the

shortness of the boiler

At the beginning of the century
the Belgian State Railway was
passing through an interesting
phase, in which a number of
classes of inside cylinder locomotive were built with a close

resemblance

Macintosh
the Caledonian

to the

Europe

of

very large grate to

coal,

and

far

smokebox The
was unusual for
that time, as it had a
the

to

suit

low-grade

accommodate

this

excessive weight, the

boiler tapered steeply outwards
just ahead of the firebox, giving

without

the outline of boiler known in the

United States as "wagon top"
Walschaert's valve gear was fitted
to the outside valves, with rocking
shafts to drive the inside valves
Twenty-eight of these engines

locomotives of
Railway of Scotland, but in 1 904
a new era of locomotive con-

were

struction was instituted under

the direction of J B Flamme

1912, followed by a further 30 in

the succeeding two years, the

French compound locomotives

were attracting much attention,
and one of these was acquired
on loan It showed such an improvement over existing Belgian
engines that 12 similar locomotives were built, followed by
57 compound 4-6-0s The next
the construction of
four 4-6-0s of a new design to
compare the application of super-

heating to simple and

compound

that with the addition of extra

fittings the

weight gradually crept

of the firebox

an Atlantic They were indeed

Atlantic

improve-

and its length was determined by

the weight limitations on the
2-10-0 This boiler would have
looked short on any Pacific, but

seeing one of the most remarkable

looking locomotives in Europe,
but it was a 2- 1 0-0 rather than an

when

of

up One locomotive was

in

they saw a Pacific carrying

a boiler apparently intended for

Locomotive enthusiasts arriving

for their first visit to Belgium
might well have suspected a
delayed attack of mal de mer

made The process

the
firebox dimensions, the boilers
of the two types were identical,

from a small difference

as Flamme arranged his inside

cylinders to drive on the leading
axle, with a generous length of
connecting rod, the effect was
accentuated. Even the outside
cylinders were ahead of the
smokebox, and there was a
platform over the inside cylin-

(21,404mm)

move was
Below:

As a result
Flamme decided

locomotives

Tractive effort: 43,8001b

built

between 1910 and

second batch had

slightly

smaller grate and shorter rear

end, which reduced the weight

fitted

with a mechanical stoker, and

another had further shortening

and rear end

to

reduce the weight again Neither

of these alterations

was repeated

The original six-wheeled tenders

were replaced by bogie tenders
Prussian
from
engines

reparations

From 1938 more ma]or improvements were instituted, influenced by Chapelon's work in
France These included larger
steam pipes, a still larger superheater, and the replacement of
the Legein exhaust by the
Kylchap pattern With the massive
chimney of the Kylchap exhaust,
and the various extra fittings on
the boiler, the engines now had a
truly

formidable appearance, but

the alterations

produced

the

in-

tended improvement in performance With successive lmrovements their loading on the

heavily-graded Luxembourg bne
had been increased from 350 to
500 tonnes. They continued to
haul the expresses on that route
electnficaton, and on 30
September 1956 one of them
hauled the last steam-worked
passenger tram on that line. The
last of the second series was
withdrawn from service in 1956,
until

from 102 to 98 tonnes These

engines, which became Class 10
under a later classification, took
over the principal express work
on the routes from Brussels to
Liege and Luxembourg, and
proved very successful

front

Under a programme of rehabilitation of the Belgian loco-

a very successful series.

but the

last

of the

first

series

remained in service until 1959,

49 years after the introduction of
the class.

Below: The strange-looking

end of Belgian class "10"
4-6-2 No 10045, one of

The Paris-Orleans Pacifies

(see

page 78)

The artwork depicts the famous

Sud-Express of the Pans-Orleans railway,
as running before 1914. The locomotive
is the Pans-Orleans 4501-class 4-6-2, the
first pacific to run in Europe. They were
four-cylinder de Clehn compounds and
for their day were excellent if not
remarkable machines. Later they were
to be transformed by the magic wand of
Andre Chapelon into some of the most

capable and efficient steam locomotives

ever to be seen on rails. The Sud-Express
left

Paris

m the morning and reached

the Spanish frontier at

Hendaye by
change

journey and also a day-time deluxe tram

m France. The types of vehicle which
formed this French tram are depicted
above; dmmg car, saloon car (of which

varymg number would be used

to demand) and a baggage

evening. Passengers could then

Spanish broad-gauge tram for an

overnight ride to Madrid or Lisbon. The
legendary International Sleeping Car
Company provided both the sleeping
cars for the Spanish portion of the

according

into a

car or fourgon. The cars were built of

teak, hnished with varnish and furnished
with handsome brass lettermg and
insignia as shown.

85

The Bavarian Maffei Pacifies

86

[see

page 80)

Above and

right: The three magnificent

saloon cars

m cream-and- violet livery were

World War II Rheingold

Express which ran from Hook of Holland

built for the pre-

and Amsterdam to Basle and Lucerne via

Cologne and Mannheim. The service was
provided by the German Mitropa Company,
standing for Mitteleuropaische

Speisewagen und Schlafwagen Aktien

Gesellschaft, whose name appears on the
cars m company with that of the Deutsche
Reichsbahn, who ran the tram. Apart from
the baggage car (shown right), the tram
consisted exclusively of these deluxe

both first and second class.

Certam of the cars included kitchens, and
vehicles,

meals were served

their seats.

to all passengers at

A few cars survived the war

and are at present in the hands of a

preservationist group who occasionally run
excursions with them. Over the southern
section of the route
Germany, the
Bavarian 4-6-2s (one of which is shown

below) were used on

this tram.

Below: One of the Royal Bavarian

State Railway's tour-cylinder class
S3/6 compound 4-6-2s built by
Mallei of Munich from 19 10 on wards,
shown
the original green colours.
After World War I the equally smart
standard German State Railway livery
of black with red wheels was applied.

8!

Argentina:

1S01 Class 4-6-2 Buenos

superheaters

Tractive effort: 26,4721b

Axle load:

10.0001b (18t)
x 26in
Cylinders:

Wheels: 67in 1 ,70 mm)

Heating surface: l,597sq
1

Superheater: 435sq

Steam pressure:

ft

ft

50psi

(10 5kc:
Grate area: 7sq ft (2 5m 2 )
Fuel (oU): 1.960gall (2,350
(8

9m 3

US)

Water: 5.500

gall (6,600

(25m 3 )
Adhesive weight:

US)

18,0001b

Total weight: 361,0001b

(1640
Overall length: 70ft 2 4 in

(21,392mm)

The four main British-owned

railways of Argentina fanned out
from the capital, Buenos Aires,
across the pampas towards the
west The 5ft 6in (1,676mm)
gauge main line of the Buenos
Aires & Pacific was the one that
went due west and at least partly
its name by reaching
Mendoza at the foot of the Andes

earned

from where the Transandine railway led across to Santiago on

Chile's Pacific coast.

The nature

country served

is indicated
there was a
205-rrule
(328km) length of
straight track en route.
In 1909, the company ordered
from the North British Loco-

of the

by the

fact

that

It

Aires

is

and

Pacific

only barely needed that extra

pair of carrying wheels at the
rear end On the broad gauge, of
course, the narrow firebox is not
so narrow and, furthermore, at
less of a disadvantage anyway
with oil firing The hinged buffers

were an Argentine specialty, cattle

thrown aside by the cowcatcher
might get caught on fixed ones,
equally unconventional were the
decorative shape of the hinges
on the smokebox door, and the
unusual aspect of the cab.
Bntish-built locomotives of the
day, for India say, could easily be
confused with those for home
use, but these imposing engines
had an ambience all their own
Fourteen (Nos .151 1-24) were
supplied during 1910-11 and
these were the last express passenger locomotives ordered for
the company before nationalisation in 1948. This was a reflection of the parlous economic
situation of the foreign-owned
railways in Argentina dunng that
period.
After nationalisation, the Buenos
Aires and Pacific Railway became known as the General San
Martin National Railroad, but the
4-6-2s soldiered on. They were
still
in use in the mid-1970s,
giving good service on stopping

passenger

trains after

sixty years at

more than

work.

Right: After wore than

sixty years of service, 4-6-2
No. 1515 of the General San

some

Martin National Railway

stands at the head of a local

vanced design for their day and

in fact they were the first locomotives supplied by NBL to have

tram. Note the hinged

buffers of European pattern
the folded position above
the cowcatcher.

Company

motive

of

Glasgow

Pacifies of very distinctive

appearance They were of ad-

Class A3/5 4-6-0

Axle load: 18,0001b (160.
Cylinders, HP: (2) 14)4 x 26in
(360 x660mm).
Cylinders, LP: (2) 22H: x 26in
(570 x 660mm)
Driving wheels: 70in
(1,780mm).
Heating surface: l,389sqft
(129m 2

Superheater: 497sq
(46

2m 2

ft

Steam pressure: 220psi

5 5kg/ cm 2
Grate area: 28sq

( 1

Fuel:

).

ft

(2.6m 2

).

5,5001b (7t).
Water: 3,900gall (4,700 US)
(17 8m 3
Adhesive weight: 106,0001b
1

).

(48t)

Total weight: 243,0001b

Overall length: 6 1 ft 2in
(18,640mm)

( 1

lOt)

As

inhabitants of a small country

with two great locomotive designing cultures on their doorstep,
the Swiss took basic locomotive
pnnciples from neighbouring

France and Germany. The JuraSimplon Railway, which led to

the French border, used de
Glehn compounds; while the
90

Railway (BAP), 1910

clear that they

Switzerland:
Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), 1913

Class

3700 4-6-0

Netherlands:
1910

State Railway (SS),

The

Tractive effort: 25,6471b

motive builders and others

).

Superheater: 44 sq ft (4 1 m 2
Steam pressure: 7 1 psi
(12kg/cm 2
Grate area: 30 3sq ft (2.8m 2
1

).

Fuel:

3.2001b (6t)
Water: 3,960 gall (4,750 US).
1

18m 3
Adhesive weight:
1

10,0001b

(50t)

Total weight: 270,5001b

Length

( 1

23t)

Two sets of Walschaert's

valve gear worked the valves of
the outside cylinders direct and
the inside ones via rocking levers.
Knorr's feed-water heaters and
pumps were fitted In the 1920s
two locomotives were the subject
of experiments in the use of
axle.

the results

enough
To

British eyes the steam locomotives which ran on the con-

Europe were certainly not

things of beauty except in Holwhere the principal express

locomotives had a totally familiar
style The only thing that was
strange about them was their
land,

enormous

height, this

was

partly

because they were normally observed from platforms at

illusion

ground level rather than three

feet above the rails and partly
because they really were a lot
taller almost 2ft (600mm), in
fact But there they all were tall,
stylish 4-6-0s, with low running
splashers,
copperboards,

capped chimneys, brass domes

and apple green paint The only
un-Bnhsh things about them were
some big elegant oil lamps and
an absence of names

Gotthard Railway which pointed

towards Germany, on the whole
favoured the compounding system of Maffei of Munich

When

it

came

to building the

though, the famous

Swiss Locomotive Works (SLM)
of Wmterthur did very nearly all
of it Of their express passenger
engines,

4-6-0s, only four out of

not

SLM

200 were

products To be sure,

the Swiss had no 4-6-0s in one

sense, because they used their
own system of classification
what the Anglo-Saxon world
called a 4-6-0 the Swiss would
know as an A3/5; that is to say, a
locomotive with maximum speed
above 75km/h (47mph) and three
coupled axles out of five
It

may appear strange

that

4-6-0s were thought adequate

for a mountainous country, but
nearly all the main lines ran in the
valleys and an exception the

Loetschberg Railway was

as an electric railway

So

built

that

left

the Gotthard line and here it was

convenient to employ 4-6-0s in
pairs or a 4-6-0 piloted by a
2-10-0 to haul express passenger
trains up the long 1 in "SQVz (2.6
per cent) approach ramps to the
Gotthard tunnel.
The dimensions given refer to
the most common group of Swiss
of which
109 (Nos
701-809) were built for the JuraSimplon and Swiss Federal railways between 1902 and 1909
The superheaters were added
between 1913 and 1933.
The Gotthard Railway (GB)
began using 4-6-0s in 1894 and

4-6-0s,

905 had 30 de Glehn compounds (GB Nos 201-30, SBB

Nos 90 -30) but the next orders
were for Maffei compounds
(SBB) Nos 931-38 and 601-49 of
by

which 93 1 -34

actually

came from

Maffei), distinguishable

from de

Left: Swiss Federal Hallways'

preserved "A3I 5" class 4-6-0.

Glehn's by having the dnve on to

the leading pair of coupled

This locomotive is currently m

use for hauling special trains
provided for the enjoyment of
steam locomotive enthusiasts.

wheels 4-6-0 No 705 is preserved in running order it is intended to be displayed in the

Lucerne Transport Museum

in

Germany. Later versions had

widened eight-wheel tenders instead of six-wheel ones There
were four cylinders in line, all
driving on the leading coupled

low-grade pulversided

overall: 60ft 8in

(18,480mm)

tinent of

came from

1910 and 1 20 were built between

Some were built
by Werkspoor, the native loco-

Heating surface: l,566sqft

5m 2

batch

then and 1930

Driving wheels: 72?4in

(1,850mm)
(145

first

Beyer, Peacock of Manchester in

(11,633kg)
Axle load: 37,0001b (170
Cylinders: (4) 15%x26in
(400 x 660mm)

In

to

coal,

but

were not successful

be perpetuated

1929 a 4-6-4 tank version of

was built, ten in number,

the class

but time was running out for

steam in Holland, Electrification
proceeded apace dunng the next
few years and.after the war, was
resumed with greater urgency.
Steam operations came to an
end in 1958, but happily the
railway administration set aside a
4-6-0 which is now displayed in
the Railway Museum at Utrecht,
This No. 3737 is in running order
and has worked steam specials
in recent years

Below: Netherlands State

Railways class "3700" 4-6-0
No. 3737. This locomotive has
been restored to near its original
condition

and is on

display

m the National Railway Museum

at Utrecht.

Fairlie 0-6-6-0
Tractive effort: 58,4931b
1kg).

Axle load: 46,0001b (2 It).

Cylinders: (4) 19x25in
-5mm)
Driving wheels: 48in (1,2 19mm)
Heating surface: 2,924l

Steam pressure:

183psi

9ku
Grate area: 47 7sq

(12

ft

(4

43m 2

).

Fuel:.^0.0001b(9t).
Water: 3,500 gall (4,200

US)
(16m 3
Adhesive weight: 276,0001b
)

Total weight: 276,0001b (125t)

Length

overall: 50fl

(15,435)

Mexico:
Mexican Railway (FCM), 1911

The Mexican Railway ran 264

engineer called Robert

miles (426km) from the port of

Vera Cruz on the Atlantic Ocean
to Mexico City, at an altitude of
7,349ft (2,240m) The summit of

locomotives (other than

steam) in service today by having
a generator for the working

Fairlie in

864 and foreshadowed

the

ma-

jority of

steam

as the "Garratt" or "Mallet" articulated locomotive types,

application
for
this

owned Mexican line was certainly

both as regard size
locomotives and
success as haulage units.

their greatest

case,
as
electricity in modern times
part of the locomotive body, the

of

body being earned on two power

bogies which provided the traction. All the axles were therefore
driven, so the total weight was

way of motive power

The "Fairlie" articulated locomotive was invented by an English

osition for sharply

Mexico in 1871 and by 1911, a

total of 49 had been delivered, of
which 18 were still in service in
1923 when electrification made
them finally redundant The last
and largest of them was a batch
of three supplied by Vulcan
Foundry in 191 1, carrying running numbers 183 to 185 The
advantage of the "Fairlie" is best
summed up by comparison with

is at

fluid

in

Fairlie's

available for adhesion, yet the

whole vehicle remained extremely
flexible

The arrangement made

the locomotive an excellent propcurved steeply

graded mountain lines Even so,

"Fairlies" were never as popular

individual

their

The

first

"Fairlie"

in 1911.

Great
George the Fifth Class 4-4-0 London
&

Britain
North Western Railway (LNWR), 1910

Tractive effort: 20,0661b

Axle load: 43,6801b

19

but outdated engines which had

been kept on to bolster up the
former's inadequate performance
quickly followed. Webb's immediate successors,
George

5t)

Cylinders: (2) 20^ x26in

1 x 660mm).
Driving wheels: 81 in
(2,057mm)
Heating surface: l,547sq
(144m 2
Superheater: 303sq ft (28
(52

Steam pressure:
3kg/cm 2

with

Fuel:

2
)

175psi

Grate area: 22.4sq

1

3,4401b

ft

92

Bowen-Cooke,

restocked over the next ten years

(12

W]

Whale and
ft

08m 2

336 workmanlike 4-4-0s

and 4-6-0 express locomotives,

all built at Crewe Works. And
when one says built at Crewe
Works, that is exactly what is
meant. Trainloads of coal, iron
ore,

(6t).

limestone,

copper ingots
one end of

Water: 3,000gall (3,600 US)

etc.

(13,640)

Adhesive weight: 85,6801b

Crewe Works and completed

locomotives with evocative names

(38.25t).

decked out

Total weight: 2 1 2,8001b

Length overall:

(95t).

57ft 2*iin

(17,445mm).

1903 Francis Webb retired

(somewhat reluctantly, so rumour
has it) from the locomotive chieftainship of the London & North
Western Railway. His compound
In

locomotives, as well as the other

their

British-

Acocotla, 8,320ft
(2,536m), but in 108 miles (174
km) the line climbs to 8,050ft at
Esperaza The maximum gradient
is a hideous 1 in 22 (4 5 per cent)
and the sharpest curve is 325ft
radius or 17k> degrees Before
electrification came in 1 923, this
superbly scenic but very difficult
railway had not unexpectedly
something rather special in the
the route

Right: A Mexican
Railways "Fairhe"
locomotive of the
batch supplied by
the Vulcan Foundry

(9,102kg).

and

would

roll in at

in that wonderful
"blackberry black" livery would
roll out at the other. For this
capability, Francis Webb must
take a good deal of the credit,
even if he held on too long to
funny ideas when it came to
locomotive design.
Of the four types of express
locomotive built at Crewe during
those eventful years, outstanding

came

to

a typical British main-line locomotive of the day. Compare, for

excellent

high speeds. This was

inadvertently discovered on one
or two occasions when runaways
occurred, speeds estimated at

example, these Mexican Railway

locomotives with a LNWR type.
For a penalty of 29 per cent in
weight and 5 per cent in axleload,
one obtained an 114 per cent
increase in grate area, 220 per
cent more adhesive weight and
1 90 per cent more tractive effort

The

"Fairhe"s

powerful
Britain

up

up

built

in

to this time

Although the speeds of trains

on the Mexican Railway's inclines
were severely restncted by traction limitations going up, and to
8mph 1 3km/h) for safety reasons
coming down, the "Fairhe's had

one
ft

the later of the two classes of

4-4-0, the legendary "George the

locomotives which entered

service in 1910. To the solid
simplicity of the earlier design,
the "Precursors" of 1903, were
added piston valves and superheaters with results that today
are hard to believe
Ninety
Fifth"

"George the Fifths" were built, to

which must be added a further
64 conversions from "Precursors" as well as another ten from
a group of unsuperheated 4-4-0s
known as "Queen Marys" These
small
locomotives
handled the great northbound
expresses out of London's Euston
station in a competent manner,
handling trains of more than 400
tons in weight shall we say 13
bogie coaches on the Euston
relatively

Crewe schedules which involved average speeds of 55mph

to

Left:

LNWR "George the

Fifth" class 4-4-0 picks

at speed.

up water

70mph

( 1

3km/h) were

common to both barrels. One

big dome in the usual position for

was

to

achieved on sharp curves without

derailment The motion of these
locomotives was quite conventional, with outside piston valve
cylinders and Walschaert's valve
gear On the other hand the
double boilers were very unusual
indeed. The boiler barrels at
both ends were nearly similar,
but the firebox in the centre was

were the most

locomotives

and tracking

riding

qualities at

ft

half of the boiler (normally

the uphill end) collected the steam

for all four cylinders

The expense

involved in this

tanks,

are,

from the

however, a far cry

23-ton Mexican mon-

sters

double boiler was almost certainly

the main reason why the "double

into quite extensive use.

Fairhe" articulated locomotive was

never widely used It is true there
were some problems with the

locomotives had a normal boiler,

a leading power bogie and a
trailing un-powered bogie behind

flexible

pipes and

|oints

which

"Single Fairlie"s, however, went

These

An ability to negotiate

the firebox

details

absurdly sharp curves was the

property that appealed and many
(under vanous names, for Fairhe's
patent was not recognised in the

In

USA) were used on urban

fed the steam from the boiler to

the powered bogies, but experience and the improvement of

would have solved them

this is just what has
happened on the one railway left
fact

world that has "doubleFairlie" steam locomotives still in

use, the Festiniog Railway in
North Wales Their 40 ton 0-4-4-0

in the

rail-

ways, particularly elevated lines

which had to negotiate city street
corners But "single Fairlies"
were only, as it were, half of what
was a good idea

IT

(88km/h) between stops and

maxima of 75 1 20) or so. When
a "George" went roaring by
hauling one of these long rakes
of "plum and spilt milk" carnages, it was an exceedingly fine
sight. There were very few railways in the world which at that
time confided such exacting
loads and timings to four-coupled
power North of Crewe towards
Carlisle on steeper gradients the
related 4-6-0 "Experiment" or
"Prince of Wales" classes were at
(

motive
power, but south of Crewe the
most important workings were in
the charge of these 4-4-0s

least in theory the usual

The "Georges" had everything

round top
outer firebox wrapper instead of
the more complex Belpaire pattern used elsewhere. The cylinders were inside, but the use of
Joy valve gear, whose rods and
slides were located in the same
vertical plane as the connecting
rods, meant that all the inside

of the simplest; note the

motion was accessible for lubrication and maintenance Some

minor weaknesses marred their
performance when in worn condition, for example, the Schmidt
type piston valves would start
to leak and increase steam and
coal consumption by noticeable
amounts And having said that
the Joy valve gear was very
simple, the version fitted to the
"George" was not quite as simple
as it might have been For some
reason one suspects it may have
been in order to use the same
gear as that fitted to the "Precursors" which had outside

admission slide valves instead of

inside admission piston valves
there was an extra rocking lever
between the valve rod and the
valve spindle. Wear here was
also detrimental to steam consumption Of course,

LNWR

locomotives were such that this

only meant that as the time came
nearer when a visit to Crewe
Works was due, "Georges" just

to be thrashed a little
harder than ever to get over the
road "right time", the "Georges"

needed

were certainly
West" tradition
stand it.
In 1923,
Britain

in

of

when

the

"North-

being able to
the railways of
into four

were merged

groups, all the "Georges" came

into the possession of the London
Midland & Scottish Railway, ruled
largely by Midland Railway men
who thought little of any locowhose origin was
motives

LNWR

It

was no

surprise, then,

withdrawal of these splendid

locomotives began in late 1935
and continued until the last one
ceased work in May 1948 With
the scrapping of superheated
Precursor Sirocco in October
that

1949 the LNWR 4-4-0s (and,

all the LNWR express
passenger engines) disappeared.

indeed,

None

of the 4-4-0s or the 4-6-0s

was preserved, a surprising final

piece of spite on the part of
the 'Midlanders'
93

Class S 2-6-2
kg)

Cylinders:

text

Heating surface: 2,131sq

(198m 2

ft

Superheater: 958sq

(89m 2

ft

Steam pressure:

cm 2

185psi

Grate area: 51sq

Fuel: 40.0001b

(4

ft

72m 2

(18t)

Water: 5,000gall (6.000 US)

(23m 2 3)
Adhesive weight: see

first

tons less each So there was no

temptation towards (or even the
the huge
filling
possft
space available with inaccessible

ironmongery
In both Czanst and Communist
Russia, steam locomotive design
was in the hands of university
professors and they studied and

struction continued over a penod

of 40 years, usage over more
than 60 and certainly its numbers
were the largest in the hands of

Below: The standard Russian

passenger locomotive, the class
"Su" 2-6-2.

,922sq
(178.6m 2
Superheater: 516sq ft
(48.5m 2
Steam pressure: 171psi
1

ft

).

).

(12kg/cm 2
Grate area: 38sq
).

Fuel: 13,5001b

ft

(3.5m 2

).

(6t).

Water: 4,842gall (4,040 US)

(22m 3
Adhesive weight: 103,5001b
)

But

possibilities

more

when

it

came

to

to reach the
conclusion that Old Geordie
(Stephenson) had got it right and

answer was the best

Another characteristic in which
the old regime was far ahead of
its time was standardisation, this
the simplest

continued as did locomotive classification, without even a wriggle,

over that great watershed in
human history the Russian Revolution In 1955, Britain had, for
example, some 20 classes of

Italy:

State Railways (FS), .912

In total

::

Heating surface:

390 eventually were pro-

duced, some by conversion from

an earlier non-superheated compound design on the Plancher
system (the "680" class) and
others built new. The idea was to
obtain almost the power of a
"690" class 4-6-2, yet not suffer
the restricted usage of the latter
due to their 19 tons axle load.
The "685"s used superheated
steam and had four cylinders,

each pair using a common piston

valve

The tortuous passageways

intrinsic to that

unusual arrange-

(47t).

Total weight: 265,3621b

(120.4t)

Overall length:
(20,575mm)

67ft 6in

Russian

script)

Communication for general

usage amongst the many independent railways The "S"
stood for the Sormovo works at
Nijni Novgorod where the class
was built About 900 were turned

of

out before the Revolution

and compensated spnnging The

fascinating

class was developed

from 1912 onwards as the standard Italian express locomotive.

Driving wheels: 72%in

in

seemed always

many

The "685"

"C"

2-6-2s were a standard design

ordered by the Ministry of Ways

usage out on the road,

then these learned gentlemen

68S 2-6-2

Tractive effort: 27,7411b

(12,586kg)
Axle load: 35,5001b (16t).
Cylinders: (4) 16^ x 25^
(420 x 650mm

(written

Very little needs to be said of

the design which took very early
on the standard final form of the
steam locomotive, having two
cylinders, Walschaert's valvegear, wide firebox, superheater

out

actual

passenger locomotive either was

just or was just not the most
numerous in the world Con-

,85C

sion

ten or more strong, while the

Soviet Union had a mere four,
this out of a fleet intended for
such traffic approximately the
same in number These class "S"

thoroughly, perhaps, than else-

lO^in

known as class "Su", was

produced at the Kolomna
Works near Moscow in 1926.

express passenger locomotives

where.
77ft

This handsome design of express

( 1

Communication, 1911

Compared

theoretical

text

Total weight: 370,5001b

Class

of

with British locomotives, Russian

ones can be four feet ( 1 ,200mm)

tried

(168t)

Overall length:
(23,738mm)

Ways

higher and two feet (600mm)

wider, in terms of weight, though,
in steam days locomotive axles
could be loaded at most with two

(2) 21

'00mm)
Driving wheels:

Ministry of

one administration

Tractive effort: 30,0921b

Axle load: see

Russia:

Right: The Italian State

Railways class "685" standard
express locomotive of which
390 were made.

fulcrum points of the latter could

be altered to bring extra weight
on to or off the driving wheels
For running on lines which had
inadequate permanent way, the
maximum axle-load could be
quickly changed from 18 tonnes
to 16 tonnes by a simple adjustment, at the cost of reducing the
adhesive weight from 54 tonnes
to 48 tonnes
A modified and enlarged ver-

This sub-class, of which about

2,400 were built during the next
15 years, is the basis of the
particulars and of art- work below

The

"u"

stood

for

usilenny,

which means "strengthened"; in

Russian script "Su" is written
"Cy" The cylinders, wheelbase
and boiler were enlarged but,
interestingly, the boiler

pressure

was kept at the same modest

level The adoption of high boiler
pressure was so often (like the
substitution of diesel for steam
40 years later) a costly matter of

"keeping up with the Jones'"

The extra cost of a highpressure boiler is considerable,

especially as regards maintenance, while even its theoretical
Right: Class "Su" 2-6-2 No.
100-85 outside Sormovo works.
This example is equipped for
burning oil fuel

advantages are dubious Of

course, some railways had to
adopt high-pressures in order to
obtain sufficient tractive effort
with the largest cylinders that
could be squeezed into a tight
loading gauge, but Soviet Russia
was not one of them Those
university owls again

After World War II, production

was restarted at Sormovo Works
(whose location was by then
known as Gorki) and continued
until 1951, by which time some

3,750 "S" class had been built

Variations included some built in
915 for the standard gauge
line known as
sub-class "Sv" (Cb). There was
(Cym) group,
"Sum"
also a
having a system for pre-heating

Warsaw-Vienna

the air

used

Scotsman

in

combustion.

named

Thomas

Urquhart introduced successful

oil-burning locomotives to Russia
1880, since when it became
commonplace Many "S" class

in

used

ment did not

assist the

"685"

class to become the world's most

free running engines A prominent but odd feature of all Italian

steam locomotives including the

"685" is the Salter's springbalance safety valve required by
law, provided in addition tc two
normal modern pop valves The
Zara truck described earlier was
naturally also a feature

Arturo Caprotti was of course

Italian and the patent poppet
valve gear he devised (which

an

might well have become a world

standard if steam had continued)
was later fitted to 123 of these
engines The usual problem of
maintenance which stemmed
from the Caprotti cam-boxes
being precision not blacksmith
engineering was overcome by
a unit-replacement system

Two other names associated

with attempts to improve these
steam locoFranco and
Piero Crosti, whose FrancoCrosti boiler was designed to
take the exhaust gases from a

and other

motives are

Italian

Attilo

conventional locomotive and extract some of the heat from them

in large drums, so pre-heating
the feed-water Aesthetically, the
result is awful, but five "685"
converted in 1940 showed an
18 93 per cent saving in fuel
Even so, those who devised the

system had thrown away simsteam's trump card, the

remaining 385 were left alone
plicity,

Right: An Italian State Railways

class "685" 2-6-2 receives some
attention to lubrication from
its

driver

this

form

of firing

Class

231C 4-6-2

France:
Paris, Lyons and Mediterranean Railway (PLM), 1912

Axleload: 40,5001b (18 50

Cylinders, hp: 2)17.3x25.6)11

>0mm)
Cylinders, LP
(650 x 650mm)

25 6 x 25 6in

>

Driving wheels: 78 7in

(2,000mm)

Heating surface: 2,185sq

(203m 2
Superheater: 694sq ft
(65m 2

ft

Steam pressure:

.'28PS1

,-m 2 )

Grate area: 45 7sq

ft

(4

3m 2

Fuel: .1,0001b (50

6, 160gall (7.400 US)

Water:

(28m 2
Adhesive weight: 122,0001b
)

Total weight: 320,5001b

(145 50

Length

overall: 65ft 7in

(20,000mm)
French engineers were early
converts to the creed of compounding, and in no other country

was compounding pursued more

or successfully
Nevertheless, from time to time
nght up to the last steam designs,
occasional doubts entered the
minds of French engineers, and
a batch of simple expansion
locomotives appeared, but the
outcome was always a strengthening of the orthodox doctrine
The Pacifies of the PLM illustrated this process Between 1890
and 1907 the railway ordered
845 locomotives, of which 835
were compounds, and in the
penod 1905 to 1 907 construction
enthusiastically

of

compound Atlantics and 4-6-0s

was

in full swing But in 1 907 the

European Pacific appeared,
and in 1909 the PLM produced
two prototype locomotives of
that wheel arrangement, one
simple and one compound Apart
first

reason for

was a

this particular

pound

Com-

expansion

enables a
higher proportion of the energy
in the steam to be converted into
work during expansion, but to
get the full benefit of the greater
expansion in the compound it is

necessary

to

use a high steam

pressure, and high pressure

brings higher boiler maintenance
costs At this time there was a

new

attraction for

engineers

the superheater which offered

the possibility of improving the

thermal efficiency sufficiently for

simple expansion to be acceptable,

and with

it

the possibility of

using a lower boiler pressure.

The two PLM Pacifies put this

problem

to the test, for the

saturated steam but the simple engine

compound engine used

was superheated The compound

had the de Glehn layout of

further

cylinders, with the outside highpressure cylinders set well back

over the rear bogie wheels, but
the simple engine had the four
cylinders in line, as in the
Atlantics and 4-6-0s The in-line

digres-

arrangement gave a much more

from the recurrent desire to

ensure that the mechanical complications of the compounds were
really justified, there

sion into simple expansion.

PLM

assembly than the de Glehn

arrangement Apart from the
differences in cylinders, motion
rigid

and

boiler already

mentioned,

Above: "The Fleche d'Or"

(Golden Arrow) hauled by a
ex-PLM
"23 1C" 4-6-2.

long-serving, efficient

Class 310 2-6-4

the two engines were as far as
but
the
identical,
possible

compound worked at 227psi

(16kg/cm 2 and the simple at
171psi(12kg/cm 2 )
)

In 1911 the two engines ran

comparative trials, and the superheated engine developed higher
powers and used 16 per cent
less coal than the compound A
natural step would have been to
try superheating with compounding, but at that time it was not
found possible to build a superheated compound within the
weight restrictions Thus 70 more
simples were ordered in 1911,
but by the following year the
design problems of the superheated compound had been
overcome, and 20 were built,
differing from the prototype in
having all four cylinders in line,
as in the simple engines Un-

certainty

still

prevailed,

and 20

more simples were next built, but

then in

9 1 3 a careful comparison

was made between

the two
varieties of superheated design,
and the compound returned a 25
per cent lesser coal consumption
and better performance The
issue was finally settled, and the

PLM

built

no

more

simple
simple endue course con-

Pacifies, the existing

gines were in
verted to compounds
In 1921 a further 230 Pacifies
were ordered, and in 1931 55
more, making a total of 462
Successive batches incorporated
improvements, mainly to the exhaust arrangements and to the
boiler proportions, but the basic
layout remained unchanged Improvements continued to be

made, and later still Chapelon's

ideas on steam passage and
boiler proportions were incorporated in an engine which was
rebuilt with a boiler having 284psi
(20kg/ cm 2 pressure A scheme
to apply this boiler widely was
)

initiated,

PLM

but the incorporation of

Axleload: 32,2001b (14

Austria:
Imperial and Royal State Railway (KKStB),

6t).

Cylinders, HP (2) 15 4 x 28 3in

(390 x 720mm)
Cylinders, LP: (2) 24 4 x 28 3in
(620 x 720mm)
Driving wheels: 82 7in

(2,100mm)

Heating surface: 2,077sq ft

(193m 2
Superheater: 463sq ft (43m 2
)

Steam pressure: 213psi

15kg cm
Grate area: 49 7sq
2)

ft

(4

6m 2

Fuel: 19,0001b (8 5t)

Water: 4,620gall (5,550 US)

(21m 3
Adhesive weight: 98,0001b
)

(44t)

Total weight: 322,0001b

(146t)

Length

overall: 69ft

lin

(21,318mm)

The

the Austrian
constructed,
and in places heavily graded
Locomotives were thus required
to have a low axle load, but to be
railways

empire were

of

lightly

capable of developing high

powers at moderate speeds when
burning low-grade fuel From
1897 to 1916 locomotive design
in the empire was largely in the

hands

a
Karl Golsdorf,
of
of fertile imagination,

designer

who

is

different

credited with
designs, all

some 45
branded

clearly with his ideas

After

building

two-cylinder

compounds he reached the stage

1908 when four cylinders
became necessary, but as a
means of reducing weight he

in

used a single piston valve to

serve the high-pressure and lowpressure cylinders on each side
the engine This involved
tortuous steam ports, which
would have imposed a severe
of

just

turning

to

the

Pacific,

showing the

modifications to the valves, the

locomotives never achieved the
power output which the size of
boiler mented Nevertheless they
hauled the pnncipal expresses
on the easier main lines of old
and new Austria until the appearance of 2-8-4 locomotives in

speeds were kept low Every

possible device was used to
keep the weight down, so that
this large engine had a load on
axles of only
the coupled
32,2001b (14 6 tonnes), a remarkable achievement At the speeds
involved the leading pony truck
proved to be no disadvantage

The proportions

of the cylin-

high

year Golsdorf produced his masterpiece. When

other European railways were

Below: A class "210" 2-6-4

Austrian Federal Railways' days
when neanng the end of its hie.

on power output

at

piston speeds
In

that

Striking view of
Golsdorf 2-6-4 No.210.01

the quality of coal required, and

at the same time make the front of
the engine lighter in weight than
with a leading bogie To mitigate
the disadvantages of his valve
arrangement, he used driving
diawheels 82.7in (2, 100mm)
meter.although the maximum
speed was only 62 mph
(lOOkm/h) By this means piston

ders, which are critical in a

compound, proved to be less
than ideal, and despite some

limit

Above:

Golsdorf found that by reversing

the Pacific into a 2-6-4, he could
support the large firebox which

the class

original

member of

m as-built condition.

1928

The first 2-6-4s were saturated

and classified "210", but from
1911 superheaters were fitted
Austria had a total of 43 of these
"310" class engines, and in
addition seven were supplied to
Prussia and three to Poland The
last of the Austrian engines was
withdrawn in 1957
Whatever their deficiencies in
performance, the 2-6-4s were
most imposing engines, and to
build such a large locomotive for
such a small weight was a masterpiece of design One of them is
preserved at the Vienna Technical

Museum.

SNCF

resulted
in 30 engines only receiving this
treatment, the last of them in
1948, but 284 engines received
the

into the

more modest treatment on

Chapelon lines By this time the
sub-divisions of the class were
a

very complicated

The PLM Pacifies had long

and distinguished lives, and the
quality of their performance responded directly to the improvements which were made to them,
but

they

never

levels of the

achieved

the

Chapelon rebuilds

of the Pans-Orleans Pacifies As

electrification displaced them

from the PLM main line from

1952 onwards, they spread to
other regions Withdrawal began
1950s, but many of the
were not worn out, and
thus a good supply of
spare boilers, with which some

in the

boilers

there

of the
in

was

engines were maintained

1 969
Four engines were retained

service until

for

preservation,

including

231K22, a rebuild with partial

Chapelon improvements, which
is
Steamtown, Carnforth,
at
Lancashire
97

Remembrance Class 4-6-4 Tank

running the "Belle" and other
fast trains such as the "City

Tractive effort: 24 1801b

,

kg)
load: 44,0001b (20t)

Axle

Cylinders:

Limited" to an accelerated timing

of 45 or 50 minutes instead of the
even hour. In fact, the 60 minute
timing was never improved upon,
even by the "Southern Belle's"

22 x28in

2)

,1mm)
Driving wheels: 81 in

mm)
Heating surface:

7m a

6sq

,8

ft

(35 6m 2

Superheater: 383sq
Steam pressure: 70psi
ft

Grate area: 26 7sq

(2

ft

48m 2

Fuel:

50 US)

Water:

Adhesive weight: 126,0001b

Total weight: 222,0001b (10 It)

Length

Great Britain:
London, Bnghton & South Coast Railway (LBSCR), 914

successor, the electric "Brighton

Belle" which replaced the steam
train after 1933, but the addition
of third-class Pullman cars to the
previously all-first formation made
the train an increasingly harder
haulage proposition
Conventional practice of the
day was followed in most respects
but the valve gear arrangement
was interesting. Outside Walschaert's valve gear was used,

overall:

Below: 4-6-4T No.B333

(15,361mm)

(later

2333) Remembrance at

Those great trains of the world

which were hauled throughout
their

journeys by tank locomotives

were few and

between One

far

such was the immortal "Southern

Belle", the all-Pullman express
which ran non-stop several times
a day over the 5 1 miles between
London's Victoria Station and

Bnghton

Victoria Station,

London

in

1930. This was the Southern

Hallway's War Memorial

locomotive and bore special

plaques on the side tanks to that
effect for

many years.

associated

Specially

with this tram was a group of

seven 4-6-4 or "Baltic" tank locomotives, the most powerful motive
power ever owned by the London Brighton and South Coast

Company
Previously, the express trains
between London and the south
coast had been hauled by a fleet
of 4-4-0s, 4-4-2s, and 4-4-2Ts,
supplemented by two 4-6-2Ts
The new 4-6-4s were to some
extent a stretched version of the
latter and were known as class L.
Their designer Colonel L. B
Billinton was instructed to produce locomotives capable of

Class F 4-6-2

Sweden:
Swedish State Railways

(SJ),

1914

Axle load: 35,5001b 16t)

Cylinders, HP: (2) 16!^ x 26in
1

(420 x 660mm).
Cylinders, LP:
(630 x 660mm)

(2)

24% x 26in

Driving wheels: 74m

(1,880mm)
Heating surface: 2,038sq ft
(189m 2
Superheater: 732sq ft (68m 2
)

Steam pressure:
:m 2

Grate area: 38 5sq

Fuel:

14

Water:

).

185psi

S36U
500gall

ft

(3

6m 2

(6

600 US)

(25m 3
Adhesive weight: 105,0001b
)

Total weight: 322,0001b 146t)

(

Length

locomotive that very small countries (and railway companies)

can build their own designs

overall: 69ft 9in

(21,265mm).

Sweden is not a country associated m many people's minds with

the building of steam locomotives,
yet there was and is a locomotive-

building industry there. Moreover, the country had its own

style of

and

locomotive engineering

was even occasionally

exported. It is a measure of the
this

essential simplicity of the

steam

economically. More often, however, the Swedes took orders for

other people's designs. Nydquist
and Holm of TroHhattan had an
order in the 1920s for some
0-10-0s for Russia The locomotives were duly completed and
the builders were instructed that
a Soviet ship would call for them
at the firm's own quay. They were

loaded aboard, whereupon the

captain promptly unloaded gold
bars to their value on to the
quayside
Nydquist and Holm not only
built but also designed Sweden's
finest ever class of express locomotive, the class "F" 4-6-2s
delivered to the Swedish State
Railways in 1914. It will be seen
that they

were

very distinctive

at the same time very handsome machines. The leading bo-

and

Above: Swedish

State Railways'

class "F" 4-6-2. All these

engines were sold to Denmark
when the Swedish Railways

were

electrified. This

returned

to

Sweden

one was

for

preservation.

had frames outside, partly no

doubt for clearance reasons This
feature also facilitated the employmentit is thought for the
gie

first

time ever of roller bearings

Above: "Remembrance" class

No. 329 Stephenson is here
depicted in its original LB&SCH
umber livery. These famous tank
locomotives handled the
legendary "Southern Belle" allPullman express which ran
several times a day between
Victoria Station,

London, and

Brighton until m 1933 the steam

tram was superceded by the
all-electric "Brighton Belle".
actuating

piston

inside

between the frames

levers,

ail

via

valves

rocking
having

this in spite of

the cylinders themselves outside

the frames One reason for this
unusual arrangement was the
wish to have similar cylinders to

(a

Swedish

the 4-6-2Ts plus the need to

provide a well tank between the
frames under the boiler, which
the existence of valve motion
there would preclude. There had
in fact been trouble including a
derailment, whose cause had
been attributed to the swishing
of water in half-full tanks plus the
high centre of gravity This occurred soon after the prototype,

No.321 Charles
entered service

The

solution

to the extra

Macrae

in April

was on

dummy

some steamships

first

1914.

similar lines

funnels on

of the day, that

adopted so as not to spoil the

appearance It consisted of making all but the bottom 1 5 inches
is,

of the side tanks into

dummies

in

to lower the centre of

gravity of the locomotive The
modifications were successful and
speeds as high as 75mph were
quite frequently run without any
further problems.
A second locomotive (No. 328)

1921-22. Two more received

names at that time- No. 329 became Stephenson, while No. 333
was chosen to be the War Mem-

which, unusually in British practice, were fitted to the earlier ones

for a time after they were new.
After electrification in 1933,
the Southern Railway converted
the 4-6-4 tanks into 4-6-0s known
as class N 1 5X in which guise they
had a long and honourable career
on the less exacting longer distance services of the bigger
system, lasting well after 1948
into British Railways days That
this was considered worth-while
doing demonstrates more than

company's servants
war and so was

any words the excellent qualities

of these extremely handsome

order

was completed

just before war

broke out that autumn and five
examples (Nos 329-333)

further
in

orial for the

killed in

the

named Remembrance. The

examples of the

class

later

were never

and

July 1957.

of

electrification poles and wires,

which were to spell the end of
steam traction on the mam line
expresses of Sweden.

German origin,
advanlocomotive

to get the

tages of a compound
without the complications. The
four cylinders all drove the centre
coupled axle and were accordingly fairly steeply inclined at an
angle of 6 A to the horizontal
The two low-pressure cylinders
were outside and the two highpressure ones inside Each pair
was served by a single pistonvalve spindle with multiple heads
which controlled the admission

were declared surplus to

requirements. A customer was to
hand just across the water and
the class "F" 4-6-2s, Nos. 1 201 - 1
shortly became Danish Railways
class "E" Nos 964 to 974 Their
new owners took to their purchase readily, so much so that
4-6-2s

of

steam from the boiler

during and after World War II the

Danish locomotive-building firm
of Fnchs built another 25 to the
original drawings.

to the

high-pressure cylinders, the

re-

lease of steam from the highpressure cylinders, its admission

to the low-pressure ones and
finally the exhaust from the low
pressure cylinders to atmosphere
The complicated feature of this
arrangement was the labyrinth of
passageways inside the cylinder
castings, but at least these did
not involve moving parts A single
set of Walschaert's valve gear

was provided in full view on

each side of the locomotive

survivor

Left: A Swedish "F" class

4-6-2 heads a passenger tram
near Nyboda in 1927. Note the

speciality) for full-size

which attempted

last

SR No.2331,
No.32331) was withdrawn in

BR

with the feed-water heaters

steam-operated feed pumps

locomotive axles.
The "F"s also used a system of

compounding,

locomotives The
(LB&SCR No.331,

fitted

A "windcutter" cab was fitted,

although the permitted speed
was only 62mph (lOOkm/h)

re-

flecting, as did the very light axle

load (16 tons) track conditions
in Sweden at that time
The
unusual "bath" shaped tender
also made its contribution to the
distinctiveness of the design The

"F" class handled the principal

expresses on the StockholmGothenburg and Stockholm-

Malmo main lines

An absence of

coal deposits

combined with the presence of

water power induced the Swedish
railways to proceed with electrification and in 1936 these big

King Christian of Denmark

was a lifelong railway enthusiast
and he asked that his funeral
train should be hauled by steam

Two

"E"s did the duty, although

by the time he died diesel traction

had taken over generally Two

"E" class are preserved, No 974
(ex SJ 121 1) of 1916 and No 999
of 1950 A further two locos
(Nos.978 and 996) are also set
aside for possible operation

99

K4 Class 4-6-2 SStfKK

Tractive effort: 44,4601b
70kg).

Axle load: 72,0001b (330

Cylinders: 2) 27 x28in
1

.711mm)
Driving wheels: 80in
(2,032mm)
Heating surface: 4,040sq

(375m 2

ft

Superheater: 943sq ft (88m 2

Boiler pressure: 205psi
(14 4kg cm 2
Grate area: 70sq ft (6 5m 2 )

).

Fuel: -6,0001b (16t)

Water: lO.OOOgall (12,000 US)

(46m 3
Adhesive weight: 210,0001b
)

Total weight: 533,0001b

(242t)

Overall length:
(25,451mm)

83ft 6in

called
the Standard Railroad of
the World. This did not mean that
the system was just average or
typical, but rather that the railroad's status was one to which
other lines might aspire, but a

was applied

status that it was extremely

unlikely that they would reach.

"Crawford" after its inventor,

D.F. Crawford, Superintendent
of Motive Power (Lines West).
This had been in use on the
Pennsylvania Railroad since 1 905
and by 1914 nearly 300 were in
operation but only 64 on 4-6-2s.
Later designs of stoker used a
screw feed, but the principle
used in the Crawford was to
bnng forward the coal by means
of a series of paddles or vanes,
oscillated by steam cylinders,
which were feathered on the
return stroke like the oars of a
rowing boat. The coal was fed
into the firebox at grate level,
unlike later types of stoker, which
feed on to a platform at the rear,
for distribution by steam jets
In addition, there was a further

The Pennsylvania Railroad

itself

The Pennsy's herald was

a
keystone, indicating the position

the
the

company
economy

felt

it

occupied

of the

in

USA. The

famous "K4" 4-6-2s, introduced

in 1914 and the mainstay of
steam operations until after World
War II, might well similarly be
given the title Standard Express
Locomotive of the World.
There were 425 of them, built
over a period of 14 years, and
they followed a series of classes
of earlier 4-6-2s introduced previously. The Pennsy was normally
exceedingly conservative in its
locomotive engineering and its
Pacific era was ushered in by a
single prototype ordered from
the American Locomotive Company in 1907, later designated
class "K28" By 1 9 1 the railroad
knew enough to start
felt
it
building some of its own and in
a short time 239 "K2"s were put
on the road. In 1912, quite late in
the day really,
superheating

to these engines.

In 1913, the

Baldwin

company went

of Philadelphia for

to

30

"K3" 4-6-2s. These were interesting in that they were fitted with
the earliest type of practical
mechanical stoker, known as the

Alco prototype supplied

in

91

"K28" and designated "K29" There was also the

"Kl" class, which was an "in
house" project, designed but
larger than the

never

built.

The prototype "K4" Pacific

appeared in 1914, it was con-

siderably larger than the "K2"

class, having 36 per cent more
tractive effort and 26 per cent
more grate area at a cost of a 9
per cent increase in axle loading
The design owed as much to that
Apex of the Atlantics, the "E6"
class 4-4-2 as to the earlier

Top: Pennsylvania Railroad

"K4" class 4-6-2 No. 3749 built

4-6-2s.

Raymond Loewy.

at Altoona.

Above: The "Broadway Limited"

1938. The
leaves Chicago
streamline locomotive is "K4"
class No. 3768, styled by

for a while, a

The Pennsylvania Railroad was

one of the very few North
American lines to approach
self-sufficiency

in

build

its

designed by

own

shops.

It

liked

own locomotives,
own staff, in its
One aid to this

its

Until the

catcher)

the handoperated screw reversing gear

engines In due time the

were converted, forelatter
shadowing a date (1937) when
hand reversing gear would
be illegal for locomotives with
over 160,0001b (72.70 adhesive
weight The same edict applied
to the fitting of automatic stokers
to locomotives of such size and
of earlier

(but not all) "K4"s were

with them during the 1930s
Before then the power output
had been severely limited by the
amount of coal a man could
shovel The last five "K4"s had
cast steel one-piece locomotive

many

fitted

frames Another interesting box

became general
was the continuous

of tricks that also

in the

930s,

signalling system A receiver

picked up coded current flowing

cab

in track circuits

and

translated
this into the appropriate signal
aspect on a miniature signal
inside the cab
One could see signs of Pennsy's

coming of the Duplex

ingly for a short time the fastest

steam timing in the world The
cylinder limitations of the standard "K4"s did, however, mean
much double-heading in driving

light

replaced

certain

75^mph (121km/h) and accord-

expectations could be checked

under laboratory conditions and
corrections applied
The prototype "K4" was put to
the question at Altoona soon
after it was built, but few changes
were needed as a result for the
production version The oil head-

reverse

match

miles (102km) from Plymouth to

Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 51
minutes, an average speed of

the designers'

and wooden pilot (cowwere not, however, repeated By 1923, after more than
200 "K4"s had been built, power

of others
streamlined and

locomotives after World War II,

the "K4"s handled all Pennsy's
express passenger trains outside
the electrified area During the
winter of 1 934 the Detroit Arrow
was scheduled to cover the 64

speed and power on rollers and

where instrumentation could pick
up exactly what was happening

way

number

streamlined trains. Many types of

tender were used, including a
few which were so big they
dwarfed the engine, but held 25
tons of coal and 23,500 US
gallons ( 1 07m 3 ) of water

process was a locomotive testing

plant at a place called Altoona
a hallowed name amongst the
world's locomotive engineers
Altoona was then the only place in
North America where a locomotive could be run up to full

inside In this

partly

specially painted to

locomotive

design and construction

to

were

conservatism, for example, even

"K4"s the ratio of
evaporative heating surface to
superheater size was as low as
4.3, instead of the 2.2 to 2 5, more
typical of the passenger locomotives which other North
American railroads were using
in the 1930s. There was also the
modest boiler pressure, threequarters or less of what was used
elsewhere It is not being suggested that such a policy was
wrong, only that it was different
Low boiler pressures and modest
degrees of superheat had a
marked and favourable effect on
the cost of maintenance and
repair; perhaps the Pennsy, who
could buy coal at pit-head pnces,
had done its sums in depth,
trading some extra (cheap) coal
the
for less (expensive) work

in the later

shops

Running numbers were allocated at random between 8 and

batches

8378, although the

built during 1924-28 were numlast

bered

in

sequence from 5350

to

Above:

PBR

No. 5354,

and

"K4" class 4-6-2

between 1924

built

1928, takes water at a

wayside

station.

were built at the PRR's

Juanita shops at Altoona, Pennsylvania except Nos.5400 to 5474
1927 which came from
of
Baldwin
There were a few "specials"
amongst the "K4" fleet. Two
engines (Nos.3847 and 5399)
were fitted with poppet valve gear,
thermic syphons in the firebox,
and improved draughting, so
equipped they could develop

5499

All

4000hp in the cylinders

3000hp typical of a
standard "K4" A number of
over

instead of the

other engines (designated class

"K4sa")had less drastic treatment
with the same end in view, in this
case the firebox and exhaust

improvements were accompanied by larger piston valves,

15m (381mm) diameter instead
of 12in (305mm) One engine
(No.3768) was fully streamlined

Pennsy's great "Limiteds" across

these long level stretches of the
Lines West. The fact that these
legendary locomotives were so
economical in other ways more
than balanced such extravagances as the use of two on one
train.

In crossing the Alleghany

mountains, such heroic measures
as three "K4"s (or even, it is said,
sometimes four) at the head end

were needed

to

take,

say,

an

unlimited section of the "Broad58 ( 1 .72

way Limited" up the 1
per cent) of the Horseshoe Curve
Nowadays such things are only a
memory, but a single "K4",
presented to the City of Altoona,
stands in a little park inside the
famous semi-circle curve in remembrance of the monumental
labours of one of the world's
greatest express locomotives
Another (more accessible) is
under cover in the Strasburg
Railway's excellent museum in
the town of that name.

Below: One of the famous "K4"

class 4-6-2s of the Pennsylvania
Railroad. Between 1914 and
1 928 425 were built, mostly at
the road's own Altoona shops.

C53 Class 4-6-2 Dutch

Axle load: 28,0001b
Cylinders.

East Indies:
/ays(SS). 1917

(12. 5t)

LP

<22.8in

Cylinders, HP:

(2)

20.5 x 22 8in

Driving wheels: 63in

Heating surface:

1,324

Superheater: 463sq

Steam pressure:

ft

.^OOpsi

(2.7m 2
rded
Water: Not recorded
Adhesive weight: 83,0001b

Grate area: 29sq

Fuel (oil): Notl

ft

).

Total weight:* 147,0001b

Overall length

C Engine only tender

details

not recorded).

Above: Official works

photograph of "C53" class

for the careful

even enjoyed but in the end

measures were taken, including
the purchase of new locomotive
power, to improve matters
These magnificent Pacifies

of their orderly

were instrumental then

There were 20 of these 3ft 6in

(1,067mm) gauge four-cylinder
compounds, built by Werkspoor
in Holland during 1917-21, running numbers 1001-20. During
the Japanese regime of occupation they were designated class
"C53" and numbered C5301-20
Three survived in use during the
1970s and one of these is re-

densely populated main

was in preWorld War II days provided by
its Dutch rulers with an excellent
railway system There were such

to run trains at night, not by

reason of any possible sabotage,
but because the natural hazards
of tropical railroading in the dark

things as 1 2-coupled freight locomotives, colour light signalling,

junctions
and even
flying

Java, the

island of Indonesia,

suburban

electrification

Djakarta, then

known as

There were also the

around
Batavia

fastest nar-

row gauge trains in the world

and they were steam
This perhaps may seem a little

were too much

Dutch mindful
native Holland
Since Java

concerned with
such handicaps to the enjoyment
of life as worrying over time. But

their

was a reason, in colonial

was not considered safe

there

it

Class

to

occurs

island's princi-

could not complete

journeys of 512 miles

cities,

(820km) between dawn and dusk

unless they got a move on. For
many years an overnight stop on
the

way was

231D 4-6-2

Axle load: 40,5001b 18 5t)

Cylinders: HP (2) 16& x 251in

is

and Surabaya, the

pal

days

close

the
there
sensibly at the same time throughout the year, so the timetable was
not too complex, but it did also
mean that trains between Batavia

strange, considering that Indones-

ians are hardly

to contemplate

sunset

equator,

tolerated

possibly

State Railway (Etat),

The principal difference lay in the

use

Driving wheels: 76!^in

,950mm)
Heating surface: 2,1 lOsq
(196m 2
Superheater: 861sq ft
(80m 2

vided in the front of the cab, the

top corners of which being

ft

3,5001b

).

(6t).

Water: 4,400gall (5,280 US)

(20m 3
Adhesive weight: 121,5001b
).

(55t).

Total weight: 300,0001b

restricted

by the

tight

this particular

During the

first

war,

by North British of
Glasgow, but after it was over the
government adopted the design
as a French standard and ordered
400 of them from French builders. Of these 280 went to the Etat
In the end the AlsaceLorraine Railway only recently

lines.

back into the French fold ended

up

(136t).

Length

heavily

supplied

Fuel:

be pro-

to

some locomotives were even

Steam pressure: 242psi

(4.27m 2

enabled

railway

ft

round-top firebox instead

adequate spectacles

loading gauge of

).

rm 2
Grate area: 46sq

of a

of the Belpaire type, this

overall: 75ft 4)in

with 100 of the remainder,

although the Eastern, Northern

(22,974mm)

and Pans-Orleans railway companies also had some for a time.

The Western Railway of France

was for many years a by- word for
inefficiency and things did not
change very much for the better
when it was taken over by the

ramshackle
system began to mend its
ways under the direction of Raoul
Dautry The administration took
the sensible course of rebuilding

State in 1908 However, the one

thing the new administration did

on Chapelon principles no less

than 269 of their now enormous

which was sensible was to provide themselves, from 1914

fleet of 4-6-2s. All the engines got

higher superheat, larger steam

onwards, with a stud of express

passenger Pacific locomotives

based on and very

102

similar to

In 1928, the rather

state

Right: Ex- Western Railway of

France 4-6-2 No.231.D722

12 stops and there

also intermediate start-to-

included

were

stop speeds up to 47 4mph

(75 8km/h) and maxima as high
as 75mph 120km/h) In contrast,
the present administration has
inhibitions about running its
diesels at these sort of speeds,
(

but none about running them at

night So a more sedate 1 5-hour

1914

(420 x 650mm).
Cylinders: LP (2) 2514 x 25H;in
(640 x 650mm)

re-

ducing the time for this journey

from 29 hours to 12 hours 20
minutes. The overall average
speed of 4 1 5mph (66 4km/h)

France:

those of the Pans-Orleans line

in

4-6-2 for Indonesia.

journey

is

possible

served for the

museum

Right: Indonesian Hallways'

"C53" class 4-6-2 in postColonial days.

AfctftJtfe

passageways and double chimneys. Thirty only (Class "23 1G")

had the full treatment with oscillating-cam poppet valves on both
the high-pressure and the lowpressure sides Then there were
134 (Class "23 ID") with poppet
valves on the LP side only, while
23 (Class "23 1 F") had Willoteaux
double piston valves also only on
the LP side. Finally, 85 (Class

"23 1H") made do with some

modest improvements to the
geometry of their valve gears
The results were excellent and
the engines were just as much at
home on fast expresses as on

22-coach wartime trains carrying,

say, 2,500 passengers, which
were noted as running at up to
62mph lOOkph) on level track
A vivid impression of what it
(

was

like to drive

these

fine

and

fire

machines

one

can

of

be

gained from Jean Renoir's cinema

him La Bete Humaine. A plot
packed with blood and lust to an
extent unheard of for the 1930s
was based on Zola's 19th
(it
century novel) quite failed to steal
the show from the chief star, an
Etat Class "23 ID" Pacific

No.231D596

is

intended for

the National Railway Museum at

Mulhouse, while No 231G558 is
preserved also
103

Class

Al 4-6-2

Great Britain:
Great Northern Railway (GNR), 1922

Tractive efiort: 29,3851b

Axle load: 45,000 (20 5t).

Cylinders: 3) 20 x 26in
(508 x 660mm)
Driving wheels: 80in
(

(2,032mm)

Heating surface: 2,930sq

ft

Superheater: 525sq ft (49m 2 )

Steam pressure: 180psi

Grate area: 4 1 25sq

Fuel:

(3

8m 2

OOOgallO .'00 US)

Water:
(22

ft

,8001b (80

7m 3

).

Adhesive weight: 34,5001b

;

(6

It)

Total weight: 332,0001b

(1510

Length

overall: 70ft 5in

(2,146mm)
of April 1922 was a
milestone in the history of the
railways of Great Britain for that

The month

month

which the first

member of the first whole class of
went into serlocomotive
Pacific
vice Few designs can match the
record of these engines and their
derivatives Seventy-nine were to
be built between 1921 and 1934
and they were originally class-

was

the

in

designated with great appropriateness "Al"

The Great Northern Railway

4-6-2s were the work of a man
called Nigel Gresley (later Sir
Nigel Gresley) who became Locomotive Superintendent of the
in 1911. Gresley was very
much what would now be called

GNR

a "systems" engineer by

one means
master

of

that

this

he was more a

concepts than

of detail.

The concept represented by

these famous 4-6-2s was that,
overall, a "big engine" (that is,
one with ample capacity for the
job in hand) was the most economical type This in spite of the
fact that it might cost more to
build. The first ten "A 1 "s cost an
average of 8,560 as against

6,840 for the first ten Great

Western Railway "Castle" 4-6-0s
The thinking behind the design

was

104

also difficult to fault in that

Gresley recognised that simplicity

was the steam locomotive's greatest asset. At the same time he
realised the importance of having
perfect balance of the reciprocating forces. The minimum number
of cylinders to aclneve this was
three and, whilst this meant one
cylinder and set of motion between the frames, Gresley adopted a "derived" valve gear which
meant that there was no more
mechanism to crowd out the
limited space available there.
Gresley was also an artist and
his locomotives were aesthetically
very pleasing and, as will be
related, they went as well as they
looked. He decked them out in a
really attractive livery and gave
them evocative names, most being
taken from racehorses. They
rightly hold their place of honour
in any locomotive hall of fame.
In contrast, they were beset

with bad details

nothing" throttle

stiff

"all-or-

combined with

the absence of any compensating

levers between the rear pony
truck and the driving wheels
made them liable to slipping their
wheels at starting Rails needed

changing because of wheelburn

every few weeks at places where
Gresley 's 4-6-2s habitually started
heavy trains from rest A tendency
1

for the large-ends of inside con-

Above: Preserved ex-London

necting rods to run hot seemed

quite endemic yet those of other

& North

gave more
than occasional trouble There
were also such unforgiveable
companies'

never

things as lubricator pipes which,

they broke, could only be
replaced by lifting the boiler off
the frames. Another problem
was drifting steam obscuring the
view of signals
Certainly one cause of these
if

Eastern Railway class

"A3" 4-6-2 Flying Scotsman
leaves York for the south with
an enthusiasts' special

when an elegant

but smaller and

decorated 4-6-0 called

Pendennis Castle from the rival
Great Western Railway was tried
highly

in

out on the LNER She did everything the big Pacifies could do
with easy mastery and burned
10 per cent less coal, as well as
creating a profound impression

ical

whilst

shortcomings was that Gresley

1923 became Chief MechanEngineer of the London &
North Eastern Railway (LNER),
an amalgamation of the Great
Northern, Great Eastern, North
Eastern, Great Central, North

and other smaller comHe removed himself to

London and became remote from
locomotive development at Doncaster. Gresley has always been
British

panies

given the credit for certain changes to the Pacifies' valve gear

made

1926 which greatly

improved their coal consumption
in

has only recently

Gresley was
not only not responsible for initiating the changes but furthermore
they were devised in the teeth of
his opposition
The situation arose m 1925
at

small cost.

come

It

doing

it

Why the "Castle" was so good

was a bit of a puzzle to the LNER
men, but suspicion rested on the
detailed geometry of the Walschaert's valve gear. Some minor
alterations to the Pacific's valve
gear were tried but the results
were inconclusive. After this,
rather than lose face by asking
for a set of drawings, a cloak-and-

dagger operation was mounted

while another "Castle" was on
hand at Darlington after taking
part in the Stockton

& Darlington

to light that

Below: Flying Scotsman as

running before conversion from
class "A 1 " to class "A3" but after
the attachment of a corridor
tender for long non-stop runs.

Railway Centenary celebrations

same year All the motion

lower standards of maintenance

later the

emphasized

measured and
secretly
through the enterprise of Bert

nesses.
After the war, during which
Gresley had died, efforts were
made to overcome these troubles

was

Spencer, Gresley's Technical AsKings Cross, some new

sistant at

their

detail

weak-

geometry was worked out and

applied to No2555 Centenary
The results were amazing not

Some

the 10 per cent saving in coal

which the "Castle" had achieved
against the other Pacifies, but
twice as much
After a preliminary penod of
disbelief, Gresley took a ride on
Centenary, expressed himself
converted and issued instructions
for all his Pacifies to be altered as

the main works were liable to

turn towards suggestions from
the running sheds, however sen-

success was achieved but

progress was somewhat hampered by the deaf ear which

The "A3"s appearance was

changed when the smoke
problem was effortlessly solved

sible.

slightly

25 years of fiddling with it)

by the fitting of German pattern

(after

smoke deflectors either side of

the smokebox but even in the

they went through shops The

savings in coal amounted to
around 1J tons on a run from

1960s all were easily recognisable

as running mates of the original

"Al" class which first saw the

light of day 40 years before
The prototype itself had been
rebuilt into what was virtually a
new design and one other had
been withdrawn in 1959. Otherwise the class remained intact
until 1962, still on pnme express
passenger work, and performing
better than ever with the double
chimneys which had been fitted
1958-60 The last to go was
British Railways No.60041 Salmon Trout in December 1965
In 1934 the running numbers
had been (in chronological order)

Kings Cross to Newcastle and in

fact enabled runs of this length
to be worked without engine
change. About the same time,
boilers designed for a higher
working pressure of 225 psi
2
1 5.75 kg/cm ) were introduced,

some cases combined with a

reduction of cylinder diameter
Engine weight rose by some six
tons, axle load by two tons
Locomotives fitted with these
boilers were designated class
"A3" instead of "Al" and sometimes as "Super-Pacifies".
The longest non-stop journey
m the world was run by these
locomotives, over the 392% miles
(632km) from London to Edinin

burgh each peacetime summer

beginning in 1928 Special corridor tenders were built and
attached to certain selected locomotives to enable crews to be
changed en route Pullman-type
vestibule connections and automatic 'buck-eye' couplings to
match those on standard LNER
corridor carnages were provided
at the rear of these tenders.
In

1935 No.2750 Papyrus made

a high-speed run from

to

London

Newcastle preparatory

to the

introduction of the "Silver jubilee"

express with a 240 minute schedule. The 268 miles (432km) were
run off in an amazing net time of
230 minutes, an average of 69 9

mph(l 12.5km/h). Coming back,

108mph 174km/h) was touched
at Essendme north of Peter(

borough, a speed believed to be

still a world record for an unstreamlined steam locomotive.

The streamlined version of the

Gresley Pacific came into service
to

run

this

new high-speed

train

This was the event that displaced

the non-streamlined 4-6-2s from
their prime position on the East
Coast main line, but they had no
problem in keeping time on the
streamliners when called upon to

Above: Flying Scotsman

wakes the echoes for a tram-

had of admirers.
change in

The colour
the smoke from white

black indicates that a round

of firing is m progress
to

do so in an emergency.
World War II brought 24-coach
Coast main line
well as the few
remaining "Al"s performances
trains to the East

and the "A3" as

on these and on freight trains

were a vindication of their brilliance as a concept,

although

2743-97,
4470-81,
2543-99,
2500-08. The second of two
post-war renumbenngs had left
them as 102-1 12, 44-100, 35-43
(4470 no longer belonged to this
class). In 1948 British Railways
had added 60,000 to the numbers
so that they became 60035 to

60112
Happily, a certain Alan Pegler
purchased the most famous locomotive in the class (and perhaps

immortal Flying
Scotsman. After adventures which
as far
purneymgs
have included
as the west coast of Amenca, this
grand engine is stationed at the
in the world), the

Steamtown Museum, Carnforth,

and performs with great regulanty
and panache on main-line steamhauled special trains on British
Railways

lines.

Super-Pacific 4-6-2
Axle load:

France:
Northern Railway (Nord), 1923

-11.5001b (190

Cylinders, HP:

Cylinders, LP:

17.6x26in

!)

2)

24.4 x 27.2in

Omm)
Driving wheels: 74 9in

mm)
Heating surface: 2,680sq

ft

Superheater: 6 6sq ft (57m 2

Steam pressure: 227psi

Grate area: 37 5sq

ft

(3

5m 2

Fuel:

Water: T.OOOgall (8,500 US)

(31

5m 3

Adhesive weight: 122,5001b

(56t)

Total weight: 353,0001b

(160t)

Length

overall: 70ft lin

(21,350mm)
have discussed how the
Pans-Orleans Railway were suddenly transformed
by Andre Chapelon from run-ofthe-mill locomotives into the most
remarkable 4-6-2s ever to run
Another French company, the
Nord, used the same methods

We

Pacifies of the

and came nearly as far, but in

easy stages. They began with
two strange-looking 4-6-4s built
in 191 1 which perhaps showed
what not to do rather than what
should be done
All except two of the Nord

ClaSS

(1,750mm).
Heating surface: 2,348sq
(218 2m 2

Superheater: 883sq ft (82

Steam pressure: 200psi

2
).

ft

(4.07m 2

5,4301b (7.0t).
Water: 6,930gall (8,320 US)
1

5m

3
)

Adhesive weight: 167,0001b

(77t)

Total weight: 243,5001b

(110.5t)

Length overall:

75ft

5m

Royal Prussian Union Railway (KPEV), 1922

engine for lines of medium axle

load For speed of design, the
"G 1 2" was based on a locomotive
designed by Henschel for the

Ottoman Railway, and it introduced some striking novelties

for a Prussian design, particularly

bar frames and a Belpaire firebox

having a trapezoidal-shaped grate
set above the driving wheels
"
The novel features of the " G 1 2
were earned over to the "P10",

which also had three cylinders

With larger driving wheels there
the firebox above the dnving
wheels, so the grate was constructed in three portions. The
ition

World War large numbers

I

of Prussian locomotives, particu-

"P8" 4-6-0s, were distributed

throughout Europe as reparations, and in 1919, as part of a
larly

programme

making good
design work began
for

the losses,
2-8-2 locomotive, intended
particularly for secondary passenger traffic on the more hilly
routes of the country Post-war
difficulties delayed work on the

on a

new class, which was designated

"P10" and although
was deit

signed as a Prussian engine, the

German State Railway had been
established by the time that the

one was completed in 1922

by Borsig
Although much of the design

first

106

Hornby, the British toy train

makers, chose a "Super-Pacific"

was insufficient clearance to pos-

(22,980mm).
After

and the "Calais-Mediterranean"

expresses. It says enough that

"Golden Arrow" between Pans

and the Channel Ports.

had been
produced in 1917 to meet the
urgent need for a powerful goods

ft

"Super-Pacific"
awaits departure from the
Gare du Nord at Pans. These
locomotives for many years ran
the boat trains such as the

cylinder 2- 1 0-0, which

(14kg/cm 2
Grate area: 43.8sq

Above: A Nord

provements in the steam circuits

and a modest increase in the
steaming capacity of their boilers
made them into remarkable engines, equally famous on both
sides of the English Channel for
their work on such legendary
trains as the "Golden Arrow"

reflected Prussian practice of the

previous twenty years, one class
had a particular influence on the
"P 10". This was the "G 1 2" three-

Driving wheels: 68 9in

(31

Lorraine Railway in 1908, was

delivered in 1912-13 The war
prevented any further development until 1 923, when the first 40
"Super- Pacifies" were delivered
from Blanc-Misseron of Lille Im-

P10 2-O-Z

Tractive effort: 40,4001b

(18,200kg)
Axle load: 43,0001b ( 19 5t).
Cylinders: (3) 20.5 x 26.0m
(520 x 660mm).

Fuel:

4-6-2s were de Glenn compounds

and a group of 40 quite standard
for the day, based on some
locomotives built for the Alsace-

one was parallel and fitted

between the rear driving wheels,

front

there was then a taper outwards,

and the rear section was parallel
at the greater width. Compared
with a normal wide firebox behind
the driving wheels, the trapezoidal grate brought the firebox
further forward, and gave a better
weight distribution, with more
weight on the dnving wheels
The resultant shape of the firebox
walls, with double curves in both
vertical and horizontal directions,
gave trouble with maintenance,
and no more Belpaire fireboxes
or trapezoidal grates were built
for the German railways.

Above: Class "39" (ex-Prussian

Union class "P10") 2-8-2
No. 39.001. These powerful
locomotives were one of a

number

of Prussian classes

adopted for the new system.

The denved motion for dnving

the inside valve from the outside
valves,

which had been used on

previous Prussian three-cylinder

engines, was abandoned in favour
of three separate valve gears, but
there was a novelty in that the
drive for the inside valve was
taken from a second return crank
attached to the return crank of
the left-hand valve gear.
Another new feature were the
large smoke deflectors, which
became standard practice for all

large German locomotives until

the introduction of a smaller
pattern
the 1 950s
Under the German State the
"P10"s were classified as "39",

and 260 of them were built

between 1922 and 1927 They

became popular throughout

the
country, although their sphere of

operation was limited by their

high axle load. With a maximum
permissible speed of 68mph
1 lOkm/h) they were able to haul
(

any German express passenger

general increase of
the 1930s Although
classified as secondary passenger
engines, they were true mixedtraffic engines, and they continued
to share their time between passenger and freight work until the
train until the

speed

in

El/Dl Class 4-4-0

plus some blue "Wagon-Lits"
cars as the basis for their first
train set which had any pretensions to realism The "SuperPacifics" had no difficulty in running the 184 miles (296km) from
Calais to Pans with 550 tons and
sometimes more in 184 minutes.
This included the 1 in 250 (0.4
per cent) climb to Caffiers as well
as other long inclines, yet kept
within the legal speed limit of

120km/h). A handsome
ensured that these
magnificent engines looked as
well as they ran

75mph
brown

livery

More "Super-Pacifies" were

1925 (10) and 1931 (40)
and these differed in detail, but
all 90 were regarded as interchangeable. A narrow firebox
lift 9in (3,580mm) long seemed
to present no problems to the
French chauffeurs and the boiler
provided ample steam for the
two high-pressure cylinders
Some of the early engines had
built in

balanced slide-valves for the lowpressure cylinders in place of

piston- valves Two others had
poppet valves and two more
were rebuilt as two-cylinder simples with Cossart valve gear.

One (No.3. 1 280) was streamlined

for a time

be seen

and this locomotive can

in the

National Railway

Museum at Mulhouse The others

were

all

withdrawn by 1962

Great Britain:
South Eastern

& Chatham

Railway (SECR),

919

7
8

Castle Class 4-6-0

Tractive effort: 3 1 ,6251b

(14,182kg)
Axle load: 44,5001b (20.25t).
Cylinders: (4) 16 x26in
(406 x 660mm)

ft

Superheater: 263sq
(24 4

m2

ft

Steam pressure: 225psi

(15 8 kg. cm 2
Grate area: 30.3sq ft (2.81
Fuel: 3,5001b (6t).
Water: 4,000gaU (4,800 US)
)

).

(18m 3
Adhesive weight: 133,5001b
).

(60t)

Total weight: 283,5001b

(129t)

Length

overall: 65ft 2in

of the

GWR

produced his first "Saint" largely

based on rugged American practice,

he also obtained from France

de Glehn compound, later named La France.

This elegant French lady was put
through her paces and compared
a four-cylinder

with the two-cylinder design

Whilst there was not sufficient
advantage to justify the complication of compounding, it did
seem that the easier running of
the compounds' sophisticated

mechanical layout was something

worth examining further. Hence
the building in 1906 of a fourcylinder simple 4-4-2, with the
same "No. 1 " boiler as the "Saint"

make direct comparison

between a two-cylinder and a
four-cylinder mechanism This
4-4-2 was No.40 (later 4-6-0
No 4000) North Star.
The advantages of fourclass, to

cylinders were, first, that the

reciprocating parts could in principle be arranged to be perfectly
in balance, whereas the balancing
of a two-cylinder locomotive was
always a compromise. Second,
.." the various rods
and
108

which transmitted the

piston force to the wheels would
only be half those in the twocylinder machine. The disadvantages, of course, were the extra
costs involved in making nearly
twice as much mechanism and
also that the moving parts inside
the frames would be difficult to
reach.
This was compounded in the

frames, but there was a problem

Deeley of the Midland
with R
Railway over patent rights

case of Churchward because,

having decided very sensibly to
use the same set of Walschaert's
valve gear for both the cylinders

ten Kings (not to be confused

with the "King" class of 1927) in
1909 and ten Queens in 1910

Two more French compounds

had

to

simple versus compound issue

was finally determined, but construction of "Star" locomotives

proceeded to the quantity of

eleven in 1907 A batch of ten
called Knights followed in 1908,

and 1911 The year 1913 brought

five Princes, 1914 fifteen Princesses and finally there came
twelve Abbeys in 1922-23. But all
were known generally by the

had a peculiar "scissors" valve gear, whereby the

drive on each side was taken
from the cylinder crosshead on
the other This slightly mitigated
the complexity between the

and his successor as Chief

Mechanical Engineer, Charles
Collett ordered his staff to work
out the details of a "Star" enlarged
to take advantage of an increase
in the permitted axle load from

name of "Star"
By now Churchward had

with this "Castle" class

locomotive

1935 livery.

20 tons It had been

that the Swindon No.
recently introduced for
the big "47xx" class mixed
traffic 2-8-0s, would suit but the
18J

to

hoped
boiler,

design incorporating it became

too heavy In the end a new No.
boiler was designed especially
for the "Castle" class, with very
happy results indeed The rest of
the locomotive was pure "Star"
with an extra inch on the diameter
of

the

cylinders,

slightly larger (but

cab with

class
tired

Above: The Great Western

Railway honoured its builder

be obtained before the

on one side of the locomotive, he

displayed a strange reluctance to
expose this gear to the vulgar
gaze Hence the mechanism between the frames became very
complex indeed North Star herself in fact

(19,863mm)

When Churchward

Great Western Railway (GWR), 1923

guides

Driving wheels: 80!^in

(2,045mm).
Heating surface: 2,049sq
(190 m 2

Great Britain:

its

side

visually,
still

the

exiguous)

windows made

re-

Below: "Castle" class 4-6-0 No.

5094 Tretower Castle at speed
with a Bristol to Paddmgton
express. These superb
locomotives were the mainstay
of
express services.

G WR

true that carnages were slipped

at three points en route but on
the last stretch gradients of up to
1
in 37 (27 per cent) were

an impact on those who worshipped each separate Great

Western rivet The first "Castle",

No 4073

Caerphilly Castle ap-

encountered.

peared in August 1 923 numbered

consecutively after the

No 4072

last

The last and 171st "Castle"

No.7037 Swindon appeared in
1 950, by which time a few of the
earliest had already been withdrawn. The 171 included those
fifteen which were converted
from "Star" and one (No. 1 1
Viscount Churchill) which had
originally been that odd-man-out
amongst GWR locomotives,

"Star"

Tresco Abbey.

The second "Castle" No 4074

Caldicot Castle, was put through
a series of coal consumption
tests Afterwards Collett presented a paper to the World Power
Conference

nounced

in

which he anwas an

that the result

831b of coal
per drawbar-horsepower-hour
overall figure of 2

This was received with a certain

scepticism by other locomotive
engineers who had been apt to
give themselves a pat on the
back if they got down anywhere
was
near 41b Certainly the
then far ahead of its rivals, a

GWR

was the design of

ma)or
the valves and valve gear, which
enabled very short cut-offs to be
used, hence expansive use of
steam gave most of the advantages of compounding without
factor

the complications
The tenth Castle"

No 4082

Windsor Castle, was new when

King George V and Queen Mary

Swindon Factory in
1924, no doubt the name was
held back until then His Maiesty
visited the

personally drove the engine from

the station to the works and a
brass plaque was added to the
cab side commemorating the
fact

many

No4082 earned
years but not

all

this

for

her days

by an unhappy chance she

was under repair when King
George V died in 1952 The
insignia of No 4082 were quickly
transferred to No 70 13 Bnstol
Castle, which assumed the identity
for

Churchwards

GWR

the then infant (and hated) British

Railways
This time the successive batches kept to the same generic

name

for the class

fortunately

locomotive

is

kept

an adequate supply of fortified

houses therein Even so, there
were a few exceptions such as
the 1 5 converted "Star's (actually
two Stars, one Knight, two Queens
and ten Abbeys) and there was a
group named after noble Earls,
the result of complaints from
some aristocratic gentlemen that

spare over

names had been given to

rather small and oldfashioned engines In World War
II twelve were given names of
famous aircraft and three gentlemen by the names of Isambard
Kingdom Brunei, Sir Daniel
Gooch and G.J. Churchward
amonst others also were rememtheir

some

bered
At the time of its introduction
the "Castle" class was the most

think they would not be found

out, but the row which
fans raised in the national press
the differences were easily spotted
was a major embarassment to

of

this claim were convinced

during exchange trials in 1925
and 1926 during which a "Castle"
was proved to have an economical mastery with something to

at the

Birmingham Railway Museum

and is used on mainline
enthusiast specials.

powerful locomotive design in

the country, although far from
being the largest Those sceptical

Above: Preserved Castle class

No. 7029 Clun Castle This

the stormy past of Great Western

territory meant that there was

of this Royal engine for the

funeral train It was perhaps a
tnfle naive of the authorities to

GWR

4-6-2 77?e Great

Bear. These older "Castles" were

the first to go
During the years 1 957 to 1 960,
had
some time after the
become part of British Railways
in 1948, a number of the "Castle"
class were modernised with larger

the hardest sched-

LNER or LMS had to

whereas those companies

ules the
offer,

were unable to field a candidate

which could do the same on the
GWR. The "Castle" class handled
the "Cheltenham Flyer" which
for some years was the fastest
train in the world with a 65
minute schedule for the 77 J4
miles 1 24km) from Swindon to
Paddington Station, London A
run with this train on 6 June 1932
with Tregenna Castle in 5634
minutes, an average speed to
start-to-stop of 8 1 7 ( 1 3 1 5km/h),
(

was also a world record for some

time after it was accomplished
The "Castle" class was capable
of handling heavy trains The
famous "Cornish Riviera Limited"
could load up to 1 5 of the GWR's
70ft carriages on the by no
means easy road from Paddington to Plymouth on a schedule
which averaged 55 mph (88
km/h) for the 225 7 miles For

many years this was the longest

non-stop run in the country It is

superheaters and double chimneys. The results were excellent,

but the dieselisation which immediately followed prevented the

improvements having any beneficial effect on train working.

Withdrawal began in earnest
in 1962 and the last "Castle"
ceased running m normal service
1 965. But this was not to
be the end of their history, and it
measure
of the esteem and
is a
affection in which they were held
that seven have been preserved
The Science Museum had room
for one only modern steam engine

in July

to illustrate the best in British

locomotive engineering and they

chose No 4073 Caerphilly Castle.

This steam locomotive is also the
only modern one to appear on a
British postage stamp
Three preserved "Castles" are
currently in working order. No
7029 Clun Castle at the Birmingham Railway Museum, No 5051
Drysllwyn Castle at the Great
Western Society's Didcot Steam
Centre, and, so far away and in
such a remote part of Australia
that its best address is latitude
2045'S longitude 11610'E, is

No 4079 Pendenms Castle

109

Class

424 4-8-0

Tractive effort
ve the

Axle load:
Cylinders:
ilay

of

one

Driving wheels:

itre to

harp curves

work

Heating surface:
Superheater:

Steam pressure:
yed

on suburban
ii-and-

Grate area:
Fuel:

Water
pressi

them

be

Adhesive weight: 129 J 001b

to

Total weight:

design was developed

from an unbuilt 2-8-0 of 1915,
without the Brotan boiler of that

Length overall

predecessor, and 27 were

i

:cs

volumes for the qualities

locomotives

ellent

:tinued to

be

built

period of 32 years and

their period of service has now
spanned 58 years. As so often,
:

iccess stems largely from

a further

machines

in

Stephenson

the

mould The most unusual

feature

the wheel arrangement, by

reason of the leading bogie for
guidance plus the high proportion
of adhesive weight to engine
3-0 type (in North
:a known as "Mastodon")
is

would seem to be well suited to

heavy express trains, yet cases of
its use are rare in this instance

gauge

the high structure

of the

218 were

Axle

Cylinders HP:
(450 x

::

28K2 in

720mm)

Cylinders LP:

ported

War

II

in

Hungary at the same

he design has been exto Slovakia (during

World

when Czechoslovakia was

partitioned), and to North Korea.

Some were taken over by the
Jugoslav State Railways in 1945,
and from the same date a few ran
in Russia for a time, pending
return to Hungary

Right: Hungarian State Railways

class "424" 4-8-0 No .424. 075
on a local passenger tram

Eastern Railway

(Est),

The de Glehn system of compounding was capable of expansion not only to the 4-6-2 but also
to the 4-8-2. The first de Glehn
4-8-2 entered service in 1925,

26x2;-

(2)

Driving wheels:

and

these ran

Z41A ClaSS 4-8-Z

load:

built

1955-6 there were

another 120 Numbers ran from
424,00 to 424,365, but not all of
in

finally

eing simple and rugged

built

by the State Works in

Budapest During the war years
,

was No.4 1 00 1 of the Eastern

line which
connected Pans with cities such
as Chalons-sur-Marne, Nancy,
Belfort and Strasbourg The loco
was built at the company's works
at Epernay and, after a four year
period of testing and some modification, 41 more were built as
the top express locomotive fleet
this

'.

925
Railways, but after nationalisation
of all the railways in France in
1 938, they ]oined their 4 1 sisters
on the Est lines
In the meantime, during 1933,
some very severe trials were held

Railway of France, a

Heating surface: 2,335sq

Superheater: 996sq

ft

ft

(92.6m 2

Steam pressure: 228psi

Grate area: 47 7s ft 4 4m 2
Adhesive weight: 165,0001b
:i

Length

overall: 8Gt:

(26,275mm).
(Tender details not ava

).

).

Soon afterwards, a
further 49 were constructed for
the State (ex-V/estern Railway)
of the line.

Below: Two views of Eastern

Railway of France class "24 1A"
4-8-2s. That on the left shows
No.24 1A. 68 m French National
Railways livery The other shows
24 1 -008 as running m Est days.

on the Northern Railway One

test was to haul the Golden
Arrow express between Paris
and Calais made up with extra
carnages to 650 tons Both the
Eastern and the PLM companies

supplied 4-8-2s while the PansOrleans-Midi line sent one of

their

famous

rebuilt 4-6-2s

Eastern engines suffered

The

damage

frames and also showed a

higher fuel consumption than the
P-O 4-6-2 So far as the Eastern
to the

4300 Class 4-8-2

United States:

mi

;;

Tractive effort:

was concerned,

the

result

of

these very searching tests was

that some rebuilt P-0 4-6-2s
were acquired and, moreover,
the rebuilding of the 4-8-2s on

Chapelon

lines

was put

in

hand

with some success At a cost of

only 6 tons extra weight, the
converted engines could produce 3,700hp in the cylinders, a
40 per cent increase. At the same
time coal consumption fell by
some 1 5 per cent

An

interesting feature was a

the amount of

six-jet blast-pipe,

draught produced by this could

be controlled from the cab This
was one further control to add to
the two throttles, two reversing
gears and the intercepting valve
of the de Glehn system!
The prototype of the class,

No .41.001

originally

but

latterly

No.241Al, superbly restored,

displayed

Museum

in

at

is

the National Railway

Mulhouse

;road(SP). 1923

Above: Southern Pacific

Railroad "4300" class 4-8-2
No.4330. The number "51",
carried near the smokestack is
the number of the tram which
the locomotive is hauling.

,'.1001b

(25,907kg)
Axle load: 61,5001b (28t)
Cylinders: (2) 28 x30in
(71 1 x 762mm).

Driving wheels:
(1,867mm)

Heating surface: 4,552sq

ft

tractive

high
).

Steam pressure:
(14 8kg,

cm 2

Grate area: 75sq ft (7m

Fuel (oil): 4,000gall (4,700 US)
(18m 3
Water: 13,300gall( 10,000 US)
(60m 3
Adhesive weight: 246,0001b
)

(112t)

Total weight: 61 1,0001b

5t)

Length

overall: 97ft

but
only desir-

essential,

for their trains leaving Sacrai

2 lOpsi
2

(277

is

able These things were relevant

to the Southern Pacific Railroad,

Superheater: l,162sqft

(108m 2

effort

power output

9m

(29,794mm).

for the east had the notorious

climb over the Sierras to face,
from near sea level to 6,885ft
(2,099m) in 80 miles ( 1 28km)

So in 1923 SP went to the

American Locomotive Co. of
Schenectady for the first batch of
4-8-2 locomotives The design
was based on standard US practice, the one feature of note being
the cylindrical so-called Vander-

tender A booster engine was

driving on the rear carrying
wheels, and this could give an
extra 10,0001b (4,537kg) of tractive effort, provided the steam
supply held out
SP impressed their personality
on the "4300"s by having them
oil-burning and by their trade
mark, the headlight mounted
below centre on the silver-grey
front of the smoke box The 77
engines of the class were very
bilt

fitted,

The 4-8-2 or "Mountain" type

was appropriately named, its
origins are a nice illustration of
the difference between tractive
effort

and power. Locomotives

with a high tractive effort are

often described as powerful, but
this is misleading The 4-8-2 was
developed from the 4-6-2 but,
the extra pair of drivers
that a higher tractive effort
could be exerted, the power
output which depends on the
size of the fire had to remain

meant

because there was still

only one pair of wheels to carry
the firebox
For climbing mountains a high

limited

all the later ones being

SP's own shops at Sacramento. Some of the earlier batches
had 8-wheel tenders of lower

successful,
built in

capacity,
!

instead

of

12- wheel

ione of the class has been

preserved
111

Class 01 4-6-2
Tractive effort

Axle load:
Cylinders:

Driving wheels

Heating surface:

Superheater
Steam pressure:
Grate

a:

V8psi

Germany:
,926

came into the stock of DB in West

Germany and 70 into the stock
DR in East Germany Of these 55

was

a reversion trom recent

Prussian practice, and. at a time
when engineers in many countnes
were building boilers with a
forward extension of the firebox
(the so-called
ber"),

Wagner made

the

The remaining locomotives on

DB

received the post-war

deflectors, in place of the
Another
full-depth deflectors
alteration which affected the appearance of many of the engines
was the removal of the sloping
plates which connected the side
running plates to the buffer beam

the front of

smoke

his firebox almost straight, as he

considered that the extra maintenance cost of the combustion

chamber was

not justified

It

DB locomotives and 35 of
DR locomotives were rebuilt

of the

"combustion cham-

was

also unusual for a boiler of this

size to have a parallel barrel
The general appearance of the
to Prussian

The

practice, but with various parts

attached to the outside of the

The

engines

owed much

boiler for accessibility, there

was

a distinct North American touch

Of the three apparent domes, the
first housed the feedwater inlet,
the second was the sand box,
and the third housed the regulator Like the final Prussian designs the engines had bar frames
The long gap between the trailing
coupled axle and the trailing
carrying axle resulted in the
carrying axle having a slightly
greater axle load than any of the
coupled axles
The detailed design of the
engines was undertaken by Borsig of Berlin, and the first engines
were built by that firm and by
Slow progress with upgrading lines for 20-tonne axle
loads inhibited the rapid construction of "01"s, but by 1938 a

AEG

total of

231 had been

built,

to

of the

increasing the maximum

of the class to 80 8mph

speed

(130k::

oil

because of the
With their rebuilt

were the last express

steam engines at work in Europe
There was one other German
Pacific to be mentioned, which
had an unusual history As part
of the experimental work on
sisters they

high-speed steam

In the meantime, in 1930, a

smaller version of the
"01", designated "03", was introduced for lines still limited to an
18-tonne axle load, and 298 of
slightly

these were built

up to 1937
1937 the speed limit

Until

most

lines

62mph 100km
(

h),

so

it

was not

the general raising of the

maximum speed

to

120km h

full

the

continued

acceleration

of

Below: A German Federal

Railways' class "01 "4-6-2, used
for handling the principal
steam express trains Germany.

Above: This picture shows

one of the smaller German
class "03"4-6-2s, No.032 180-2.
Note the small post-war "Witte"
pattern smoke deflectors and,
again, the computer check digit.

of

Germany was

in

1937 that the "01" and "03" had

scope as express engines
However, by 1937 there were
already 58 runs daily in Germany
booked at start-to-stop speeds of
60mph (97km/h) or more, and
the majority of these were worked
by the "01 "or "03".
When further express engines
were built from 1939 onwards,

for

engines were still at

after being returned

shortage of

compounds

were lengthened, with a corresponding shortening of the

smokebox, and later still steel
fireboxes were used in place of
copper Improved braking and
larger bogie wheels were introduced as part of a programme

DR

to regular service

which were added a further 10

by the rebuilding of the "02"

creased from 25 6in (650mm) to

26 Oin (660mm) The boiler tubes

DB

work in 1 98 1

until

Experience with the first engines resulted in later engines

having the cylinder diameter in-

DR

unrebuilt engines on
retained their onginal appearance
engines was
last of the
withdrawn in 1973, but several

passenger trains made it necessary for them to have a maximum

speed of 93mph 1 50km/h), and
following experience with the
"05" 4-6-4 locomotives, the new
engines were given full streamlining and three cylinders These
"
engines were classed "01 10
and "03 10 ", and 55 of the former
and 60 of the latter were built
between 1939 and 1941, but for
the war, the totals would have
been 250 and 140 respectively
Apart from two expenmental
Pacifies made in West Germany
in 1 957 these were the last new
steam express locomotives to be
(

built in

Germany

After the partition of Germany

171 locomotives of class "01"

trains, a streamlined three-cylinder 4-6-6 tank

was built in 1939. Like the Class
"05" 4-6-4 it had dnving wheels

90 inn (2,300mm) in diameter,

and was designed for a maximum
speed of 108mph (175k:was used between Berlin and
Dresden This engine came into
DR ownership, and in 1960
:

parts of it, together with some

parts of an experimental
pressure 2-10-2 locomotive, were
used to produce a high-speed
Pacific

for testing

new

rolling

stock and making brake tests

all-welded boiler was identical to that used in rebuilding the
former Prussian Class "P10" locomotives, DR Class "39" The

The

engine was

partially enclosed in
a streamlined casing of distinctive
shape, with a shapely chimney
The designed speed of the engine
was lOOmph (160km/h), but it

was operated

well above this

speed into the 1970s, being the
steam engine in the world to
exceed the magic speed of 100
miles per hour
last

n
King Arthur Class 4-6-0 so"em

ay (srj, 1925

Tractive effort: 25,3201b

Axle load:

o 0001b (20.50

Cylinders
.

x 28in

1mm)

Driving wheels: 79in

nm)

Heating surface: ,878sq

ft

Superheater: 33 7sq ft (3
Steam pressure: 200psi

Grate area: 30sq

Fuel:

1,0001b

ft

(2

3m 2

8m 2

(5t)

Water: 5,000gall (6,000 US)

Adhesive weight: 134,5001b

Total weight: 310,5001b (14

Length

It)

overall: 66ft 5in

(20,244mm).

No

of the Turntable
got their romantic names from
the Arthurian legends and this
veiled an extreme ordinariness

but in both cases this was no

detriment to indeed it would
enhance the service they gave.
In 1923 Richard Maunsell was

doubt the same applied to

King Arthur's knights themselves,

These Knights

Lord Nelson Class 4-6-0

(15,196kg).
Axle load: 46,0001b (2 It)

Cylinders: (4) 16H> x 24in

(419 x610mm).
Driving wheels: 79m
(2,007mm).
Heating surface: ,989sq
(18.5m 2
1

ft

).

).

).

Fuel:

1,0001b

(5t)

Water: 5,000gall (6,000 US)

(22.7m 3
Adhesive weight: 139,0001b
).

(63t).

Total weight: 3 14,0001b

(142.5t)

Length overall:

69ft 934in

(21,279mm).

When Southern Railway No.850

Lord Nelson was new in 1926,
she was pronounced the most
powerful locomotive

the country on the slightly spunous basis

of tractive effort. So Bntain's

114

in

it. Lord Nelson was the protoa class of 16 noble

locomotives, named after great
seamen of bygone days. Of the
other locomotives, seven appeared in 1928 and eight in
1929. Running numbers were
850 to 865. So when latter-day
explorers set off to travel to, say,

type of

).

Moscow,
Istanbul,
Bombay,
Athens, Monte Carlo or even Le
Touquet, up front at Victoria
Station was Sir Francis Drake or
perhaps Sir Walter Raleigh, to
speed them on their way.
The "Lord Nelson" class was
born out of a need for a more
powerful locomotive than the
"King Arthur" class in order to
handle the heavy holiday expresses, a locomotive with a little
more in hand to cover out-ofcourse delays. The Southern Railway's Civil Engineer was per-

suaded

to allow a 34-ton increase

axle load

on

with a

In British Hail days,

London

to

Ramsgate

tram.

ri

of

Superheater: 376sq ft (35m 2

Steam pressure: 220psi
(15.5kg/cm 2
Grate area: 33sq ft (3. 1 m 2

Above:

ex-Southern Railway "King

Arthur" No. 30804 Sir Cador of
Cornwall leaves Bromley, Kent,

souSern

smallest railway had the strongest

locomotive, as well as a publicity
department which made the most

Tractive effort: 33,5001b

made Chief Mechanical Engineer

Southern Railway newly
formed by amalgamating the
London & South Western, London, Brighton & South Coast
and South Eastern & Chatham
of the

certain principal

main

ay (sr>,

lines

926

because

of the better

balancing implicit in a multicylinder locomotive The result

was a magnificent but rather

complex four-cylinder 4-6-0, with

a Belpaire firebox and a large
grate.

An

interesting feature of the

design was the setting of the

cranks successively at 135 degrees to one another, instead of
the more usual 90 degrees The
effect of this was to double the
number of puffs or beats from
four to eight for each revolution
of the wheels; the object was to
give a more even torque, which
would be a help in avoiding
slipping the wheels at starting.
One adverse effect of the con-

sequent smoothness of running

was that coal in the long bogie
tenders failed to feed itself forward
as it did when shaken by a
rough and rugged "King Arthur",
so "Lord Nelson" firemen who
had shovelled all day had to
perform near the end of their
stints the additional chore of

bringing coal forward in the

tender
The "Lord Nelson's" one defect

was that they were hard to fire.

The even slope of a "King Arthur"
grate presented little difficulty,
but the "Lord Nelson" one was
not only larger (10ft 6m -3,200
instead of 9ft 2,743mm)
but had a level section at the rear

mm

consequence, shovelfuls had

be placed very accurately and
end had to fed with coal
thrown all the way, instead of
being placed further back to
work itself forward. The whole
picture was that of a locomotive
that needed very skillful firing if it
was to steam properly If that skill
was present, the "Lord Nelson"
In
to

the front

class ran superbly,

if

not,

then

was lost in running and

maybe the final disgrace for an
engine crew would occur an
time

out-of-course stop to raise steam.

The problem was compounded

by the

fact that, with only

16 of

the class in existence, many crews

encountered a
unfortunately

Railways. His

own SECR

loco-

motive affairs were getting into

good shape, but he understandably had doubts about the
foreigners The LSWR ran longdistance expresses to the west

country and the front runners in

its fleet were twenty 4-6-0s called
the "N15" class. Simplicity was
the theme of their design with
two big 22in x 28in (559 x
7 1 1 mm) cylinders, outside valves
and valve gear, and a parallel
boiler with a round-top firebox
did not have
Since the
water troughs, big bogie tenders
were attached. They ran well but
by SECR standards not brilliantly,

LSWR

SECR More direct steam passages and larger superheaters

were used nd the ashpan redesigned to improve combustion.
A young man called John Elliot,
in charge of Public Relations on
the SR a post in which at that
time there

was plenty

of

scope

suggested the names and in

February 1925 No.453 Kmg
Arthurleb. the ex-LSWR works at
Eastleigh, to be followed in March
by Queen Gumevere, Sir Lancelot
and eight other knights. Associated names like Excahbur, Camelot

and Morgan

le

Fay were

given to the 20 older locomotives,

which also had some

of the

new

(ex-LBSCR) section of the SR

and had smaller 3,500 gallon
six-wheel tenders So there were
now, all told, 74 of the "King
Arthur" class and they handled
most of the principal SR express
passenger assignments until
Maunsell's first "Lord Nelson"
class arrived in 1927
The line on which Kmg Arthur
and his knights rode most often
and most nobly into battle was
the switchback road beyond Salisbury to Exeter. No 768 Sir Balm,
travelling eastwards one day in
1934 was observed to regain 6
minutes on a 96-minute schedule
with 420 tons, 65 tons more than

maximum

down

and Maunsell set about making

some improvements to be incor-

technical

them.

timing.

porated in a further batch

Cylinders on the new locomotives had valves and valve gear
which gave events of the kind

At the same time 30 more were

ordered from the North British
Locomotive Co. of Glasgow while

speed reached was 86!mph

(139km/h) at Axminster but
speeds of 90mph ( 1 45km/h) and
over were not uncommon.
Perhaps the most remarkable
run with one of these engines
occurred in 1936 when No.777

had made the "El" class

4-4-0s such a success on the
that

features

applied

to

the following year a final 14 were

built at Eastleigh These latter
were intended for the Central

the

laid

for the

On this day the maximum

Sir Lanvel regained 1 7 'yk minutes

in covering the 83-M miles ( 1 34km)

maintain as might have been

A test with No 850 intended to

simulate an enlarged "Atlantic

It

is

thus appropriate that the

"King Arthur" allocated to the

National Railway Museum and
currently being restored to running order was this same No 777
The "King Arthur" class started
to be withdrawn well before
steam locomotive preservation
became a mama, so none were
preserved privately. The saying
"happy is the land that has no
applied to the class,
since apart from playing general
post with types of tenders, their
owners found the "King Arthur"
history"

locomotives

main

good enough
as they were

virtually

right to the

to rebuilt,

end

Below: "King Arthur" class No.

772 Sir Percivale depicted m
the livery adopted by the
Southern Railway m 1 938, when
a brighter green was substituted
for the olive green of the 1 920s.

test

for

a quiet

Sunday because the train stretched so far out of busy Waterloo

Station that several other plat-

forms would be blocked Even

normal schedule time was
kept to Exeter, the 171% miles
(275km) being run in 1 97 minutes,
including a four minute stop at
so,

locomotives but did not find

favour The tenders were altered
so that they were self-trimming,
even when attached behind a
smooth-running "Lord Nelson"
and also, of course, as time went

expected

of 69.2mph (111
km/h) with a load of 345 tons.
start-to-stop

schedule the

"Lord Nelson" very infrequently

Eventually, in the late 1930s
the problem was solved by improving the air-flow through the
firegrate by fitting a multiple-jet
blast pipe arrangement known
as the Lemaitre Double chimneys
were tried at first on two of the

on, expertise needed to make

these shy steamers go became
more widespread amongst the
firemen In other respects the
designers certainly knew their
business in that the complex and
not too accessible mechanism
with two sets of cylinders, motion
and the Walschaert's valve gear
between the frames, gave little
trouble and was not as costly to

from Salisbury to Waterloo in

minutes an average speed

72%

and a shorter one at

Sidmouth Junction There were
also delays due to weekend
engineering works the leopard
had plenty of spots even in those
high and far off times. In the end,
though, so few "Lord Nelson's"
were built that it was not possible
to schedule these long trains on a
Salisbury

regular basis

Lord Nelson has survived to

be taken into the National Railway

Museum

collection

and

is

cur-

doing great things on

various special main line excurrently

Above: Afo. 850 Lord Nelson, as

preserved and restored to
Southern Railway colours,
with an enthusiasts' steam
Special

1980.

Coast Express", which earned

through portions to six Devon
and Cornwall resorts, and loaded

up

was run on 10
was necessary to

to 16 coaches,

April 1927

It

sions

Once

or twice, though,

it

has shown a trace of the old unforgiving spirit towards firemen

who thought they were the
masters.

115

Class

XC

4-6-2

anticipation Alas, they

Tractive effort: 30,6251b

(13,895kg)
Axle load: 43.5001b (19 750
Cylinders: (2) 23 x28in
(584 x711mm)
Driving wheels: 74in

satisfactory,

and bad

ft

and fractures of the motion

and frames.
Although none of the problems
were fundamental, nothing was
done until in 1937 an "XB"
derailed at Bihta on the East
boiler

Steam pressure:
7kg/cm 2

(12

180psi

).

Grate area: 5 1 sq

ft

75m 2

(4

Fuel: 3 1,5001b (14 30.

Indian Railway,

Water: 6,000gall (7,200 US)

loss of

(27

25m 3

Adhesive weight: 130,0001b

(59 50

Total weight: 392,5001b (1780

Length

overall: 76ft

in

were not

being poor steamers,

riders to the point not of

discomfort but of danger The

valve events were good on paper,
but for some reason gave sluggish
performance, while the engines
were also prone to cracks in the

(1,880mm)

Heating surface: 2,429sq

(226m 2
Superheater: 636sq ft
(59m 2

India:
Indian Railways Standard (IRS), 1927

(23,203mm)

The

story of the Indian Railways

Standard (IRS) 4-6-2 locomotives
has not been a happy one After

World War
a desire to make
use of cheaper coal of lower
quality than that used formerly
I,

led to a specification for locomotives for India provided with

wide fireboxes The passenger
engines were the "XA", "XB",

"XC" classes, i.e. light,

medium and heavy 4-6-2s They
had maximum axle loads of 1 3,
and

19^ tons respectively

practice was followed,
most were built by the Vulcan
17 and

British

Foundry

of Newton-le-Willows,
Lancashire
With ample evidence to hand

many

this

time with the

got

lives; this at last

things moving After an investigation had been made by engineers from France and Britain
some of the quite modest modifications required to put the faults
nght were done If only the
inertia of bureaucracy had not
prevented these corrections being

made

earlier before 284 locomotives had been built and 1

years had elapsed since con-

struction began'

When

British India

was

titioned in 1947, about 60

4-6-2s went to East and

par-

"IRS"

West

76 "XA"s, 81
"XB"s and 50 "XC"s in India
proper In 1957 they were rePakistan, leaving

numbered

in the all India list

Indian Railways' ("XA" 2200 1 -76,

"XB" 22101-81; "XC" 22201-50)

although by then occupied on
rather menial passenger duties, a
few (a very few) survived into the
1980s, the last being withdrawn
in 1981.

of the first-class qualities of the

"BESA"

4-6-0s previously de-

Right: Indian Railways class

these locomotives from Britain

was awaited with pleasurable

"XB" 4-6-2 No.22 104.

This was the medium size ol the
three IBS Racihc designs.

Class S 4-6-2

Victorian

scribed, the arrival of the

of

first

Australia:

Government Railways (VGR), 1928

Tractive effort: 41,1 001b

(18,643kg)
Axle load: 53,0001b (24t).
Cylinders: (3) 20^ x28in

(521x711mm).
Driving wheels: 73in
(1,854mm).
Heating surface: 3,121sq

(290m 2

ft

Superheater: 631sq

ft

(59m 2

).

Steam pressure: 200psi

2

14kg/cm
Grate area: 50sq
)

ft

(4

7m 2

Fuel: 18,5001bs(8 5t)

Water: 13,000gall( 15,500 US)

(59m 3
Adhesive weight: 158,0001b
).

(72t)

Total weight: 497,5001b

Length

(226t).

overall: 85ft 6in

(26,060mm)
These big 4-6-2s were

built

by

the Victonan Railways in 1928

for the principal trains between
Melbourne and the New South
Wales border at Albury, on the
way to Sydney. Their heavy axle

load

precluded running

else-

where on the VGR and the four

constructed were adequate for
the needs of the one line on
which they were permitted to
work.
116

They were one of the very few

classes of steam locomotives in
Australia to have three cylinders.
The valves of the outside cylinders
were actuated by Walschaert's
valve gear, while the inside valve
was driven via a set of HolcroftGresley two-to-one denved gear,
as used on the British London &
North Eastern Railway. Indeed,
with their round-topped boilers
and double side-windows, the

Australian engines
nite

had

resemblence

4-6-2s.

Out

Above:

LNER

Railways "S" class 4-6-2 No.

S300 before streamlining.

were a set of totally un-Bntish

cast-steel bar frames. Streamline
shrouds were added in 1 937; in
combination with a blue livery
the addition

new

matched a

set of

coaches for the

"Spirit of Progress" express. The
12-wheel
tenders
big
dated from
this time and enabled the 192
all-steel

Government

a defi-

to the
of sight, however,

Victorian

mainly level miles (307km) from

Melbourne to Albury to be run
non-stop in 220 minutes, an
average speed of 52mph (83
km/h) Fairly modest as this
might seem, diesel traction today
has only meant 8 minutes less
journey time. Names of people

Class

Hv2 4-6-0

Finland:
State Railways (VR), 1922

Above: Finnish State Railways

"Hv" class 4-6-0 No. 758 at
Oulu, Finland. Note spark-

Tractive effort: 20,3731b

(9,244kg).

Axle load: 29,0001b (13t).

Cylinders: (2) 204 x 23^in
(510 x600mm)
Driving wheels: 68%in

Heating surface:

Superheater: 333sq

Steam pressure:

85sq
ft

arrestmg smoke-stack.
letter

(31m2

).

1 1

and

ft

(2m 2

it

is

letter is

an

1 4
tons and,
not the lowest

Some

classification

Fuel: 11,0001b

between

moreover, that

7 1 psi

(12kg/cm
Grate area: 20 2sq

"H" The second

indication of the axle-load and it

is indicative of Finnish conditions
that "v" stands for an axle load

ft

lines of this

5ft (1,524mm) gauge system

needed more light-footed loco-

(50-

Water: 3,150gall(3,780 US)

motives than

Adhesive weight: 85,0001b

engines included by-pass valves

Total weight:

each

J.

that!

Interesting features of these

visible as a bump on the side of

Length
(

92,0001b (87t)

overall: 51ft lO&in

15,814mm)

cylinder as
of avoiding

to cylinder tail-rods

Finland's steam locomotives

were

very handsome, very

and very few Many
by birch logs and
sported spark-arresting smoke
stacks in the best traditions of an

very

tall,

distinctive

were

fired

American Western film Many

were also built at home
These 4-b-0s of classes "Hv2"
and "Hv3" were built in the
1920s and 1930s. Until 4-6-2s
arrived in 1937 they were the
principal express passenger engines, as indicated by their class

Below: Finnish State Railways

class "Hv3" 4-6-0 No. 782
heads a local train. Note the
spark arrester formed of wire

mesh

important in the history of Victona

were given later to these engines,
which then became S300 Mat-

thew Flinders, S301 Sir Thomas

Mitchell, S302 Edward Henty
and S303 C.J. Latrobe. They
were early victims of diesehsabon,
being displaced from the "Spirit

Above: "S" class 4-6-2 No.

the
air-conditioned 'Spirit of
Progress" on the Melbourne-

S302 Edward Henty /leads

Albury run.
of

Progress"

train in

952;

been withdrawn by 1954

all

had

at the top of the chimney.

an elegant

pumping action
when coasting The class held on
way

long

after

they ceased to be fashionable

elsewhere A neat air-operated

was earned in front of the

cab and Stephensonian simplicity
was not earned so far that the
blessings of electnc light were
not available on board. The "Hv3"
bell

class differed only in that they

had bogie tenders of higher
water capacity instead of six-

wheel

The first
appeared in

"Hv2"s
922 from Lokomo

native-built
1

Tampere but a preliminary

batch of 15 had been supplied
by Schwartzkopff of Germany
of

One (No 680

Lokomo in 1940) is

three years earlier.

supplied by

preserved
nical

in the Helsinki

Museum.

Tech-

Royal SCOt ClaSS 4-6-0

Tractive effort: 33, 1 501b

(15,037kg)
Axle load: 46,0001b (2 It).
Cylinders: (3) 18 x 26m
(457 x 660mm)
Driving wheels: 8 1 in

(2,057mm)

Heating surface: ,85 Isq ft

(172m 2
Superheater: 367sq ft (34 lm 2
1

).

Steam pressure: 250psi

Grate area: 3 1 25sq
Fuel: 20,0001b

ft

(2,90m 2

).

(9t)

Water: 4,000gall (4,800 US)

(18m 3
Adhesive weight: 137,0001b
).

(62t)

Total weight: 312,5001b

(142t)

Length overall:

64ft

lin

(19,787mm)

The "Royal Scot's were another

notable class of locomotive that
managed more than thirty years

on top express work, although a

rebuilding which left little of the
through
perhaps detracts a little
from this achievement In the
mid- 1920s the then rather new
originals intact halfway
their lives

LMS Railway had to face the fact

there was no locomotive
capable singly of hauling the
that

principal train, the 10a.m. Scottish

Express from London

to

Edin-

burgh and Glasgow, shortly to

be known as the "Royal Scot"
An ex-LNWR 4-6-0 and 4-4-0
combination would take the train
from Euston to Carnforth, while
two Midland 4-4-0s would take it
on over the hills from there
A Great Western "Castle" class
4-6-0 was borrowed and demonstrated very effectively in October
1926 that better things were
possible.

It

is

said that the LMS

"Castles" to

made enquiry for 25

be built for the summer service of

1927

but,

biggest

more

practically, the

locomotive

factory

in

was given a design-andbuild contract for 50 large 4-6-0

express locomotives The contract
Britain

118

London Midland*

Scottish (LMS). 1927

partment in the complex steam

generating system.
The locomotive was No 6399

and named Fury. Steam

degrees

is

at

325

very nasty stuff

decade of hard steaming now

began to be felt and in the normal
course of things new boilers
would be needed, plus other
repairs so extensive that the

would approach that of

renewal The decision was taken

indeed, and when a fire tube

burst while Fury was on test at
Carstairs in February 1 930, one
man was killed and another

costs

seriously injured. After this accident the locomotive was laid

thereby bringing the

"Royal Scot" class into line with
all Stanier's designs. The rebuilding included new cylinders, in
many cases new frames and
even new wheel centres only the

aside
In 1933 the LMS sent a "Royal
Scot" locomotive which changed names with Royal Scot for
the occasion to North America,
complete with rolling stock, for

exhibition at the Chicago World

Fair The train was also exhibited
at many places, including Montreal, Denver, San Francisco and
Vancouver, on an 11 ,000-mile
(17,700km) tour which followed.
By this time a new locomotive

chief

had arrived on

the

LMS

scene William Stanier came from

the Great Western Railway, the
reputation of which line as the
leader in British locomotive prac-

was then at its zenith Four

things that he did directly affected
the "Royal Scot" class First, he
finally eliminated axlebox troubles
by initiating a new design of
tice

beanng based on GWR practice,

which reduced the incidence of
"Royal Scot" hot boxes from
some 80 to seven annually. Second, he had all the class fitted
with new and larger tenders with
high curved sidesheets, as used
on the other types of locomotive
being introduced on the LMS
Third,

he took the carcase

Fury and

rebuilt

it

into a

of

new

locomotive called British Legion.

The

rebuild differed from the

others in having a taper-barrel
boiler,

thereby

foreshadowing

the shape of things to come The

fourth item was the advent of the
Stanier 4-6-2s, which had the
effect of displacing the "Royal
Scot" class from the very highest

assignments

The

effects

of

well

over

rebuild
taper-barrel
to

the class
boilers of a

all

in

1942, while the last did not

out until 1955 One alteraas far as

come

tion, fairly insignificant

the locomotives

were concerned

but significant to their public,

was

cabs and nameplates

Above: No.6129 The Scottish

Horse shown in the LMS postwar livery
Below: No.46103 Royal Scots
Fusilier
British Bail colours
sets out with the "Thames-Clyde
Express". Note the horse box
coupled next to the tender.

change from the highpitched Midland Railway whistle

the

to a low-pitched hooter of Caledonian Railway origin, which in

Stanier's time

was

fitted to

new

LMS locomotives
The rebuilding was a great
success The new engines stood
up to all the abuse of high speed
running, heavy loads and wartime
neglect better than the originals,
and then after the war covered
themselves with glory. In the
locomotive tnals which took place
in 1 948, shortly after the nationalisation of the main line railways
"Royal Scot" representatives per-

formed

Although

rebuilt "Royal Scot"

with

remained

first

new

pattern,

tenders,

The

(No 6103 Royal Scots Fusilier)

appeared in unlined black livery

particularly well.

these

mounted with great

detail

trials

were

attention to
of

by the mechanical side

the railway, there is much evidence

in the voluminous report issued
afterwards that the results were
invalidated by lack of co-operation
on the part of the operating
authorities and the staff. For
coalcomparative
example,
consumption figures based on a
run from Carlisle to Euston of the

"Royal Scot" express which included 27 signal checks and

stops could be of little use Such
things

happened on many

of the

runs due to thoughtless

controllers allowing a slower train
to occupy the line in front

test

One thing that did emerge,

however, was that the "Royal
Scot" 4-6-0s could handle any
express train in Bntain with something to spare, more economically
and )ust as ably as the bigger and
more costly 4-6-2s of nominally
much greater power. This surpnsed many observers, but it is
perhaps an indication of the
point that these tnals were never
intended to be taken seriously,
and that the one valid conclusion
that could be drawn from them,
that 4-6-2s could do no more
when fired by hand than 4-6-0s,
was totally ignored
The 70 "Royal Scots" disappeared in a very short time once
was undertaken. The
withdrawal was BR No.46139

dieselisation
first

(ex-LMS No 6 139), The Welch

Regiment in October 962 The
last ceased work in January 1966,
when BR No 461 15 Scots
Guardsman was set aside for
1

preservation A Mr Bill acquired

her and she is at present on show
at the steam centre at Dinting,
near Manchester, No 61 15 had
been out on the main line on
vanous occasions including the

Rocket 1 50 Cavalcade at Rainhill

May 1980 No 6 100 Royal
Scot is also preserved, and can
be seen at Alan Bloom's steam
centre at Bressingham

in

119

Class

A 4-8-4

United States:
Northern Pacific Railroad (NP), 1926

Northern
=L
XLS

iff

If i-'-^i Iff^i

i2:^iA? -2i

i^j^y^u^yy^yp

Driving wheels: 73m

Imm)
Heating surface: 4,660sq
(433m 2
Superheater: l,992sqfl
(185m 2

was adopted

Northern

Tractive effort: 6 1 ,6001b

(27,950kg)
Axle load: 65,0001b
(29 50.
Cylinders (2) 28 x 30in
(711 x 762mm)

Canadian

National

The

Railway,

whose first 4-8-4 appeared in

927 made an unsuccessful play
1

the name Confederation

Delaware, Lackawanna & Western put forward Pocono for their
for

Other early members

version.
ft

Steam pressure: 225psi

(15.8kg
Grate area: 1 15sq ft (107m 2 ).
Fuel: 48,0001b (220
Water: 1 2,500gall ( 1 5,000 US)

the 4-8-4

of

Club eventually to be

over 40 strong in North America

Atchison,
the
alone were
Topeka & Sante Fe and South
Australia,

the

first

foreign

member
The genesis
the inbalance
tractive effort

of the 4-8-4 lay in

between possible
and grate area of

predecessor the 4-8-2. The

Northern Pacific Railroad had a

(58m 3
Adhesive weight: 260,0001b

its

(1180
Total weight: 739,0001b
(3350
Overall length: 105ft 4&in

special problem in that its local

coal supplies known rather
oddly as Rosebud coal had a
specially high ash content, hence
the need for a big firebox and a
four-wheel instead of a two-wheel
truck at the rear.
And when we say a big firebox,
we mean a really big one

(32,125mm)

The King of wheel arrangements

at last It needed 96 years for the
1

become a 4-8-4, because

once in 1927 4-8-4s quickly
appeared on several railroads.
But by a photo-finish the Northern
0-2-2 to
all at

Pacific's class
first

"A" 4-8-4 was the

the type-name

and hence

measunng 13H> x 8^ft (4 x

2j^m) exceeding that of any
Northern
Pacific themselves found their
first
Northerns so satisfactory
other

line's

4-8-4s.

they never ordered another passenger locomotive with any other

wheel arrangement, and indeed

contented themselves with ordering modestly stretched and
modernised versions of the
"A-2",
originals sub-classes
"A-3", "A-4" and "A-5" right up
to their last order for steam in
1943.
The originals were twelve in

number and came from

the

American Locomotive Co of
Schenectady Apart from those
enormous grates they were very

much

the

standard

US

loco-

motive of the day, with the rugged

features evolved after nearly a
century of locomotive building
on a vast scale A booster fitted to
the trailing truck gave a further
11,4001b (5,172kg) of tractive
effort when required at low

speeds
4-8-4 to operate on
another Alco product,
to the order of the
Timken Roller Bearing Co to
demonstrate the advantages of
having roller bearings on the
axles of a steam locomotive This
"Four Aces" (No. 1111) locomotive worked on many railroads

The next

NP was

built in

1930

with some success as a salesman

The
NP was particularly
impressed not only did they
buy the engine in 1933 when its
sales campaign was over but
they also included Timken bear-

ings in the specification when

further orders for locomotives
were placed. On NP No 1111
was renumbered 2626 and designated "A-l".

Baldwin

of Philadelphia deliverrest of the Northern fleet

ten "A-2"s of 1934 (Nos
2650-59) had disc drivers and
bath-tub tenders, and the eight

ed the

The

"A-3"s of 1938 (Nos 2660-67)

were almost identical The final
two batches of eight and ten
respectively were also very
similar, these were the "A-4"s of
1941 (Nos. 2670-77) and the
"A-5"s of 1943 (Nos 2680-89)
These last two groups may be
distinguished by their 14- wheel
Centipede or 4-10-0 tenders of
the type originally supplied for

Union

Pacific

Below: Northern

Pacific

Railroad class "A-4" 4-8-4 No.

2670 was built by Baldwins of
Philadelphia

1941.

Above: Northern

Pacific

Railroad class "A-5" 4-8-4 No.

2680 built by Baldwin m 1 943.

Note the "centipede" fourteenwheel tender.
This final batch is the subject of
the art-work above The amount
of stretching that was done may
be judged from the following
particulars

Tractive effort: 69,8001b

(31,660kg)
Axle load: 74,0001b (33.5t)
Driving wheels: 77in
( 1

,956mm)

Steam pressure: 260psi

(18 3kg/cm
)

Fuel: 54,0001b (24

5t)

Water: 21,000gall (25,000 US)

3

(95m
Adhesive weight: 295,0001b
)

(134t)

Total weight: 952,0001b (432t)

Overall length: 112ft 10m
(34,391mm)

Other particulars are sensibly

same as the "A" class.

Northern Pacific had begun
by receiving a charter from

the

well

President

Abraham

Lincoln in

1864 to build the first transcontinental line to serve the wide

north-western territories of the

USA. Through communication

with the Pacific coast was established in 1883 By the time the
4-8-4s began to arrive it had
established itself under the slogan
"Main Street of the North West",
and connected the twin cities of
St Paul and Minneapolis with
both Seattle and Portland
The flag train on this run was
the North Coast Limited, and the
4-8-4s assigned to it, after taking
over from Chicago Burlington &

Qumcy

Railroad

power

at

St

Paul, ran the 999 miles to Livingston, Montana, without change

of engine This is believed to be a

world record as regards through

engine runs with coal-fired locomotives No doubt it was made
possible by using normal coal in
a firebox whose ash capacity
was designed for the massive
residues of

Rosebud

lignite

Right: Front end of Northern

Pacific Railroad 4-8-4 No.2650.
bell and headlight
typical of
railroad practice.

Note the

US

0mm

m ^ 0%
4-0-^

mrm.

mTS mik

ClaSS
Cylinders:

(2)

illustrate

,0001b (27.25t)
27 x 28in

class "K4", as the 4-6-2 design

built in the largest numbers This
locomotive, our third choice, is
without any doubt the most
beautiful amongst the Pacifies of

Driving wheels: 73in

mm)
Heating surface: 3,689sq
Superheater: 993sq ft (92
Steam pressure: 200psi

ft

3m 2

(6.55m 8 ).

Grata ara:70.5sq ft
Fuel: 32.0001b
600gall (14,000 US)
Water:
;

(53m
Adhesive weight: 182,0001b
3

(8

standard set of steam locomotives

to cover all types of traffic One of
these was the so-called USRA
"heavy" 4-6-2. Based on this

It)

Total weight: 562,0001b

(255 Ot)
Length overall: 9 1 ft 11 %in

design, the American Locomotive

Company built the first batch of
36 Class "Ps-4" 4-6-2s in 1923

(28,038mm)

Hundreds

of classes of Pacific

locomotives ran

in

America.

The history of the Southern

Railway's Pacifies began in World
War I, when the United States
Railroad Administration, which
had taken over the railroads for
the duration, set out to design a

(14 lkg

Southern Railway (SR). 1926

them the first choice

was the earliest proper 4-6-2, of
the Chesapeake & Ohio Second
choice was the Pennsylvania RR

Tractive effort: 47.5001b

Axle load: 6

United States:

Amenca,

to

In 1925 President (of Southern

Railway) Fairfax Harrison, visited

King Class 4-6-0

Tractive effort: 40,3001b

(413x711mm)
Driving wheels: 78in
(1,981mm)

that for locomotives which had

low "hammer-blow" higher axle
loads could be allowed All of this

indulged

Steam pressure: 250psi

6kg/cm 2
2
ft (3 19m

).

Grate area: 34.3sq

).

3,5001b (6t)
Water: 4,000gall (4,800 US)

(18m 3
Adhesive weight: 151,0001b
)

(69t).

Length

overall: 68ft

(138t).

2m

(20,777mm).
In 1926, the

Great Western Railthat more powerful

way decided

needed the

"Castle" class 4-6-0s

were

stret-

on some
same time a 20
year programme of strengthening
bridges was neanng completion;
ched

duties.

to

their

it

practical

limits

At the

furthermore, the report of an

subterfuges were
so as to bring the
tractive effort above 40,0001b
Cylinders designed to be 16in
(406mm) diameter were bored
slight
in

out to 16!4 (413) whilst the

driving wheel diameter was reduced from the hallowed

ched

to. 6ft 6in

"Castle".

In enlarging the "Castle" class,

the original principles

lowed

exactly.

were

fol-

The domeless

taper-barrel boiler, with Belpaire

firebox was there, and so was the
four-cylinder arrangement with
the insde cylinders driving the

leading

locomotives were

making

Some

a 22 H> ton axle load, just as the

"Castle" class had been a stretched "Star" class so the new
locomotives were to be a stret-

Total weight: 304,0001b

to

to build a f our-cylinder 4-6-0 with

122

ones this rather striking feature

was very much a trademark of
the newly named "King" class.

added up

Heating surface: 2,20 lsq ft

(204m 2
Superheater: 3 3sq ft (290m 2

Fuel:

body known as the Bridge

Stress Committee, then recently
published, had recommended
official

(18,285kg)
Axle load: 50,5001b (23t).
Cylinders: (4) 1614 x 28in

(17

Great Britain:
Great Western Railway (GWR), 1927

coupled

axle.

Wal-

schaert's valve gear, also inside

the frames, drove the valves of
the inside cylinders driving the
those of the outside ones through
rocking shafts Problems with
clearances at the front end of the
locomotive led to a unique design

bogie with outside bearings to

the leading wheels and normal
inside bearings to the trailing
of

GWR

standard of 6ft 8^in (2,045mm)

(1,981mm). With the
increased boiler pressure the
required target was reached and
the GWR's capable publicity
department could once again
claim the possession of Britain's
most powerful express passenger
is no
measure of locomotive capability
at speed but in the "King" class it
was backed up by adequate
steam-raising power, lnlcudmg a
firebed 10ft 9in (3,277mm) long.

locomotive. Tractive effort

But even without

that,

a high

drawbar pull was an advantage

on those steep South Devon
inclines, of which the most notorious was the long stretch of 1 in
42 (2.4 per cent) at Hemerdon,

east of

Plymouth

"King" was

rated to take 360 tons unaided

up here, 45 tons more than a
"Castle"
The prototype, No 6000 King

George V which appeared from

works in June 1927, was sent

the

the

off to

weeks

USA when

old,

to

only a few

appear

at

the

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad's centenary "Fair of the Iron Horse"

held at Baltimore in August.

No 6000 led the parade each

day and attracted much attention
with the famous green livery
and orange,
and with brasswork, name and
chimney
It must
copper-capped
be remembered that American
locomotives of the day were
lined out with black

much bigger

but relatively drab.

a train was worked
between Baltimore and Philadelphia, with 544 tons (representing
only seven Amencan cars instead
of 1 6 British ones) a speed of 74
Later,

mph

19km/h) was reached on

and a gradient of 1 m

level track

80 (1.25 per cent) was surmounted satisfactorily during the

272 miles (438km) return jour-

ways

in

to

those

were
70 years

namesake in England
and was impressed with its green

8-wheel tenders on the earlier

and

similar

engines He determined that his

next batch of 4-6-2s would make
an equal if not better showing
He naturally chose a style very
similar to the English SR except
that a much brighter green was
used together with gold the
small extra cost paid off quickly
in publicity Coloured locomotives
were then quite exceptional in
North America A little later the
earlier batch of locomotives appeared in green and gold also.
The 1926 batch of 23 locomotives had the enormous 12wheel tenders illustrated here, in
place of the USRA standard

much more obvious

type (the
Elesco) of feed water heater
involving the large transverse

earlier

cylindrical vessel just in front of

stars were fixed to cylinder heads,

brass rings to smokestacks. Some
locomotives were named after
and by their regular drivers A lot
of this might be considered mere
nonsense, but the end effect was
that few steam engines anywhere
were better maintained.
Of the 64 locomotives built, 44
were allocated to the Southern
Railway proper, 1 2 to subsidiary
Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas
Pacific and 8 to the Alabama
Great Southern, although "Southern" appeared on the tenders of
Running numbers were as
all

his line's

Left: One of the Southern

Railway's superb "Ps-4" 4-6-2s
action. This particular loco
the
is the one preserved

Smithsonian Museum.

and a

engines,

the smokestack.
tives

different

Some locomo-

from each batch had the

Walschaert's gear, others had

Baker's A final batch of 5 came
from Baldwin in 1 928. These had
Walschaert's valve gear and 8wheel tenders of large capacity.
All were fitted with mechanical
stokers.

Southern had what it called an

equipment policy"
drivers were allowed to
adorn their locomotives in vanous
"optional

whereby

Below: The glorious green and

gold beauty of the livery applied
to the Southern Railway (of USA)
"Ps-4 " class Pacific is superbly
depicted below.

ways,

fact

of

that

Eagles could be mounted

above the headlights, themselves
flanked by brass "candlesticks",

follows:

SR proper - Nox 366 to 409

1

CNO&TP- Nos.6471

to

6482

AGS -Nos 6684 to 6691

^*

further improvements were made

which involved the fitting of
double chimneys. It was with the

locomotive so equipped,
1 5 King Richard 111 that the
highest ever speed with a "King"
class was recorded, 106
(175km/h) near Patney with the
down Cornish Riviera Limited
first

No 60

heavier loads
One thing that

on 29 September 1955 All the

"King" class had double chimneys by the end of 1958
Time, however, was running

seems to have
been ignored was the fact that
the capacity of the locomotive
was increased but not that of the
link in its

power

thereby preventing its

use on special trains for raiHans,
a Southern speciality

motive,

the draughting, tests were made

using two firemen An enormous
25-coach load was hauled between Reading and Stoke Gifford
near Bnstol at an average speed
of over 58 mph (93km/h). Later,

the new 4
hour timing being attained with

out for the "King" class Their

cycle,

the fireman who shovelled

the coal The "King" class boiler
certainly had the potential of
steaming at rates which corresponded to coal consumption

DC

Alas, this involved erecting the

display building around the loco-

London and Plymouth,

is

seum, Washington,

speed on Brunei's original mam

between Bath and Bristol

ing and other details affecting the

riding Once these things were
corrected the "King" class performed in accordance with expectation and seven minutes were
cut from the schedule of the
Cornish Riviera Limited between

that

engines had a

line

Midgham near Newbury, modifications were made to the spring-

human

CNO&TP

Left -.Great Western Railway

"King" class No.6010 King
Charles passing Corsham at

ney King George V came back

with medals, a large bell (still
earned) and much honour.
Five more "King" class appeared dunng 1927, then 14
during 1928 and the last ten in
1930 As a result of early experience, including the derailment of
a pair of leading wheels at

The

device known as a Wimble smoke

duct, by which the exhaust which
otherwise would issue from the
chimney could be led backwards
to level with the sand dome and
discharged there The CNO&TP
was a line with many timber-lined
tunnels and a direct close-up
vertical blast would have played
havoc with the tunnel linings.
The "Ps-4" class was the last
steam passenger locomotive type
built for the Southern and they
remained m top-line express work
until displaced by diesels in the
1940s and 1950s No 1401 is
preserved and is superbly displayed in the Smithsonian Mu-

maybe 30 per

cent greater than

the 3,0001b (1,360kg) or so per
hour a man could be expected to
shovel. Even so, no attempt was

made to

fit

mechanical stokers.

As an illustration of the potential

that was available and after some
modifications to increase the
superheater heating surface by
56 per cent and also to improve

end began early in 1962 when

N06OO6 King George I was
withdrawn It was complete early
in 1963, when the last was taken
out of service
123

ClaSS J 3d 4-6-4
Tractive effort: 4

New 'York

Central Railroad (NYC), 1926

8601b

(19,000kg)

Axleload: 67,5001b (30 5t)

Cylinders: (2) 22^ x 29in
(572 x

737mm)

Driving wheels: 79in

(2,007mm)
Heating surface: 4,187sq
(389

0m 2

ft

Superheater: l,745sqft
.m 2
Steam pressure: 265psi
)

(18.6kg
Grate area: 82sq ft (7 6m 2
Fuel: 92,0001b (41 7t)
Water: 1 5,000gall 1 8,000 US)
(68 lm 3 )
Adhesive weight: 201,5001b
)

(91 5t)

Total weight: 780,0001b

(350t).

Length

overall: 106ft lin

(32,342mm)

Some locomotive wheel arrangements had a particular association

with one railway, such was the

and the New York Central

1926 the Central built its last
Pacific, of Class "K5b," and the
road's design staff, under the

4-6-4
In

Kiefer, Chief
direction of Paul
Engineer of Motive Power, began
to plan a larger engine to meet

future requirements

The main

requirements were an increase

in starting tractive effort,

greater

power at higher speeds,

and weight distribution and balancing which would impose
cylinder

lower impact loads on the track

than did the existing Pacifies

some

years later. Subsequent

designs of 4-6-4s took over the
type-name Hudson applied to
these engines by the NYC
Classified "Jla" and numbered
5200, the new engine was handed over to the owners on 14
February 1927 By a narrow
margin it was the first 4-6-4 in the

United States, but others were

already on the production line at
Alco for other roads. Compared
with the "K5b" it showed an
increase in grate area from 67 8sq
ft

(6

3m 2

to

8 1 5sq

ft

(7

6m 2

),

and

the maximum diameter of the

boiler was increased from 84in

(2,134mm)

to

87%in (2,226mm)
and driving wheel

Clearly this

The

firebox,

loading requirement the logical

step was to use a four-wheeled
truck under the cab, as was

sizes were unchanged, so the

tractive effort went up on proportion to the increase in boiler
pressure from 200psi (14.1

advocated by the Lima Locomotive Works, which had plug-

kg/cm 2 to 225psi
The addition of an

ged engines with large fireboxes

over trailing bogies under the

abled the

would involve a larger

and to meet the axle

trade name of Super Power As

the required tractive effort could
be transmitted through three
driving axles, the wheel arrangement came out as 4-6-4 Despite
the Lima influence in the design,
it was the American Locomotive

Company of Schenectady which

received the order for the first
locomotive, although Lima did
receive an order for ten of them

cylinder

total

( 1

8kg/cm 2

).

extra axle en-

weight on the

coupled axles to be reduced

to
from
185,0001b
(83 9t)
182,0001b (82.6t), despite an increase in the total engine weight
41,0001b (22t). Improved balancing reduced the impact load-

of

ing on the

rails

compared

with

the Pacific

The engine had

striking

appearance, the rear bogie giving

it a more balanced rear end than
a Pacific, with its single axle

under a large firebox At the

front the air compressors and
boiler feed pump were housed
under distinctive curved casings
at either side of the base of the
smokebox, with diagonal bracing
bars The boiler mountings ahead
of the cab were clothed in an
unusual curved casing.
No. 5200 soon showed its
paces, and further orders followed, mostly for the NYC itself,
but 80 of them allocated to three

wholly-owned subsidianes,
whose engines were numbered
of the

The latter
30 engines for the
Boston and Albany, which, in

and

lettered separately

included

deference to the heavier gradients

on

that line,

had driving

wheels three inches smaller than

the remainder, a rather academic
difference The B&A engines

were

classified "J2a", "J2b"

and

"J2c", the suffixes denoting minor

differences in successive batches
series of 145
The main

NYC

Above:

"Jl" 4-6-4

No.5280

hauling the Empire State

Express at Dunkirk, New

York
"Jle".

State, in

February 1950.

Amongst

were the

detail

changes

substitution of Baker's

for Walschaert's valve gear, the

Baker's gear has no sliding parts,

and was found to require less

maintenance. There were also
changes in the valve setting.

From their first entry into

service the Hudsons established
a reputation for heavy haulage at
high speeds

Their

maximum

drawbar horsepower was 38 per

cent more than that of the Pacifies,
and they attained this at a higher
speed They could haul 18 cars
weighing 1,270 tonnes at an
average speed of 55mph (88
km/h) on the generally level
sections One engine worked a
2 1-car train of 1 ,500 tonnes over
the 639 miles (1,027km) from

Below: Standard Hudson or

Windsor (Ontario) to Harmon,

covenng one section of 7 1 miles
1 1 4km) at an average speed of
62 5mph(100 5km/h).
The last of the "Jl" and "J2"
senes were built in 1932, and
there was then a pause in con-

4-6-4 of class "J3" design. The

struction,

Railroad had 275 engines of this

type
passenger service and
they monopolised the road's
express trains for twenty years.

staff

engines were numbered consecutively from 5200, and here

again successive modifications

produced sub-classes

"Jla"

to

although the design

were already planning for

an increase in power In 1937
orders were placed for 50 more
Hudsons, incorporating certain

improvements and

classified "]3"

At the time of the introduction of

the
the

first

Hudson, the NYC,

German

like

engineers of the

were chary of combustion

chambers in fireboxes because
of constructional and maintenance problems, but by 1937
further experience had been
gained, and the "]3" incorporated
a combustion chamber 43 in
(1,092mm) long. Other changes
included a tapenng of the boiler
time,

barrel to give a greater diameter

at the front of the firebox, raising
of the boiler pressure from 225
psi

(19

(15 9kg/cmm 2 to 275psi

3km/cm 2 (later reduced to
)

265psi), and a change in the

cylinder size from 25 x 28in (635

x 71 1mm) to 22^ x 29in (572 x

737mm) The most conspicuous

Above: The prototype New York

Central class "Jl " No. 5200
on

change was

test-tram of 1 8 heavyweight
cars at Albany
1927.

openings.

reach 60mph (96km/h) with a

1 ,640 tonne train The crack train
of the NYC was the celebrated
20th Century Limited At the time

the use of disc

driving wheels, half the engines
having Boxpok wheels with oval
openings, and the other half the
Scullin
with
type
circular

The
clothed

ten engines were

a streamlined casing

final

in

designed by Henry Dreyfus Of

the streamlined casings so far
applied to American locomotives,
this was the first to exploit the
natural shape of the locomotive
rather than to conceal it, and the
working parts were left exposed.
Many observers considered these
to be the most handsome of all
streamlined locomotives, especially when hauling a train in
matching livery Prior to the
building of the streamlined "J3"s,
a "Jl" had been clothed in a
casing devised at the Case School
of Science in Cleveland, but it
was much less attractive than
Dreyfus' design, and the engine
was rebuilt like the "J3"s, while
two further "J3"s were given
Dreyfus casings for special
duties
The "]3"s soon showed an
improvement over the "J 1 "s both
in power output and in efficiency
At 65mph (105km/h) they developed 20 per cent more power
than a "Jl". They could haul
1 1 30 tonnes trains over the 1 47
miles (236km) from Albany to
all

Syracuse at scheduled speeds of

59mph (95km/h), and could

of

the

building

Hudsons

this train

of

the

first

was allowed

20 hours from New York to

Chicago This was cut to 18
hours in 1932 on the introduction
of the "He" series, and in 1936
there was a further cut to 16!^
hours. Aided by the elimination
of some severe service slacks,
and by the "13" engines, the

schedule came

down to 6 hours
1

1938, which gave an endto-end

speed of 59 9mph
(96 3km/h) with 900-tonne trains,
with
and
seven intermediate stops
totalling 26 minutes. On a run
with a "J3" on the Century, with
940 tonnes, the 133 miles
(214km) from Toledo to Elkhart
were covered in a net time of
112! minutes, and the succeeding 93 9 miles (151 km) from
Elkhart to Englewood in 79!
minutes, both giving averages of
in

70 9mph 1 14km/h) A speed of

85 3mph (137km/h) was main(

tained for 3

maximum

miles (50km), with a

of

94mph (151km/h)

The engines worked through

from Harmon to Toledo or
Chicago, 693 and 925 miles
and 1 ,487km) respectively
For this purpose huge tenders
were built carrying 4 1 tonnes of
(1,114

coal, but as the NYC used water

troughs to replenish the tanks on
the move, the water capacity was
by comparison modest at 18,000
US gallons (68.1m 3
Eventually the engines alloated to the subsidiaries were
brought into the main series of
numbers, and with the removal
of the streamlined casings in
post-war years, the NYC had
275 engines of similar appearance numbered from 5,200 to
5,474 It was the largest fleet of
4-6-4 locomotives on any railway,
and constituted 63 per cent of
the total engines of that wheel
arrangement in the United States
Although the Hudson had their
share of troubles, they were

Above: The streamline version

of the New York Central's
famous Hudson. The designer
was Henry Dreyfus.

generally reliable,

and

the "]3"s

ran 185,000 to 200,000 miles

(297,000 to 32 1 ,000km) between
heavy repairs, at an annual rate

about
(177,000km)
of

110,000

miles

After World War II the Niagara

4-8-4s displaced the Hudson
from the heaviest workings, but
as that class numbered only 25
engines, the Hudsons still worked
many of the 150 trains daily on
the
booked at more than

NYC

60mile/h (96km/h) start-to-stop

Despite rapid dieselisation the
engines lasted until 1953-6, apart
from an accident casualty

125

Schools Class 4-4-0

Tractive effort: 25, 1331b

British

Axle load: 47.0001b (2 It)

Cylinders:

x 26in

Southern Railway (SR), 1933

locomotive engineers com-

the processes involved in producing and assembling the many

with

that

go

to

make

Driving wheels: 79in

steam express passenger loco-

one

Grate area: 28 3sq

ft

63m 2

(2

Water: 4,000gall (4,800 US)

(18m 3
Adhesive weight: 94,0001b
)

Total weight: 245,500 1 100

Length overall: 58ft 9 a4in
(

(17,926mm)

Class

is

appraising their theoretical approach to design This slight

reluctance to do sums often
produced surprises, usually unpleasant. But sometimes they
were pleasant ones, as witness
the excellent "Schools" class first
put into service by the Southern
Railway in 1930. The "Schools"
locomotives were originally intended as small engines for lesser
services but the engineering staff
got a pleasant surprise when it

11, 0001b (50.

Fuel:

500 4-8-4
1

(23,133kg)
Axle load: 49,5001b (22.5t).
Cylinders: (2) 26 x 28in

was on the small side In the early

1920s the latest and largest express passenger power was the
"S" 4-4-0 of 1894, with
12,7001b (5,762kg) of tractive

class
ft

(339m
Superheater: 835sq

effort

ft

(77

5m 2

Steam pressure: 200psi

(14.1 kg/cm 2
).

Grate area: 66 5sq ft (6.2m 2

Fuel: 2,45001b (lit).

).

and 17^sq

ft

(1.6m 2

inviting a senior executive

(32m3
Adhesive weight: 196,5001b

USA

(89t).

Total weight: 498,0001b (226t)

Length overall: 83ft 1 ^in
(25,641mm).

South Australia is by no means

easy locomotive country. For
example, when South Australian
Railways' trains leave the capital,
Adelaide, for Melbourne, they
have to face a long 1 in 45 (2.2
126

of

The State government was not

happy about the state of its 5ft 3in
1 ,600mm) gauge railway system
and so adopted the idea of

Water: 7,000gall (8,400 US)

).

grate area.

from a
raJroad to be the Railway
Commissioner In due time a
certain Mr. W.A. Webb, who
hailed from the Missoun-KansasTexas Railroad the famous
"Katy" arrived in Australia His
plans for SAR were to include

some very

large

locomotives

indeed

The most notable

of

Webb's

two passenger designs were the

ten "500" class 4-8-2s, which had
over four times the tractive effort

caused by the impossibility

many ways

was on a

engine
Three cylinders were chosen
therefore for the new locomotives,
all dnving on the leading coupled
axle Each cylinder had its own
set of Walschaert's valve gear,
but access to the inside motion is
much easier on a 4-4-0 than on a
4-6-0 or 4-6-2 as we have seen

pointing "Lord Nelson" class.

shortened "King Arthur"

was the basis of the design

boiler

and since

it

was

the barrel rather

than the firebox which

duced
fire

was

re-

was

the big
plus the hottest part of the
in length,

it

heating surface that remained

and so steam raising was hardly
affected. The bigger ashpan pos-

because of the wide space

between the coupled axles was
also a help. Most 4-4-0s with
outside cylinders were notorious
for the "boxing" effect i.e. oscil
lation about a vertical axis
sible

928

of

counter-balancing all the reciprocating parts in a two-cylinder

level

the SR's bigger "King

Arthur" class as well as with the
much bigger but rather disap-

Australia:
South Australian Government Railways (SAR),

per cent) climb into the Mount

Lofty ranges In spite of this their
motive power sixty years ago

Tractive effort: 5 ,0001b

(660x711).
Driving wheels: 63in
(1,600mm)
Heating surface: 3,648sq

some cases, though,

more cautious when

motive. In

3m 2

that in

their capability

'mm)
Heating surface: l,766sq ft
Superheater: 283sq ft (26
Steam pressure: 220psi

was found

mand respect for their mastery of

components

0mm)

Great Britain:

already in the case of the "Amencan Standard" 4-4-0

The design was a great success

from the start and very few
changes were needed over the
years. A few locomotives were
later fitted with multiple-jet blast-

pipes and large diameter chimneys, but otherwise the mam

event was the addition of 30,000

to the
tion

numbers upon nationalisa-

SR

bridge

1948

The names
in

famous schools
were chosen for

of

territory

the locomotives, in spite of the

drawback that many of them had

the same names as SR stations
and people occasionally confused
the nameplate with the train's
destination boards No 900 Eton
appeared in March 1930, the
first of a batch of ten built at
Eastleigh Works that year Five
more appeared in 1932, ten in
1933 (including a senes commencing with No 919 Harrow,

named

away from
in 1934 and eight
in 1 935, making 40 in all
One requirement was to permit
after schools

the SR), seven

through the belowstandard-size tunnels on the Tonrunning

to

Hastings

line

and

to

end the sides of both cabs

and tenders had an upper sloping
this

portion This certainly added to

the neat and compact appearance
Their greatest work was done
on the Bournemouth line, on
which they regularly hauled the
crack Bournemouth Limited express, scheduled to run the 1 1
miles (186km) in 120 minutes
non-stop Cecil J Allen noted an
occasion when a 510-ton train
was worked by No 932 Blundells

from Waterloo to Southampton

at an average speed of 61mph
(98km/h) and another when with
305 tons No.931 King's Wimbledon ran from Waterloo to a
signal stop outside Salisbury at

an average of 66mph (106^

km/h), 90mph (145km/h) being
just touched at one point. Neither
of these feats would disgrace a
Pacific

The

class

was withdrawn

in

1961 and 1962 but three examples have been preserved.

No 925 Cheltenham belongs to
the National Railway Museum
and is currently in main-line running order No 928 Stowe is with
the Bluebell Railway and No.926
Repton is in the USA, currently at
Steamtown, Bellows Falls, Vermont, although it is understood a

Above: "Schools" class No.

30934 St Lawrence on an up
troop special at Folkestone
Warren, Kent. England.

Below: "Schools" Class loco

No.919, Harrow, depicted m the
Southern Railways' pre-war
livery.

superb locomotive,

supnsed even its designers

ethciency and power.

it

with

move is pending

its

of the previous top-line passenger

locomotives plus other attributes
in proportion Although typically
American in design, these mon-

bearing the "Overland" motif

This reflected the labours of
these magnificent locomotives
on "The Overland" express be-

sters were built in 1926 by the

English armaments firm, Armstrong- Whitworth of Newcastleupon-Tyne In 1928 the locomotives,
apparently still not
regarded as sufficiently strong

were further enhanced

by a booster giving an additional
pullers,

8,0001b (3,640kg) of tractive

This was accommodated
thereby
giving Australia the honour of
having the world's first 4-8-4
outside North America, the pony
truck had previously had an axle
loading of over 22 tons
Another later addition was a
pair of elegant footplate valances
effort

in a four-wheel truck,

Two views of 4-8-4 No.

500 on a special farewell run

Left:

from Adelaide
Victoria,

to Victor

m March

Harbour,

1962, just

before withdrawal from service.

tween Adelaide and Melbourne

1 in 45 of the Mount Lofty
incline could be negotiated at
15mph with 550 tons this with
booster in action It must have
been worth listening to but then
so would be three of the "500"s
4-4-0 predecessors on the 350-ton
Melbourne express of a few

The

years earlier

The "500"s and

the

other

Webb classes were not multiplied,

mainly because heavy axleloadings precluded their use on
all but the principal main lines
Diesel-electric locomotives apin South Australia from
1951 on and in 1955 the first
"500" was withdrawn By 1962
all had gone, except No504,
which is preserved at the
Railway Historical
Australian
Society's museum at Mile End,
near Melbourne

peared

127

China:
Chinese Ministry

KF Type 4-8-4
Tractive effort: 36 1001b
'kg)

Axle load: 38,0001b 17

(

damage done

for

5t)

British

property

Boxer

riots of

in

of Railways,

China

in the so-called

1910 Although

Cylinders:
>0mm).

British built as well as designed

by a Briton, Kenneth Cantlie, the

Driving wheels: 69in

practice followed was American

except in one respect, that is,
the limitation of axle load

r.m)

Heating surface: 2,988sq

(278m 2

ti

ft

tons Twice that would be more

typical of United States loco-

Superheater: l,076sqft

(100m 2

motive.

Steam pressure:

The

,:20psi

typical

American

loco-

Lancashire, to China

motive was directly in line with

the original simple Stephenson
concept of a locomotive having
just two outside cylinders, but it
was very fully equipped in other
ways. Hence these "KF" locomotives, destined for what was in
those days and in matenal things
a rather backward country had,
for example, electric lights, while
crews of the last word in passenger steam locomotives back in
Britain had to make do with
paraffin oil British firemen had to
use a shovel to put coal in the

1935-6 They were paid for out

of funds set aside as reparations

firebox, while Chinese ones had

the benefit of automatic stokers

5 5ko
Grate area: 68 5sq ft (6 4m 2 )
Fuel: YS,5001b(12t)
Water: c.,600gall (8,000 US)

(30m 3
Adhesive weight: 150,0001b
)

Total weight: 432,0001b 196t).

Length overall: 93ft 2 Hun
(

(28.410mm)
Twenty-four of these magnificent
locomotives were supplied by
the Vulcan Foundry of Newtonle- Willows,

1935

to

in

Above: Chinese class "KF"

4-8-4 locomotive awaiting

departure from Nanjing station.

Other equipment included a

supply of superheated steam for

certain auxiliaries, and a cut-off

control indicator to advise the
driver on the best setting for the
valve gear. In the case of some of
the locomotives, the leading ten-

der

bogie was

fitted

with

Right: 4-8-4 locomotive (later

class "KF") as built by the
Vulcan Foundry for the Chinese
Ministry of Railways m 1936.

V/lcISS

K 4-0-4

New

Zealand Government Railways (NZGR), 1932

own

motive power not only in

in both the main islands
Amongst many fine locomotives

Tractive effort: 32,7401b

its

(14,852kg).
Axle load: 30,5001b (14t).
Cylinders: (2) 20 x 26in

one but

designed and built there, the "K"

class 4-8-4s were outstanding.
Apart from the cab (which had

(508 x 660mm).

Driving wheels: 54in

(1,372mm)
Heating surface: l,931sqft
(179m 2 )
Superheater: 482sq ft (45m 2

).

Steam pressure: 200psi

2

1kg/cm
Grate area: 47 7sq

(14

).

ft

(4.4m 2 )

Fuel: 17,5001b (8t)

Water: 5,000gall (6,000 US)
(22.7m 3 ).
Adhesive weight: 122,0001b
(55t).

Total weight: 306,0001b

Length overall:

accommodate

to

39t)

69ft 8in

(21,233mm).

full

size

New

is always a surprise to think that

and remote New Zealand
should have one of the finest
railway systems in the world
Furthermore, in steam days this
sheep-raising country of a mere
1 .6 million population produced

far-off

128

The "Kb"s, intended

for

transverse line which crosses the

mountain spine of the South

North American 4-8-4s, with

their dimensions reduced in proportion to the narrower 3ft 6in
(1,067mm) gauge standard in

Island,

New

Zealand. Even so, the designers certainly had all their

buttons on to produce a locomotive of such power within the
limitations of an 1 1ft 6in (3,480
mm) overall height and a 1 4-ton

end, looking for all the world like

the front end of a modern "hoodunit" diesel locomotive, but these
ugly attachments were removed

axleload.

Baker's valve gear in place of

Walschaert's.
Baker's valve gear was a patented USA arrangement, very much
akin to Walschaert's, which did
away with the curved link and
die-block. In its place there was

cal

71 "K"s were built be1932 and 1950, all in

NZGR's own workshops. There
were three sub-classes, "K", "Ka"
and "Kb" numbenng 30, 35 and
6 respectively. Running numbers
were 900 to 970. The first group
In

all

had roller bearings to the guiding

and tender axles, while the re-

use of Baker's valve gear outside

the USA was minimal but even
on its home ground it never
showed signs of superseding
Walschaert's in any general sense.

A number

Island.

Zealanders) the "K"s appeared

as scaled-down versions of typi-

tween
It

mainder had all axles so fitted

Class "Kb" were built at Hillside
workshops,
Dunedin,
South
Island, and the remainder at
Hurt, near Wellington, North

had boosters which gave

an extra 8,0001b (3,640kg) of
tractive effort. Originally the

and "Kb"s had a boxed-in

"Ka"s
front

immediately after World War II

Two "Ka"s Nos.958 and 959 had

an ingenious arrangement of
levers and simple pin-joints which
produced the same effect The

of applications

are

elsewhere in this
book the patent gear did have
more of an advantage when it
came to the long valve-travel

illustrated

associated with fast-running passenger locomotives

In the late 1940s the "K"s and
"Ka"s, all of which were built for

and remained on the North Island

were converted to oilburning, while the "Kb"s on
South
Island remained coal
the
fired This seems to have been
the only major modification which
occurred and of course it was
one which was dictated by ex-

lines,

ternal circumstances rather than

by any shortcomings

of

Right: NZGR class "K"

4-8-4 crosses a temporary
bridge of steel girder and
timber trestle.

these

are now non-standard Chinese

types lend support to this supposition The prime position given
to these engines in the re-

booster engine; two axles of the

six-wheel truck were coupled, so
that the booster drive was on
four wheels The booster gave an
additional 7,6701b (3,480kg) of

is some indication of
the regard in which they were
held.
Dieselisation of the Chinese

numbering

tractive effort while in operation.

These engines were allocated to

the Canton-Hankow railway, while
the others were divided between
line
and the Shanghaithat
Nanking railway One interesting

Railways is proceeding slowly,

being given to long distance passenger trains. Trains
entrusted to these 4-8-4s were
priority

feature was that the Walschaert's

valve gear was arranged to give
only half the amount of valve
travel needed A 2-to- 1 multiplying
lever was provided to give the
correct amount- The piston valves
were 1 2!^in (320mm) in diameter,
an exceptionally large size Run-

early targets for dieselisation and

no 4-8-4 has been seen by Wes-

tern visitors since 1966, although

is reported they were in use in
the Shanghai area as late as
1974.
In 1 978, the Chinese Minister
of Railways, while on a visit to
Britain promised one to the
it

hands

ning numbers were 600 to 623.

locomotive-building
When
firms set out to build locomotives
bigger than were used in their
native land they were not always
a success, but this case was an

lasted over ten years

exception, and the class gave

excellent service. During the war
years exceptional efforts were
made to keep these engines out

exceptionally devastating
After the communists gained
control, the class was designated
"KF" in Roman not Chinese

of the
to

some

of the Japanese and

extent the efforts were

has been reported

that 17 out of the 24 survived
successful.

World War

It

II,

which

China
and was

Above: Class "KF" 4-8-4 No.7

at Shanghai m 1981 awaiting
shipment back to England for
the National Railway Museum.

for

characters and

renumbered

upwards. The letters KF

seem to correspond with the
from

English word Confederation,

other class designations of what

National Railway Museum at

York, as a prime example of
British exports to the world This
was to happen when a "KF" was
taken out of use, accordingly in
1981 No KF7 was shipped from
Shanghai back to the country

from whence

it

came

wonderful engines An exception

the replacement of feedwater heating equipment by exhaust steam injectors on the "Ka"

was

and "Kb" batches.

For many years the whole
performed with great dison the principal passenger trains and speeds of up to
69mph (HOkm/h) have been
recorded As regards famous
ascents such as the Raunmu
class

tinction

spiral incline, they

could maintain

20mph (32km/h) with 300 tons

on the 1 in 50 (2 per cent) grade,
uncompensated for curvature.
Proportionate to the population,
Zealanders have a passion
for steam locomotives unmatched

New
even

in Britain, this is reflected in

the preservation of five of these
engines No 900 is with the Pacific

Steel

Co

of

Otahuhu,

No 935

at

Seaview, near Wellington and

Nos 942 and 945 are at Paekikan,
the North Island. No 968 is
the Ferrymead Museum of
Science and Industry near Christchurch in the South Island
all

in

at

129

Class

P2 2-8-2

severe than the rest of the line

ruling gradient north of

The

Edinburgh was

0mm)
Heating surface: 2,714sq

8,0001b

in

74^

34

Scottish capital

it

The standard "Al" and "A3"

were overtaxed by

Superheater: 777sq ft (72m 2 )

Steam pressure: 220psi

per cent), in place of 1 in 96 ( 1 05

per cent) on the line south of the

Driving wheels:

Grate area: 50sq

934

beyond Edinburgh to Aberdeen

This final section was much more

Tractive effort: 43.4621b

5kg)
Axle load: 44,8001b (200
Cylinders: I) 21 x 26in

Fuel:

Great Britain:
London & North Eastern Railway (LNER),

ft

(4.6m 2

class 4-6-2s

trains such as the "Aberdonian"

sleeping car express and it was
decided to build some locomotives with some 20 per cent more
adhesion weight than the Pacifies.

).

(8t)

Water: i,000gall (6,000 US)

;

The result was

the first (and only)

class of eight-coupled express
locomotives to run in Britain, of

Adhesive weight: 177,0001b

Total weight: 370,0001b 1680
Length overall: ?4ft5%in
(

(22,692mm)

which the prototype was

built in

1934, a handsome 2-8-2 called

Cock o'the North and numbered
200 1 To match the high adhesive
weight, the tractive effort was the
highest ever applied to an express
.

In

the London &

Eastern Railway's East

thinking

of

North
Coast main
Scotland,
that

it

line

one

extends

Class

is
1

from London

to

liable to forget

30 miles (208km)

V 4-4-0

passenger locomotive working

in Britain

Amongst many unusual

Ireland:

Great Northern Railway

Axle load: 47,0001b (21.50.

locomotives;

but once

see text
Driving wheels: 79in

stengthened

in

Cylinders:

(3)

Heating surface: !,251sqft

6m 2

Superheater: 276sq ft (25

Steam pressure: 250psi
(

17 6kc;

Grate area: 25sq

ft

(2

3m 2

).

Fuel: :3.2001b (60

Water: 3,500gall (4,200 US)

Adhesive weight: 92,0001b

Total weight: 232,0001b

Length

105t).

overall: 55ft 3!^in

(16,853mm)
Beginning in 1876, the Great
Northern Railway of Ireland
owned and operated the main
line railway connecting Dublin to
Belfast. For many years the steel
viaduct over the Boyne River 32
miles north of Dublin presented
a severe limitation on the size of

fea-

(GNR
it

(I)),

was
way

1931, the
was clear for some really powerful
express locomotives to use it,
and the distinctive Irish Class Vs
were among the first.
The five Class 'V compound

1932

were supplied by Beyer,

Peacock of Manchester, the tenders were built by the company
at their own Dundalk Works
They were three-cylinder compounds on the Smith principle

4-4-0s

similar

to

those built

for

the

Midland Railway of England.

The high-pressure inside cylinder
was 17 Mm (438mm) diameter,
whereas the two outside lowpressure ones were 19in (483
mm) diameter; all were 26in
(660mm) stroke Three sets of

Turbomotive 4-6-2
tures of this three-cylinder locomotive were the use of poppet
valves actuated by a rotating
camshaft and a specially-shaped
front end, whose external contours were designed to lift smoke
and steam clear of the cab in

order to improve visibility. The

internal contours of the front end,
which included a double chimney, were also designed to obtain
adequate draught for the fire

minimum

back pressure A second 2-8-2 (No 2002

Earl Manschal) was built with the
with the

normal

of

LNER)

1936, which externally

looked more like the streamline
"A4" class 4-6-2s of 1935.
built in

Alas, despite the increase

the
size of the P2 compared with the

not be entirely eliminated Inadequate bearing surfaces and a

lack of guiding force in the
leading pony truck caused heavy
wear on the sharp curves of the

Cylinders:

at 70rr

Driving wheels: 73in

would be doing 10,000 re

To control the locomotive
r.rottle the steam which
would effect the turbine's

Edinburgh-Aberdeen line, and

the engines proved to be heavy
in maintenance costs in 1943^4,
therefore, the 2-8-2 s were rebuilt'

Superheater: 653sq ft (61m 2

Steam pressure: 150psi

uled between the two cities, but it

lasted only a short time, for the

The LP cylinders
had balanced slide

slump combined with a disastrous

strike led in 1933 to drastic
economies which included decel-

Left: A handsome-looking
class "P2" 2-8-2 No.2005

the frames.
originally

valves but these were

to piston valves as
cylinder

soon altered

on the

HP

The new locomotives were

used

provide faster train services, including a run over the

5454 miles (138km) from Dublin
to

Dundalk in 54 minutes, the

anywhere in Ireland at
that time. The timing for the
miles (286km) between
Dublin and Belfast was 148 minto

fastest

utes but this included five stops

as well as customs examination
at the border In terms of net time
soil the fastest ever sched-

erations and, in the case of these

locomotives, to a reduced boiler
pressure.
The simple yet handsome lines
of the five compounds were
enhanced by the beautiful blue
livery and the names Eagle, Falcon, Merlin, Peregrine and Kes-

Running numbers were 83

by Beyer Peacock & Co.

These locomotives differed
from the original batch in
having Walschaert's valve
gear and being non-compound.

Heating surface: 2,314sq ft

).

Grate area:

Fuel:

Water: 4,000gall (4,800 US)

Total weight:

Length

36

overall:

(22,663rr.rr.

Turbines had been for many

years the normal motive power
for ships and electric generators
so why not, reasoned so many
engineers, try one on a locomotive In 1932 William Stanier, then
the newly appointed Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London

simple

nvers

The

Below: One of the original

class "V" 4-4-0s built by

"V" class 4-4-0 was

withdrawn in 1961 and the last
"VS" in 1965; both classes outlasted the GNR which was dis-

Beyer Peacock in 1932.

membered in

last

1958.

prove entirely foolproof.

Unlike most steam locomotive
experiments which had the temerity to challenge Stephenson's
principles, the so-called "Turbomotive" gave good service
300,000 miles of it, in fact. Her
regular turn was the "Liverpool
Flyer" up to London in the

train

particularly

impressed with the

tives (Class VS') with three

and Walschaert's valve

gear were built in 1948 These
were numbered 206 to 2 10 and
were named Liffey, Boyne, Lagam, Foyle and Erne, after Insh

speed, engaged through a dogclutch and a fourth gear train.

This feature was, sadly, not to

morning and back

rocating parts perfect baiance

could easily be achieved. Three
prototype 4-6-2s the forerunners of the "Duchess" classwere in hand at Crewe and so
promising did the idea seem that
one of these was earmarked to
become a guinea pig for an
experiment in turbine propulsion,

further five similar locomo-

the right-hand side to move the

locomotive in reverse at low

motive at work and resolved to

try a turbine loco himself Turbine
locomotives had already been
tried on the LMS experimentally
sometime before, but these were
condensing locomotives of a very
different concept The Swedish
design avoided the complications
of a condenser and Stanier was

and because there were no recip-

than a conventional 4-6-2

A small turbine was provided on

Midland & Scottish Railway, saw

a Swedish turbine freight loco-

simplicity achieved. Valves and

valve gear were entirely eliminated

cylinders

separate

efficient

Adhesive weight:

at

is preserved and is
present being restored to
running condition under the auspices of the Railway Preservation
Society of Ireland.

any number of the six

nozzles
could
be
in" by being given
steam. It was all an exceedingly
simple arrangement and on test
this No 6202 proved to be more
efficiency,

.-.ed

to 87. Merlin

trel

'

Left: 3reat Northern of Ireland

class "VS" 4-4-0 built
1948

Tractive effort:

1935

through a three-stage gear train

-nclosed in an oil b al
reduction ratio was 34: 1, so that

Stephenson's link motion filled

what space remained between

motion. This standard arrangment was preferred for the

final four members of the class.

Scottish Railway (LMS).

Axle load:

Wolf of Badenoch works an

Aberdeen to Edinburgh tram.

arrange-

&

double-heading could

Pacifies,

as 4-6-2s of class "A2/2", although the lack of continuity of

LNER locomotive policy at that
time meant these "P2" conversions also remained non-standard
So the objective of doing the
conversion remained unattained,
while a group of fine-looking
locomotives were turned into
some of the ugliest ones ever to
run on a line renowned for the
good looks of its motive power.

(for the

ment of piston valves driven by

two sets of Walschaert's valve
gear and the Gresley-Holcroft

Great Britain:
London, Midland

which came to fruition in 1935.

A multi-stage MetropolitanVickers turbine of about 2,000

horsepower was mounted more

or less where the left-hand outside
cylinder would have been. It
drove the leading coupled axle

in the after-

noon, for several years the fastest

on the LMS Inevitably there

were problems but there was
also promise, alas, the war came,
then nationalisation

People who were not concerned with the original experiment were in charge and,
following a failure of the main
turbine in 1947, the locomotive
was set aside at Crewe In 1 95 1 it
was rebuilt into a normal reciprocating 4-6-2 named Princess Anne
but penshed in the triple collision
at Harrow a very short time after
re-entering service
So ended one of the most
promising attempts to produce a
turbine-powered express passenger locomotive A similar story
could be told about others such
as the Zoelly turbine locomotives
tried in Germany, or the enormous

6,000hp one made by Baldwin

hia

Below:

77ie

for

the Penn=USA.

"Turbomotive",

LMSNo.6202, works its usual

turn

from Euston

to Liverpool.

Andes Class 2-8-0

Tractive efiort:

Highest and Hardest" wrote

Brian Fawcett in Radways of the
Andes. He was describing the
Central Railway of Peru a line
in whose service he spent much
of his life -which climbed from
sea level near Lima to 15,693ft
(4,783m) altitude at the Galera
Tunnel, a bare 99 miles 1 58km)
from Lima, en route for the
copper mines high up in the
mountains For many years it
was said that the necessarily slow
passenger service remained in-

oOOlb

<

Axle load: ^:V::

Cylinders:
.

28m

!mm)

Driving wheels:
.

ram)

Heating surface: ,717sq

ft

( 1

60m 2

Superheater: 34 lsq ft (32m

Steam pressure: 200psi
(14 lkg
Grate area: '8sq ft (2
Fuel: oil) l,465gall

6m

).

(67m 3
Water.-^OgallO.lSOUS)
'JS)

vulnerable

Adhesive weight: 146,0001b

Total weight: 250,00011
overall: 6

ft

11

>

.-.in

it

( 1 1

motives,

Driving wheels: 72in

(1,829mm)

Heating surface: l,938sq ft

(180m 2
Superheater: 307sq ft (28.5m 2

on the

Steam pressure: 225psi

).

(18m
Adhesive weight: 119,0001b
)

(56t).

Total weight: 285,0001b

29t)

overall: 67ft 7?4in

(20,618mm).

The Black Fives! Arguably the

best buy ever made by any
railway anywhere, in respect of
engines capable of handling ex-

press passenger trains These

legendary locomotives formed
not only the most numerous but
also the most versatile such class
ever to run in Britain.
In spite of being modestly
dimensioned mixed-traffic loco132

competition,
the airlines

is

spectacular engineering in the

world takes the trains via six 'Z'

satisfacti

double-reversals

Oxygen

is

up to the summit

provided

gers, but curiously

for passen-

enough steam

locomotives become more rather

than less efficient as the atmospheric pressure drops Even so,

Great Britain:
London Midland &

Scottish Railway (LMS),

on many occasions they

LMS

flag

train

"Royal

Scot", loaded to 1 5 coaches and

495 tons gross. No 5020 was a

last-minute deputy for a "Princess" 4-6-2 or "Royal Scot" 4-6-0,

the greater complexities of which

made them that much the more
liable to fall sick, but the smaller
engine kept the "Special Limit"
timing to Crewe with the maxiallowed load Excellent valve
events and a well-tried boiler lay
behind the surprising qualities of
these famous locomotives.
In later years, with "Black
Fives" on the route of the
"Royal Scot" allocated to sheds
at Camden, Willesden, Rugby,
Crewe, Warrington, Wigan, Preston, Carnforth, Carlisle, Carstairs
and Glasgow, it was a great
comfort to the operators to know

mum

that

so

many understudies

similar abilities

the wings

when

of

were waiting in
the prime donne

ship,

irily

short boiler

was

essential

because of the heavy grades

which meant quick alterations of
slope relative to water at each
zig-zag

On

the other

hand a

narrow firebox between the

wheels was no detriment with oil
firing and on such gradients it
was an advantage that as many

the task of lifting traffic up this

railway staircase was an horrific
as four out of the five pairs of
one and it was only after many
years of traumatic experience - wheels should be driven. The
2-8-0
was evolved,
existence of ample water supplies
that a class
over the mountain section meant
combining rugged North Amerithat only a very small quantity
can design features with the best

concen-

demonstrated that they could

handle and keep time on any express passenger assignment ever
scheduled on LMS or ex-LMS
lines. In its first months of service
during 1 934, Cecil J. Allen reported the doings of the prototype

,550kg)

(15.8kg/cm 2 ).
Grate area: 28.65sq ft (2.7m 2
Fuel: 20,2001b (9t)
Water: 4,000gall (4,800 US)

of

id 4 per cent),

5P5F 4-6-0

Axle load: 40.7001b (18 5t)

Cylinders: (2) 18H?x28m
(470 x711mm).

Length

air

Peacock workmanwhich could do the job

British Beyer,

Tractive effort: 25,4551b

935

trated in the final 74 miles ( 1 1 8km)

to the top, some of the most

Most of the climbing, much of

between in 22 and 1 in 25

at

(18,879mm)

Class

to

because none

operating on the Pacific coast

had an aircraft which could go as
high as the trains!

(660

Length

Peru:
Central Railway of Peru (FCC),

934

need be carted up the mountain

20 with

no longer does steam

mountain section, but the
6-hour timing of the old days has
not been improved upon. Maybe
a 22mph (35km/h) average speed
does not seem much but the
ascent certainly justified the inclusion of the daily train over the
mountain section amongst the
Great Trains of the World No.206
is preserved at Lima

for

These latter were the last "straight"

steam locomotives to be built by
the great firm of Beyer, Peacock.

hardest-working locos, a Central

Railway of Peru "Andes" class
2-8-0 depicted in the company's
handsome green livery

was not normally the practice

North of Perth on the Highland
lines,
"Black Fives" were the
heaviest and largest locomotives
permitted, and here they handled

GWR. Much

found necessary, but

By law, a "counter-pressure"
to be fitted, but was
not normally used because of the

hence the small tender

The arrangements for sanding

brake had

were

damage that was caused to piston

and valve rings when it was used
The double-pipe air braking system used avoids the necessity of

vital

because hideous gra-

dients are usually

damp

rails

combined with

Since both gravity

and steam sanding gear had

been found wanting, the "Andes"
class were fitted with air sanding
The quantity of sand carried was
also important and on later versions of the class a vast box on
the boiler-top held supplies of

element in Andean railroading It also incorporated the

steam dome, thereby keeping
the sand warm and dry
this vital

of the route

showed

signs of the

temperament for which they were

traditionally celebrated.
It

to say, though, that the

is fair

LMS

did
ride more smoothly at speed. At
90mph (145km/h) downhill it
was fairly exciting in the dark (no
headlight ) on a "Duchess", but
on a "Black Five" it could be
called a Total Experience Another
advantage of the bigger engines
lay in the much larger ash-pan,
whilst No. 5020 mentioned above
did as well as a 4-6-2 was
normally expected to do from
Euston to Crewe, the 4-6-0 could
hardly have continued to Glasgow
four-cylinder

4-6-2s

without the fire becoming choked

with the end-products of combustion Of course, the 4-6-2s
also had the potential of higher
power output, but in order to
realise the potential either a
super-man or more than one fireman had to be earned, and this

releasing the brakes periodically

during the descent to re-charge
the reservoirs something that
might well lead to a runaway in

Andean conditions
As a locomotive

would

to be driven "wide-open"
hour after hour on the ascent,
the "Andes" class was very robustly constructed indeed That

need

most

trains of significance from

the 550-ton "Royal Highlander"
downwards. A pair of them,

wide open, took such

driven

up the 20-mile ascent (32

km), mostly at 1 in 60 ( 1 .66 per
cent), from Inverness to the 1 ,300ft
trains

(400m) summit at Slochd Steam-

was usually rock-steady, the

sound magnificent, and the fire-

ing

men's task proportionately onerous as the tonnage moved over

and

this

other

neighbounng

William Staruer

came

to the

LMS from rival Great Western in

1932.

Under

his

design

for
this
mixed-traffic 4-6-0
in

a
two-cylinder
direction,

was produced
1933 as a replacement for

numerous ageing medium-sized

companies

slightly larger driving

wheels, while the Cerro de Pasco
Railroad (which connected with
the Central) had a further five

of the rest seemed

to reflect the choice of the best
practice from amongst the vanous

areas of the LMS, Lancashire

and Yorkshire Railway cylinders,
Walschaert's valve-gear and cab,

example, Midland boiler fitand Caledonian hootertype whistle.

London & North Western thinking showed in the arrangements
for repair and maintenance of the
"Black Five" fleet, which was
eventually to number 842 engines
and which took eighteen years to
for

tings,

LMS

works at Crewe,
Derby and Horwich all contributed with 231, 54 and 130
build.

Under
Government scheme
work for depressed
respectively.

inclines.

4-6-0s of the

Left: A Stamer "Black Five"

4-6-0 leaves a wayside station
in the Scottish Highlands with a
tow. North of
local tram
Perth these versatile locomotives
had a near-monopoly of service.

that

class gave a satisfactory

performance on the world's hardest railway is indicated by the
fact that the company came back
for more, eight times, no less,
between 1935 and 1951 Finally
there were 29, numbered 200 to
228 Neighbouring railways had
some too the Southern of Peru
(under the same ownership) had

the

LMS

constituent

The concept was

derived directly from the "Hall'

class of Stanier's native line, but
really only the taper-boilers and
the axleboxes of the new engine
were based on those of the

a pre-war
to provide
areas, two

outside firms built the remainder,

Vulcan Foundry of Newton-le-

produced 100 and

Armstrong-Whitworth & Co of
Newcastle-upon-Tyne 327 Running numbers went from 4758 to
5499, those below 5000 being
newer than those above One
hundred more were built under
Willows

British Railways, the class then

being numbered 44658 to 45499
Few changes in design were

Alas,
rule the

Below: One of the world's

earlier en-

gines had less superheat originally than the later ones

On the last batches numerous
experiments were tried, such as
roller bearings, rocking grates,
double chimneys, Caprotti poppet valves, even outside Stephenson's link motion on one engine,
but the only major modification
that "took" was the installation of

renewable high-manganese steel

axlebox guides This

liners to the

was successful in increasing considerably the mileage between

overhauls.

The "Black Fives" based on

Preston were the last steam locomotives to haul timetabled express passenger trains on British
Railways It was as late in the day
as January 1967, only 20 months
before the end, that No 449 17
achieved the highest-ever recor-

ded speed

for the class This

was

96mph 1 55km/h), reached north

of Gobowen between Chester
(

and Shrewsbury Fifteen have

been preserved and, of these,
four can currently be seen from
time to time, either individually or
pairs, on main-line steam

in

specials.

133

ClcISS

A 4-4-2

Tractive effort:

3(

Milwaukee,

St.

Paul

&

Pacific Railroad

(CMStP&P). 1935 (see

fold-out,

page 142)

6851b

Axle load:
Cylinders:

Driving wheels:

Heating surface:
Superheatei

Steam pressure: 300psi

Grate area: Isqfl (6.4m z )
Fuel (oil): 3 iOOgalls (4,000 US)
I

Water:

soOgall

( 1

3,000 US)

Adhesive weight: 144,5001b

Total weight:

Length

0001b (2440

overall: B8ft 8in

Class

F7 4-6-4

USA:
Chicago, Milwaukee,

St.

Paul

&

Pacific Railroad

(CMStP&P), 1937

Tractive effort: 50,2951b

)kg)

Axle load: :. 2501b (330

Cylinders: 2)23.5x30in
.

(597x7Driving wheels: 84in

Heating surface:

166sq

4,

ft

Superheater: 1.695sqft

Steam pressure: 300psi

an 2)
Grate area: 96 5sq
Fuel:

Water:

(9.0m 2

ft

)001b(2.
Ogall (20,000
.

).

US)

Adhesive weight: 216,0001b

Total weight: 791,0001b
Length overall: lOOftOm
(30,480mm)
"Fleet

of

foot

was Hiawatha"

wrote Longfellow

Intensive

competition for the daytime traffic

between Chicago and the Twin

Cities of St Paul and Minneapolis
was the inspiration for the "Hiawatha" locomotives and trains,
the fastest-ever to be run by
steam. Three railroads were involved

in the competition,

Top: Class "F?" 4-6-4

No, 103 towards the end of its
days; a forlorn sight after
some use as a source of spares.

Above: With boiler lagging

and driving wheels removed,
class

"F7" 4-6-4 awaits the

ungainly end.

first,

the Chicago & North

Western Railway; this line had a
mile
(657km) route which
408J2

for daily operation at

"400" expresses traversed in

400 minutes The "400"s were
formed of conventional equip-

Schenectady, New
York, responded with two superb
oil-fired and brightly coloured
streamlined 4-4-2s They were
known as class "A" and received
running numbers 1 and 2 In
service they earned this prime
designation by demonstrating
that as runners they had few
peers They could develop more

there

was

its

ment

of the day, but specially

refurbished and maintained The

Chicago Burlington & Qumcy
Railroad pioneered some stainless steel lightweight diesel
propelled "Zephyr" trains fairly
noisy in spite of their name over
a route 19 miles (30km) longer
than the North-Western one
Lastly and to us most importantlythere was the Chicago,
Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific
Railroad, whose management decided to enter the lists with
special
matching high-speed

steam locomotives and trains

designed to offer a 6'a hour
timing for the 412-mile (663km)
route For the first time in the
history of steam locomotion a
railway ordered engines intended
.34

lOOmph

60km/h) and over.

The American Locomotive

Company

of

than 3000 horsepower

cylinders and achieve 1

in

the

lOmph

(177km/h) on the level It says

enough about that success of
these locomotives that they were
intended to haul six cars on a
6! s -hour schedule, but soon found
themselves handling nine cars
satisfactorily on a 6 M -hour one
These schedules included five
intermediate stops and 15 per-

manent speed

restrictions

below

SOrnph (80km/h).
The design was unusual rather

than unconventional, the tender

with one six-wheel and one fourwheel truck, for instance, or the
drive on to the leading axle
instead of the rear one, were
examples. Special efforts were
made to ensure that the reciprocating parts were as light as possiblethe high boiler pressure
was chosen in order to reduce

and

partaken to get the

the size of the pistons

care was
balancing as good as possible
with a two-cylinder locomotive.
Another class "A" (No 3) was
ticular

delivered in 1936

and a fourth

1937
Further high-speed locomotives were ordered in 1938 and

(No

4) in

this

time the six 4-6-4s supplied

were both usual and convenThis time also the class

designation "F7" and running
numbers (100 to 105) were just
tional.

The 4-4-2s were

superb with the streamliners but
not at all suited to the haulage of
heavy ordinary expresses This,
restricted their utilisation, hence
the 4-6-4s which combined heavy
haulage powers with high-speed
capability. The main concession
to speed in the design were the
run-of-the-mill

big driving wheels, whilst the

mam concession to general usage

was a change back

to

coal-

burning, in line with most Mil-

waukee steam locomotives This

in its turn

necessitated a high-

speed coal hopper and shoots at

New Lisbon station, which enabled an "F7" to be coaled
during the 2-mmute station stop
"Hiawatha" expresses there.
also very successful engines, capable of 120
of the

The "F7"s were

mph (193km/h) and more on

Class F-2a 4-4-4

Canada:
Canadian

Railway (CPR), 1936

Pacific

Tractive effort:

between Calgary and Edmonton

194 miles 31 Okrr.
utes including 22 st
international "Royu
tween Toronto and Detrc::'
miles 366km in 335 minutes
with 19 stops) and two others
between Montreal and Quebec

26,:

(12,000kg)
Axle load:
Cylinders:
(438 x 71 1mm)

Driving wheels:
1

2,03?-:

Heating surface:

2,

It

Superheater:

Steam pressure: JOOpsi

k

Fuel:

0001b

ft

(5

2m 2

(1

Water:

Adhesive weight:

Total weight: 46 1,(

Length overall: 8 1 ft 2
(24,762
In
level track with these trains

Above:

Test running showed that such

speeds could be maintained with

smoke, and towards the end of

its days, a Milwaukee Road
class "F7" 4-8-4 sets forth

12 cars, a load of
550 tons, and this makes the
a

load of

an even more remarkable

There are also reports
of maximum speeds of 125mph
(200km/h) and it is a grea
that these cannot be authenticated, since if true would be
world records. One did occur
in
1940 a speed-up and retiming produced the historic fas-

'loudofcoal

appearance on the

Hia-

feat

first

one

watha" trains in 1 94 1 while steam

did not finally disappear from the
"Twin Cities Hiawatha" until 1946.
The 4-4-2s held on two years
longer on the Mid- West tram.
The last of both types were
withdrawn after a period on
lesser workings or set aside in
1951 It is a matter of considerable
regret that none of these recordbreaking steam locomotives has
been preserved, especially now

test start-to-stop

uled with steam

run ever sched-

power 8

(130km/h) for the 78- 2 miles

(126km) from Sparta to Portage,
Wisconsin This was on the eastbound "Morning Hiawatha", for
by now a second daily run in
each direction was operated
Also in 1940 came the "Mid-West
Hiawatha" from Chicago to
Omaha and Sioux Falls and it

was to this train that the 4-4-2s

gravitated, although one was
usually held
4-6-4 failure

reserve against a
on the Twin Cities

trains

Dieselisahon came gradually,

locomotives made their

diesel

whole Milwaukee Road

from Chicago to the Pacific is
following them into oblivion.
Even so, models and memories
keep these wonderful locomotives alive in the minds of those
who admired them in their prime
that the

Below: A

builder's view o.
the original "F7" class 4-8-4
supplied to the Chicago,
Milwaukee, St Paul & Pacific
Railroad
1 938 for working
the "Hiawatha" expresses.

'

grate area, but these "small"

4-4-4s weighed some 90 per
cent more than this and had a
fire-grate 120 per cent bigger
Even if it was a case where the
trans-Atlantic love of bigness
might have been misplaced, the
"F-2a"s were certainly magnifi-

They had such sophisticated

features as mechanical stokers,
feed-water heaters and roller
bearings One feature that was
important for operation in Canada
was an all-weather insulated cab,
cent.

mm)

936 the Canadian

the sort of service for

Grate area: 55 6sq

was

which a home-based British company might field a 100 to:

with perhaps 25sq ft (2.3m 2 of

Pacific

Railway introduced four trains

which were announced as a
High-Speed Local Service In
each case the formation consisted
of a mail/ express (parcels) car, a
baggage-buffet and two passenger cars By North American
standards they counted as lightweight, the weight being 200
tons for the four-coach tram

Most American railroads would

able to provide comfortable conditions for the crew in a country

where the outside temperature

could easily drop to minus 40F

-40C), 72 Fahrenheit degrees
(

of frost
::

and
numbered

ther series of similar

slightly smaller 4-4-4s,

have found some hand-me-down

from 2901 to 2929, were built in

1938, designated class "F-la"

locomotives discarded from

The second

first-

series

was

easily

work

recognisable by the drive on to

them, but that was not the CPR

way. They ordered five new 4-4-4
steam locomotives, designated
the "Jubilee" type, from the Mon-

the rear coupled axle, instead of

on to the front axle as with the

work
these trains although spoken

the National Railway

passenger service

line

treal

Locomotive Works

to

to

of as streamlined, they are better

described as having a few corners

nicely rounded.

Running num-

"F-2a"

Nos 2928 and 2929

this later

at

Museum

at

Delson, Quebec, and (currently

but with future undecided) at
Steamtown, Bellows Falls, Vermont, USA, respectively

bers were 3000 to 3004

The new
this

services for which

equipment was ordered comtheWest

of

senes are preserved

Below: Class "F2a" 4-4-4 No.

3003 leaves Montreal with a
"High-Speed Local Service".

A 4 CIcISS 4-6-2

London & North Eastern Railway (LNER), 1935

4551b

Tractive effort:

Axle load: 49.5001b (22.5t).

Cylinders:

Driving wheels: 80in

Heating surface: 2,576sq

Superheater: 749sq

Steam pressure:

ft

ft

(70m 2

!50psi

Gratearea:i-;t:(3 8m 2

).

Fuel: 18,001

Water:

-S.OOOgall (6,000

US)

(23m 3
Adhesive weight: 148,0001b
)

Total weight: 370,0001b

Length

overall: 7

ft

( 1

70t)

Oin

(21,647mm)

were
one express passenger
locomotive that they considered
to be the best, there is little doubt
that this one would be elected
For one thing, it would be difficult

Above: Preserved "A4" class

4-6-2 No. 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley

to ignore the claims of the all-time

holder of the world's speed record for steam locomotives.

shortly after leaving Kings Cross

station, London, for Scotland.

The Class "A4" streamlined

covered at a speed above 100

mph (160km/h), those aboard
being sublimely unconscious of

If

British railway enthusiasts

to vote for

4-6-2

came

in

direct

descent

from the Class "Al" or "Flying

4-6-2s. The LNER
management had taken note of a
two-car German diesel train called
the "Flying Hamburger" which
in 1933 began running between
Berlin and Hamburg at an aver-

Scotsman"

age speed of 77 4mph 1 24km/h)

for the 178 miles (285km) The
makers were approached with
(

the idea of having a similar train

to run the 268 miles (429km)

between London and Newcastle,

but after an analysis had been
done and the many speed restrictions taken into account the best
that could be promised was
63mph (102km/h), that is, 4 '4
hours. The train was surprisingly
expensive for two cars, as well
On 5 March 1935, standard "A3
4-6-2 (No 2750 Papyrus) showed
what steam could do by making
the run with a six-coach tram in
230 minutes, thus demonstrating
a four hour timing was
practicable
In this way was born the
concept of a streamlined matching locomotive and tram to be
called "The Silver Jubilee". The
LNER Board authorised the project on 28 March 1935 and the
first of the four streamlined locomotives No. 2509 Silver Link was
that

put into steam on 5 September.

The new
innovations,

train, bristling

was shown

with

to the

press on 27 September. Unkind

people might compare this with
the recent gestation period of
British Railways' celebrated High
Speed Tram, not dissimilar in
appearance, concept and in degree to which it extended beyond
the bounds of current performance. This was six years not six
months.
On this press trip the British
speed record was broken with a
1 12^mph(180km/h)at
Sandy The locomotive rode superbly and 25 miles (40km) were

speed of

136

with an enthusiast's tram.

Right:

An "A4" class 4-6-2

bursts from

Gas Works

tunnel

the terror they were inspiring in

the lively-sprung articulated carnages behind. Even so, three
days later "The Silver Jubilee"
went into public service, achieving
an instant and remarkable success. In spite of a supplementary
fare, the down run at 5.30 p.m.
from Kings Cross, with a first
stop at Darlington, 2321/2 miles

(374km) in 198 minutes and due

at Newcastle 9.30 p.m., was fully

booked night after night.

The new locomotives did not
bristle with innovations like the
trains,

but those they had were

The internal streamand enlargement of the

important.
lining

steam passages from the regulator valve to the blastpipe

made

them

particularly free-running,
while extra firebox volume in the
form of a combustion chamber
helped steam production. Evocative three-chime whistles gave
distinction to the voice of the
"A4"s.

The "A4"s were so good that

more were built between
1936 and 1938, not only for two

31

more

streamline trains ("Coronand "West Riding Limited")

but also for general service. A
few were fitted with double blastpipes and chimneys and it was
with one of these (No 4468 Mallard) that on 4 July 1938, the
world speed record for steam
traction was broken with a sustained speed of 125mph (201
km/h), attained down the 1 in
200 (0 5 per cent) of Stoke bank
north of Peterborough. Driver
ation"

Duddington needed full throttle

and 45 per cent cut-off and
the dynamometer car record
indicated

that

126mph

(203

km/h) was momentarily reached.

Equally impressive was an occasion in 1940 when No.4901
Capercailhe ran 25 level miles
(40km) north of York with 22

(see fold-out,

page 38)
1

"

No. 10000 4-6-4

Great Britain:
London & North Eastern Railway (LNER), 1930

Axle load: 47,0001b

can make steam

Cylinders. HP: (2) 10 x 26in

(254 x 660mm)
Cylinders, LP: (2) 20 x 26in
(508 x 660mm)
Driving wheels: 80in

made

at higher pressures in various types of boiler

entirely of tubes and
drums and Nigel Gresley held
discussions with Messrs Yarrow
of Glasgow to see if anything on
these lines could be adopted
A scheme for a four-cylinder
compound was evolved, with a
boiler
five-drum
water-tube
pressed to double the normal
pressure. There was a long steam
drum at the top connected to two
pairs of lower water drums, by
694 small-diameter water tubes.
The two low-pressure outside
cylinders and much of the outside
motion was standard with the

Heating surface: l,986sqft

Superheater: 40sq ft 1 3m 2
Steam pressure: 450psi
1

(32kg/

cm

).

2
).

Grate area: 35sq ft (3.25m 2

Fuel: 20,0001b (9t).
Water: 5,000gall (6,000 US)

(23m 3
Adhesive weight: 140,0001b
).

(63

coaches (730 tons) at an average

speed of 76mph (122km/h).
At

first

between

a distinction was
the

original

made

"silver-

painted" locomotives, those in

LNER green with bird names for
general service, and those in
garter blue livery with Empire
names for the "Coronation" Also
in blue were Golden Fleece and

Golden Shuttle

for

the "West

Riding Limited" By 1938, blue

had become the standard colour
and very nice it looked not only
on the streamlined trains but also
with the varnished teak of ordinary stock
After the war,

dunng which

the "A4"s had to cope with

enormous loads and one (No
4469 Sir Ralph Wedgwood)
was destroyed in an air raid on
York, they were renumbered
to 34, later becoming British
Railways Nos 60001 to 60034- In
the famous locomotive exchange
1

1948, the "A4"s proved

to be substantially the most efficient of all the express engines
tested, but their proneness to
failure also showed up on three
occasions dunng the trials
Although by no means the
most recent LNER large express
trials of

Below,

left:

London & North

Eastern Railway class "A4"

4-6-2 Empire of India one of the
batch built m 1937 to work the
"Coronation " express.

Above: Class "A4" No .2510

Quicksilver when newm 1935.
Note the footplate valences
which were later removed.

"Al" class

5t)

Total weight: 372,0001b

Length

169t).

overall: 74ft 5in

(22,682mm)
tale of LNER No. 10000, the
"hush-hush" locomotive, is the
story of a promising experiment

The
passenger locomotives, they were
never displaced from prime
workings, such as the London to
"Elizanon-stop
Edinburgh
bethan", until the diesels came in
the early 1960s. The reliability

problem one senous weakness

was over-heating of the inside
large-end was resolutely tackled
and to a great extent solved
Since the last "A4" was withdrawn in 1966, six have been
preserved No 4498 Sir Nigel
Gresley, No.60009 Union of
South Africa and No. 19 Bittern
privately; No.4468 Mallard is in

Museum,
Canada
is in the Canadian Railway Museum at Delson, Quebec, and
No 60008 DwightD. Eisenhower
is in the USA at the Green Bay
Railroad Museum, Wisconsin
Nos 4498 and 60009 currently
the National Railway

No 60010 Dominion

of

perform on special trains, thereby

giving a new generation of rail
fans )ust a hint of what these
magnificent locomotives were like
in their

failed

Below: Class "A4"No.60024

Kingfisher. The locomotives of
this class built ostensibly for
"genera] service " were

named

It

was mounted

in

great secrecy hence the name

and executed with considerable flair and ability but, like so
many attempts before and some
afterwards, the principles laid
down by Stephenson in North-

umbrian proved in the end to be

the victor.
a fundamental law of
It
is
physics that the efficiency of a
heat engine is proportional to the
ratio between the upper and
lower temperatures reached by
the "working fluid" in this case
steam during its working cycle
The upper temperature depends
on the working pressure as well
as the

amount of superheat,

if

the

pressure could be substantially

increased, then there would be a
Alas, the conventional locomotive-type boiler is not suitable for

very high pressure there are

too many flat surfaces, for one

and power

stations

Two

high-

close to the centre-line, their

valves were driven by a rocking
shaft from the outside Walschaert's gear sets. The rocking
shafts had an arrangement designed so that the valve travel of
the HP cylinders could be varied
independently of the LP ones by
a separate control The locomotive
was built at the Darlington shops
of the company
Once teething troubles had

No 10000
overcome,
been
worked from Gateshead shed
any fundamental saving in coal consumption there may have been
was swamped by extra costs of
maintenance and loss of heat
through small faults in design.
for several years Alas,

Hence it was no surprise when in

1937 the "hush-hush" engine
rebuilt on the lines of an
"A4" class streamliner, remaining

was

the sole member of Class "W

and the only 4-6-4 tender engine
to

run

in Britain

gam in efficiency.

thing Ships

prime

after birds.

which

4-6-2s.

pressure inside cylinders were

Below: The London

& North

"

Eastern Railways' "Hush-Hush

high-pressure compound 4-6-4
No. 10000 on a test run hauling
the

company's dynamometer car.

The A4 Pacifies

Right: The A4 Class Dominion

of

Canada as built in 1937 for

the "Coronation" express.

Note the Canadian Pacific

Canadian
1938 in front
of the chimney, but after an
occasion when it rang
Railway
bell

was

whistle.
fitted

throughout the journey

was made

138

inoperative.

it

(see

page 136)

141

The A4 Pacifies

Right: The
of

A4 Class Dominion

Canada as built m 1937 for

the "Coronation" express.

Note the Canadian Pacific

Railway
bell

was

whistle.
fitted

A
1

Canadian
938 m front

of the chimney, but after an

occasion when it rang

throughout the journey it

was made

138

inoperative.

ie

136)

141

The Milwaukee Hiawathas

(see

page 34)
1

Linonopononra
zn

Below: One of the original Hiawatha "A"

Class 4-4-2 locomotives of the Chicago,
Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad.
These magnificent oil-fired Atlantics

were built by the American Locomotive

Company, of Schenectady,

142

New York, m

1935 m order to power some matching

streamlined high-speed trains between
Chicago and the two cities of St. Paul
and Minneapolis. The profile of the
original cars exactly corresponded with
the tender of the locomotive, having plain

steel sides without stiffening ribs. The

sets of cars with longitudinal ribs as

depicted above came four years later,

time other "Hiawatha " trains on
several routes had been introduced. All
of them are now just a memory

by which

twm

143

c-

HIAWATHA

144

Above: The "Hiawatha" express as

running in 1 940. These expresses
were the fastest scheduled steam
trams ever to run, and the drawing
shows one of the then-new
streamlined "F7" Class 4-6-4s at the

head of a typical consist. Next to the

engine comes an express-tap car
(called a parcels/bar car in Britain),
then a day-coach (which would be
multiple), the
car,
present

dmmg

thepullman parlour car and the

pullman parlour-observation car.

145

Class 05 4-6-4

Germanj
German

tate

Railway (DR), 1935

Tractive effort: 32.7761b

Axle

loa~<

Cylinde:

Driving wheels:

Heating surface: 2,750sq

Superheater: 976sq

ft

ft

(90m 2 )

Steam pressure: 284psi

Grate area: 51 sq rn4 71m 2 )
Fuel: 2,0001b (lOt).
Water: 3.200gall (9,870 US)

Adhesive weight: 127,0001b

Total weight: 475,0641b (213t)

Length

overall: 86ft 2in

(26,265mm)
In 1931 the general speed limit
on the German railways was only
62 miles per hour (lOOkm/hr)
in that year the first of the
high-speed diesel railcars was

but

introduced,

with

maximum

100 miles per hour

(160km/hr), and suddenly Germany leapt from a backward
position in world rail speed to be
the world leader However, the

speed

of

twin railcars had limited accom-

modation, and their immediate

was a challenge to the
steam engineers to produce a
locomotive which could attain
similar speeds when hauling a

popularity

Dovregrubben Class 2-8-4

Axle load: 34,0001b 5.5t).
Cylinders, HP: (2) 17^ x 25^m
1

(440 x 650mm).
Cylinders, LP:
(650 x 700mm)

(2)

25^ x 27^in

Driving wheels: 6 '4 in

(1,530mm)
Heating surface: 2,742sq
(255m 2
Superheater: l,092sqft
(101m 2

The 2-8-4 was a very unusual

wheel arrangement outside the
USA but the railways of Norway,
a surprisingly small country to be
a builder of its own locomotives,

made

it

one

of their principal

(27m3).

express locomotive types. Norway is a long thin mountainous

country measunng 1,150 miles
(1,850km) from north to south
but only an average of 1 10 miles
(177km) wide The building of a
trunk line up the spine of the
country has been in progress for
many years, the current terminus
being Bodo, 797 miles 1 ,282km)
from Oslo. The southern half of

Adhesive weight: 138,0001b

this line, the

ft

).

Steam pressure: 240psi

:m 2
)

Grate area: 55.55sq

Fuel:

ft

(5m 2

).

8,0001b (8t)
Water: 6,000gall (7,200 US)

(62

345 miles (553km)

5t)

Total weight: 334,0001b

Length

146

overall: 72ft 2in

Right: Norwegian State

Railways "Dovregrubben"
(Dovre Giant) class 2-8-4
locomotive depicted when new.

longer train of conventional

coaches. It was calculated that a
steam locomotive and train having a seating capacity of 50 per
cent more could be built for half

Above: Class "05" locomotive

No. 05. 001, as built in streamline
form, depicted on a run m

March 1935 when

Norway:
Norwegian

State Railways (NSB),

the

speed

record for steam was broken.

1935

the cost of a railcar set.

In 1932, therefore, in accordance with normal German practice, private locomotive builders
were invited to submit proposals
for a locomotive to haul
at

93mph (150km/h)

250 tons

in

normal

service, with the capacity to reach

08mph

75km/h) with this load

if required In the meantime wind
tunnel work was conducted at
1

research establishment at
Gottmgen to determine the posthe

sible

benefits

and

was found

it

of

streamlining,

that

full

stream-

engine could reduce

by 20 per cent the power required to haul 250t at 93mph.
From the 22 proposals submitted, a scheme by Borsig of
lining of the

Berlin for a 3-cylinder 4-6-4 was

selected The detailed design,
produced under the direction of
Adolf Wolff, incorporated stanfeatures as far as
dard
possible, but the overall concept
of a locomotive to develop very
high speeds with limited loads
called for a boiler larger than
those of the existing Pacifies, but
with the possibility of a smaller
adhesive weight. The 4-6-4 wheel

DRG

arrangement was chosen because a bogie at each end was

between Oslo and Trondheim

called the Dovre Railway and

was

for this line that these

is
it

"Dov-

regrubben" (Dovre Giants) were

built

Messrs Thune

of

Oslo

built

three of these fine locomotives in

1935 and 1 936, running numbers
were 463 to 465 During the war

two more (Nos.470 and 471)

were supplied by Krupp of Essen
in Germany and later a further
two (Nos.472 and 473) were
built They were four cylinder

compounds

with low-pressure
cylinders inside the frames, and
high-pressure cylinders outside
A single set of Walschaert's valve

Right: .4 Norwegian State

Railways "Dovre Giant" 2-8-4
m action on an Oslo to
Trondheim express in 1935.

thought necessary for stability at

high speed Aids to high speed
included large driving wheels

appeared
1935, and

in

March and May

of

in their highly- finished

90'^m (2,300mm) diameter, and

large valves and steam
passages For good balance at
speed three cylinders were fitted

red livery they made a great

impression For more than a year
they were subjected to intensive
testing, partly on the road and
partly on the locomotive testing

The boiler pressure of 284psi

(20kg/cm 2 was the highest so
far used on a conventional Ger-

notable of the road tests, on 1 1 th

May, 1936, 05002 reached a

very

man locomotive

Special attention
all axles
being braked, with two blocks
wheels
the
leading
all
except
on
bogie wheels Tender was also of
record size, with five axles and
weighing 86 tons fully loaded
The casing enveloped the engine

was paid

to braking,

plant at Grunewald. In the

speed
on the

most

of 124.5mph (199km/h)
level with a load of 197

and tender almost down to rail

level, and access to the motion
was achieved through roller

On another test run with the

ton, a speed of 1 18mph
(189km/h) was maintained for
26 miles (42km), requiring an
indicated horsepower of 3409,
an exceptional figure at that
speed
In October 1936, 05001/2,
working from Hamburg Altona

shutters

depot, entered regular service

Three engines were ordered,

two arranged for conventional
coal faring, but the third equipped
for burning pulverised fuel, and
arranged with the cab leading
The first two engines, 05001/2

on trains

Below: Class "05" locomotive

No.05.003, originally designed
for the burning of pulverised

and 73 7mph (118 7 and 117.9

km/h) the normal maximum running speed being 94 mph 1 50
km/h). These were then the
highest speeds by steam in

shop grey finish after

rebuilding in normal form.
fuel, in

ton
169

FD 23/4 from Hamburg

and back. For the 178.

miles (285km) from Hamburg to
to Berlin

Berlin Lehrter the time allowed

was 1 44 minutes on the outward
journey and 145 on the return,
giving average speeds of 74.2

Europe, although allowing for

gradients, the locomotive

the

work required was no heavier

with

than

the

LNER

"Silver

Jubilee"
The engines often
demonstrated their ability to recover time lost by engineering
works
The war brought these highspeed schedules to an end, and
after a period of use on ordinary
trains, the engines were laid

aside

until

rebuilt

Munich

1950, when they were

Krauss-Maffei
of

by

into non-streamlined en-

gines with new boilers. The experimental pulverised fuel firing

on the third engine, 05003, was
not successful, and it was rebuilt
as a conventional engine in
1944/5, but it saw little service
until it too was further rebuilt by
Krauss-Maffei in 1950 In their
rebuilt form the three engines
worked for seven years on the
fastest steam workings then in
force on Deutsche Bundesbahn,
but the tide of electrification then
overtook them. 05002/3 were
scrapped, but 05001 was restored to its original streamlined

and in 1961 it was

placed in the German National
Railway Museum in Nurnberg

condition,

gear mounted outside each side

served both HP and LP cylinders

on

that side, the higher valves

being driven via rocking shafts
There were a number of features unusual to Norwegian or

European practice Two reguwere provided, one in the

lators

dome and one

in

the

"hot"

header of the superheater There

were thermic syphons in the
firebox and a "Zara" truck (so

named

after

its Italian

designer)

which connected the front pony

wheels and the leading coupled
wheels The cylindrical frameless
tender with covered coal bunker
alone would make these engines
notable, but perhaps the most
remarkable thing of all ^bout
them is the successful creation of
such a powerful machine within
so restricted an axle-loading
147

United
Class 1-5 4-6-4 New

States:
York, New

Haven & Hartford (New Haven), 1937

Tractive effort: 44.0001b

Axle load:.

5 0001b (29
Cylinders:
X 30in
(559 x 762mm)
80in
wheels:
Driving

5t).

mm)
Heating surface:

3,8

5sq

ft

Superheater: l,042sqft(97m 2
Steam pressure: ^SSpsi
~m 2
Grate area: "7sq ft (7 2m 2 )

Fuel: 32,OO01b 14
(

5t)

Water: 5,000gall (18,000 US)

(68m 3
Adhesive weight: 193,0001b
1

Total weight: 698,0001b (3170

Length

overall: 97ft O&in

(29,585mm)
These handsome engines were
streamlined 4-6-4s in the
be delivered They were
also very much an example to be
followed in that firstly, the desire
to streamline was not allowed to
interfere with access to the
the

first

USA

to

machinery
secondly,
essential

maintenance and

for

they followed in all

respects the simple

Stephenson concept

The New Haven Railroad ran

the main line from New York to
Boston This was electrified as far
as New Haven, leaving 1 59 miles
(256km) of steam railroad from
there to the "home of the bean
and the cod" Trains such as
"The Colonial" or the all-Pullman
parlor car express "The Merchants Limited" heavily overtaxed
the capacity of the existing class
"1-4" Pacifies and, in 1936, after a
good deal of research and ex-

Class 16E 4-6-2

(18,414kg)
Axle load: 47,0001b (2 13t)
Cylinders: 2) 24 x28in

Town

to Johannesburg (average
speed 32mph 51km/h), they
ordered five high speed locomotives from Henschel & Son of
Kassel, Germany, to be known

(610x711mm)
Driving wheels: 72in
(1,830mm)
1

).

Steam pressure: 210psi

75kg/cm 2
)

Grate area: 63sq

Fuel: 31. 0001b

ft

(5

8m 2

(14t).

Water: 6,000gall (7,200 US)

(27m 3
Adhesive weight: 134,0001b
)

(61t)

Total weight: 375,0001b 170t).

Length overall: 7 1 ft 8 to
(21,850mm)
(

High-speed locomotives are rare

most of Africa. Driving wheels
as large as 60m 1 ,524mm) diameter were exceptional and larger
ones were unknown except in
the countries bordering the Med-

in

iterranean coast. Most of Africa is

narrow-gauge country, it is true,

but that is no reason for low

speeds, provided the track is
well aligned and maintained. During the 1930s South African
Railways perceived this fact and.
148

"

16E", running numbers

to 859.
Driving wheel diameter was
increased by 20 per cent compared with the "16 DA" class,
which previously had handled
such crack expresses as the
famous "Blue Train" This involved
a boiler centre line pitched very
as class

(14

South African Railways (SAR), 1935

with a view to accelerating such

schedules as 30 hours for the
956 miles (1,530km) from Cape

Tractive effort: 40,5961b

Heating surface: 2,9 4sq ft

(271m 2
Superheater: 592sq ft (55m 2

South Africa:

were 854

high (9ft 3in- 2,820mm) above

rail level 2.6 times the rail gauge
of 3ft 6in (1,067mm). This in its
turn made necessary a domeless
boiler, steam being collected by
pipes with their open end placed
as high as possible in the boiler
barrel

Aesthetically

the

effect

was most imposing and it all

worked well too.
The valve gear was interesting,
being more akin to that usually
found in motor cars than in steam
locomotives. As in nearly all car
engines, the "16E" class had
poppet valves actuated by rotating cams on camshaft Naturally
there had to be a set of valves at

each end

of

locomotive

each cylinder, steam

being
cylinders

double acting, in addition, since

steam engines have to go in both
directions

without a reversing

gearbox, and in order to provide

for expansive working, the cams

were

of

some

longitudinally.

be moved

length and coned

The camshaft could

laterally

by the

driver,

Above: South African Railways'

"16E" class 4-6-2 No.858 Millie
on "Sunset Limited" at Kimberley
lateral

valve gear gave wonderfully free

running and, moreover, its complexities gave little trouble in

SAR's competent hands

On

so that the cam followers engaged

different cam profiles, and thus

(it

caused the poppet valves to

open for longer or shorter penods

safely

to vary the "cut-off" for

working,

while

expansive

still

greater

movement reversed the

The "RC" poppet

locomotive

various special occasions

can now be told) the "16E"s

have shown abilities to reach

and

easily

but

illegally

according to the SAR rule-book

what by African standards

Left: During the late 1930s

railroads introduced
streamlined trams. Here is the
Lehigh Valley RH's "Black

many USA
Diamond"

periment, ten 4-6-4s were ordered

from Baldwin of Philadelphia

Running numbers were

400

to

1409.
This "1-5" class with disc driving
wheels, roller bearings and Walschaert's valve gear went into
service in 1937. They certainly
met the promise of their designers
in that they showed a 65 per cent
saving in the cost of maintenance

were very high speeds indeed.

Alas,

these locomotives

had an opportunity

to

never

demon-

strate their high-speed abilities in

normal service. South African

Railways the only railway to fly

into London's Heathrow Airport
has also operated the national
since its inception and
on it seemed reasonable to
encourage anyone in a hurry to
travel by aeroplane So the rail
schedules remained unaccelerated and the five handsome
"
16E"s remained unduplicated
Four of the five were withdrawn in the 1960s and 1970s,
but one (No 858) named Millie, is
kept on hand in order to work
special trains for steam enthusiasts These are very much a
speciality of SAR and often last
for ten days or so, the tram being
stabled each night while its occupants sleep on board The run
behind this beautiful engine, polished bke a piece of jewellery and
at speed up to about 70mph
(1 lOkm/h) is always one of the
airline

early

high spots of the

trip

Right: A pair of beautifully

polished South African "16E"
class 4-6-2s handle a special
tram for steam enthusiasts

compared

with the 4-6-2s they

replaced and, moreover, could

handle 1 6-car 1 1 00-ton trains to
the same schedules as the Pacific
could barely manage with 12.
Another requirement was met
in that

they proved able to clear

the 1 in 140 (0.7 per cent) climb

out of Boston to Sharon Heights
with a 12-car 840-ton tram at
60mph (97km/h). But, alas, the
"I-5"s were never able to develop

no doubt formidable high

speed capability because of a
their

rigidly

enforced

70mph

(113

km/h) speed limit. For this reason

and because the line was infested

Above: The New York, New

Haven & Hartford Railroad class
"1-5" 4-6-4, which was built for

runnmg fast trams from New

Haven

to

Boston.

with speed restrictions, the schedule of the "Merchants Limited"

fell below
171 minutes
including two stops, representing

never

an average of 55mph (89km/h).

Forty years "progress" and a
change from steam to diesel
traction since the days of the
"I-5"s has only succeeded in
reducing this time to 170mms
today.

231- 132 BT Class 4-6-2

Tractive effort: 65 9601b

Axle load:

^ 5001b (18 .50

Cylinder*

Driving wheels: 7

in

mm)
Superheater: 975sq

ft

(9 1

ft

m2

Steam pressure: 284psi

Grate area: 58sq ft (5 4m 2 )
Fuel:. '-4 0001b (lit)
Waterjail (7.900 US)
I

Adhesive weight:
Total weight:

Length

overall:

001b

-001b (2160

9<

goods manufactured

bow

( 1

in Britain

New South Wales Govern-

ment, but he came to discuss

with them an idea which he had
patented for articulated locomotives built to the same basic
format as mobile rail-mounted
guns The main result in due time
in the form
two little 0-4-4-0 compound
locomotives, hinged twice in the
middle, for far-off Tasmania
This Garratt layout consisted of
taking two conventional locomotive chassis or engine units, of

was some hardware

of

Should there ever have been a

to-back as bogies a certain distance apart A boiler cradle was

then slung between them, tanks

performance

of

Britain's

new

and fuel bunkers being mounted

on the engine units.

The reason
success

reasonable starting point

One day in 1907, an engineer

rival

tives

for the Garratt's

when compared with

types of articulated locomosuch as the "Mallet", was

French execution would be a

its

of the curve, thereby coun:

an overturning

effect of

centrifugal force.

Another advantage of the Garratt arrangement was that there

was no running gear (so vulnerable to grit) immediately under
the fire-grate, just lots of room
and plenty of the fresh air so

necessary to ensure good combustion More important, the

absence of running gear beneath
the boiler gave complete freedom
in respect of the design of this
important component Although
a Garratt gives the impression of
great length and slenderness, in
fact, the boiler can be relatively
short and fat. For fundamental
reasons short fat boilers are
considerably lighter and cheaper
than long thin ones, for a given
steam raising capacity
Although many were sold for
freight and mixed traffic use, the
riding
qualities
of
excellent

ploited for express

work,

Class 142 2-8-4 Roumanian

State Railways (CFR),

Tractive effort: 44,0501b

(19,980kg)
Axle load: 4 1,0001b (18.50
Cylinders: (2) 25.6 x 28 4m
(650 x 720mm)

and 27 respectively between

1936 and 1949. They continued

Driving wheels: 76i^in

(1,940mm)
Heating surface: 3,002sq ft

locomotives, the "214" class. In

their home country the history of
the class was overshadowed by
events, 13 only were built and

m use until the

this

(15kg/cm 2
Grate area: 5 lsq

the

(4

72m2

).

Adhe sive weight

stability. In 1931 the

Spanish Central Aragon Railway
obtained six 4-6-2 +2-6-4s with

excellent

5ft 9in 1 ,753mm) driving wheels,

and these were equally satisfactory, these latter locomotives were
built by Euskalduna of Bilbao
under licence from
Beyer,
(

Peacock.
In 1932 the Paris, Lyons &
Mediterranean Company ordered an experimental Garratttype locomotive from the FrancoBeige Company of Raismes,
France, for the Algerian lines.
This 4-6-2 + 2-6-4

was

successful,

Below: The magnificent class

231-132BT Beyer-Garratt
locomotives built in France
for the Algerian railways.

pi

1935

unlucky number certainly

came
German takeover which turn-

ed the proud Federal Austrian

6 1 ,0001b

the German State Railway. Then

the war, Russian occupation and
finally electrification. All of these
traumatically affected the Vienna

to

(184t).

the 2-8-4s

74ft 9in

(22,784mm)
Another example of a small counbuilding its own express passenger locomotives, and 2-8-4s
to boot, was Roumania. The
firms Malaxa and Resita built 58
150

to

6in

justified its reputation. First

Total weight: 406,0001b

try

5ft

960s. In fact they

(740

Length overall:

altered

Railway into a mere division of

text

Water: 6,500gall (7,800 US)

(295m 3

passenger

927 when a group of

built under licence,

of the greatest of Austrian steam

ft

were copies,

Superheater: 774sq ft (72m 2).

Steam pressure: 213psi

Fuel: see

until

,676mm) diameter driving

wheels, were built for the 5ft 3in
(1,600mm) gauge Brazilian San
Paulo Railway. With them 70mph
(113km/h) was achieved, with

_p_n

(280m 2

(PLM), 1937

Beyer-Garratts were seldom ex-

2-6-2 + 2-6-2s- later

4-6-2 + 2-6-4s- with

(29,432mm)

diesel-electnc HST 1 25 trains, this

locomotive of British concept but

& Mediterranean Co

geometry For example, when

swinging fast round curves, the
boiler and cab unit moved inwards like a bowstring in the

whatever wheel arrangement was

preferred, and using them back-

requirement for a reciprocating

steam locomotive to emulate the

Pans, Lyons

mainly due to the elegance of

by the name of H.W. Garratt

visited a firm of locomotive manufacturers in Manchester called
Beyer, Peacock Garratt was then
working as an inspector for
for the

Heating surface: 2,794sq

+ 2-6-4 ***

Salzburg main

line for which

were built but their
cousins in Roumania (called
" 142"s) flourished
and multiplied.

Like so many large locomotives

of the time, the genesis of the
type lay in a desire to avoid the
indignity of double-heading on
their owners' principal expresses,
in

this

case between Salzburg

and Vienna. Loads had

out-

stripped the haulage capacity of

the excellent class "210" 2-6-4s.

A prototype was built in 1 93 1

together with a three-cylinder
version for comparative purposes. Poppet valves actuated
by oscillating cams driven by
Walschaert's valve gear were
used, except for one which was
fitted with Caprotti gear The

Above: The Austrian "214"

class 2-8-4 locomotives adopted
as the standard express
locomotive design by Roumania.

Roumanian copies had the former arrangement, except for a

batch which were

built in

1939

with Caprotti and later altered to

standard.
An unusual feature of these

both at fast running as well as at

climbing over the mountains, to a
point where further express Garratts of an improved design were
ordered When the PLM lines in
Algeria had been amalgamated
with the Algerian State Railways
(CFAE) an initial order for 10
later increased to 29 by
Algerian Railways (CFA).

was

and any
expansive working is
not possible. The valve gear was
with conventional gears,

service

more

main

fully

also interesting in

operated

that

it

was

Other equipment included duplicate controls at the rear of the

for running hind end first, a

feed water heater, and a turbo-

cab

cab There
the ashpan

Amongst many interesting features of a design which kept

wholly to the standard Garratt
layout was the Cossart valve
gear. This unusual gear drove
cam-operated piston valves and
enabled the locomotive to use
very early cut-offs indeed, in the

were drench pipes to

and smokebox, a soot blower to
clean the boiler tubes on the run,
and a recording speedometer A
double chimney and double vanable blast-pipe was provided,
unusually the two orifices were
placed side by side instead of

range of 5 per cent to 7 per cent.

valve gears such as
If normal

end-on. A coal-pusher assisted in

bringing coal forward ready to
be fed to the fire. The tanks and

Stephenson's or Walschaert's are

arranged so they can be linked

up to give cut-offs as early as this,

it

is

impossible to arrange the

geometry so that the exhaust

ports would then open for an
adequate fraction of the return
stroke Such a locomotive would
experience a checking influence

speed generally speaking 15

per cent or 17 per cent is the limit
at

other Roumanian locomotives is the coal-plus-oil finng

system The coal fire provides
the base supply of steam, while
the oil supplement covers penods
of exceptional demand
For many years these imposing
locomotives covered their share
of Roumania's top express passenger assignments Very unusu-

and

ally for

a small country,

Roumama

has its own diesel and electnc

locomotive industry, being dependent on modest production
from this source, the change to
new forms of motive power was
sure rather than fast Even so, the
"142"s had ceased work by the
end of the 1960s, No. 142.008 is
set aside at Bucharest's Gnvita
depot and 142072 is displayed
at

the

Resita

Locomotive

Museum

A humble use m this

Roumanian scene for a
dass "142" 2-8-4 locomotive of
the state railway system
Right:

pastoral

1 in 38^ (2.6 per

running time for the 288

ents as steep as
cent), the

was reduced from

12^ hours to 8!^-ietween Algiers
and Oran the new timing of 7
hours for the 262 miles (422km)
miles (464km)

electrically

fan for ventilating the

on the Algiers-Constantine
which included gradi-

line,

bunker were arranged to correspond in shape with the boiler.

The ends were streamlined and
the result aesthetically most
impressive.

On test on the Northern Railway

between Calais and Pans, it was
found that the engine rode
steadily and could develop cylinder horse-power up to 3,000 In

represented an acceleration
hours

of 2

Until the war came to Algena

the express Garratts gave good
service but, alas, the electncal
valve gear did not stand up to the
inevitable neglect when the fighting began. Soon after the war
there was an opportunity to
dieselise and by 1951 these 30
superb locomotives were out of
use.

Perhaps the most interesting

point

is that,

whilst conventional

"straight" locomotives in

express

passenger service have

certainly

been stretched up to the limit as

regards vanous critical dimensions, the Garratt had still some
way to go Larger wheels could
easily be combined with a larger
boiler of much greater power
output. For example, that hypo-

steam replacement for

125 could have 7ft 6in
(2,286mm) driving wheels combined with a 7ft 6in (2,286mm)
diameter boiler, all inside the
British loading gauge 9ft wide by
1 3ft high (2,740mm by 3,300mm)
thetical

the

HST

A grate-area of 80sq ft (7 5m2

would make a steady output of
5,000 horsepower in the cylinders
feasible The large space vacant
beneath the firebox would provide space for an adequate ashpan to contain the residue left
)

behind when the considerable

quantities of coal involved had
been burnt. The Da Porta com-

bustion system descnbed in connection with the South Africa

class "25" 4-8-4s would be a
possibility.
A turbo-generator
could provide electnc power for
heating and air-conditioning the
present carriages of the HST 1 25
trains, to which little or no modification would be needed But,
alas, such a magnificent means of

locomotion must remain haulage

power for the Dreamland Express,

and hence

our imagination.

live entirely in

Duchess Class 4-6-2

Great Britain:
Midland

&

Scottish Railway (LMS), 1939

Tractive effort

Axle load:

r.

Cylinders:

Driving wheels: 8

28m

in

Heating surface: 2,807sq

Superheater:

6sqft(79
Steam pressure: 50psi
8!

Grate area: 50sq

ft

(4

6m 2

ft

5m 2

Fuel:

Water:

1,800

US)

Adhesive weight: 147,5001b

(68t)

Total weight: 362,0001b

Length overall
(22,510mm)

The most powerful steam

motive ever to run

in Britain

loco1

This

was demonstrated in February

1939, when No 6234 Duchess of
Abercom was put to haul a
20-coach 605-ton

test train

from

Crewe to Glasgow and back An

might have been achieved

authentic recording of an indi-

lsation

cated horse-power of 3,330 was

made and this power output
from a steam locomotive has
never been matched in Britain It
occurred coming south when
climbing the 1 in 99 (1 01 per
cent) of Beattock bank at a
steady speed of 63mph (102
km/h) This feat was, however, a

years earlier with steam.

Incidentally,
the "Duchess"
locomotives were fast runners as
well as strong pullers and even
held the British rail speed record
for a short penod, although it
was not an occasion for any
pride. This was because in order
to obtain the 1 1 4mph ( 1 82km/h)
maximum, steam was not shut off
until the train was so close to
Crewe that the crossovers leading
into the platforms and good for
only 20mph (32km/h) were taken
at nearly 60 (96km/h). Minor
damage was done to the track

purely academic one, not because

of any limitations on the part of
the locomotive but because the

power developed corresponded

a

to

coal-shovelling

rate

well

beyond the capacity of one man

Two firemen were earned on the
occasion of the test run, which
certinaly
equalled
anything
achieved later with diesel traction
before the recent arrival of the

High Speed Train

It

remains a

pity that

none

of

the "Duchess" class 4-6-2s were

tried with oil firing or mechanical
stoking, not so much because a

somewhat academic record might

then have been pushed higher,
but rather that the faster train
services which followed diesel-

and much

to the

crockery

in the

kitchen car, but the train and the

newsmen aboard survived. The
practical features of the design
which saved the day were a
credit to the engineers concerned, but this was cancelled
out by a typical disdain for
theory, which could so easily
have established the point at
which steam should have been
shut off and the brakes applied
so that the safety of the tram

should

not

have

been

en-

Completely unshaken by
incident, with the

Above: Ex-London Midland &

No

dangered

down

this

tram, the

imperturbable Driver ] T Clarke

using the same locomotive then
proceeded to take the party
back to London in 1 1 9 minutes
at an average speed of 79 5mph
(127km/h) with several maxima
over 90mph (144km/h) and the
magic 100 (160) maintained for
some distance near Castlethorpe.
Enough has been said to show

Scottish Railway 4-6-2

46236
City of Bradford on the down
"Royal Scot" in the Lune Gorge
near Tebay, Lancashire.
direct line to Lord Stamp, President of the company, who had
recruited him personally over

the "Duchess" class rep-

lunch at the Athenaeum Club.

Previous locomotive engineers
had been dictated to even over
such details as axleboxes by the
operating department of the railwayand then blamed for the

resented something close to the

summit of British locomotive engineering. Simplicity was not the
keynote of the design, but sound
conventional engineering made
these locomotives the success
they were. The designer was
William Stamer who had come to

So Stanier was able without

interference to initiate design
work on an excellent range of
standard locomotives, the results
took the LMS from a somewhat
backward position into an enviable one so far as their locomo-

that

LMS from the Great Western

Railway in 1 932, he was a worthy
product of the Churchward tra-

consequent

failures.

stud was concerned His

the

tive

and at the age of 52 far

from being a young man He had
one great advantage over his
predecessors on the LMS

Nottingham depicted in
LMS-style British Railways livery,
but with the streamline pattern
tender originally attached.

dition

Below: No.46251 City

first

of

was

the Princess Royal

in 1933, her
cylinder layout was similar to the
Great Western "King" class, ex-

4-6-2

which appeared

cept that two more independent

sets of Walschaert's valve gear
were fitted outside the wheels for
the outside cylinders. At first the
taper boiler did not steam as well
as it should and several quite
considerable successive internal
alterations had to be made, which
were applied new to later "Prin-

cess Royal" class locomotives as

they came out and retrospectively
to those already built. One of
was the
locomotives
these

"Turbomotive"

A decision to run a streamlined

high-speed express from Euston
to

Glasgow

in

1937 was the

all that had
1 2 locomo-

opportunity to apply

been
tives

learnt
of

from the

the

"Princess

Royal"

class for these 4-6-2s were far

larger than anything the
had had before. The train and the
first of the five new locomotives
built for it took the names Coro-

LMS

nation Scot and Coronation

respectively
This time the cylinder layout
was moved well away from that
of the
The centre lines
were inclined upwards at a slope
of 1 Yi degrees, while the outside
cylinders were brought forward
from the original position in line
with the rear bogie wheel. The
outside valve gears were made
to work the valves of the inside
cylinders as well as the outside
by rocker arms just to the rear of
the outside cylinders. A similar

GWR

arrangement had been

fitted to

No 6205

Princess Victoria Both

wheel and cylinder diameters
were slightly larger on the "Coronation" class than on the "Princess
Royal" class An interesting gadget in the tender was the steam
coal-pusher which helped the
fireman bring coal forward from
the back of the tender when
supplies at the front got used up.
The boiler was notable for an
1 1 per cent larger fire grate area
and a 133 per cent increase in
superheater heating surface,
compared with the original Prin-

Royal although
cess
subsequent "Princess Royal" class
locomotives had bigger superheaters, none were as large as
Not many people liked the
sausage-shaped
streamlined
shroud that enveloped the locothat.

Above: The second-lrom-last

and considerably modified
"Duchess" No. 46256 was

named Sir William A Stanier

FRS m honour of her designer.

Below:

In

London Midland &

Scottish Railway days and as

originally built in streamline
form. No. 6225 Duchess of

Gloucester passes Rugby.

new

blue and
The other
four locomotives were named
motive, but the

silver livery

after

was

members

lovely

of the royal family

Queen Elizabeth,

Queen Mary,
Princess Alice and Princess
Alexandra.
The 6!^-hour schedule of the
"Coronation Scot" from London
to Glasgow with only a 270-ton
load was not too demanding for
these great locomotives but, quite
aside from this, they were found
to

be

excellent heavy artillery for

general express passenger use

on

this

West Coast main

line.

Accordingly, a further ten were

ordered of which only the first

were streamlined. All ten

were named after duchesses (in
fact, the whole class is now
usually referred to by that name)
and it was No 6230 Duchess of

removed from locomotives fitted

with
This was not completed
until 949 by which time the last
and 38th "Duchess" (No6257
City of Salford) had been com-

Buccleuch that first demonstrated

how extremely handsome these
engines were when unclothed.
More streamlined engines of
an order for 20 (named after
cities) placed before the war
were delivered gradually over
the war years 1939-43 After 18
of them had been completed
construction continued with nonstreamlmed examples, and in
1945 instructions were issued

plete for a twelve-month

The success of the class is
measured by the minimal number

five

for the streamline casings to

be

it.

of

that were made over

years of service from 1937,

changes

their

until electric

and

took over

tives

in

locomo1964 Nos.6256
diesel

and 6257 had some modification,

but these were more in the
nature of experiments than cures
for

the

recognised

number

were

ills

In contrast,

changes
and gold

of livery

legion blue

LMS

streamline, standard
maroon, maroon and gold streamline, plain wartime black, lined
post-war black, experimental
gray, BR dark blue, BR medium
blue, BR green and finally LMS
maroon with BR insignia as
shown in the painting below

Three have been preserved

No 6229 Duchess of Hamilton, in

charge

of the National

Railway

Museum, and

currently restored
to main line running condition,

No 6233 Duchess of Sutherland

in

Alan Bloom's collection

at

Bressingham, near Diss, and No

6235 City of Birmingham in the
Birmingham Science Museum

153

Class GS-4 4-8-4

United States:
Southern

Pacific Railroad (SP),

1941

Tractive effort

Axle load: 68.9251b (3 1250

Cylinders:

32in

Driving wheels: 80in

Heating surface: 4 887sq

Superheater: 2,086sq

ft

ft

Steam pressure: 300psi

Grate area: 90 4sq ft (8 4m 2
Fuel (oil): 4 900galls (5,900 US)
)

OOgall (23,500 US)

Water:

Adhesive weight: 276,0001b

Total weight: 883,0001b
(400 50

few special features worth recording was one that has almost no
steam traction parallel elsewhere,

Above: Southern Pacific's toughhaulage class "GS-4" 4-8-4 No.

The gradients encountered by

that is the provision of electro-

in

pneumatic brake equipment With

other forms of traction, the
brake
is
electro-pneumatic

Milwaukee Une between

Chicago and the Twin Cities and

the "Daylight" nicely balanced

out with the "Hiawatha" faster
running, but certainly the "Daylight" was a far tougher haulage
proposition than the British train.

the "Coronation" of the British

The motive power provided

the brakes

London & North Eastern Railway

between London and Edinburgh
have been noticed elsewhere

flected this

system

Eight-coupled wheels were

needed and enabled the resulting
"Daylight" 4-8-4 to have (with
booster) 1 24 per cent more tractive effort than the LNER "A4"

change travelling down the brake

The "Daylight" express

of the

Southern Pacific Railroad was

the third of three
services worked

famous train
by matching

streamlined express locomotives

and coaches over a similar distance The "Hiawatha" trains of
the

Each of the three trains introduced

new standards of speed, comfort

and decor, and each

train

was

spectacularly successful in attracting

new

traffic

the lessening of running times

represented by all three of the
new trains were roughly even.

4-6-2.
is,

As regards grate area,

the size of the

fire,

re-

that

the increase

The 470-mile route between

Los Angeles and San Francisco
was much the hardest as well as

was 1 19 per cent. The SP already

1
had fourteen 4-8-4s (class "GS- "),

the longest of the three For

example, there was nothing on
either of the other lines to compare
with the 1 in 45 (2.2 per cent)

Philadelphia in 1930. As with the

LNER's but unlike the Milwaukee's, the SP's new locomotives
(class "GS-2") were from a mechanical point of view based very
closely on their immediate predecessors. Of course, the decor

gradient of Santa Marghanta

Hill, north of San Luis Obispo
The "light-weight" 12-car "Daylight"

express

weighed

568

tonnes, nearly double the weight

of the British train though it
must be said that as regards

weight hauled per passenger

carried, the latter

came

out at

per cent less than the former

Because of the severe curvature
of the line as well as the heavy
gradients the 48 5mph (78km/h)
average speed of the "Daylight"
train was considerably less than
that of the other two, although

which came from Baldwin

of

was something else again and it

gave these four black, silver and
gold monsters from the Lima
Locomotive Works of Lima, Ohio,
an appearance which could
hardly be described as less than
superb.
Like so

many large North

of the time,
the success of the "Daylight"
type was due to the application
of the excellent standard of US
practice of the day. Amongst a
American locomotives

commonplace

today, especially

for multiple-units. Application of

on a normal air-brake
on a pressure

relies

pipe from the locomotive

to switch

4456 at San Francisco,

sprays to cool the tyres on engine

and tender wheels during braking
on the long descents Air sanding
gear was provided, fed from a
tank under that boiler-top casing,
which held a full ton of sand
With booster cut in, the "GS"s
could manage the standard "Day1

on the brakes under each suc-

light"

cessive car This involves a flow

of air towards the driver's brakevalve and in consequence a
delay of several seconds occurs
before the brakes are applied to
the wheels of the rear car In
contrast, with EP braking the
signal to apply the brakes goes
down the tram with the speed of
electric current. The thinking
was that these few seconds
during which the train would
travel several hundred feet
might in the case of a high-speed
service be the difference between
an incident and a disaster
The curvature of the route was
recognised by the provision of
spring-controlled side-play on
the leading coupled axle. In this
way the wheels could "move-over"
on a curve and allow the flange
force to be shared between the
two leading axles, with benefits
to the wear of both rails and
tyres. The hilliness of the line
gave rise to a series of water

grades

California,

May 1952.

on the 1 in 45
per cent), but if any
were attached a helper

consist
(2.2

extra cars

was needed.
Although the "Daylight" type
held to the simple and worldstandard concept of a twocylinder locomotive with outside
valve gear, the host of equipment
provided did add a certain com-

There were three turbogenerators, for example, and a

feed-water heater and pump as
well as injectors. It must be said
that virtually all of this complication
was made up of items- of propnetary equipment each of which,
as it were, came in a box and
could be bolted on Such fittings
were apt to work well because
competition kept the suppliers
plexity

Below: One of the original

batch (class "GS-2") of
Southern Pacific's "Daylight"
4-8-4s as delivered from the
Lima Locomotive Works, Ohio,

1937.

on

their toes,

and

if

problems

arose a replacement could be

Even so, an
quickly
electro-magnetic gadget inside
the boiler! which sensed foamfitted

ing

and opened

the

blow-down

cocks automatically, did not last

Like most SP steam locomotives, the "Daylight's were
fired with oil indeed, SP were
the United States' pioneers in this

area economy being achieved

with a device called a "locomotive
valve pilot" which indicated to
the engineer what cut-off he
to suit any particular
speed and conditions of working
Streamlined trains, worked by

should set

of
batches
magnificently-equipped

further

these
loco-

motives, spread to

all parts of
SP's system and thus served
such far distant places as Portland

in

Oregon, Ogden in Utah and

Orleans Details of the 60

New

shown in the table

The War Production Board

locos were as

refused to sanction the "GS-6"

batch, but on being told that

"GS" now stood

for

"General

Service" rather than "Golden

State", they accepted the proposal Of an order for 16, six
went to Western Pacific Railroad

The first "GS" to be withdrawn

was No 4462 in 1954 and in
October 1958 No.4460 (now
displayed at the Museum of
Transportation at St Louis, Missouri) brought SP steam operations to a close with a special
excursion from Oakland to Reno,
Nevada No 4449 also survived
to haul the "Freedom Train"
several thousands of miles across
the USA in connection with the
bi-centenmal of independence in
1976 The locomotive is still able
to run and has recently been restored to the original superb
"Daylight" colours

Designation

Royal Hudson Class 4-6-4

Tractive effort: 45 3001b

Axle load:

v:i

0001b (29

Cylinders:

5t)

x 30in

Driving wheels: 75in

Heating surface: 3,79 lsq

Superheater:

Steam pressure:

i2sq

(54

6m 3

2.000gall

ft

,"75psi

(19.3kg
Grate area: 8 lsq ft (7
Fuel: 47.0001b (2 It)

Water:

ft

( 1

end

5m 2

4,400 US)

Adhesive weight: 194,0001b

Total weight: 659,0001b (2990

Length

overall: 90ft

American is almost a contradiction

terms but, forty years ago, the
Pacific Railway was as

Canadian

much

British as it was Canadian

had been incorporated by an
Act of the British Parliament, and
its east-most terminal was situated
at Southampton, England It was
here in 1939 that King George
VI and Queen Elizabeth set sail in
the Canadian Pacific liner EmIt

press of Britain for a tour of

their

their

Dominion Once ashore,

home

for

which worked on

the hot side of the superheater

This enabled superheated steam
to be fed to the vanous auxiliaries
There were arch tubes in the
firebox and, necessary with a
grate of this size, a mechanical
stoker
first

effect

of

the

new

locomotives was to reduce the

To be both Royal and North

largest

throttles

The

10m

(27,686mm)

in

ways, such as tractive effort or

adhesive weight, the new locomotives were little different to the
old Their class designation was
H-l and the running numbers
were 2800 to 2819.
The boilers had large supercombustion
heaters
and
chambers (the latter an addition
to the firebox volume, provided
by recessing the firebox tubeplate
into the barrel), as well as front-

much

of the visit

was a Royal train, at the head of

which was a new 4-6-4, No 2850,
specially turned out in royal blue
silver with stainless steel
The royal arms

and

boiler cladding

were painted on the tender and a

replica crown was mounted on
the running board skirt just ahead
of the cylinders, later this crown
was affixed to all 45 of CPR's
famous 4-6-4s built between 1937
and 1945
The genesis of these fine locomotives lay in a wish to improve

upon

the class "G-3" 4-6-2s

which before 1931 had been the
top-line power of the system, by

increasing their steam-raising

capacity a substantial amount A
fire-grate 23 per cent larger was
possible if the 4-6-4 wheel arrangement was adopted and the
boilers of the new locomotives
were based on this But in other

Canada:
Canadian

number
needed

Pacific

Railway (CPR), 1937

engine changes
cross Canada, from

of
to

fourteen to nine. The longest

stage was 820 miles (1,320km)
from Fort William, Ontario, to
Winnipeg, Manitoba, experimentally a 4-6-4 had run the
1,252 miles (2,015km) between
Fort William and Calgary, Alberta, without change.

For

five hectic

the afternoon

months

CPR

in

train

93
from

Toronto to Montreal, called the

"Royal York" became the world's
fastest scheduled train, by virtue
of a timing of 08 minutes for the
124 miles (200km) from Smith's
Falls to Montreal West, an average
speed of 68.9mph (lllkm/h).
The record was wrested from
the Great Western Railway of
England, whose "Cheltenham
1

Flyer"

then

had a timing

70mm for the 77 Va miles

( 1

of

24km),

an average speed of 66.3mph.

4-6-4s were normally assigned to this tram Subsequently
the
dropped 3 minutes
from their timing and took back

The

GWR

the record.
An interesting

feature,

later

provided on one of the "H-l"s,

was a booster engine working

on the trailing truck. One of the

problems of a 4-6-4 was that only
six out of 1 4 wheels were driven;
this was no detriment while running at speed but starting was
sometimes affected by the limited

Below: Ex-Canadian Pacific

"Royal Hudson " class No. 2860
progresses gently along the
shore of Howe Sound, B.C.

adhesion. The extra 12,0001b

(5,443kg) of tractive effort provided by the booster came in
very handy; the mechanism cut
automatically

out

20mph

at

(32km/h).

The 1930s were the period

when streamlining was in fashion

when the time came to order

some more 4-6-4s, H.B Bowen,
but
the

CPR

decided

Chief of Motive Power,

to

compromise He came

to the conclusion that the shrouds

which enveloped many contemporary designs made the mechanism inaccessible to an extent
which smothered any savings
attributable to reduced air resistance. On the other hand, he
accepted that the public liked
trains hauled
by locotheir
motives which were a little easier
on the eye than was then
customary.

The result in 1937 was another

Hudson type, Nos
2820 to 2849 designated "H-lc",
(the earlier ones had been delivbatch of 30

ered in two batches of ten,

"H-la" and "H-lb") which had
not only softer bnes but also
sported a superb coloured livery,
as our artist has rned to show.
Very few mechanical changes
needed to be made although
there

were certain improvements

changes such as poweroperated reversing gear, domeless boilers and a one-piece cast
locomotive frame, while boosters

or

were

fitted

to five of the loco-

motives A further ten 4-6-4s,

designated "H- 1 d" were delivered
in 1938, while the last batch of
five ("H-le"),

Nos.2860

to

2864

940, differed from the others

being oil burners All the
"H-le"s and five of the "H-ld"s
had boosters
The last batch of 4-6-4s were
intended to operate in the far
of

Above: A head-on view of

4-6-4 No. 2860 as preserved
and now running on the
British

Columbia Railway.

in

west,

between Vancouver and

Revelstoke,

where oil

British

firing

Columbia,

had been

the rule
After the war,

many years
when the big Canadian
for

were being exploited,

oil fields
all

the

"H- 1 "s operating over the prairies

were also converted This was

made easier by the fact that was

it

customary to allocate a particular

locomotive to a particular depot

when

they were built and they

would then remain there for

many years

This unusually stable

approach

to locomotive allocation also allowed the booster-fitted

locomotives to be rostered for

where their extra

push was needed For example,

sections of line

booster fitted "H-lc"s allocated

to Toronto could take the 18-car
1,300-ton "Dominion" express

up

the Neys Hill incline on Lake

Superior's north shore unassisted
with booster in operation, otherwise a helper engine would have

been an obvious necessity

Like other lines which had
excellent steam power, well maintained and skilfully operated, the

Canadian Pacific Railway was in

no hurry to diesehse and, in fact,
it was not until 1956 that the first
4-6-4 was scrapped By mid- 1 960
all were out of service, but five
have survived the scrap-men's
torches. Standard Hudson No.

2816

the time of writing) at

Steamtown, Bellows Falls, Vermont, USA. Of the "Royal Hudson" types, No 2839 has recently
been seen in operation in the
on the Southern Railway, a
line which regularly operates
special steam trains for enthusiasts. No 2850 is in the Canadian

USA

is (at

Railway

Museum

at

Delson,

Quebec, No. 2858 is on display at

the National

Museum

of

Science

and Technology at Ottawa and,

most famous of all, No. 2860
works regular tourist trains on
the British Columbia Railway
between Vancouver and Squamish. No. 2860 has visited Eastern

Canada as well as steaming

south as far as Los Angeles,
hauling a show train intended to
publicise the beauties of British
Columbia.

Below: The beautiful red

livery of preserved 4-6-4 No.
2860 was basically the same
as used on these engines m
Canadian Pacific Railway days.

Canada:

Class U-4 4-8-4

ment had perforce to take over

24,000 miles of bankrupt lines
The task ahead was formidable
and one of the most remarkable
railwaymen of all time was engaged to take charge This was
Sir Henry Thornton, who had
learnt his trade on the Pennsylvania Railroad and its notorious

Tractive effort: 52 4571b

Axle load:

-i

5001b

(27t)

24x30in

Cylinders:

Driving wheels: 77in

Heating surface: 3,86 lsq

ft

subsidiary, the

Superheater: l,530sqft

road

Steam pressure: 275psi

Grate area: 73 7sq

ft

(6

8m 2

Fuel: v).0001b( 180

Water: 1 1.700gall( 14,000 US)

(35m 3
Adhesive weight: 236,0001b
)

Total weight: 660,0001b (3000

Length

overall: 95ft

Canadian National Railways (CN), 1936

hn

In

Long

Island Rail-

1914 he was appointed

general manager of the British

Great Eastern Railway During
he became a
World War
brigadier-general in charge of
rail movement in France, and
received a knighthood
was a far cry from 0-6-2
It
tanks on Thornton's famous jazz
service which so much eased the
I

During the steam age the longest

railway in America was not located
in the USA, for Canadian National
Railways held the title Around

60 years ago Canada suffered

from the sort of railway problems
that the United States is in the
throes of now and the Govern-

tools for the job was

very much a Thornton principle.
should, therefore, have been
was right in
no surprise that
the vanguard of roads in ordering

Adequate
It

CN

Superheater: l,570sqft

were first introduced

passenger service there This
the original "Ul-a" a batch
consisting of 16 locos, built by
the Canadian Locomotive Company Then 1924 and 1925
brought the "Ul-b" and "Ul-c"
batches of 21 and five from
Canadian and from Baldwin re-

(146m 2

spectively

motives

into

was

).

Steam pressure: 260psi

18 3kg cm 2
Grate area: 70 2sq ft (6 6m 2 )
Fuel: 40,0001b (180
Water: 1 l,500gall (9,740 US)

The latter were for

CN's Grand Trunk Western subsidiary in the USA. In 1929 and
1930 there followed

five

motive works.
Thus in seven years,

(107 50
Total weight: 638,0001b (2900

4-8-2s,

Length

by now

overall: 93ft 3in

"Ul-d"

and 12 "Ul-e" from Canadian

and from the Montreal loco-

(53m 3
Adhesive weight: 237,0001b
).

fifty-nine

numbered from 6000

to

6058, became available, although

the class

had become

(28,426mm)

overshadowed by the 4-8-4s intro-

was in 1 923, very soon after the

formation of Canadian National

duced in 1927, described on this

page There were also four 4-8-2s
acquired by the Central Vermont

It

jl^-J ^fyl H^v*

158

Canadian Confederation just

seven months after Northern
Pacific received its 4-8-4s. By the
end of the year, CN and its US
subsidiary Grand Trunk Western,
had a fleet totalling 52 of these
great machines This made CN
by far the greatest 4-8-4 owner in
the world, a position which was

retained until the USSR took the

lead in the mid-1950s Running

were

numbers
6300-1
for

1,

classes

6100-39 and
"U2" and "U3",

CN and GTW respectively.

Further

batches,

generally

1929 and 1936

brought the numbers up to 77
1936-38
a high-speed
and then in

dimensions given on
had larger driving wheels and a
this

page,

CN locomotives were built in

Canada

either by the Montreal

Locomotive Works or by the
Canadian Locomotive Company
also of Montreal, while (no doubt
because of import duties) those
for GTW were built by US
builders.
It is no disparagement to say
CN engineers were not
keen on innovation, and so the

that the

class

was very much

the standard

North American product CN's

trade marks were the cylindrical
Vanderbilt tenders and, on those
built up to 1936, a prominent
transverse
feed-water
heater
placed just in front of the chimney
Naturally, such improvements as
roller bearings and cast-steel
locomotive frames were adopted
as they became available
One locomotive (No 6 1 84) was

less than typically ugly shroud,

but was also very much the same

locomotive basically Running

National Railways (CN), 1944

(23,814kg)
Axle load: 59,5001b (270
Cylinders: (2) 24 x 30in
(610 x762mm)
Driving wheels: 73in
ft

Locomotive

streamline version was built This

"U-4" class, the subject of the

Railways, that eight-coupled loco-

Canadian

Street station, to the Trans-Canada

Limited running 2,985 miles
(4,776km) across a great continent, but he took it in his stride

Class Ul-f 4-8-2 Canadian

Heating surface: 3,584sq

(333m 2

the

The

similar, built in

Tractive effort: 52,5001b

(1,854mm)

brate the 60th anniversary of the

passenger types,

the 4-8-4

of commuters homeward
bound from London's Liverpool

lot

(28,990mm)

Company delivered No.6100

named Confederation to cele-

numbers were 6400-4 (CN) and

6405-11 (GTW).
'Yet more standard 4-8-4s followed in 1940 and 1944 until
finally the total reached 203. All

that ultimate of

Right: No.6218, a

fine

specimen of CN's class

"U-2".

tried with

poppet valves and

in

years when Canada struck

oil, many 4-8-4s changed over to
that method of firing. Withdrawals
began on a small scale in 1955
and grew slowly until the final
holocaust of the last 159 took
place in 1960 The sadness felt

later

by Canadian railwaymen at the

4-8-4s departure from the scene
is well expressed by Anthony
Clegg and Ray Corley, in their
excellent book Canadian National Steam Power, by quoting
the following verse chalked

withdrawn 4-8-4:
"In days gone by

now
Was a grand

this

sight to

on

junk pile

behold

On

threads of steel it dashed

along
Like a Knight in armour
"
bold
For a period Canadian Nat-

ional operated certain 4-8-4s in

excursion service This has now

finished, but eight have survived,
two, including streamliner No
6400, are on display at Ottawa in
the National Museum of Science

and Technology

Railway, another

but

CN

subsidiary

one which did not then

number

or classify its locos as

part of the main
fleet It did
use the
method of classification, though, so these 4-8-2s
were also Class "Ul-a" In fact
they were rather different
design, having been acquired
from amongst a flood of 4-8-2s
which the Florida East Coast

CN

CN

Railroad had ordered but found

itself

unable

to

pay

for

The 6000s performed with

service

in

Canadian

conjunction

with

Pacific.

In 1944, a further

twenty 4-8-2s

were delivered from Montreal,

of

the "Ul-f" batch illustrated here.

They were brought up to date by

pump and

engines operated well

a device called an exhaust steam

injector
Injectors are usually
rucked away tidily under the side
of the cab but in this case the
device was hung outside the
driving wheels, the large pipe
which supplied the exhaust steam

Left: Canadian National

Railways class "Ul-f" 4-8-2
No. 6060 depicted in mint

condition as delivered.

the designers that bullet nose to

the smokebox

However, an arrangement of
cones turns a high velocity jet of
low pressure steam into a low

express

pool

the application of natural laws It

to believe that exhaust
steam at, say lOpsi (0 7kg/cm 2 )
could force water into a boiler

is difficult

improvements Some were oilburners and all had Vanderbilt

cylindrical tenders and outside
bearings on the leading bogies
Most significant was a major

elan

in

the clean lines

containing steam and water almost 30 times that pressure

cast-steel

consisting of the
replacement of the boiler feed

on the then highly competitive

trains between Montreal
and Toronto, speeds up to 82mph
(131 km/h) have been noted with
700 tons or so Later, the same

exhaust steam injectors are

remarkable conjuring tncks in

locomotive
frames, disc wheels and other

having

simplification

adding

feed-water heater, by

conspicuousness.
Like other injectors but more
to

its

The result is so
good that one can almost forgive

so,

velocity high-pressure flow of

water, which has no difficulty in
forcing its way past the non-return
clack valves into the boiler
With just a few exceptions,

CN

steam locomotives were

totally

utilitanan, but with these excellent

engines, efforts were made to
make them good looking too.
Side valences, a flanged Britishstyle smokestack, green and black
livery, brass numbers and placing
the dome and sand container in
the same box all contnbuted to

Canadian National

is

amongst

superior class of railway

administrations who offer steam
for pleasure, as exampled by the
fact that a total of six of these
locomotives are preserved No
6060 of class "Ul-f" does the
honours and in addition No 6069
is displayed at Bayview Park,
Sarnia and No 6077 at Capreol,
MounOntano. Of the elder
tains, No.6015 is at the Museum
No.6039
at Delson, Quebec,
that

CN

(Grand Trunk Western) was at

Steamtown, Bellows Falls, Vermont, and No.6043 at Assinboine
Park, Winnepeg.

Below: Canadian National

Railways class "Ul-f" 4-8-2 as
originally built in 1944.

V2 Class 2-6-2
Tractive effort:

Axle

etween those previously

thought right for freight trains
and those appropriate for passenger trains, at full speed they

-7301b

load: 49, 5001b (22

Cylinders:

Great Britain:
London and North Eastern Railway (LNER), 1936
:

5t)

26m

had

mm)
Heating surface: 2,43 sq
1

Superheater: 680sq ft (63

Steam pressure: 220psi

Grate area: 4 25sq

1

Fuel:

7,0001b

ft

(3

ft

2m 2

86m 2

(8t)

better

quickly

enough and (in this case)

more than two cylinders

helped to make this feasible

In June 1936 the first of Sir
Nigel Gresley's (he was knighted
very year) famous "V2"
2-6-2s appeared from Doncaster
Works It was to be the master
designer's last major class, for he
that

(19m 3
Adhesive weight: 146,0001b
)

1941
The locomotive was named
after a system of
Arrow
Green

died

Total weight: 323,0001b

Length

overall: 66ft 5in

:nm)

in

registering freight consignments

from a single packing case to a
train-load just introduced at the
time and it was finished in the

These remarkable locomotives

were a sympton of the trend
apparent dunng the 1930s for
producing all-purpose locomotives Because the diameter of
the wheels had to be a compro-

Class

faster

the use of

Water: 1.200gall (5.040 US)

turn

to

understanding of the best way to

balance the reciprocating parts,
excellent valve gears to get the
steam in and out of the cylinders

Driving wheels: 74in

apple-green passenger livery of

the company Before war broke
out the class numbered 86; subsequent building brought the

E4 4-6-4

Tractive effort: 55,0001b

Axle load: 72,0001b (32.7t).

Cylinders: (2) 25 x 29in
(635 x737mm)
Driving wheels: 84in
(2,134mm)
Heating surface: 3,958sq ft

(368mm 2

things,

Superheater: l,884sqft

(175m 2

Steam pressure: 300psi

(21 kg/cm 2

1935, the gloves

).

(22.7m 3
Water: 16,500gall (20,000 US)
)

5m 3

).

Adhesive weight: 2 16,0001b

(98t)

Total weight: 791,5001b

(359t)

Length

overall: 101ft9%in

(31,033mm).
160

its

When, in
came off for the

trains take the right

).

Grate area: 90 7sq ft (8 4m 2

Fuel (oil): 5,000gall (6,000 US)

(75

not for nothing did

run on the left-hand track,

whereas most North American
trains

).

as the "engines that

the war" In order of con-

territory)

won

struction, their

running numbers

were 477 1 -4898, 3653-64, 4899,

364 1 -3654, 3665-3695 After the
war they became (more sensibly)
800 to 983 and in BR days
60800-60983
As one might have expected
with

same

in size, the

tually as
it

between the Milwaukee,

Burlington and C&NW com-

fight

panies for the daytime

traffic

between Chicago and the twin

cities of St Paul and Minneapolis,
the last-named was first into the
ring with the famous "400" trains
named because they ran
(about) 400 miles in 400 minutes.
The C&NW stole this march over
their competitors by running

sensibly

fire-grate

came

the

V2s were virgood as the 4-6-2s when

express passenger

to

work. A V2 was noted running at

93mph 149km/hr) on the "York(

shire

Pullman"

braked

freight

Express fullytrains were the

class's speciality

gines could

and these

on the level on such trains as the

famous "Scotch Goods" (sic)

On occasion,

600 tons
were pressed

they
into service on the

streamliners

and no

with

was found
wartime

in

carriages were also well within

their capabilities.

On

purpose locomotives in the sense

they could haul anything,
were by no means goanywhere locomotives. An axleload as heavy as 22 tons meant
that only some 40 out of every
100 miles of the LNER system
that

they

was open

no more were

built

Gresley conjugated valve gear

difficulty

Right: Preserved ex-LNER

"V2" class 2-6-2 No. 4771 Green

Arrow

at

the Birmingham

Railway Museum depot.

Below: The apple green

"V2" or "Green Arrow"

LNER

up

25 packed

class 2-6-2,

938

them Indeed two

Two other question marks

hung over details of the class, the

time, while

to

to

prototypes of a miniaturised version (class "V4") appeared in

1 94 1 to fill this gap, but Gresley's
successor had other ideas and

keeping

trains of

was the fact

V2s were general-

the debit side

that whilst the

en-

manage over 60mph

United States:
Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW),

These handsome locomotives of

advanced design have the unhappy distinction of being the
first to be superseded by the
diesel-electric locomotive from
the job for which they were built
The Chicago & North Western
Railway had its own way of doing

(24,798kg)

total up to 184 Only a few had

names but (with reason) they
came to be known (in LNER

completed m 1936.

which worked the valves of the

middle cylinder was one which
has already been mentioned in
connection with other LNER
locomotives The other query
has also been referred to elsewhere; this was the usual one
associated with the 2-6-2 wheel
arrangement, viz the tracking
qualities of the leading
truck All went well until

pony

1946,
derailments on wartime quality permanent way took
place After investigation the
original swing-link self-centring
suspension of the leading pony
truck was replaced by a side

when two

control system which used transverse springing and no further

trouble was experienced.
These matters apart, the V2s
were superb engines and the last
one was not withdrawn until late
1966 when the class was finally

overtaken by dieselisation Happily,

Green Arrow

the original

has been preserved and is now

restored to working order as
part of the national collection

was the world of steam railway

engineering

standard rolling
refurbished
stock hauled by a modified existing steam locomotive, instead of

had
management decided
backed the wrong horse and

trains brand new from end to

end
Soon enough, though, the
C&NW had to follow their competitors' example They chose to
copy the style of the Milwaukee's

motive Division for

tures of the

first

tioned

"Hiawatha" rather than the Bur"Zephyr" and ac-

lington's diesel

cordingly the American Locomotive Company was asked to

supply nine high-speed streamlined 4-6-4s
The new locomotives, designated "E4" and numbered 4000
to 4008, were delivered in 1938,
but in the meantime the

C&NW

Left: Gone, but not forgotten,

the original class "E4 " 4-6-4
No. 4001 of Chicago and North

Western Railway in action.

it

to General Motors Electrosome of the

production-line diesel locomotives. These took over the new
streamlined "400" trains, leaving
the new 4-6-4s to work the
transcontinental trains of the original Overland Route, which the

Amongst

went

C&NW

hauled from Chicago to

Omaha
Because

the advanced fea"E4" may be men-

firing,

Baker's valve-gear, oil

roller bearings throughout

and,

particularly

interesting,

Barco low water alarm Boiling

dry such a large kettle as a
locomotive boiler is a very senous
matter indeed and on most steam
is no automatic
guard against the crew forgetting

locomotives there
of the arithmetic of

design the basic physical statistics

of the "E4" were very close to the
Hiawatha" 4-6-4s, yet it is very
clear that lesser differences between the two meant two separate
designs So we have two classes
of six and nine locomotives respectively, intended for the same
purpose, built by the same firm at
the same time, which had few jigs
or patterns in common Such

to look at the water-level in the

gauge glasses
Brash
not the
is

styles of painting

C&NW's

particularly

time

came

in

the "E4"s to

were

way, and thus

sad

that,

the early

it

when

the

950s

for

go to the torch, none

of them was preserved So, therefore, only in imagination is it

possible to feast our eyes on their
green and gilded elegance.
161

Class

56 4-6-2
of

Tractive effort

Malaysia:
Malayan Railway (PKTM), 1938
colonial systems
turned to diesels, the

best

the

Before

it

Malayan Railway operated the

majority of both its passenger
and freight trains with this one
class of 66 neat Pacific locomotives The PKTM had long been a

Axl load: 28.56011

Cylinders:
Driving wheels: 54in

mm)

"railway of Pacifies", since the

Heating surface: l,109sqft

days when railways back

Superheater:

Ssq

in Britain

ft

as top line express power In fact,

first
Malayan Pacihc.the
the
initial member of a run of 60
known as Class "H", was built for
what was then the Federated
Malay States Railways (FMSR)

Steam pressure: 250psi

Grate area: ,"7sq ft (2
Fuel (coal): 22.0001b

5m 2
(

).

lOt)

Water: 3.500gall (4,200 US)

(16m 3 )
Adhesive weight: 86,0001b
Total weight: 226,0001b

Length

overall: 6 1 ft

%in

(18.628mm)
These metre-gauge Pacific locomotives were one of the most
elegant of

the British colonial

they worked on one

all

designs and

back in 1907 by Kitson of Leeds

Others were supplied bv Nasmyth, Wilson of Manchester and
Robert Stephenson of Darlington
Another 79 Pacifies of four more
classes followed during the next
30 years
In 1938 the North British Locomotive Co of Glasgow supplied
some remarkable Pacifies which
were to be the ultimate in Malayan
steam power Before the war and

800 Class 4-6-0

Tractive effort: 33,0001b
(14,970kg)
Axle load: 47,0001b (2 It)
Cylinders: 3: 18 x28in
(470 x711mm).
Driving wheels: 79in
(2,007mm).
Heating surface: 1 ,870sq

ft

Steam pressure: 225psi

8kg/cm 2
Grate area: 33^sq ft (3 10m 2

(15

grouped into the Great Southern

Railways in 1925. The economics

).

Fuel: 18.0001b

).

(8t)

Water: 5,000gall (6,000 US)

of the

GSR did not allow for any

new

construction of
any type of locomotive, let alone

significant

(23m 3
Adhesive weight: 141,0001bs

new express passenger power.

(64t)

4-6-0s inherited

Total weight: 302,5001bs

(137t)

Length

overall: 67ft 6in

(20,550mm)

The 450 or so broad-gauge (5ft

3in 1,600mm) locomotives of
Ireland that existed between the
wars were of amazing age and
162

hammer blow

to

make them

British,
staff,

succeeded

Originally the class

was desig-

nated "O" and the running numbers were 60 to 87. After the war
they were redesignated class
"56" and the various batches
supplied were numbered 56 101

tried this

-11, 562.01-06, 563 01-11,

564,01-40. Of these 56109
and 562 01 were scrapped after
war damage and not replaced.
In the late 1950s there was a
period when locomotives were
painted and lined out in Great

it

Western Railway colours,

suitable

for

lightly

laid

track,

obtained by the use of three

driving the middle
coupled axle Another was the
use of rotary-cam poppet valve
gear; on other railways which
cylinders,

all

promising arrangement
failed to ofier any savings,
because of the better use of
steam in the cylinders, to compensate for its extra cost and
additional maintenance expenses.
(and
All credit, then, to the

FMSR

later

PKTM), which made

the

enough

a success of this
sophisticated system for it to
become standard on the railway
No other railway administration
in the world managed it only
of

but
before this as well as afterwards,
a. smart black livery was used.
Malayan names were applied to
all
the motive power at thus
period Malay script is used on

one side of the locomotive, Roman

on the other
1955 there was a proposal
run faster trains in Malaya and

In
to

two "56"

up

to

class locos

were tested

70mph (112km/h)

a re-

Ireland:

divided as they were into

over 80 classes. Some of the last
single-wheelers to remain in service in the world were running
between Waterford and Tramore
as late as 1932. All the companies
which did not cross the border
into the six counties known as
Northern Ireland, had been

of

one, run by a combination of

Chinese, Indian and Malay

this

Great Southern Railways (GSR), 1939

variety,

(174m 2

home

were still building 4-4-0s

Japanese occupation 28 were

supplied, and 40 immediately
afterwards They were extremely
neat and handsome little machines
both in their looks and in their
design One feature was the
excellent balance of the moving
parts, and consequent absence

Aside from a group of ten

from the old
Great Southern & Western Company, the GSR relied on 26
locomotives of South Eastern &
Chatham Railway design, 2-6-0s
put together from parts made at

Woolwich Arsenal after World

War I and obtained cheaply as
surplus stores from the British
government Whilst the need

was there

for something better

heavy Mail expresses on
between Dublin
and Cork, it seemed most unlikely
that anything could be done.
As is well known, in Ireland the
unlikely can always be relied
upon to happen, but it was still a

Maeve, Macha and Tailte, complete with nameplates in Erse

script They were the only express
passenger locomotives to be built
in an independent Ireland, all
subsequent ones having been

when three large and

handsome three-cylinder 4-6-0s,

that quite small

for the

the hard road

surprise

imported.
This illustrates the nice thought

and

agricultural

nations can set out to design and

build steam locomotives of top
quality with success and economy; and also the less nice
thought that the diesel loco-

as up-to-date as any locomotive

in Europe, emerged from the
Inchicore Works of the Great
Southern Railway. They had taper
boiler-barrels, Belpaire fireboxes,
three independent sets of Walschaert's valve gear and resembled very closely in appearance,
size and layout the rebuilt "Royal
Scot" class of the London Midland
& Scottish Railway at least they
would have done if the rebuilt
"Scot's had then existed. The

large industrial nations

running numbers were 800 to

from a trans-Atlantic

802 and the locomotives received

the names of the Irish queens

swelled the usual load of about

300 tons to 450 A remarkable

motives which superseded steam

can only be built economically by

The "800"
to

prove

class

itself

summer

of

timed by

OS

had

just time
service that

Maeve was
Nock on a journey
when extra
added for passengers

from Cork
carriages

in

1939.

to Dublin,

liner

had

markable speed for the metre

tests were completely

gauge. The

satisfactory but nothing

came

of

and the speed limit

remained at 45mph (72^km/h)
Malayan Railway's trains, in those
days anyway, made up for speed
with comfort Luxury comparable
the proposal

Left: Malayan Railways

preserved class "56" 4-6-2
No 564 36 Temerloh leaves
Kuala Lumpur on a private
excursion to Batu Caves m

September 1979. This

is one of two kept
aside after the end of steam m

"Night Scotsman" or to the

"Blue Tram" was a feature of the
"Golden Blowpipe" express, this
used to come as a pleasant
to the

making their
up country after arriving
from Europe
During the same period all

surprise to people
first trip

Malayan locomotives were converted to burn oil instead of the

local coal for which their wide
fireboxes were eminently suitable But there were no problems
with the new fuel and Malayan
rail travel suddenly became much

locomotive

cleaner

Malaya. The Railway

Administration can arrange
special trams usmg one of these
two steam locomotives at short
notice and and at surprisingly

In 1 957 the first diesels arrived

and by 1972 only half the Class
"56" 4-6-2s were still in service.
In 1981 the only steam locomotives left are a pair (No. 564 33
Jelebu and No. 564 36 Temerloh)

modest

cost.

Below: Malayan Railways

class "0" 4-6-2 No. 71 Kuala
Lumpur (later class "56"
No. 56201) in pre- 1941 livery

stationed at Kuala Lumpur

where the main works of the
system is situated and used
mainly to haul charter trains for
tourists plus an occasional service

run

in

some emergency

23mph (37km/h) was maintained

with this big load on the severe 1
60 ( 1 66 per cent) gradient out
of Cork Later in the journey the

in

ability

run

to

strated with

fast

was demon-

79mph (126km/h)

near Newbridge
A chronic shortage of fuel
persisted long after the war and
there seemed little time in the
short interregnum before diesel
traction took over to see more of
the work of these fine locomotives

The

first

one

to

go was

Tailte,

withdrawn in 1957; the other two

lingered on without seeing much
use until 1 964 Mae ve is preserved
in

the Belfast Transport

Museum

Right: 77ie Irish Great

Southern Railways (later Coras
lompair Eirann) 4-6-0 No.800
Maeve as preserved
The locomotive is currently

on display

at the Irish

Transport

Museum m

Belfast
L63

FEF-2 Class 4-8-4

Union Pacihc Railroad (UP), 1939

like Northumbrian 108 years

earlier the standard recipe for
success in having two outside
cylinders only, the simplest poss-

Tractive effort: 63,8001b

'kg)

Axle load: 67,0001b (30.50.

Cylinders: 2)25x32in
(635 x813mm)
Driving wheels: 80in

arrangement That king of

passenger locomotive wheel arrangements, the "Northern" or
4-8-4, was adopted and misgivings originally felt regarding
ible

mm)
Heating surface: 4,225sq

United States:

ft

Superheater: l,400sqft

the suitability of eight-coupled

(130m 2

wheels for very high speeds were

found not to be justified. The
negotiation of curves was made
easier by the fitting of Alco's
lateral motion device to the leading coupled wheels
The basic simplicity of so many
US locomotives was often spoilt
by their designers being an easy
touch for manufacturers of com-

Steam pressure: 300psi

(21kg,

cm 2

Grate area: lOOsq

ft

(9

3m

2
)

Fuel: 50,0001b (230.

Water: 19,600gall (23,500 US)

(90m 3
Adhesive weight: 266,5001b
)

Total weight: 908,0001b

Length

overall:

13ft

(412t).

10m

managed

(34,696mm)

The

origin of the class occurred

the late 1930s, when
rising train loads began to overtax the 4-8-2s which were then
passenger
the mainstay of

during

UP

One day in 1937 a

"7000" class 4-8-2 had the temerity to demonstrate the lack of
steaming power inherent in the
type, on a train with UP President
William Jeffers' business car on
operations

the rear. Even while the party

was waiting out on the prairies
for rescue, a dialogue by telegram
went on with the American Locomotive Company (Alco) in far-off
Schenectady, with a view to
getting something better

The

result in due course was

superb class of 45 locomotives of which 20, numbered
800 to 819, were delivered in
1938 A further 15 (Nos.820 to
834) with larger wheels and
this

cylinders as well as 14-wheel

centipede tenders instead of
1 2-wheel ones came the following year and it is to these that the
dimensions etc given above apply
This second batch was designated "FEF-2", the earlier ones

becoming

class

"FEF-1" FEF

stood for Four-Eight-Four!

A final batch of ten almost
identical to the

second one ex-

cept for the use of some substitute

appeared in 1944
These were known as "FEF-3"s
and were the last steam power
materials,

supplied to UP. All the "800"s

came from Alco.

The "800"s as a whole followed
164

plicated

accessories.
to resist

The

most

of

with the pleasing result that the

locomotives had a delightfully
elegant uncluttered appearance,
unmarred by any streamline
shroud. On the other hand, they
rightly

fell

for

such excellent

simplifications as the cast-steel

locomotive frame, which replaced

many separate parts by one
single casting. Another example
was the use of a static exhaust
steam injector instead of a steam-

sing gear

and automatic stoking,

was some-

whilst electric lighting

thing that certainly paid off in

helping "800" crews to see what

they were doing

Perhaps the most original feaand one which contributed a

good deal to the success of the
"800"s was the main morion.
Aesthetically, the mam rods were
pure poetry but there was a
ture

great deal

more

to

it

than that

Because of the speeds and forces

involved, current technology was
taken beyond the then accepted
limits,
at the same time, the
magnitude of the stresses to

UP

driven mechanical water-pump

and feed water heater A complication resisted by the UP was the
provision of thermic syphons in
the firebox, they held the view
that on balance these quite common devices were more trouble
than benefit Even so, both common sense as well as Uncle

them

Sam's rules meant power rever-

hundreds of enthusiasts

Below: Preserved Union Pacihc

"FEF-3" class 4-8-4 No.8444
with a special tram run for
a year.

Leh:An "FEF-1" class 4-8-4

Above: The last steam locomotive

of the Union Pacific Railroad

rea dy to lea ve Den ver, Colora do.

built for the

These locomotives had the

Union Pacific Railroad,

"FEF-3" 4-8-4 No.844
(renumbered to 8444 to avoid

smaller 12-wheel tenders.

confusion with a diesel

faster timings. In those early

when

the

new form

was not too

class

days

power
and "800"

of motive

reliable

locomotives

frequently

found themselves replacing a

multi-unit diesel at the head end
of one of UP's crack trains They
found no problem in making up
time on the tight diesel schedules
sufficient to offset extra

minutes

spent taking on water.

The last service passenger

hauled by an "800" was
caused by such a failure; it
occurred when in autumn 1958,
the last one built took the "City of
Los Angeles" over the last stretch
of 145 miles (232km) from Grand
Island into Omaha. No 844 gained
time on the streamliner's schedule
train

which those whirling rods were

subject are very different to evaluate with any degree of confidence
What a triumph for the designers, then, that these lovely
tapered coupling and connecting
rods were a resounding success

trusted with the many expresses

of the then conventional

formed

heavyweight stock, but the new

engines' arrival on UP coincided
with the introduction of dieselelectnc streamline trains on much

crew's lack of
recent experience with steam A
year later there came a time
in

spite

of the

class

unit).

all were out of service

awaiting scrapping, it was a sad

moment

for

all

who admired

these superb locomotives

Since then No 844 (renumbered 8444 to avoid confusion
with a diesel unit) has been put
back into service by a publicity-

conscious Union Pacific and frequently performs for her fans.

No 814 is displayed across the
Mississippi river from Omaha, at
Dodge Park, Council Bluffs, and

Nos.833 and 838 are also bestill to be in existence, the

latter as a source of spares for
No.8444.
lieved

Below:

A second section

of

"The Gold Coast" tram

1
behind class "FEF- " (which
appeared before "FEF-2"s)
4-8-4 No.826.

even though frequently moved at

revolutions corresponding to running speeds above the lOOmph
(160km/h) mark The main principle of the new design was that
the pulls and thrusts were transmitted from the connecting rods
and hence to three out of the
four pairs of wheels by separate
sleeve bearings instead of via the

main crankpins

in

accordance

with convention. The result was

that separate knuckle-]oints in
the coupling rods were replaced
by making the centre pair of rods

forked at both ends and combining the roles of crank-pins

and knuckle-pins

The

results

there are
of

were superb and

many reports of speeds

being run up

to the

design

lOmph 176km/h)
(

limit

After the

war there was a period when

coal supplies were affected by
order to safeguard
passenger operations, the

strikes and, in

UP

"800"s were converted from coal

to

oil

burning, a 6,000gall (27m 3

was

fitted in the bunker

Otherwise only minor
modifications were needed over
many years of arduous service, a
fact which is also much to the

tank

space

credit of the designers.

Normally the 4-8-4s

were en165

Class 12 4*4-2

Belgium:
Manorial Railways (SNCB),

939

Tractive effoit

Axle load:
Cylinder

52.00011

Driving wheels:

Heating surface:

729

Superheater: 78sq ft (63m 2

Steam pressure: '56psi
(

Grate area:
Fuel

1.8

Water: ^ 280gall (6.300 US)

Adhesive weight: 101,0001b

Total weight*: 188.5001b
overall: ''
nm)
Cengine only without tender)

Length

Most modern steam locomotives

trace their descent

more from

Northumbrian than Planet; but

here is an exception; and, moreover, one that was good enough
for a world record for scheduled

speed: Whilst the

Belgian class "12" 4-4-2s were
totally conventional as regards

start-to-stop

principles,

the

layout

of

machinery was unusual

unique but then what

520 Class 4-8-4

their

not
other

if

than original thinking would be

expected of a country that produced both Alfred Belpaire and
Egide Walschaert?
The concept was to operate
frequent lightweight high-speed

Above and below: Two

Australia
South Australian Government Railways (SAR), 1943

Tractive effort: 32,6001b

(14,800kg)
Axle load: 35,0001b (16t).
Cylinders: (2) 20^ x 28in
(521 x 71 lmm).
Driving wheels: 66in

(1,676mm)

Heating surface: 2,454sq ft

(228m 2
Superheater: 65 sq ft (60.5m 2
)

Steam pressure:

).

2 1 5psi

Grate area: ~5sq ft (4.2m 2

Fuel: 22,0001b (lOt).
Water: 9,000gall (10,800 US)
).

Adhesive weight: 140,0001b

(63.5t)

Total weight: 449,5001b

(204t).

Length

overall: 87ft 4^in

(26,622mm)
166

views

of the Belgian National Railways'

class "12" high-speed 4-4-2
locomotives, built
1938 to
haul lightweight expresses
between Brussels and Ostend.

W^^sMO^amd^

three cars only, over the

miles (121 km) between Brusand Ostend in the even hour,
including a stop at Bruges Between Brussels and Bruges the
timing was to be 46 minutes,
giving an average speed of 75 4
mph (121 3km/h) The speed
limit of this almost level route was
specially raised for these trains to
trains, of

sels

87mph

( 1

that four

40km/h) It was decided

coupled wheels were

adequate,

whilst

the

power

for the high speeds contemplated was best provided by

a wide firebox A leading bogie

needed

was

certainly desirable and, to

avoid oscillations inside cylinders
were preferred, made reasonably
accessible by the use of bar
rather than plate frames. All this
added up to the world's last
4-4-2s as well as the world's last

inside-cylinder

express

loco-

motives
The tenders were
second-hand, with streamlining
added, and the locomotives were
built

by

Messrs Cockenll

Seraing, Belgium
Alas, the high-speed

of

trains

South Australia certainly became

4-8-4 country in 1943 when the
ten "500" class were supplemented by twelve "520" class
But there the resemblance ends
because ,the "500"s had a lot of
wheels in order to give brute
force but the "520"s were manywheeled so that they could tread
delicately on the light 601b/yd
(30kg/m) rails of the remote
branches in the State This they
did with great success
All the locomotives were built
at the SAGR's Islington shops
between 1943 and 1947 The
style of

Left:

their streamlining

was

Showing a fine plume of

smoke, a "520" class 4-8-4

makes good time with an
en th usiasts special.
'

only ran for a few months before

war broke out in September
1 939 One of the 4-4-2s (No. 1 203)
has, however, survived and is
preserved at the SNCB locomotive depot at Louvain. The best

based on that of the "TI"

class 4-4-4-4s of the American
Pennsylvania Railroad Unlike the
contemporary "TI"s though, they
were starkly conventional under
clearly

shrouds and, also unlike

the "TI"s had useful lives of up to
18 years In 1948 all the locomotives of this class were converted to burn oil fuel
Two "520"s are preserved,
No 520 Sir Malcolm BarclayHarvey is occasionally run The
other, No 523 Essmgton Lewis,
is displayed at the Australian Railway Historical Society's site at
Mile End near Adelaide
their

Right: One of the preserved

class "520" locomotives Sir

Malcolm Barclay-Harvey as
1943

built

timing by electric traction today

between Brussels and Ostend is
1 1 minutes longer with one extra
stop an 18 per cent increase in

journey time

when steam

way to electric traction is

gives
possibly

Above: SNCB Class "12" 4-4-2

No. 12.004, one of the world's
last4-4-2s.
yet another record achieved

these remarkable locomotives

by

Tractive effort:

Axle load:

Australia:

C38 4-6-2

Class

rnment Railways (NSWGR), 1943

:001b

Cylinders:

Driving wheels: 69in

Imm)
Heating surface: 2.614sq

ft

Superheater: 75!
Steam pressure: 45psi

Grate area:

4m 2

Fuel:

Water:

X)

US)

Adhesive weight: 150.5001b

Total weight:

:.

0001b (205t)

Length overall
'mm)

The

last

and best

of Australian

express passenger locomotives

he thirty "C-38" Pacifies of
the New South Wales Govern-

ment Railways, built between

1943 and 1949 They had been
planned before the war but the
majority were not completed until
after
was over The first five,
built by the Clyde Engineering
it

Co of

Sydney, were streamlined

The remainder were not streamlined and built at the railways

own shops at Cardiff and Eveleigh. The designers had not lost
sight of the fact that simplicity
was the steam locomotive's
greatest asset and that its greatest
handicap was the manual labour

involved

Axle load- ^.OOOlbOl

Cylinders:

5t)

Driving wheels: 80m

of

increase

was

in itself sufficient to

cylinders

consideration

Heating surface: 4,209sq

ft

Superheater: l,430sqft

(1319m 2
Steam pressure: 300psi
)

lka
Grate area: 92sq ft (8.5m 2
Fuel: 35,0001b (38 5t)
Water: 16,000gall( 19,000 US)

(21

This

from
the

of

The
to build a duplex
engine was the Baltimore and
Ohio, which made a 4-4-4-4 with
an experimental water-tube firebox in 1937, but it was the
Pennsylvania which first built a
locomotive with a conventional
boiler to this layout. In 1937, with
the principal passenger services
still worked by the "K4" Pacifies
of 1914 design, the road's engineers embarked on the design
of a locomotive to haul 1 ,090 tons

Adhesive weight: 273,0001b

(124t)

Total weight: 954,0001b

at

(432

was

7:

10m

(37,440mm)
1 930s there was a notable
increase in the use of 4-8-4
locomotives in the United States,

In the

road

lOOmph (160km/h), which

beyond

well

the capacity of

any existing 4-8-4

Johnson put the case for the
duplex engine, and this appealed
to the PRR men, but for the size
of the engine required 1 6 wheels

and the PRR

most spectacular

were

insufficient,

both for freight and passenger

service There were, however,

took one of its

steps by adopting the 6-4-4-6

some problems

wheel arrangement The locomotive was designed and built at

with the very

in these engines, and the resultant stresses
in crank pins, while the balancing
of the heavy reciprocating parts
for high speeds also caused
difficulties All the problems could
be solved, but R.P Johnson, chief

high piston thrust

engineer of The Baldwin Locomotive Works suggested that

they could be avoided by dividing
the

driving

wheels

into

two

in a single rigid frame,

with separate cylinders for each,

thus making the engine into a
4-4-4-4. Compared with the 4-8-4,
piston loads were reduced, and
it was easier to provide valves of
adequate size, but the rigid wheelbase was increased by the space

168

Right: 4-6-2 No.38.06 on

to Brisbane Day
Express at Hawkesbury

Sydney

proposal
first

groups

to

in the train.

the

set

discourage some roads

x 26in

overall: 122ft

accommodate

to

second

further

Length

running

integral cylinders, air reservoirs,

brackets, saddles, stays etc All

axles had roller bearings and
there were rocking and dumping
elements in the grate, power
reverse and air sanding.
The "C-38" class could give

Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), 1942

required

4 7001b

it

38.01 hauling the "Western

Endeavour" transcontinental
special en route from Sydney
Perth Note extra water tanks

United States:

Class Tl 4-4-4-4
Tractive effort:

keeping

in

Above: Class "C38" 4-6-2 No.

Hence only two cylinders, valve

gear outside, all mounted on a
cast steel locomotive frame with

Altoona, and it was the largest

rigid-framed passenger engine

ever

and

built

It

was numbered 6 00
"SI", and with
1

classified

driving wheels 84in (2,134mm)

in diameter, a grate area of
132sq ft (12 3m 2 ), and a boiler
some 15 per cent greater than

any 4-8-4, it was essentially

an engine for developing high
power at high speed With a
streamlined casing design by the
that of

fashionable

Loewy,

striking as

stylist

Raymond

appearance was a

its

its

dimensions

No.6100 appeared
1939, but

it

early in
of 1939
display at the

spent

and 1940 on

much

New

it was not
that it entered revenue service Although
intended for use throughout the

Above: Class "Tl" No.5537

leaving Fort Wayne, Indiana,
with the eastbound "Fast Mail"
express en route from Chicago

main

to

York World Fair and

until December 1940

from Harnsburg

line

Chicago,

to

the event its great

length led to its prohibition from
the curved lines in the east, and
this prohibition was further extended because the maximum
axle load came out at 73,8801b
(33. 5t), against the figure of
67,5001b (30 .5t) which had been
stipulated to the designer.
As a result the engine was
limited to the 283-mile Crestline

New

York.

in

Chicago division, on which it

proved capable of hauling 1 225
tons at an average speed of
66mph (106km/h). With smaller

to

120mph (193km/h) on many

occasions There were, however,
problems, particularly with slipping, not helped by the fact that
only 46 per cent of the total
engine weight was carried on the
driving wheels, compared with
in a "K4" Pacific.
Despite the limited and variable
experience gained so far with the
"SI", the PRR ordered two more
duplex locomotives from Baldwin

65 per cent

loads it achieved very high

speeds, and although the PRR
and its official locomotive historian

in July, 1940 The performance

requirement was reduced to the
haulage of 880 tons at lOOmph
160km/h) and this could be met
by a 4-4-4-4, with 80in (2,032mm)

were

driving wheels,

silent

on the

subject,

it

was

widely believed to have exceeded

of 92ft

(85m 2

and a grate area

The maximum

substantially higher

power output

the "C-36" class 4-6-0s

which the larger engines replaced They were capable of
taking the Melbourne Express
loaded to 450 tons unassisted up
the 1 in 75 ( 1 .33 per cent) inclines
of the main line to Albury Their
heavy axle-loading limited them

than

to

the principal routes of the

state,

but

scope

for the class to

this

still

left

ample

perform

with great ability on the majority

of New South Wales' top pas-

senger trains
Withdrawal began in the mid1 960s and the class just lingered
on in normal service until 1970.
Several have been preserved
and one or two are occasionally
put into steam to give pleasure.
The longest run of this kind ever

made or ever likely to be made

was when No 38.01 crossed
the continent from Sydney to
Perth and back on the "Western
Endeavour" special train, to celebrate the day in 1970 when 4ft

8Hm

,435mm) metals became

available over the whole 2,461

miles (3,96 1 km) between the two
cities

axle load

was 69,2501b

(31 4t)

compared

with 73,8801b (33 5t)

of the "SI" The two engines,

"Tl" and numbered

6110 and 6111 differed only in
that 6111 had a booster Apart
from the inclusion of certain PRR
standard fittings, Baldwin was
given a free hand in the design
classified

Franklin's
fitted at

poppet valves were

PRR

insistence, as these

on the Altoona testing plant and

produced a cylinder horse-

it

power of 6,550 at 85mph (137

km/h) with 25 per cent cut-off. In
service the engines worked over
the 7 1 3 miles between Harnsburg
and Chicago, but despite these
long runs they built up mileage
slowly and spent an undue
amount of time under repair.
Slipping was again the main

had produced a notable increase

in the power of "K4" Pacific

trouble, although in these engines

Roller-bearings,
light-weight
motion, and disc wheels were
amongst the modern equipment
and the engine was clothed in a
casing designed by Raymond
Loewy, but quite different from
that of No 6 100 They were de-

was adhesive

m April and May 1942

1944, No 6 110 was tested

livered
In

54 per cent

of the total

weight

point the road took a

step Ignoring its old policy
of testing and modifying a prototype until it was entirely satisfactory, it ordered 50 almost identical

At

this

fateful

engines Nos 5500-24 were built

at Altoona and 5525-49 by the
Baldwin Works and delivered be-

tween late 1945 and early 1946.

With a shorter rigid wheelbase
than the "SI" and a smaller
maximum axle load, the "Tl"s
were allowed over the full steam-

cent, with
1

OOmph

numerous records of
60km/h) with 9 0-ton
1

Below: Pennsylvania Railroad

including a pass-to-pass
of 1 OOmph over 69
miles of generally falling grades
with a load of 1,045 tons They
rode smoothly, and when all was
well they were popular with the
enginemen, but slipping remained a major hazard, not only
slipping at starting but violent
slipping of one set of wheels at
high speed.
At this time the motive power
department of the PRR was at a
low ebb, both in equipment and
in morale, and compared with
the simple and well-known "K4"
Pacifies, the "Tl " was a complex

class "Tl" 4-4-4-4

box

worked part of the PRR mam line

from Harnsburg to Chicago,
and they worked through over
the whole 713 miles They took
over all the passenger work on
this route, including the 73 lmph
(117 5km/h) schedule of the
Chicago Arrow over the 123

miles (198km) from Fort Wayne

to Gary, and four other runs at
h
At their best they were magnifi-

more than 70mph (112 5km

duplex

locomotive No. 551 1, built

at Altoona.

trains,

average

of

tricks,

particularly

its

valve gear. Maintenance of the

big engines proved to be a
job, and their appeartheir booked workings
became less and less regular
The faithful "K4"s were out again
difficult

ances on

in force-

Various

modifications

were

made to ease maintenance,

mainly
by the removal of parts of the
was
casing, but one engine
rebuilt
with piston valves. Eight engines
had their cylinder diameter reduced in an attempt to reduce
the tendency to slip but the
problem was never solved As
time passed, the worsening financial state of the railroad led to the
ordering of mainline diesels
It was intended that the "Tl "s

should have a full economic life

before succumbing to diesels In
the event, the serious and intractable problems with them had
the effect of accelerating dieseltsation, and by the end of 1949
most of them were out of service
So ended the most expensive
locomotive fiasco of the century.

169

Challenger Class 4-6-6-4

and hinged steam pipes were

needed only for the steam to and

Tractive effort: \ 4001b

Axle load: cSiWii

Cylinders:

4)

from the low-pressure cylinders

The European engines built to
design were mostly for
narrow-gauge railways However,
in 1903 the hrst American Mallet
was built Here the aim was to get

32m

3mm)

this

Driving wheels: 69in

mm)
Heating surface:

A 64!

Superheater: l,741sq

Steam pressure:

umonPacihc Rauroad(up), 1942

the maximum adhesion, and as

designing
there were difficulties
a locomotive with six driving
articulation
frame,
axles in a rigid

ft

80psi

was an

Grate area: L32sqftl 12 3m 2

Fuel -3 0001b (25.40.
Adhesive weight: 406,0001b

attractive proposition at
stage The American engine
was an 0-6-6-0 built for the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad It
was the largest locomotive in the
this

world and thereafter that distincwas always held by an

Total weight: 1,071.0001b

tion

Length

overall: 121ft

1 1

American member

in

(37,160mm)

family

On

virtually all counts this locomotive was the largest, heaviest,

strongest and most powerful one
which ever regularly handled
express passenger trains Its
existence was only possible because it was an articulated locomotive, that is, there was a hinge
in the middle
Articulated locomotives were
introduced early in locomotive
history, but it was not until the full

flowering of the narrow-gauge

railway late in the 19th century
that they were built in quantity
Many designs were fried, but the

most popular was that of Anatole

French consulting engineer Mallet was an early advocate of compounding, and from
1876 a number of two-cylinder
compound locomotives were built
Mallet, a

to his

designs In 1884, to cater

he proposed an articulated design in

which the rear set of driving
wheels were mounted in the
main frame, which supported the
for larger locomotives,

firebox
boiler

and the rear

The front set

wheels were

part of the
of driving
in a separate frame,

the rear end of which was hinged

to the front of the
frame.
The front of the boiler rested on
the hinged frame, and as the
boiler swung across this frame
on curves, a sliding support was

mam

needed The high-pressure

cyl-

drove the rear set of

wheels and the low-pressure cylinders the leading set Highpressure steam was thus entirely
inders

on the rigid part of the locomotive.

of the Mallet

More American
lowed,

at first

Mallets

fol-

mainly for banking

duties, but then for road work

However, with their huge low-

pressure cylinders and the tortuous steam pipes between the

cylinders, these engines were

brought the further benefit that

more adequate steam pipes could
be provided, and the engines
were capable of higher speeds.
Some intensive work was needed
to develop flexible pints suitable
for carrying high-pressure steam

unsuitable for speeds above 3040mph (40-50km/h). Above these

to the leading cylinders.

speeds oscillations of the front

frame developed leading to heavy
wear on locomotive and track.
In 1924 the Chesapeake and
Ohio Railroad ordered twenty

interest centred on the fourcylinder simple Mallet and successive improvements were made
which upgraded the type from
banking duties to main line freight
work and, eventually, on a few
roads, to express passenger

2-8-8-2

locomotives with four

simple expansion cylinders. Although the main reason for this
was that the loading gauge of
C&O could not accommodate
the large low-pressure cylinders
of

compound,

the

change

From this time onwards American

Below: "Challenger" class

4-6-6-4 No. 3985 at Cheyenne
awaiting restoration to working
order
1981.

A favourite racing ground for

these monsters was the main line,
mostly across the desert, between

work Amongst changes introduced were longer travel valves

and more complete balancing of
the moving parts, but most important were the changes made
to the connection between the
leading frame and the main frame,
and to lateral control of the
leading wheels It was these latter
alterations which eliminated the
violent oscillations which had
limited the speed of earlier

Lake City, Las Vegas and

Los Angeles, where they regularly
ran at up to 70mph (112km/h)
on passenger trams
In 1952 coal supplies were
interrupted by a strike and a
Salt

crash programme for further

conversions to oil-burning was
put
hand, but the strike ended
after eight engines had been
converted Rather perversely, in

Mallets

acquired 70
The Union
compound 2-8-8-0s with 59in
(1,500mm) driving wheels between 1918 and 1924 These
Pacific

1950 ten of the original series

had been converted back to
coal-firing,

steam working up

88 being

They were highly

successful, but

railroad to

diesels

make another impor-

tant step forward in 1936 by

ordenng 40 simple-expansion
4-6-6-4s with 69in (1,753mm)
driving wheels They were numbered from 3900 to 3939 and
designated "Challenger" The
leading bogie gave much better
side control than a pony truck
and the truck under the firebox

assisted the fitting of a very large

grate The engines were distributed widely over the UP system

and were used mainly on

fast

freight trains, but the last six of

the engines were ordered specifically for passenger work The

most obvious difference between

these earlier "Challenger" locomotives and those depicted in

the art-work above was the provision of much smaller 1 2-wheel
tenders Much of the coal which

1958 when

rendered them redundant

The numbering of the Challengers was extremely complicated

due to

the practice of renumber-

engines when they were

converted from coal-burning to
ing

built

with their long rigid wheelbase

and heavy motion they were
limited to 45mph (72km/h), and
with growing road competition a
was
twelve-coupled
engine
needed capable of higher speeds
than the 4- 12-2
Expenence with the compound
Mallets had led to the decision to
convert them to simple expansion
and the way was then set for the

to

the delivery of a large batch of

quantity, a total of

than a year

the "Challengers", but they continued to take a major share of

several rethree-cylinder

in

2-2 with 67in ( 1 ,702mm) driving wheels, and was the first
class with this wheel arrangement.
It was also one of the few American three cylinder engines and
the only one to be built in
4-

in less

yet again to
oil Dieselisation gradually narrowed the field of operation of

1926, for faster freight trains, the

railroad introduced a class which

was remarkable
spects It was a

but

had been changed

were essentially hard-slogging,

modest speed engines and m

oil-burning or vice versa Thus

the original engines were re-

the

UP

used came from mines

which the railroad owned

In 1942 pressure of wartime
traffic brought the need for more

and the construcChallengers was resumed,

65 more being built up

Above: Union

Pacific's

"Challenger" 4-6-6-4 No.3964

takes on coal from an
overhead coaling plant.

large engines
tion of

total of

1944 A number of changes

were made, notably an enlargement of the grate from 108sq ft
(10.0m 2 to 132sq ft (12 3m 2
cast steel frames in place of
built-up frames, and an increase
in the boiler pressure to 255psi
(17 9kg/cm 2 accompanied by a
reduction in cylinder size of one
inch, which left the tractive effort
to

),

unchanged

A less obvious but more fundamental change from the earlier

engines was in the pivot between
the leading unit and the main
frame In the earlier engines
there were both vertical and
horizontal hinges, but in the new
engines, following the practice
adopted in the "Big Boy" 4-8-8-4s,
there was no horizontal hinge

The

vertical

ranged

hinge was

now

ar-

to transmit a load of
several tons from the rear unit to

numbered from 3900-39 to

3800-39 and the three batches of
the second series were numbered
successively 3950-69,

at

the front one, thus evening out

the distribution of weight between
the two sets of driving wheels,
and thereby reducing the tendency of the front drivers to slip,
which had been a problem with
the earlier engines With no horizontal hinge, humps and hollows
in the track were now looked
after by the springs of each
individual axle, as in a normal
rigid locomotive
All the engines were built as
coal-burners, but in 1 945 five of
them were converted to oilburning for use on passenger
trains on the Oregon and Washington lines Trouble was experienced with smoke obstructing

the dnver's view so these five

engines were fitted with long

smoke deflectors, and they were

the two-tone grey
also painted
livery which was used for passenger engines for a number of
years, as depicted above.

3975-99

and 3930-49, so that 3930-9

were used twice but 3970-4 not
all.

the

Furthermore, eighteen of

second

series

which were

converted to oil-burning were

renumbered from 3700- 1
Several other roads bought
engines of the 4-6-6-4 wheel
arrangement, generally similar to
the "Challenger" and they also
were used on some passenger
work, but it was on the UP that
the articulated locomotive had its
most important application to
passenger work, and a "Challenger" hauling 20 or more
coaches was a regular sight
Fortunately one of the engines,
No3985 was preserved as a
static exhibit, but in 1981 it was
working order,
to
restored
making it by far the largest

working steam engine

world

in

the

Below: Union

Pacific Railroad
"Challenger" 4-6-6-4 depicted
m the two-tone grey passenger
livery

used m the

late 1940s.

171

ClaSS

4-8-4

Tractive effort: 80.0001b

build)

Driving wheels: 70in

Heating surface: 5,27 lsq

(490m 2
Superheater: 2, 1 77sq ft
(202m 2
)

Steam pressure: 300psi

)

Grate area: 107 5sq

ft

(10m 2 )

Fuel: 70,0001b (31 75t)

Water: 16.700gall (20,000 US)

(76m 3
Adhesive weight: 288,0001b
)

overall: 100ft

in

(30,759mm).

"Of all the words of tongue and

pen, the saddest are 'it might
nave been'." In the USA, there
was ]ust one small (but prosperous) railroad that, on a long-term

came near to fighting off

the diesel invasion. This was the
Norfolk & Western Railway, with
headquarters in Roanoke, Virginia, and a main line then stretching 646 miles (1,033km) from
basis,

ocean piers

at Norfolk, Virginia,

Columbus

in

Ohio

It

had

branches to collect coal from

every mine of importance across
one of the world's greatest coalfields In the end steam lost the
battle

on the

N&W and big-tone

steam railroading finally vanished

from the United States so dealing a fatal blow all over the world
to the morale of those who
maintained that dieselisabon was
wrong. But the Norfolk & Western's superb steam locomotives
came close to victory, so let us
see how it was done.

The
exploit

principle
fully

adopted was

to

the virtues of
rather obviously,

all

steam while,
seeking palliatives for its disadvantages It was also a principle
of

N&W

management

that the

maximum economy

lay in maintaining the steam fleet in first-class

condition, with the aid of premises,
tools and equipment to match.
All this is well illustrated by the
story of the "J" class, Norfolk &

Western's
172

the

company's

locomotive chiefs felt that it should

be possible to have something
better than the standard United
States Railroad Association's design of 4-8-2 upon which
passenger expresses then relied.
Very wisely, they accepted that
Robert Stephenson had got the
thermal and most of the mechanical principles right with the
Northumbrian, but what needed
attention was the cost and time
involved in servicing and maintenance This meant, for example,

beanngs to the axleboxes

and throughout the motion, while
roller

3 It)
Total weight: 873,0001b (396t)
1

to

passenger

N&W

ft

Length

express

Around 1940

Axle load: :2.0001b (33t).

Cylinders: 2)27x32in
(686 x813mm)

of

Hailway(N&W), 1941

super-locomotive

.'kg)

m2

Westi

lorfoll

own design (and own

an unparalleled number of subsidiary beanngs, over 200 in fact,

were automatically fed with oil by

a mechanical lubncator with a

24-gallon ( 1 10-Htre) tank, enough
for 1,500 miles (2,400km).
the bearings of the bell

Even
were

automatically lubricated
There was another large lubricator to feed high-temperature
oil for the steam cylinders, this is
normal but the feeds from this
lubncator also ran to the steam
cylinders of the water and air
pumps and the stoker engine
Hence the labour involved in
filling separate lubricators at each
of these was avoided The basic
simplicity of the two-cylinder
arrangement with Baker's valve
gear also had the effect of mini1

mising maintenance costs.

Huge tenders enabled calls
fuelling points to

be reduced

at

to a

minimum Together with the usual

modern US
cast-steel

features such as a
locomotive frame, all

these things added up to a

locomotive which could run
15,000 miles (24,000km) per
month, needed to visit the repair
shops only every \Vz years and
had a hard-to-believe record of
reliability.

During the period when steam

and diesel were battling for supremacy on United States railroads, it was typically the case
brand new diesel locomotives
were being maintained in brand
new depots while the steam
that

Below:

class "J" 4-8-4

of the Norfolk & Western

Railway takes a fast express

passenger tram round a

curve

m the hills of Virginia.

Above: The superb

..."

the Roanoke-built new Norfolk

Western class "J" 4-8-4 are
this artwork.
exemplified

&

engines with which they were

being compared were worn out
and looked after in rumble-down
sheds Often much of the roof
would be missing while equipalso worn out and
obsolete The filth would be
indescribable
On the Norfolk & Western
Railroad during the 1950s, locomotives were new and depots
almost clinically clean, modern,
well-equipped and well arranged
A "J" class could be fully serviced,
greased, lubricated, cleared of
ash, tender filled with thousands
of gallons of water and many
tons of coal, all in under an hour
The result was efficiency, leading
to Norfolk & Western's shareholders receiving 6 per cent on
their money, while those of the

ment was

neighbouring and fully-dieselised

and electrified Pennsylvania Railroad had to be content with Yz
per cent
In the end, though, the problems of bejng the sole United
States railroad continuing with
steam on any scale began to tell

Even a do-it-yourself concern

N&W normally bought many
components from specialists and
one by one these firms were

like

of business. In 1960
and other factors necessitated
the replacement of steam and the

going out
this

"]"s plus all the other wonderful

locomotives of this excellent concern were retired

One feels that the "J"s were the

best of all the 4-8-4s, but that is a
matter of opinion, in matters of
fact, though, they had certainly
the highest tractive effort and, as
well, the class included the last
main-line steam passenger locomotives to be constructed in the
United States They were built as
follows,

all

at

N&W's Roanoke

shops Nos 600

to 603,

1941,
1 943; 6 1

604, 1 942, 605 to 6 1 0,

to613, 1950
No 604 had a booster engine
on the trailing truck

Nos 605 to 6 1 were originally

unstreamlined and ran for two
years as chunky but attractive

locomotives in plain garb

In spite of having driving wheels

which were on the small side for

a passenger locomotive, speeds

90mph (144km/h) were

recorded in service and lOmph

up

to

176km/h) on

test

The latter was

achieved with a 1 ,000 ton trailing

load of 1 5 cars and represented
the development of a remarkable

6,000hp in the cylinders

With such power and speed
capability available, the fact that
overall speeds were not high
reflected the hilly nature of the

country served

For example,

the coach streamliner "Powhattan

Arrow" needed 15hr 45min for

the 676 miles (1,082km) from

Norfolk, Virginia to Cincinara,
Ohio, an average speed of 43mph
(69km/h) Whilst this tram was
not a heavy one, the overnight
which carried
"Pocahontas"
through cars from Norfolk to

Chicago via Cincinatti and Pennsylvania Railroad, could load up

to 1,000 tons which had to be
handled on ruling grades up to 1
in 62 ( 1 6 per cent)
Norfolk & Western also acted
as a "bridge road" and their
4-8-4s hauled limiteds such as
and the
'Tennessean"
the
"Pelican" the original Chatta-

nooga

Choo-choos between

Top:

New class

No. 605,

built at

"J" 4-8-4

Roanoke m

1943. heads the streamliner

"Powhattan Arrow".

Above: Another

"J" built

Roanoke. No.607. Six of these

locomotives originally ran

at

unstreamlined.

Lynchburg and Bristol, on the

famous journeys from New York
Chattanooga and points
to
beyond No.611 was preserved
at the

Transportation

Museum in

Roanoke, Virginia, but in 1982

it was being restored to working
order
173

2900 ClaSS 4-8-4

Tractive effort:

Axle load:
Cylinders:

-i
1

.'

Atchison Topeka

& Santa Fe

Railway (AT&SF), 1944

9601b

0001b (33 50

2)

28 x32in

3mm)
Driving wheels: 80in

mm)
Heating surface: 5.313sq
Superheater: 2,366sq

ft

ft

Steam pressure: oOOpsi

Grate area: 108sq ft (10m 2
Fuel (oil): 5 830galls (7,000 US)
)

(26

5m 3

Water: 20,400gall (24,500 US)

Adhesive weight: 294,0001b

Total weight: 96 1 ,0001b (4360

Length

overall: 120ft lOin

:nm)

The Atchison, Topeka & Santa

Fe Railway (Santa Fe for short)
was remarkable in that it was the
only railroad

company which

connected Chicago with

fornia Odder still perhaps

Cali-

that

it

was named

after three small

places in the southern Mid-West,
while so many railroads with

never got
remains as it
the great days of steam

Pacific in their titles

brought about a firm resolve to

Stephenson path in

stick to the

the future and almost without

exception all subsequent steam
locomotives built for Santa Fe

were

"straight" (le non-articulated)

"simple" (le non-compound) and

with two cylinders only. The
results of the slow-and-steady
policy were magnificent.

solvent, forward-looking

The Santa Fe main line crossed

the famous Raton Pass in the
New Mexico with its 1 in 28)^

its

(3!^

there

was

Even now

in

it

and with
physical plant in first-class
condition With a main line stretching for 2,224 miles (3,580km)
across America (or 2,547 miles
(4, 100km) if you let the Santa Fe
take you as far as San Francisco
Bay) together, once upon a time,
with some of the world's finest
and most prestigious passenger
services, you might think that the
company's steam power must
have been remarkable and you
would not be wrong.
Nearly all Santa Fe's steam
locomotives came from Baldwin
of Philadelphia At one time it
included briefly such exotic items
as 2-4-6-2 and 2-6-6-2 superheated express Mallet locomotives with 73 and 69in (1,854
and 1 ,753mm) diameter driving
wheels respectively Six of the
class of 44 of the 2-6-6-2s even
had boilers with a hinge in the

per cent) gradient, as well as

the less impossible but

still

severe

Cajon Pass in eastern California.

East of Kansas City across the
level prairies 4-6-2s and 4-6-4s
sufficed until the diesels came,
but for the heavily graded western
lines Santa Fe in 1927 took
delivery of its first 4-8-4s. It was
only by a small margin that the

Northern Pacific Railroad could

claim the

first

own These
3751
for

to

of the type as

its

early 4-8-4s (Nos.

3764) were remarkable

having 30in (762mm) diameter

both in bore
any passenger
apart from com-

cylinders, the largest

or volume
locomotive,

in

pounds
This first batch burnt coal,
subsequent 4-8-4s being all oilburners. More 4-8-4s (Nos.3765
to 3775) came in 1938 and a

was built in 1941.

group (Nos.2900 to

further batch

Experience with these

and a few other wild ideas

The

Below: Santa Fe "2900" class

4-8-4. Note the chimney extension

rods and the enormous tender

with two eight-wheel bogies.
Eight of these magnificent engines
survive, butnoneisnowsteamable.

middle

m the raised position, the

handsome tapered connecting

final

2929) on which the particulars

given in this description are

based, were constructed in wartime. Quite fortuitously, they also
became the heaviest straight passenger locomotives ever built,

because high-tensile steel alloys

were in short supply and certain
parts in particular the main
coupling and connecting rods
had to be much more massive
when designed to be made from
more ordinary metal They managed this feat by a very small
margin, but when those immense
16- wheel tenders were included

and

loaded there

rivals to this

title.

were no close

The big tenders

were fitted to the last two batches,

and as well as being the heaviest
passenger locomotives ever built,
they were also the longest
It must be said that Santa Fe
would have preferred diesels to
the superb last batch of 4-8-4s,
but wartime restnctions prevented
this.

The company had been

early into the diesel game with

the now legendary streamlined
light-weight de luxe "Super Chief"
train, introduced
1937, as well
as the equally celebrated coachclass streamliner "El Capitan"
But thirty years ago there were
still trains such as the "California
Limited", "The Scout" and the

"Grand Canyon Limited" and, of

course, the original "Chief", still
formed of standard equipment.
They were often then run in two

Above: Atchison, Topeka &

Santa Fe Railway class "3700"
4-8-4 No.3769 climbing the
Cajon Pass, California, with
first part of the "Grand
Canyon Limited", in June

the

1946. Note that the

chimney extension is in the
fully

raised position

more sections each and all

needed steam power at the head
or

end.

Apart from the early diesel

incursions, these 4-8-4s that
totalled 65 ruled the Chicago-Los

Angeles main line from Kansas

City westwards. It was normal
practice to roster them to go the
whole distance (1,790 miles
2,880km -via Amanllo or 1,760
miles 2,830km via the Raton
Pass); in respect of steam traction
these were by far the longest
distances ever to be scheduled
to run without change of locomotive. Speeds up in the 90-100
mph 1 40- 1 60km/h) range were
both permitted and achieved
(

This journey was not made

without changing crews. In this
respect feather-bedding union
rules based on the capacity of the
"American" 4-4-0s of fifty years
earlier applied and crews were
changed 1 2 times during the 34
hour run Water was taken at 16
places and fuel nearly as often, in
spite of the enormous tenders

Above: Atchison Topeka &

Santa Fe Railway class "3700"
4-8-4 No. 3787 hauling the
streamline cars of the
legendary "Chief" express
amongst

the mountains of the

Ca/on Pass m California.
This tram ran daily over
the 2,225 miles (3, 580km) of
Santa Fe metals between
Chicago and Los Angeles.

Left: The impressive front

end of a Santa Fe "2900"

These magnificent examples

all

main

respects. One unusual feature

was the 'hot hat' smoke-stack
extension shown on the picture

above, absence of overbndges

and tunnels over many miles of
the Santa Fe route meant that this
could be raised for long periods
with beneficial effect in keeping

smoke and steam

arranged

as

to

was so

increase

the

handing
out
superannuated
4-8-4s as not always properly
appreciated gifts to various oncommunities. These included
Modesto and San Bernadino,

of the locomotive builder's art

in

into the valve rod. This

amount of valve travel for a given

amount of link swing
Santa Fe was generous in

line

class 4-8-4.

were conventional

valve gear on some of the 4-8-4s

To reduce the amount of swing
and consequent inertia forces
needed on the curved links, an
intermediate lever was introduced

clear of the
cab- Another detail concerned a
modification to the Walschaert's

California, Pueblo, Colorado, Fort

Madison, Iowa; Kingsman, Arizona, Alburquerque, New Mexico, and Wichita, Kansas. No. 2903
is displayed in the Chicago Mu-

seum

and Industry,
No.2925 is still in the
roundhouse at Belen, New Mexico. There was a rumour a year
or so ago that Santa Fe might
of Science

while

have intentions of entering the

steam-fpr-pleasure business with
locomotive, like neighbour
Union Pacific, but nothing came

this

of the proposal.

West Country Class 4-6-2 soSmiXay

<sr).

946

Tractive etiort:

Axio load:

;;;>

Cylinders

Omm)
Driving wheels: 74in
urn)
Heating surface: 122

6m 2

55m 2

Superheater: 545sq ft (50

Steam pressure: 280psi

Grate area: 38 25sq

(3

ft

Fuel:

Water:

jail

(6,600 US)

Adhesive weight: 3 ,0001b

1

Total weight: 304,0001b 138t)

(

Length

overall:

.'

(20,542mm)

When

Oliver Bullied from the

London & North Eastern Railway

was appointed Chief Mechanical
Engineer of the Southern Railway
in 1937 he affirmed his intention
of contributing a major forward
step in the art of steam locomotive
design He was a man of charm,
ability, education and integrity
and had never allowed the many
years spent under Sir Nigel
Gresley to blunt an extremely
keen and original mind The
result so far as express passenger
traffic

was concerned was

the

140 4-6-2s, which

were some of the
most remarkable machines ever
to be seen on rails Bullied 's
locomotives were amazingly good
in some ways yet almost unbuilding of
collectively

bad in others.
He began from the premise

believably

by others) that
prime task of the Chief
Mechanical Engineer (C.M.E.)
was to build locomotives which
could run the trains to time,

a wide firebox tapered

the coal in
Bullied also went to consider-

ones to be built were

called the "Merchant Navy" class,

able pains to meet what should

be the C.M.E.'s second objective:

the prototype of the 30 built took

the rails in 1 94 1 With the experience gained, some smaller 4-6-2s
known as the "West Country"
class were introduced in 1945.

that the

met

at

cost.

peers through the care he took to

a number of far from costly
features to the locomotives in aid
of the convenience and comfort

add

doing

board of the least skilled of

qualified engine crews On the
whole he succeeded, except perhaps for the need of a certain
specialised expertise on the part

minimum

men who worked for him. He

was an example to many of his

of his

bad

be
Here one

objective should

the

the

weather and the presence on

first

must say that despite the very

considered and onginal approach
adopted, these locomotives were
disastrously more expensive than
their rivals in first cost, maintenance cost and fuel consumption.
A third objective was achieved,
however. Bullied belied his name
by being most considerate toward

(often forgotten

regardless of quality of coal,

on the

of the driver; the fireman, on the

other hand, just needed to throw

crews They repaid him by

their very best with the

strange and unfamiliar engines

he created.
Bullied's 4-6-2s all had three
cylinders with three sets of patent
chain-driven valve gear inside an
oil-filled

sump between the frames.

Outside-admission piston valves

were used, dnven from the centre
via transverse oscillating shafts.

A large boiler was provided, with

base

line.

The

first

Over the next five years 109

more were built, making them
the most numerous Pacifies in
Southern Railway running
1 up wards,
Railways allocated Nos.
34001-34110 Names of west
country locations were given to
the first 48, most of the remainder
were given names associated
Britain

numbers were 2 1 C 1
British

with the Battle of Britain and were

sometimes known as the "Battle
of Britain" class but there was
no technical distinction between
the two series.
Other features included a
multiple-jet blastpipe known as
the Lemaitre, disc type wheels
with holes rather than spokes,
and a so-called air-smoothed
casing. Innovations (for the SR)
appreciated by the crews in-

cluded rocking grates, power

(steam) operated fire-hole door
and reverser, rocker grate and
electric light A French system of

Above: "Merchant Navy" class

4-6-2 No. 34002 Union Castle.
Note red-and-cream coaches of
early

BE days.

known as TraitIntegral Armand which

really kept the boilers free of
scale even in chalky SR country

water treatment

ment

was used

later

All

except

six

were built at Brighton Works, an

establishment that, apart from a
few locomotives built during the
war, had not produced a new
one for many years The odd six
built at Eastleight Works
The very best features of the
were the boilers. They

were

4-6-2s

bristled with innovations so far as

the Southern Railway was con-

cernedthey were welded instead of nvetted, fireboxes were

made of steel instead of copper
and their construction included
water

ducts

called

thermic

syphons inside the firebox. Yet in

spite of these new features the
boilers were marvellous steam
raisers as well as being light on
maintenance, thereby reflecting

enormous
his

credit

on

Bullied

and

team

An

elaborate high pressure

vessel, holding a mixture of water
and steam at 280psi 1 9 7kg/cm 2 )
(

minutes fane was regained in the

famous ascent from Blair Atholl
to Dalnaspidal; a drawbar horsepower approaching 2,000 was
recorded on this occasion The

easy, but one to

deep proved
The feature that
work out was the totally

had been found

hold
to

oil

be

a few inches

difficult

did not
enclosed oil-filled sump between
the frames in which the inside
connecting rod and three sets of
chain-dnven valve gear lashed
away Bullied expected that as in
a motor car the lubrication drill
would consist solely of a regular
check of oil level with occasional

coal burnt per mile compared

with the normal 4-6-0s on this line
was 28 per cent more and the

amount burnt per horsepowerhour developed was 22 per cent

It is also recorded that the
consumption of lubricating oil
was not 7 per cent more but
seven times more, but that was

higher

topping-up The motion would

be protected against dust, dirt
and water while wear would be

untypical

three

fanes that of a

normal engine was more usual!

And remember that a normal
locomotive was intended to be
lubricated on a "total loss"

small Alas, it did not quite work

out like this the sumps leaked
and broke and the mechanisms
inside also bristled with so many
innovations that they were never
made trouble-free The motion
also suffered severe corrosion as
the oil became contaminated
Hence there were appalling

system.

On

their

home

territory

the

problems, never
properly resolved in spite of
many years of unremitting efforts

"West Country" locomotives were

used on almost every Southern
steam-hauled main line passenger
working from the "Golden
Arrow" continental express from
Victona to Dover, down to two

to solve the difficulties

and three coach

Stretching of the chains which

drove the miniature valve gears,
plus the effect of any wear, all of
which was multiplied when the
motion was transferred to the
valve spindles through rocking
shafts, played havoc with the
valve settings This explained the

in

maintenance

heavy steam consumption Oil

from the sump went
everywhere, making the rails
slippery and even adding a fresh
hazard to railway working the
danger of a steam locomotive
leaking

catching fire. This happened

several times
With outside motion in full
view, dnvers often sported some
defect before it had gone too far
and something broke But on
these engines the first sign of
trouble was often some extremely
expensive noises, followed possibly by the puncturing of the oil
bath as loose bits forced their
way out Incidentally, the pnce of
all this complexity was very great
even when development costs
had been paid, the production

cost of a "West Country" was

17,000 at a fane when even
such a complicated locomotive
as a Great Western "Castle"
4-6-0 cost under 10,000.
An unhandy throttle was another handicap and this, combined with the absence of any
equalisation between the rear
pony wheels and the dnvers,
made the locomotives liable to
driving wheel slip both at starting
and while running On the other
hand the performance which the
Bullied Pacifies gave once they

got going was superb.

Both classes were good but

since the smaller "West Country"
class seemed to be able to equal
anything the larger "Merchant
Navy" could do, one's admiration
goes more strongly to the former.
During the locomotive exchange
trials which took place soon after
nationalisation of the railways in

Above: An unkempt "West

Country" 4-6-2 No.34017
lays

down a tine trail of

new

smoke on a cold snowy day

with

near Weald, Kent.

and motion;

determined to show

that they

could perform instead Elsewhere

than on the SR punctuality in
Britain at that time was dreadful
and one cites a run on which
No 34006 Bude regained 11
minutes of lateness on the level
route in the short distance (about

40 miles, 64km) between

and Taunton.

On

Bristol

another occasion in the

Highlands of Scotland over 13

trains

conventional cylinders

form and for

to steam they
were unambiguously amongst
in this

the short period

1 948, they put up performances
equal or superior to any of their
larger rivals from other lines. It is
clear that the SR people knew
their candidates were going to
come out bottom in coal consumption anyway, so they were

local

Cornwall Their maintenance

problems were less apparent
because the 140 Bullied 4-6-2s
a
huge overrepresented
provision of motive power
Furthermore, in 1957-60, sixty
"West Country" class were rebuilt

left

the very best locomotives ever

to

run

in Britain.

July 1967, the last

During 3 to 9
week of steam

on the Southern, these rebuilds

worked the luxury "Bournemouth
Belle" on several days
Several both rebuilt and unrebuilt have been preserved and
restored, for example, unrebuilt
Vale on
the Bluebell Railway and No
21C192 City of Wells on the
Keighley & Worth Valley Railway

No.21C123 Blackmore

Below: The impressive

SR

'

'Ba ttle of Britain class

4-6-2 Sir Winston Churchill
now on display at Didcot.
'

'

Niagara Class 4-8-4

United States:

New

York Central Railroad (NYC), 1945

Tractive efiort:

Axle load:
Cylind.

Driving wheels:

Heating surface:

'.

060sq

Superheater:

Steam pressure:

ft

'75psi

Grate area: OOsq

1

ft

(9

3m 2

Fuel:

Water: I5.000gall< 18,000 US)

Adhesive weight: 274,0001b

Total weight: 891,0001b (405t)

Length

overall:

15ft 5!^in

(35,192mm)
Something has already been said
of the New York Central Railroad's speedway from New York
to Chicago, arguably in steam
days the greatest passenger rail-

way

in

the world, in terms of

speeds run and tonnage moved

By the 1940s these speeds and
loads were beginning to be as
much as the famous Hudsons
could cope with and the Central's
chief of motive power, Paul Kiefer,
decided to move on a step He
proposed a 4-8-4 with above 30
per cent more adhesive weight
and tractive effort than the 4-6-4,
together with a fire grate 25 per
cent bigger His aim was a
locomotive which could develop
6,000hp in the cylinders for hour
after hour and could do the New
York-Chicago or Chicago-New
York run of 928 miles day after
day without respite

The

American

Company

at

Locomotive

Schenectady, pro-

posed what was

to

be

the last

new design of passenger

locomotive to be produced in the
really

USA

It

Union

owed something
Pacific's

"800"

to the
class,

dimensionally, the two designs

were very close and, in addition,
the design of the 1 4- wheel Centi-

pede or 4-10-0 tender was certainly based on the UP one The

NYC engines had something
else

unusual

common

for

America,

NYC

structure

rolling stock

to be 15ft 2in (4,623mm) tall

instead of 16ft 2in (4,928mm) as
on the UP, the smokestack had to
be vestigial and the dome little
but a manhole cover. There were
other differences such as Baker's
valve gear instead of Walschaert's but in general the adoption of standard American practice led to similarities
Naturally, the foundation of the
design was a cast steel integral

locomotive frame nothing else

could have stood up to the
punishment intended for these
engines Also, as one might expect, all axles, coupling rods and
connecting rods had roller bearings Baker's valve gear has the
advantage that it has no slides, so
all its moving parts could, as in
this case, be fitted with needle
bearings. While speaking of the

an interesting detail was

edges of the valve-ports
were sharp on the steam side,

valves,

that the

that the

NYC was one of the very

few American railroads equipped

with track pans (in Great Britain
water troughs) meant that less
water could be carried conveniently, leaving

for coal. This

the

more

in its

capacity
turn enabled

New York-Chicago run to be

done with

]ust

one intermediate

an improved design
power-operated pick-up scoop
reduced delays by allowing water
to be taken at 80mph 1 28km/h)
Special extra venting avoided
bursting the tenders (there had
been cases!) when some 1 ,600cu
3
of incompressible fluid
ft (45m
enters the tank all in a few
coaling, while

fundamentally

the
as that fitted to the

locos, the tender had some

interesting differences The fact

Below: Regarded by many as

the Ultimate Steam Locomotive,
the last of the Niagara 4-8-4s of
the
York Central Railroad.

New

State,

m March

1952.

The

original idea

was

that the

a standard, if slightly stretched,

product of the industry, whereas

Incidentally, the overthe tank over the running

gear at the rear end was to allow
the engines to be turned on
100-foot turntables by reducing
the wheelbase
Allocating the number 6,000
to a locomotive whose target was
that amount of horse-power as
well as that number of miles run

hang of

25 production models (Nos

6001-6025) were known as "S 16"

Although

York

achieved 6, 700hp on test and

an average of 26,000 miles run
monthly

seconds

fire.

UP

New

per week might seem to be

tempting providence, but all was
well The prototype had the sub-

same design

New York Central

"Niagara" 4-8-4 on a westbound
passenger tram of standard
heavyweight stock at Dunkirk,
Above: A

prototype should be tested and

then a production order confirmed, but before work had
gone very far instructions were
given for all 27 to be put in hand
This was reasonable because in
fact the Niagaras were very much

of

but slightly rounded on the exhaust side This eased the sharpness of the blast beats, thereby
evening out the draught on the

in

with the "800"s

smooth and uncluttered appearance but with no false streamlining or air-smoo thing

178

Because the

gauge only allowed

class designation "Sla", while the

and there was

also

single

poppet-valve version known as

"Sic" (No 5500) This greatest of
steam locomotives got the classname "Niagara" and when the

word

is

uttered,

no steam man

worthy of the name ever thinks of

a waterfall Both targets were
1

what really needed attention was

the ground organisation to enable
the mileage target to be met And
this, of course, could not be
tested until a fleet was available
By an ordinance of the City of
New York, steam locomotives
were not allowed inside city
Trains therefore left Grand
Central Station behind third-rail
electnc locos for Harmon, 32
miles out in the suburbs. It was
limits

here, then, and at Chicago that

the Niagaras were, in their great
days, kept in first-class condition
for what was without doubt one
of the hardest services ever demanded of steam, or for that
matter, of any motive power.
World records are not achieved
without extreme efforts, but excellent organisation allowed quick
and thorough servicing. The

power production part of the

locomotives had to be ]ust-so to
give such a remarkable performance out on the road and to
achieve this the fire was first
dropped with the engine in
steam Than a gang of "hot men"
in asbestos suits entered the

firebox the size of a room and

cleared tubes and flues, did any
repairs required to the brick
Good water
arch, grate etc
treatment ensured that no scale
built up in the heating surface,
preventing the heat reaching the
water inside the boiler On many
railways steam locomotives were
allocated one "shed day" each
week for these things to be done,
but running the 928 miles from
Harmon to Chicago or wee versa
night, the Niagaras needed
do a week's work in one
24-hour period
In those days there were 12

each
to

each way just between New York and Chicago

the Chicagoan, the Advance
daily trains

Commodore Vanderbilt, the

Commodore Vanderbilt, the Advance Empire State Express, the

Empire

State Express, the

Lake

Below: New York Central

Railroad "Niagara" No.6001
leaves Albany,
for the south

New

York

m April

State,

1952.

Shore Limited, the Mohawk, the

North Shore Ltd, the Pacemaker,
the Water Level, the Wolverine
and, greatest of all, the 16-hour
Twentieth Century LimitedEven the most fanatical steam
enthusiast would admit that other
factors have contributed, but
nevertheless the Day of the
Niagaras did mark a peak. So
low have things fallen -that the
best time by diesel traction today
on this route between New York

and Chicago is 1 9hr 50min and

there is only one train
The Niagaras also demonstrated once again that modern
well-maintained steam power
could be more economical than
Alas, in those days, coal
supplies controlled by miners'
leader John L. Lewis were less
reliable than oil supplies, moreover, most of New York Central's
diesel

steam power was neither modern

nor well-maintained So, having
run more miles and hauled more
tons in their short lives than most
locomotives which run out their
obsolescence,
the
term
to
Niagaras went to their long home.
None have been preserved

Right: "Niagara" No.6018 leans

to the curve at Peekskill, New
York, with "The Missounan"
from St. Louis to New York.

179

242 Al 4-8-4
Axle load
Cylinders,

HP

Cylinders,

LP

France:

Driving wheels

Heating surface:
Superheater

Steam pressure:
Grate area:
Fuel:

Water:

Adhesive weight: 185.5001b

Total weight

(2250

Length overall
authority

it

is

pelon
.ided in the shortest
!

lists

of
is

candidates to be
the greatest loco-

neer of all And this

icomotive was his
greatest

work

What

now

the Western
French National
Railways had had a bad experience with a large 4-8-2 locomotive
designed by a Governmentappointed central design corn-

Region

is

of the

was a three-cylinder
but with poppet valve
gear intended to give an expansion ratio equivalent to a compound Alas, the mechanism
never managed to achieve this,
and moreover, there were other
defects in the engine which
It

simple,

caused bad nding and a te:

to derail No 241 101 was laid
aside after tests, an embarassment
to all, particularly as it had
announced with tremendous fanfare as marking a new
steam locomotive construction
Chapelon had long wished to
get his hands on this machine
and to do to it what he had done

to the Pans-Orleans 4-6-2s

opposition took some
years to overcome, but in 1942
his plans were agreed to, with a
view of building a prototype for
express passenger locomotives

before

Official

to be constr
was over The work was put in
hand by the Societe des Forges
Acieres de la Marine et
et
d'Homecourt
The chassis needed substantial
strengthening and the extra
weight involved in this and other
modifications meant the need for

an extra carrying wheel hence

France's first 4-8-4 tender locomotive The de Glehn arrangement with two low-pressure cylinders inside would have involved
a crank axle with two cranks and

rather thm wi ibs (since there was

no room for thick ones) and it is
admitted that this was a source of
maintenance problems So the
new engine was to have a single
high-pressure cylinder inside
the leading main axle
and two low-pressure cylinders
outside driving the second axle
All were in line between the

driving

Above: A view of Chapelon's

masterpiece, French Railways'
4-8-4 No242A. 1, rebuilt from a
pre-war 4-8-2.
batch of 4-6-2 rebuilds The
outside cranks were set at 90
to one another, as in a
two-cylinder engine, the inside
crank bisected the obtuse angle

last

degrees

bogie wheels.

Chapelon

also

moved away

from poppet valves and used

double piston-valves to give
adequate port openings, as in his

Below: An overall view of the

only standard-gauge European
4-8-4 steam locomotive, SNCF
No.242.A

between the other two cylinders,

being set at 35 degrees to each
1

ar for

de cylinder was mounted

partly outside - the eccentric rod
was attached to a return crank

on the 2nd left-hand driving

The bad nding was tackled
with a roller centreing device for
the front bogie as well as Franklin's automatic wedges to take up
the axlebox guides Both
were of USA origin
.

The boiler had

syphons in the firebox, cor.
(Houlet's) superheat
and a mechanical stoker f
Kylchap chimney and exhaust
system was provided When completed in 1946, the rebuilt locomotive (now No.242A 1 indicated
under test that it was by far the
most powerful locomotive existing
North A)
outside
omission of the word steam is
deliberate It could develop a
maximum of 5,500hp in the cylinders, compared with 2,800hp
before rebuilding This power
)

output is similar to that of w

typical USA 4-8-4, perh
per cent, heer.
was capable of as
when driven hard
This sort of power
enabled then unheard-of things
.

be done A typical performance

was to haul a
of 740
to

tons

up

a steady gradient

125 (08 per cent), at a minimum

speed of 71mph (114km
700-ton train was hauled from
Pans to Lille in 140 minutes for
the 161 miles (258km), while the
electrified line

from Pans

to

Le

(131 miles 210km) was

covered in 109 minutes with a
test train of 810 tons weight, well
under the electnc timings even
with this huge tram On another
occasion a speed of 94mph
( 1 50km/h) was reached; this was
also a special test, as there was a

Mans

120km/h) (75mph)

legal

speed

public trains in France at

that time
Alas for the future of No 242A 1
the top railway brass of France

limit for

were even more embarrassed by

outstanding success than they
were by its previous failure They

its

ngaged

in trying to

per-

suade the French government, at

a time when the resources were
at a premium, to underwnte a

programme of electrification,
and here comes a young man
(Chapelon was only 58) with an
vast

engine which (a) could outperform any electric locomotive

so far built and (b) was so
economical in coal consumption
as to nullify any potential coal
saving through electnfication
And both of these items were the
corner-stones of the railways'
case for electnfication
So it is not hard to understand
why this great locomotive was
never duplicated In fact it was

shunted away to Le Mans

depot where, turn and turn-about
with lesser engines, it took over
express trains arnving from Pans
by electnc traction The potential
of the 4-8-4 was still appreciated
by its crews When such
were delayed they could use its
great performance in earning
quietly

Below: Chapeloris magnificent

242 A 1 4-8-4, which was

the most powerful steam
locomotive

to

run in Europe.

payments for time regained

There was another potential
question mark standing over a
future for a production version of
242 A 1 It has been mentioned

rugged Amencan 2-8-2s

showed an overall economy over
the compounds because low
maintenance costs more than
that the

balanced the cost of the extra

coal burnt Ironically, some of
this

was due to Chapelon himself,

who had improved

the valve
events and reduced the cylinder
clearances of the 14 1R so that
the amount of this extra coal

used was reduced from some 20

percent to 10
then be no
It should really
surpnse that as revealed by
Baron Gerard Vuillet
authontatve Railway Ht
cences of Three Continents, there
was an alternative proposal in
the form of a two-cylinder simple
4-6-4 with cast-steel locomotive
frame, roller beanngs, mechanical stoker and a grate area of
67sq ft (6 2m 2 Vuillet remarks,
"this 147-ton locomotive would
not have been much more power)

ful at

the

drawbar than

the best

Above: French Hallways 242 A

4-8-4 by Chapelon, a steam
locomotive which, when it was

1946, outperformed any

electnc or dieselm existence.

built

Pacifies weighing 104

but would have had a
."
higher availability

French

tons,

Chapelon was countenng with

proposals for three-cylinder compound 4-6-4s and 4-8-4s for

express passenger work

also

had

in

mind

expansion compound

He

tnple-

4-8-4 with

four cylinders, using steam at

584p?:

generated

in

a boiler with a water tube firebox

The locomotive was intended to

be capable of developing 8,000
hp. Confidently with the former,
and it was hoped with the latter,

Chapelon expected

that maintenance costs of these modern

compounds could be brought
down close to those of simple
locomotives Alas, all this is now

academic the great 4-8-4 was

withdrawn in 1960 and quietly
broken up Nothing now remains
but models, memones and deep
regrets for what might have
been

aP

C62 ClcISS 4-6-4

,:.ese

National Railways (JNR), 1949

6901b

Tractive effort:

Axle load:
Cylinders:

Driving wheels: o9in

Heating surface*:
Superheater:
Steam pressure:

'.'8psi

Grate ar

[ft

(3

85m 2

Fuel:
,820 US)

Water:

Adhesive weight:

001b

Total weight: 356,0001b

Length

overall:

i:ng superheater)

became world leaders

so many branches of technology, the Japanese were famous
Before they

in

imitators In some ways

railway safety and signalling was
one they took British ways as

as

their model, but as regards steam

locomotives the basis of their
practice was American This has

applied ever since Baldwin of

Philadelphia supplied Japan with
some 2-8-2s in 1897, thereby
giving the type-name Mikado to
the most prolific of the world's

sions, to a scale of about threequarters, of the typical

two-

wheel arrangements

locomotives

recent years Japanese

So
locomotives have usually been
neat and elegant miniature ver-

forty-nine 4-6-4s of the

in

Pt-47 Class 2-8-2

(19,110kg).
Axle load: 46,5001b (2 It).

the railways of Poland have seen

far too much history, yet their
locomotive history shows a surprising continuity. The eight-

Driving wheels: 72%^

,850mm)
Heating surface: 2,476sq
(230m 2
Superheater: l,087sqft
(101m 2
1

ft

2 14psi

(15kg/cm 2
Grate area: 48 5sq
)

Fuel: 20,0001b

ft

(4

5m 2

(9t).

Water: 7,000gall (8,500 US)

(32m 3
Adhesive weight: 184,0001b
).

(83.5t).

Total weight: 38 ,5001b

1

Length

overall: 79ft 7in

(24,255mm).
182

173t).

life

of

60 or so years

coupled express passenger locomotive appeared early on in the

form of the three "Pu-29" 4-8-2s
built by the Cegielski Works of

Poznan

).

Steam pressure:

in

word

express passenger
Japan were these
"C-62"
class and they were no exception
last

1929.

The number

in

the class designation indicates

the date of construction; the "P"
stands for Pospieszny (Passenger) and the "u" means 4-8-2, "t"
means a 2-8-2 and so on.

Since general usage of these

lengthy locomotives would mean
the renewal of many short turntables, second thoughts prevailed
over making this 4-8-2 a standard
class. It was considered that a
2-8-2 would do as well, the result

1947

Above: A pair of Japanese

National Railways' "C62" class
4-6-4 locomotives head an
express tram m Hokkaido island.

in

to the rule;

Polish State Railways (PKP),

In their short

cylinder locomotive, to suit the

3ft 6in (1,067mm) gauge. The

Poland

Tractive efiort: 42, 1 201b

Cylinders: (2) 24^ x 27^in

(630 x 700mm).

US

in

yet in details they

Below: The bold lines of one of

the Japanese railways "C62"
class 4-6-4s, popularly known
as the "Swallows".

were very

distinctive

They were

the results of a rather substantial

rebuilding of some Mikados of
Class "D52" a heavier version
of the standard "D51" class-

constructed during World War

II The work was done by outside
firms, Hitachi, Kawasaki and Kisha
Seizo Kaisha
One suspects that this way of
doing things was to circumvent

some government or accountant's

restriction on building new passenger motive power little of
the machinery could have been
re-used and the saving of actual
folding

money must have been

But such things are a
feature of locomotive
the world over and,

negligible.
familiar

practice

anyway, no one can complain

about the results, which were
superb in both practical and
aesthetic terms Train worship is
even more of a religion in Japan
than it is in America or Britain
and the "C62"s, "Swallows" as
they seem to have been (rather
strangely)

sometimes

known,

were certainly enshrined

summit in this respect

at the

Features worthy of note provided as standard on the larger

was the "Pt-31", which had the

same cylinders, wheels and boiler
pressure Like most Polish locomotives, they were simple unrefined but rugged two-cylinder
machines reflecting a country in
which coal is plentiful, so that the
pay-off of complicated refineis at a minimum
The German invasion of 1 939
came before the whole 1 10 had
been completed and the last 12

ments

appeared as German State

"39"

Rail-

way

class

Left:

A Polish State Railways

Thirty

of

the

"P-47" class 2-8-2 at the head

of a local passenger tram. An
interesting feature is the set of
double-deck coaches, in order
to maximise the seating capacity
for a given length of tram.

Japanese steam locomotive include electric light and a feedwater heater complete with steam
pump There are disc wheels all
round, the driving wheels having
rather prominent lightening holes
The steam dome is inside the
sand dome, the latter keeping
the former warm and dry There

no footplate at the front end of

the tender the cab overhangs
the leading pair of wheels, while
a shovelling plate extends forward
from the tender into the cab
Twenty years ago they could
be found hauling the top trains
such as the Hatsukan or Migratory Goose Express out of
is

Tokyo's main station, but now

not only has steam locomotion
disappeared from these narrow
(3ft

6in 1,067mm) gauge

lines

but long-distance daytime passenger trains as well They have

migrated to the standard gauge
electric Shin Kansen network on

Hokkaido, working often in

pairs and occasionally in threes
the main expresses out of Hakko-

which the famous bullet trains

provide lOOmph 160km/h) ser-

date, the ferryboat port at

vice start-to-stop several times

came

each hour

The 4-6-4s, however, for a

number of years found a haven in
Japan's

mam

northern island.

southern

tip

When

its

this finally

an end two of these

giants were set aside for preservation One (No.C62-2) is on
display at the Umekoji Museum
Depot at Kyoto, on the Japanese

were as handsome as the old

ones and soon took over the

came back into

hands. Many remained

lines. All

territory

Polish
in the

permanently ceded

to

Russia, while others worked in

Austria for several years
The recipe was so effective
that further similar 2-8-2s were

introduced

in

1947 These were

the class "Pt-47", of which 120

were built by the locomotive
building enterprise Chrzanow of

Warsaw and 60 by Cegielski

The main changes were from a
nvetted to a welded firebox,
from a separate steam and sand
dome to a combined one and
from hand stoking to automatic
stoking The new locomotives

tram being double-headed

class 4-6-2 "Swallows"

to

"Pt-3 1 "s stayed in the area taken

over by Russia After the war
Poland again became independent but not all the surviving

2-8-2s

Above: An express passenger

by a pair of Japanese
National Railways' "C62"

haulage of Poland's principal

express trains on non-electrified
the 2-8-2s had a KraussHelmholtz leading truck, which
to some extent has the effect of

making

the

leading

driving

wheels part of the guiding system

when running on curved track
Without some device of this kind,
the nding qualities of locomotives
with only a single leading guiding
wheel have always been regarded
as having a question mark applied
to them a number of serious
derailments having occurred
During the dawn of railways in
their country, the Russian occupiers of Poland were responsible
for not only the now defunct
broad gauge there but also for a

main island, while the other (No

C62-3) is kept at Otaro on the
northern island of Hokkaido and
run on special occasions

structure gauge Hence the

"Pt-47" has an overall height of
1 5ft 4in (4,668mm), representing
extra space which gave a welcome degree of freedom to the
tall

designers
At the time of writing and by a
factor of several times, Poland
has more operational steam locomotives than any other country
outside Africa or Asia No doubt

one

this decision to
gradually while keeping
steam, lies in a preference for a
transport system dependent on
Polish coal rather than some
other nation's oil, but another
factor is certainly the overall

factor in

electrify

economy and

reliability of one
most faithful
mankind's
locomotive
the
steam
friends,

of

in its

simplest form.
183

Great Britain:

Al 4-6-2

Class

Railways (BR), 1948

the

Tractive effort

problem had

much more serious

Axle

load:

I.500U

;ley

Cylinders:

was succeeded by
mpson, one of his
ssistants, who had a
i

Driving wheels:
i

programme

Heating surface

ing would be needed

Superheater

make good

after the

the arrears

Steam pressure:

m,
in

and

programme

fom

he was

Grate area:

particularly

concerned

to

derived mot;

Fuel:

US)

Water:

Adhesive weight:

Length

-ttOin

Nigel Gresley died

with urgency
The opportunity to build a
Pacific to his ideas arose from the

overall:

Sir

18,0001b

in office in 1941, The

London and North Eastern Railway had
5 Pacifies and some
600 other three-cylinder engines

suddenly

of his design,

fitted

all

with his

derived motion, in which the

inside valve took its drive from
the two outside valve gears In
peace time this derived motion
had been prone to failure, but
under wartime conditions of

Class
(13,8841
Axle load:

o 5001b (20 70

Aberdeen

Cylinders:

)20 4x28in
:

Driving wheels: o7in

Heating surface: 2,257sq

ft

Superheater: 725sq ft (67m 2

Steam pressure: 210psi

ft

(4.3m 2

).

India:
Indian Railways

(IR),

to

depart from Kings Cross

London.

station,

remain in service, doing the job

for which they were made. One
of them is this massive broad-

gauge

plied

(5ft

6in 1,676mm)

Amencan-style 4-6-2, the standard

express passenger locomotive
of the Indian Railways. Class
built

between 1947 and 1967,

numbers 7000 to

7754.
16 ordered from Baldwin of
Philadelphia in 1 946, well before
Independence, so the decision to
go American was not connected
with the political changes. It was
taken as a result of the satisfactory

The prototypes were a batch

184

4-6-2

experience with the American

locomotives supplied to India
during the war, coupled with
unsatisfactory experience with
the Indian standard designs of
the 1920s and 1930s.
Naturally, the locomotives sup-

Adhesive weight: 21,5001b

overall: 00ft OOin

Below:

" class

of

British Railways
"Al" class 4-6-2 No.60 161
North British, portrayed
m experimental blue livery
during BR's early days.

1946

Water: 6,000gall (7,200 US)

Length

No.60149 Amadis ready

their

also to gain experience for further

new construction Elimination of

with running

(00,000n

Railways "A

improve

Fuel: -3.0001b (150

Total weight: 380,0001b

Above: A Darhngton-biult
British

"WP" compnses 755 locomotives,

Grate area: 46sq

By rebuilding
hoped to
performance, and

line

these as Pacifies he

Of only three classes of express

locomotive amongst those described in this book can it be said
(with much pleasure) that most

(514x7:

cm 2

poor availability of Gresley 's "P2"

one of
whose troubles was heavy wear
of axleboxes due to the long
rigid wheelbase on the sharp
Edinburghcurves
of
the
class 2-8-2 locomotives,

WP 4-6-2

Tractive effort: 30,6001b

(14.7kg.

the large engines by fitting a

valve gear, and in the
smaller ones by eliminating the
third cylinder As he was already
aged 60 when promoted, he also
felt the need to apply his ideas

Total weight:

When

large

locomotive build-

of

were built to the usual

rugged simple basic USA standards The provision of vacuum
brakes, standard in India,

them even

made

simpler, because a
vacuum ejector is a vastly less
complicated device than a steam
air-pump. An air-smoothed exterior was provided for aesthetic
rather than aerodynamic reasons,
giving a solid dependable look
to some solid dependable locomotives.
The original batch were designated "WP/P" (P for prototypes)

and

the production version differed in minor details During the

next ten years further members
of the class were supplied from
foreign countries as follows:

USA -Baldwin
Canada Canadian
Locomotive

Co

Canada Montreal
Locomotive Works

100
1

00

20

Poland Fabryka

Locomotywim, Chrzanow 30
Austria Vienna Lokomotiv
Fabnk
30
There was then a pause until
1963, when India's own new
Chitteranjan locomotive building
plant began production of the
remainder Some further small
modifications to the design were

made
this

to facilitate

works

production

at

The "Al"s proved to be fast

and economical engines, and

the Gresley gear involved arranging the inside cylinder to drive

the leading axle, and as Thompson insisted on all the connecting
rods being of the same length, an
awkward layout was arnved at,
with the leading bogie ahead of
the outside cylinders
Trouble was experienced with
flexing of the frame, and loosening
and breakage of steam pipes,
but nevertheless the arrangement
was applied to the "P2"s and to a
further 19 mixed-traffic Pacifies
with 74in (1,880mm) driving

they took a

it

similarly,

with separate

valve gears, larger cylinders, and

a grate area of 50sq ft (4.6m 2 ), in
place of the 41 3sq ft (3 8m 2
grate with which all the Gresley
)

Pacifies

were

fitted.

Before Thompson's retirement,

successor designate, Arthur
Peppercorn, put in hand quietly
his
in

Doncaster drawing

further

revision

of

the

office a

Pacific

which the outside cylinders were restored to their

position above the middle of the
bogie, and the inside connecting
layout, in

share

in

East

BR Pacifies, and they achieved

notable mileages Over a period
of 12 years they averaged 202
miles per calendar day, the highest
figure

on BR, and the

five roller

bearing engines exceeded that

average, with 228 miles per day
Their riding was somewhat in-

wheels Before this programme

was completed, Thompson also
took in hand Gresley 's original
Pacific, Great Northern, and rebuilt

full

Coast locomotive workings, except for the Kings CrossEdinburgh non-stops, for which
the streamlined "A4"s were preferred Their maintenance costs
were lower than those of other

ferior to that of the "A4", as they

rod was shortened to make the

front of the engine more com-

Above: "A 1 " class 4-6-2 No.

60139 makes a fine show with

pact Fifteen new Pacifies with

74in wheels were built to this
design, classified "A2", and then
49 more with 80in (2,032mm)
wheels were ordered, classified

the "Yorkshire Pullman".

"Al" The Great Northern was

absorbed into this class under
the sub-classification "Al/1".
These engines were not built

double blastpipes, and five of

them had roller bearings to all
axles. At first they had stovepipe
chimneys, but these were replaced by chimneys of the normal
Doncaster shape. They had assorted names, including loco-

in

motive engineers, the constituent

1948-49, Nos.601 14-27/53-62 at

Doncaster, and Nos.601 30-52 at
Darlington They all had Kylchap

the LNER, some

names, some
some
racehorses
birds and

until

after

nationalisation,

railways

of

traditional Scottish

had a tendency to lateral lurching

on straight track, but nevertheless
they were timed at lOOmph plus
(160+km/h) on a number of
occasions
These engines were a worthy
climax to Doncaster Pacific design, but unfortunately they came
too late in the day to have full

economic

lives.

By the

early

1960s dieselisation of the East

Coast main line was well advanced, and the "Al"s were all
withdrawn between 1962 and
1966.
None of them was
preserved

The

fleet of

"WP"s work

in all

parts of the broad gauge network

and find full employment on
many important express passenger trains, although they have
been displaced from the very top
assignments by diesels and electrics, also Indian-built Enormous
trains, packed with humanity,
move steadily across the Indian
plains each headed by one of
these excellent locomotives A
crew of four is earned (driver,
two firemen and a coal-trimmer)
but even with two observers on
board as well there is ample
room in the commodious cab

An Indian Railways class

"WP" 4-6-2. The letters "CR"

Left:

on the tender indicate it is

allocated to the Central Railway
185

ClaSS 241 P 4-8-2

Axle load
Cylinders,

rend?Nationa] Railways (SNCF), 1948

for

HP

new

steam

fleet

of

engines,

onhdently expected
n large numtjood the arrears of
:ion, and to provide

Cylinders, LP:

Driving wheels:

speed and

the heaviest
8-4 was pro-

Heating suriace:

posed, but construction of an

prototype by the
an old 4-8-2 was
slow In the meantime construction
modernised version of a
PLM 2-8-2 was undertaken, and

Superheater

Steam pressure:

if

:n 2 )

Grate area:
Fuel:

Adhesive weight: 180,9001b

Total weight:

Length

4 72,5001)

overall:

'

'it

in

mm)
Dunng the period in which Andre
on was achieving undented results by his rebuilding of Pans-Orleans Railway
Pacifies, the total construction of
new engines in France was small
in proportion to the size of country
During World War II plans were

Tractive effort: 52,10001b

78m

).

Grate area: 90sq ft (8 4m 2

Fuel: 60,0001b (27.5t)
Water: 17,500gall (21,000 US)
).

(80m 3
Adhesive weight: 219,5001b
).

(lOOt)

Total weight: 839,0001b (38 It)

Length overall: 108ft0m
(32,918mm).

was a case

please"

186

seilles,

Railway (C&O), 1948

of Philadelphia for five

4-6-4s

and

motive

Co

of

to the

Lima Loco-

Lima, Ohio, for

five

the customer nor the builders

realised it at the time.
The
divided its routes
into mountain and plains divisions
and the eight-coupled engines
were for the former, the sixcoupled ones for the latter There
was, therefore, scope for the
4-6-4s, both north-west of the
Allegheny mountains on the
routes to Louisville, Cincinatti,
Chicago and Detroit, as well as
south-east of them in the directions of Washington and Rich-

C&O

Steam pressure: 255psi

(17 9kg/cm 2

peake

PLM mam line to Maron which Chapelon 4-8-0s

the old

motives supplied for home use

by any of the big USA constructors, although naturally neither

ft

It

of large

They were to be the last

steam express passenger loco-

Superheater: l,810sqft

(168m 2

number

cope with increasing loads on

4-8-4s

762mm)

Heating surface: 4,233sq

(393m 2

to

Baldwin

Axle load: 73,5001b (33.5t)

Cylinders: 2)25x30in
Driving wheels:
(1,981mm)

tion of a limited

passenger engines, particularly

4-6-4 Chesapeake & Ohio

L-Zcl UlaSS

(635 x

numbers of 2-8-2s were

ordered from North America.
Unfortunately in 1946 a national
coal shortage caused the government to instruct SNCF to reduce
its coal consumption, and the
way was paved for a policy
decision to electrify all main lines.
Further development of steam
engines was cancelled, but a
case was made for the construclarge

0 US)

Water:

of "last orders

when in 1947

& Ohio

the Chesa-

Railway went

to

mond, Virginia.
In 1 947 a man called Robert R
Young was in charge at C&O
headquarters at Richmond and

he believed the passenger tram

had a future The Chessie ran
through the big coalfields and at
that time hauled more coal than
any other railroad It was therefore
unthinkable that anything but
coal-burning power should be
used. Amongst his plans was
one for a daytime streamline
service actually to be known as
The Chessie and three steamturbine locomotives with electnc
drive and 16 driving wheels
were built in 1 947-48 to haul it on
the mam stem and over the
mountains Conventional steam
was to haul connecting portions
and provide back-up Alas, those

whose concept was had thrown

away the steam locomotive's best
card, that is simplicity, and in a
it

short two years the turbo-electrics

(Class "M-l", Nos.500-502) had
been scrapped as hopelessly

uneconomic.
In the meantime the whole

C&O streamline project had been

scrapped, but not before some
older 4-6-2s (the "F-19" class)
had been converted into streamlined 4-6-4s to handle the new
train over part of its route.
Furthermore, in the grand manner of a great and prosperous
railroad, C&O considered hand-

me-downs not be good enough

for a prestige train

and so had

ordered these "L-2a" Hudsons,

intending them to be streamlined.
Running numbers were 310 to
3 1 4 and fortunately they were as
trouble-free as the turbines

had

been troublesome.

On

various important counts

4-6-4s were the top sixlocomotives of the
world in engine weight, at
443,0001b (20 It), IVz per cent
above those of the nearest rival,

the

coupled

Santa Fe. In tractive effort, both

and without their booster in
worth 14,2001b

with

action, the latter

of Class "240P" were achieving

prodigious feats of haulage However, to reach this standard of
performance with a grate of
2 required a high
ft (3 7m
standard of fuel, and it was clear
that for post-war conditions an
engine with a much larger grate
was desirable Furthermore, the
ex-PLM engineers who now inon SNCF
policy
fluenced
favoured the simplicity of piston
valves, rather than the poppet

40sq

valves which were used in most

of the Chapelon 4-8-0s Authority
was therefore given for the construction of thirty-five 4-8-2s, in
place of the last forty 2-8-2s- on

order

Time was short for the production of a

completely

new design,

4-8-2 of a type of which one only

had been built in 1930, but which
gave the nght basic layout and
boiler size for the new class. This
engine had the high-pressure
frames
the
inside
cylinders
between the first and second
coupled axles, and driving the
third axle The low-pressure cylinders were outside driving the
second axle The high-pressure
and low-pressure valves on each
side were driven from a common
valve gear on the von Bornes
principle Into this design were
incorporated as many as possible
of Chapelon's ideas on large
superheaters and generous steam
pipes and ports, whilst at the
same time the PLM frame structure was strengthened in places

was known

be weak

and Chapelon's 4-8-4 was not

where

less tested,
even completed,
so the only possibility was to
modify an existing design The
design chosen was an ex-PLM

Mechanical stoker, feed water

heater, and the French TIA system
of water treatment in the tender
were fitted, the TIA system in-

Left: French National Railways

class "24 IP" 4-8-2, a design

impressive

based on some older 4-8-2 PLM

is

still

locomotives of the same type.

it

to

Below: The complexity of the

SNCF class "24 IP"
well brought out m this
superb drawing.

creased greatly the time between

boiler washing out
Nevertheless the design was a
compromise, a number of the
parts which it inherited from the
old design were overloaded at
the power outputs which were

now

and the mech-

possible,

performance left something

be desired. Despite the

anical
to

measures taken

to

they could achieve 60mph (96

km/h) from start to stop on short
runs, and could reach the speed
limit of 74mph (120km/h) with
this load in six minutes Their
other speciality was the Bourbonnais line of the old PLM, on
which they worked loads of up to
800 tons until displaced by diesels
in

accelerate

1968
Although

production of the new class,

which was numbered from 24 1 P
to 241P35, the engines were not

in

delivered until 1948-9, by which

time electrification of the ex-PLM

cent

their

power output

to their size never

equalled that of the Chapelon

relation

it was at its best magnifiThey were worked more

4-8-0s,

was well in hand

worked on the former
PLM and on ex-Northern main
lines from Pans to Lille and
Belgium As electrification advanced, some of them moved to
the Western Region, where they

French
passenger engines, and two of
them once ran 19,900 miles
(32,000km) and 18,578 miles
(29,874km) in a month on trains
averaging 585 tons, whilst working from Lyons Mouche depot
The 24 1 Ps managed a working

took over the heaviest trains to

life

main

Initially

line

they

the Brittany coast from Le Mans

the enthusiastic
regional mechanical engineer they

onward Under
were driven

to their limits on
on trains which

intensively than previous

of nearly twenty years before

they were finally displaced by
diesels Four of the engines have
been preserved, including No
241 PI 6 in the French National

Museum

these services,

Railway

could load to 950 tons at busy

times With loads of 650 tons

where the locomotive

the main exhibits

(6,443kg) of thrust, and adhesive

weight, the figures are records

unusually clean

The massive

qualities of

C&O

track are illustrated by the fact

that their

adhesive weight

is

also

unmatched elsewhere
Technically the engines repthe final degree of
sophistication of the American

resented

steam locomotive that came from

nearly
120 years of steady
development of practice and details upon the original principles
The "L-2a" class was developed

from the eight "L-2" class 4-6-4s

of 1941 (Nos.300-307) and differed from them mainly in having
Franklin's system of rotary-cam
poppet valves instead of more
conventional Baker's gear and
piston valves These locomotives
also were notable for having
Left: Although seemingly
class "L-2a
complicated, the
4-6-4 was fundamentally simple

C&O

at

lines.

Mulhouse
is one of

The

C&O

liked to hang a
pair of air-pumps in the most
prominent possible position on

once even had

the smokebox door; now even

the headlight was cleared away
and mounted above the pilot

beam
The advantages of poppet
been mentioned elsewhere in this narrative, as have
the problems involved in their
maintenance It would appear,
though, as if manufacturers on
both sides of the Atlantic had
begun in this respect to offer a
viable product now that it was
just too late to affect the outcome
valves have

of steam's struggle for survival

By 1953 Chessie's passenger

service had become 100 per
Accordingly
dieselised
cent
there was little work for the
new 4-6-4s and all had gone
for

scrap before

birthday

their

seventh

Class 01.10 4-6-2

Tractive effort:

Axle load:
Cylinder

(DB),

1953

2001b

;;

Germany:
German Federal Railway

.i

Driving wheels: 78 7in

Heating surface:
Superheater:

'

.V

035sq

Steam pressure: 227

Grate area: 42 6sq

ft

6psi

(3

ft

96m 2

Fuel:

Water: 8.400gall (10,000 US)

(38m 3
Adhesive weight: 133,0001b
)

Total weight: 244,0001b

Length

lout tender)
overall: 79ft 2in

mm).
At the end of World
1945 the railways of

Above: Recently re-coaled

German "01 "class 4-6-2 surges

War
in
Germany
II

were devastated, and a large

through the countryside.

proportion of the express passenger locomotives were out of

Left: German State Railway

rebuilt class "01" 4-6-2 ready
to leave Hamburg with a cross-

service By the end of the decade

services were largely restored,
but by that time the partition of
Germany had been formalized,
and the railway system of the

border express for Dresden.

the large Pacifies, a
smaller version of the same boiler
was produced for the "03" and
"03. 10 " classes. This new boiler
"
was fitted to all the "Ol 10
engines between 1954 and 1956,
and to the 26 "03. 10 " engines
fitting to all

Federal Republic had adopted

the name German Federal Railway, whilst that of the German
Democratic Republic used the
old

name

of

German

State Rail-

which had come

way The locomotive stock was

divided between the two systems
on the basis of where the locomotives were located at the end
of hostilities

By 1950 it was clear that both

systems would extend their electrified networks, and introduce
class was given heavy repairs, in
the course of which the streamlined casing was removed, and
the engines acquired an appearance accordance with post-war
standards. Compared with the

the fitting of Heml feedwater

heaters, with a raised casing
ahead of the chimney.
Deterioration of the alloy-steel
fireboxes of the "01. 10 " and
"03. 10 " Pacifies then led to the

mixed-traffic and freight locomotives, and only two completely

design of a new all-welded boiler

with tapered barrel, suitable for

were built These were two three-

non-streamlined pre-war Pacifies,

there was no sloping plate connecting the side running boards
with the buffer beam, and the

cylinder Pacifies completed by

DB in 1957, by which time the

replaced by the small Witte pat-

new express passenger engines

full-depth

smoke deflectors were

progress of

electrification was so
rapid that it was clear that there
was no prospect of the class

tern

being extended.
Steam-hauled passenger trains
therefore continued to be worked
by the stock of pre-war Pacifies
To prolong their lives, many of
these on both systems were
rebuilt to varying degrees Although each railway adopted its

that the cylinder of the

own scheme of rebuilding, they

had much in common, and where
any renumbering was involved, it
was arranged that there was no
duplication

The

first

between DB and

DR

engines to be altered

were the 55 three-cylinder Pacifies

of Class "01 10 ", all of which
came into DB ownership. These
engines had been built in 1939
and 1940 with full streamlining,
but by the end of the war parts of
the casing had been removed,
and many of the engines lay
derelict

Between
188

for

up

to

1949 and

five

years

1951

the

DB owner-

was simplified compared with the pre-war types, as

there was only one dome, and
the sandboxes were on the running plates. The dimensions given
above refer to these rebuilds
of the boiler

on non-electnfied
but both systems also made
plans for limited construction of
new steam locomotives for the
interim period In the event, new
construction was confined to
diesel traction

lines,

into

ship between 1956 and 1958 At

the same time new front end
systems, with larger chimneys,
were fitted, and a Heinl feedwater
heater, with its tank concealed
within the smokebox The outline

on the upper part of the

smokebox. Removal of the casing
around the smokebox revealed
feedwater

heater was mounted externally in

a recess in the top of the smokebox, instead of being buned in
the smokebox as in the "01" and
"03" engines. The North American touch in the lineaments of the
engines was thereby increased.
Vanous parts which had been
made of substitute materials during the war were replaced by
normal parts
The next rebuilding involved
fitting new welded fireboxes with

combustion chambers

to five of

the "01" Pacifies, the existing

parallel barrel being retained.
The original fireboxes without

combustion chambers had been

troublesome to maintain, despite
Dr Wagner's intentions. The
modified boiler could be detected
by extra firebox washout plugs,
but even more conspicuous was

The rebuilt "01. 10 " engines

became the mainstay of heavy
steam passenger workings on
DB As electrification spread

Below: German Federal Railway

northwards,

converted oil-burning class

"012" 4-6-2 No .012077-4.

their

north,

they

and most

days

at

of

too

moved

them ended

Rheine, where they

Class 231U1 4-6-4

were amongst

the last

DB steam

to finish work in 1975.

increase the availability of the

engines

To

engines, 34 of them were converted to burn oil in 1957-58

These

engines

became

class

"01 2" under the 1968 renumbering, whilst the remaining coal1
burners were "01 " In the latter
days of steam operation on the
Hamburg-Bremen line, these engines were hauling 600-tonne

speeds up

trains at

to

80mph

(130km/h), and were achieving

monthly mileages of 17,000
(27,000km).
It was planned to fit the same
type of boiler to 80 of the "01"
Pacifies,

but due to the increasing

pace of electrification, only 50

were converted Externally the
engines were conspicuous by
the large-diameter chimney, but
as these engines worked over
lines with a more restricted load-

ing

gauge than those on which

the "01

10 "s worked, the chimney was much shorter, and gave

the engines a very massive ap-

pearance.
In East Germany, too, the
slower pace of electrification led
to the extensive rebuilding of 35
"01" Pacifies between 1961 and

New

welded boilers
fitted, but whereas on DB
the new boilers had slightly smal1965
were

all-

grates than their predecessors,

had larger grates to
those on
cope with inferior coal The external appearance of the engines
was changed greatly by the
fitting of a continuous casing
over the boiler mountings, and a
deep valancing below the footplating (later removed). Eight of
the rebuilds were given Boxpok
driving wheels, and 28 of them
ler

DR

were later converted to burn oil

The rebuilt engines were classified
"01". The rebuilding was so
extensive that

little

of the original

engine remained. They took over

the heaviest DR steam workings,
which included the international
trains into West Germany, and
they could be seen alongside the

DB

variants

of

Class "01" at

Hamburg and Bebra

Axle load:

The rotary-cam poppet

5 1,0001b (23t)

Cylinders. HP: (2) 17% x 27^in

(450 x 700mm)
Cylinders, LP: (2) 26% x 27^in
(680 x 700mm)
Driving wheels: 78^in
(2,000mm)
Heating surface: 2, lOOsq ft

(195m 2

Superheater: 690sq

ft

(64m

2
)

Steam pressure: 286psi

(280kg/cm 2
Grate area: 55 7sq
)

ft

(5

17m 2

Fuel: 20,0001b (9t)

Water: - 370gall 1 0,000 US)
(

(38m 3
Adhesive weight: 152,0001b
)

(69t)

Total weight: 467,5001b (212t)

Length

France:
French National Railways (SNCF), 1949

overall: 87ft 4^in

(26,634mm)

valve

gear (instead of the oscillatmgcam gear used by Chapelon)

was troublesome and failed to
meet its promise as regards
economy in the use of steam
Even so, France was reluctant to

abandon the compound principle

and it was decided to finish off
the chassis originally intended
for the turbine locomotive in this
manner The result was the

"232U1", completed in 1949 by

the firm of Corpet-Louvet

The purposeful clutter that

was the Chapelon outline had
been covered by a streamline
shroud Beneath it poppet valves
had been replaced by piston
valves The four sets of valves
were worked by two sets of
outside Walschaert's valve gear.

This great engine was the result

of the

Northern Company's desire

to improve upon their Chapelon

4-6-2s An attempt was made to
overcome the weakness of the
plate frames by adopting cast
steel bar- type ones A higher
power output was envisaged
and this was taken care of by a
wide firebox (instead of trapezoidal and a mechanical stoker
Eight streamlined and partly experimental 4-6-4 locomotives were
1

planned, four compounds (class

232S), three simples (class 232R)
and one turbine. The idea was to
work 200-ton trains at speeds up
to lOOmph (160km/h). Before
the engines were completed in

In an effort to

was able to develop

4,500hp measured at the cylinders, about half way between
that for a Chapelon 4-6-2 and the
ultimate power of his "242A1"
class 4-8-4 One drawback was
cessful;

were replaced by immense

slow ones The turbine locomotive
was never completed
to pull

After the war the performance

of the 4-6-4s was re-assessed In
the case of the compounds the

designers had unfortunately tried

wheel and had

not been completely successful

Below: French National Railway!

4-6-4 No.231 Ul as restored
for display in the museum.

it

the heavy axle load, this effectively

confined the locomotive (and its
fellow streamliners of the "232R"
and "232S" classes) to the Pans

1940 the railways had been

nationalised and a disastrous
war with Germany had begun,
so the light high-speed trains
envisaged for these locomotives

to re-invent the

reduce maintenance

costs roller bearings had replaced

plain ones on the axles, grease
lubrication had largely replaced
oil and again cast bar-type frames
were used. The engine was suc-

mm

to Lille

main

line.

Although the

engines were designed for better

things, the maximum permitted
speed was kept at the standard
French value of 75mph (120
km/h).
Efforts had also been made to
the comsimplify the controls
plications of those implicit in the

de Glehn system of compounding

have been referred to earlier. In
the "232S" and "232U" locomotives the changeover from
simple working (used at starring)
to compound was arranged to
happen automatically, according
to whether the reversing lever
was set to give more or less than
55 per cent cut-off So perhaps
the supply of footplate wizards
able to cope with the complexities
of the typical French express
passenger locomotive was not
so inexhaustible as their admirers
across the Channel thought!
By the time the virtues of the

design had been assessed and

the question of a repeat order
arose, French Railways had
turned to electrification So No
232U 1 remained a solitary and is
now displayed in superbly restored condition at the National

Railway

Museum at Mulhouse

Below:

SNCF class "232W

4-6-4

232U1

at the

Gare du

Nord, Pans in October 1959.

P36 Class 4-8-4

USSR'

Tractive effort:

Axle load
Cylinders:

Driving wheels:

Heating surface
Superheater

Steam pressure:
Grate area
Fuel:

Water:

Adhesive weight:
Total weight:
Length overall

back

it

long-

at

iffic

had so

Passenger traffic
ken second place to
.as recognised that
higher speeds and
;able (and therefore

would be needed

ovietgovern-

tted to travel in the

rototype

came

in

vas a logical enlarge)f the 2-6-2 into a 2-8-4,

ung an extra driving axle

to give extra tractive effort

and

tra rear carrying a)

give extra power from a larger
firebox The class was given the
designation "JS" (standing for

and some 640

between 1934 and

Stalin)

were

built

today

but a freight equivalent

same boiler, cab, cylinders

and other parts was the
class 2-10-2, many of which are
'

still

service in southern China,

in

conversion
I

from

5ft

mm) gauge to standard

Above: A

class "P36" 4-8-4

of the Soviet Railways "on

shed" somewhere in Russia.

The episode was

Arrow express between Moscow

and Leningrad It was hoped to
raise the average speed for the
404-mile (646km) run from about
40 to 50mph (64 to 80km/h) The

two had coupled wheels

78 34in (2,000mm) diameter, but
the third had them as large as
86!ain (2,197mm) The latter machine again had boiler, cylinders
and much else standard with the
"FD" class In the end the war
put an end to the project, but not
before the first prototype had
achieved 106mph 170km/h) on
first

test,

Right: Two class "P36"4-8-4s

typical of a

sensible and logical attitude towards the needs of the railway

system, in respect of which the
new socialist regime hardly differed from the old Czanst one
One small prestige extravagance
did follow, however, with the
building in 1937-38 of the first
three of a class of ten high-speed
streamlined 4-6-4s for the Red

still

traction in

record
Russia

for

steam

World War II for the Russians

may have been shorter than it
was for the rest of Europe, but it
was also a good deal nastier So it
was not until five years after it
ended that the first of new class
of passenger locomotive appeared from the Kolomna Works
near

Moscow

prototype

This

took the form of a tall and

handsome 4-8-4, designated class
"P36" The new locomotive was
similar in size and capacity to the
"JS" class but the extra pair of
carrying wheels enabled the axle
loading to be reduced from 20 to
18 tons This gave the engine a
much wider possible range of
action, although this was never
needed, as we shall see
Whilst the locomotive was very
much in the final form of the
Left: Soviet Railways class
"P36" 4-8-4 No.P36-0 148
'

arrives at Leningrad.

steam locomotive, one

which it had in commc:
many modern Russian engines
:

was

particularly striking

and un-

usual, this was an external main

steam pipe enclosed in a large
casing running forward from
dome to smokebox along the top

excellent from the point

accessibility, is only made
possible by a loading gauge
which allows rolling stock to be
(in (5,280mm) abt \
level Roller bearings were fitted
to all axles for the first time on
ussian locomotive and
..as a cab totally enclosed
against the Russian winter, as
:al stoker for

streamlined

looked smart enou

green passenger colour
cream stripes and red
|

centres

For some
handled the

in

took 70 he

changes

sst

one

of

oil-bun

c:

motive, so Siberia

was

pai

clas-

Steam enthusiasts had

some

to

subtle:

objects of th<
use of miniature camera
very dangerous, but some suc-

cess was achieved by

who set up
were

famous

Siberian express, the legRussia

cation to the Pacific Ocea:.

of

Many

huge

;.

plate

th<

nearest policeman

those in the west of the cc

After a cautious period
testing, production bega:

and den

of

omna and between 1954 and

re were
making them the world's
most numerous class of 4-8-4 Of
course, compared with other
classes in Russia, which numbered from more than 10,000
examples downward, the size of
the class was
built,

pact upon Western observers

was considerable because they
were to be found on lines visited
by foreigners, such as MoscowLeningrad and between Moscow
Polish frontier Some of
the class were even finished in
the blue livery similar to the

and the

Steam enthusiasm was n

out its dangers for those a:
1956 Lazar Kagar.
In

Commissar
and Heavy

for Transpc
Industry, who had
long advocated the retention of
steam traction with such words
as "I am for the steam loc
i

and against those who imagine

that

we

will

not have any in the

this

machine
stubborn and will not
future

is

si

giv<

was summanly deposed and

disappeared Steam construction
immediately came to an
i

the Soviet Union Some

years later steam operation of
I

passenger

trains also

ended and

with it the lives of these superb

locomotives

Above:

Below: Soviet 4-8-4 No.P36-0223

demonstrates the striking

appearance of the "P36" class

at the head of a local tram (of

the Trans-Siberian hne) from
Blagovetshensk, Siberia, to

4-8-4s, the last

word in Soviet

steam locomotion.

Vladivostok

m November 1970.

Gelsa Class 4-8-4

Brazil:
National Railways, [951

When

appeared that 24 of
were to be twotwo treats were

Tractive efJort

When was formed

Axle load: 29

Brazilian National Railways consisted of a grouping of various

the locomotives
cylinder 4-8-4s,

previously independent lines Of

route length of 24,000
:3,500km) existing in 1950,

in store.

it

Cylinders:

in

1948, the

.'.

Driving wheels: 59in

93
per cent Two world wars and a
long period of slump between
them meant that much of the
locomotive stock on these lines
were obsolescent
In 949 a consortium of French

qauge accounted

mm)
Heating surface:

B2I

Superheater: V sq ft (67m 2
Steam pressure: 284psi
1

Grate area: 55 5sq ft (5 4m

Fuel ;0.0001b(18t)
Water: 4.850gall (5,850 US)

for

locomotive manufacturers known

as GELSA (Groupment d'Expor-

des Locomotives en SudAmenque) was formed to tender

for replacements and, having
obtained a contract for 90 large
metre-gauge locomotives, they
engaged Andre Chapelon to
take charge of design
tation

Adhesive weight:

Length

15,0001b

05,0001b (930

Total weight*:

overall: 8

7in

ft

'mm)
ut tender

Class

YP 4-6-2

India:
Indian Railways

(IR),

it

First,

of course, there

was looking forward to seeing

what the master rebuilder of
compound locomotives would
do when he tackled a brand new
simple one. Second, there was to
be the pleasure of seeing the
world's

first

metre-gauge 4-8-4

locomotive in action.
Very great care was taken not
only with the theoretical design
but also with practical points
such as the need to include many
parts standard with existing
spares and stores already used
and in stock in Brazil.
The Belpaire type boiler was
intended to provide steam for a
power output of 2000 hp while

burning Brazilian coal of low

about half that of
best Welsh steam coal and with
large ash content. The ash-pan
calorific value

had to be steeply inclined

and there were four exterior
floor

chutes as well as a normal one in

the middle to dispose of the
amazing amounts of clogging
residue formed A mechanical
stoker was needed.
Other equipment included
power reverse, Worthington's
feed water heater and pump and
a double Kylchap blast-pipe and
chimney According to the practice of the particular line on
which they were to work the
engines were fitted either with
steam brakes with vacuum for
the trains or, alternatively, with air
brakes. Rail greasing apparatus

1949

Tractive effort: 18,4501b

(8.731kg)
Axle load: 23,5001b 10 7t)
Cylinders:
x 24in
(387 x610mm)
Driving wheels: 54in
(

(1,372mm)

Heating surface: 1,11 2sq ft

(103m 2
Superheater: 33 1 sq ft (3 1 m 2
)

).

Steam pressure: 210psi

(14 8kg cm 2
)

Grate area: 28sq

ft

(2

6m 2

Fuel: 2 1,5001b (9 75t)

Water: 3,000gall (3,600 US)

(13

6m 3

Adhesive weight: 69,0001b

(31 5t)

Total weight: 218,5001b

Length

overall: 62ft

7!

(99t)

;n

(19,088mm)

total of 871 of thes beautifully

proportioned and capable locomotives v/ere built between 1949
and 1970 for the metre-gauge
network of the Indian Railways
The newest members of the
class, which soil remains virtually
intact, were the last express
passenger locomotives to be built
in the world
It
could be said that whilst

Britain's principal achievement

was the construction of
the railway network the greatest
fault in what was done was the
division of the system into broad
and metre gauge sections of not

in India

far off

equal

size.

Even so, 5,940

1

miles (25,500km) metre-gauge

railways, including many longdistance lines, required to be

worked and power was needed

Above: Indian Railways' class

strictures rightly applied
standard "XA", "XB" and
"XC" 4-6-2s of the 1920s and
1930s were not deserved by

"YP" 4-6-2 No.2630. Note the

four-man engine crew leaning
out of the cab.

metre-gauge counterparts,
the handsome "YB" 4-6-2s supplied between 1928 and 1950

American. Jodhpur, one of the

princely states, in those days had

The

to the

their

Nevertheless

Indian

Railways

decided to do what they had

done on the broad gauge and go

own railway, and they had

received ten neat 4-6-2s from
Baldwin of Philadelphia in 1948.
still its

Baldwin was asked

to

produce

metre-gauge lines of the Bnttany

system Brake locomotives were
used to simulate the design loads
and both French and Brazilian

were tried The results

were excellent and by the end of
1952 all the locomotives had
been delivered In the meantime,
Chapelon himself had visited
Brazil and been appropriately

coals

feted as the high priest of

see the
service

to

new

steam

locomotives into

Since that time all has been

silence and such small pockets
of steam operation using large
engines as now exist in Brazil

HH

automatically coming into use on curves, which

could be negotiated down to

was provided,

20 prototypes

of

class

seem
2,624ft (80m) radius (22 degrees)
The prototype was tested in
Bnttany on the heavily engineered

Above:

4-8-4

No242N4

to favour older US-built

power, possibly just that bit more

rugged than these otherwise

on test in Bnttany with brake-test

loco behind the tender.

superb and technically further

advanced French machines

Railway 101,
North-Eastern
Railway 235, Northern Frontier
Railway 98; Southern Railway
- 199: South Central Railway

Above: An Indian Railways'

class "YP" 4-6-2, allocated to

"YP",

similar to those locomotives but

slightly

enlarged The

new locos

were

also a little simpler, with

plain bearings instead of roller
ones and 8-wheel instead of
1 2-wheel tenders
Production orders for the " YP"
were placed overseas Krauss-

high-capacity

Maffei of Munich and North

Bntish Locomotive of Glasgow

got production orders for 200

and 100 respectively over the
next five years, but the remainder
were built by the Tata Engineering
& Locomotive Co of Jamshedpur,
India

Running numbers are 2000

2870, but not in chronological

order The engines could be
regarded as two-thirds full-size
models of a standard USA 4-6-2.
If one multiplies linear measurements by 15, areas by 1.5 2 or
2.25, weights and volumes by
3 or 3.375 the correspondence
1 5
to

very close Non-American features include the use of vacuum

brakes, chopper type automatic
centre couplers in place of the
buckeye type, slatted screens to
is

cab side openings and the

absence of a bell
the

With so many

available, these

locomotives can be found in all

areas of the metre gauge system,
this stretches far

and wide from

Tnvandrum, almost the southernmost point of the Indian railways,

to well north of Delhi, while

both

the easternmost and westernmost points on Indian Railways

are served by metre gauge lines
Recent allocation was as follows;

Central

Railway 9,

Northern

Western Railway 155. The

two missing engines were with72,

the Southern railway system,

lays down a fine pall of black
smoke at the head-end of a
metre-gauge express tram.

drawn after accident damage

Diesel locomotives are now
arriving on the metre-gauge network of India, but the "YP" class
still

hauls important trains

Below: Indian Railways'

class "YP" 4-6-2, the last express
passenger-hauling steam
locomotive to be built m the world.

193

Angola:

Class 11 4-8-2
Tractive

Axle load: 29.0001)

Cylinders:

(2)

Benguela Railway (FCB), 1951

21 x 26in

60mm)
Driving wheels: 54in

cation

ing

93 1 by this route

African lines, the first miles out of

the port are the worst, concerned
as they are with scaling the
African plateau at a height of
5,000-6,000ft ( 1 ,500-2,000m). The
steep grades of this section came
to involve the use of BeyerGarratt locomotives, but there
was also a requirement for some
smaller locomotives for the easier
sections, particularly for hauling
the passenger trains In the early
days 4-8-0s had been used, but
in 1951 the Benguela Railway
went to the North Bnhsh Loco-

2,464 miles (3,965

motive Co. of Glasgow for six

Katanga (in what is now

called Zaire), instead of sending

mined

mm)
Heating surface: l,777sqft

it

Superheater: 420sq ft (39m 2

Steam pressure: 200psi

Grate area: tOsq ft (3 7m 2

Fuel (wood): 650cu ft

continuous supply of logs to fire

the locomotives
As in the case of other southern

the world It was the result of the

enterprise of an Englishman
called Robert Williams, who saw
that a railway from the Atlantic
port of Lobito Bay was the best
way of transporting the copper

effort: 36 1001b

in

east across to the Indian

at

Ocean

Beira for shipment.

Work began at Lobito Bay in

1904 and the 837 miles (1,340
to the border at Dilolo was
completed in 1929 Through
communication with the rest of
km)

(18.5n

(1,067mm) gauge

Water: 5 OOOgall (6.000 US)

the

(25m 3 )
Adhesive weight:

southern African network was

1

16,0001b

3ft

6in

established in

Lobito Bay

is

Total weight: 295,0001b

km) from Cape Town

Steam traction was (and largely

Length

is)

overall: 69ft 3in

(21,107mm)

The Benguela Railway of Angola

was one of the most remarkable
(although not one of the most
rapid) feats of railway-building in

used. In order to provide fuel,

the Benguela railway planted
eucalyptus forests close to suitable wooding points These trees,

imported from Australia, grow

Angola and a sufficient

was planted to keep up a

well in

area

Selkirk Class 2-10-4

Tractive effort: 76,9051b

(426m 2

).

Superheater: 2,055sq ft

It

some superb 2-10-0s

).

is

).

).

).

Water: 12,000gall( 14,000 US)

(54.5m 3
Adhesive weight: 3 1 1 ,2001b
).

(141t)

Total weight: 732,5001b (332t)

97ft 10%in

Length overall:
(29,835mm).

Ten-coupled locomotives were

used in most parts of the world

had
that were
on passenger

true that British Railways

occasionally used

(20kg/cm 2
Grate area: 93.5sq ft (8 7m 2
Fuel (oil): 4, lOOgall (4,925 US)
(18.6m 2

Pacific Railway (CPR),

movement, in fact, the

only steam locomotives m quantity production in the world today
are 2-10-2s in China Because
the length of a rigid wheelbase
has to be limited, five pairs of
coupled wheels implies that they
are fairly small ones and this in
turn means (usually) low speeds.

(191m)m 2

Steam pressure: 285psi

trains "in

spite

of

emergencies" and, in
having only 62in

575mm) dia meter wheels, were

timed up to 90mph (145km/h)

( 1

whilst so doing, but these

were

Perhaps the tencoupled engines with the best

claim to be considered as express
passenger locomotives were the
exceptional.

2-10-4

passenger

locomotives,

designated class "11",

The requirements were that
trains up to 500 tons should be
hauled up gradients of 1 in 80
( 1 .25 per cent) and that curves of
300ft (90m) radius could be
negotiated Axle loading was not
to exceed 13 tons This specifi-

c
Canadian

for freight

(34,884kg)
Axle load: 62,2401b (28.25t)
Cylinders: (2) 25 x 32in
(635 x 813mm)
Driving wheels: 63in
(1,600mm).
Heating surface: 4,590sq ft

4-8-2

"Selkirk" class of the

Canadian Pacific Railway. Not
only were they streamlined (in
the way CPR understood the
term) but the coloured passenger

1949

was met by taking

the

standard South African Railways

"

19C/ 1 9D"

some

class 4-8-2 and makmodifications, mostly in

connection with the burning of

wood The smokebox was

fitted

with an efficient spark arrester

for once without spoiling the
elegant simplicity of the appearance of the front end and a
Kylala-Chapelon (Kylchap) exhaust system was provided The
boiler is pitched 7in (178mm)
higher than on the SAR prototype, as permitted by the Benguela Rly loading gauge, and
this gives room for a larger

ashpan, for which drenching

pipes are fitted. There was a
large timber-holding cage on top
of the tender.

That such sophisticated fittings

for an African
may come as a surprise
to people used to the primitive
equipment provided as late as
the 1950s on new locomotives

were provided
railway

for

BR back home

in

Britain

steam operation that had become

chronic

in Britain

The Benguela line had the

good fortune for many happy
years to carry (mostly) one commodity, copper, from one source
to one destination Railways that
do this tend to be prosperous

and

this

was

reflected in the fact

locomotive fleet was well

and kept in first-rate
condition, both mechanically and
visually Hence the fleet was very
economic to run and so did its bit
that the

looked

after

make the concern even more

prosperous a benevolent rather
to

than a vicious

circle, in fact

Independence from Portugal

was followed by a civil war which

98 and this
is still continuing in
has for some years now halted
the copper traffic. Forestry operations have also been halted by
guerilla activity, such trains as do
1

Above and below: Two

of the class "1

"

views

4-8-2 of the

Benguela Railway in Angola.

The photograph above shows
that the appearance of these
engines m normal service came
close to the ideal as

was

drawn below.

used

for them,
they handled
CPR's flag train, then called the
"Dominion", across the Rockies
and the adjacent Selkirks
The overall story was very
similar to that of the CPR "Royal
Hudson" First came the slightly

livery

of

also,

also

course,

more angular "T-la" batch, 20

(Nos 5900 to 5919) were built in
1929

further ten ("T-lb") with

softer

and more glamorous

were

built in

another six

1938 and,

("T-lc")

lines

finally,

came in 1949

No 5935 was

not only the last of

the last steam
locomotive built for the company
and, indeed, for any Canadian
railway The "Royal Hudson"
boiler was used as the basis, but
the

class

but

Left: A Canadian Pacific

Railway "Selkirk" class 2- 10-4
runs alongside a turbulent river
on the fabled Kicking Horse
Pass route.

They included a pyrometer to

check the steam temperature
and a power reversing gear of
steam-operated
type The firedoor was also steam
Hadfteld

the

operated,

lights

electric

were

speedometer. Particularly impor-

was

the compensated springfeature avoided the

wheels stealing adhesive
weight from the driving wheels
tant

ing,

this

trailing

at small track irregularities

and

a recording

so causing slipping a facet of

enlarged and equipped for oilburning, since all locomotives

used on the mountain division

haul loads up to about 1 ,000 tons

on the steepest sections Typically
when hauling a capacity load up
a bank of 20 miles mostly at 1 in
45, (2.2 per cent) the average

and there was

fitted

had been

fired

with

oil

since

1916

When one crossed Canada by

CPR

the whole 2,882 miles

1km) from Montreal to Vanouver was reasonably easy going
apart from a section along the
north shore of Lake Superior
and, more notably, the 262 miles
(420km) over the mountains between Calgary and Revelstoke
Until the 1950s CPR's flag train,
the "Dominion", could load up to
18 heavyweight cars weighing
(4,61

some
these

1,300 tons

up the

inclines

in

45

required

and
(2.2

to

haul

per cent)

some

fairly

heroic measures There was very

little difference in the timings and
loadings of the various types of
train,

even the mighty "Dominion"

stops over this section
2- 10-4s were permitted to

made 23
The

speed would be lOmph The

booster would be cut in if speed
fell below walking pace and cut
out when the train had reached
the speed of a man's run Fuel
consumption would be of the
order of 37 gallons per mile up
grade
In the mountains downhill
speeds were limited to 25-30mph
(40-50km/h) by curvature, fre40m)
quently as sharp as 462ft
( 1

run are mostly hauled by

steam

country does
oil

these sharp curves by dint

widening the gauge on the
curves from 4ft 8i^in to 4ft 934in
1 ,435mm to 1 ,469mm), an exceptional amount, and by giving the
leading axle nearly an inch
(25mm) of side-play each way as
of

well as providing it with a pair

flange lubricators In other

of

ways standard North American

was applied, including a

practice
steel

application of the cast

one-piece locomotive frame,

and

the class stood

fairly early

108km/h) could be achieved by

these locomotives
The 2- 1 0-4s were able to nego-

well to

1952 diesels took over the

running across the mountains
In

stint

up

robust usage

and

65mph

the

have its own

tiate

radius,

straight sections of line

at least

oil-fired

since

supplies

found or

but passengers hardly

find this portion of
the )ourney tedious having regard
to the nature of the views from
the car windows On the few

locomotives,

after the 2- 10-4s

had done a

on freight haulage across

the praines, they were withdrawn
The last one was cut up in 1959,
except for No .5931 (numbered
5934) in the Heritage Park,

No 5935 at the
Museum at Delson,

Calgary, and

Railway

Quebec
195

G
Class 8 4-6-2

British

Railways (BR), 1953

Tractive effort: 39,0801b

(17,731kg)
Axle load: 49,5001b (22.5t).
Cylinders: (3) 18 x 28m
(457 x711mm).
Driving wheels: 74in

(1,880mm)

Heating surface: 2,490sq ft

(231m 2
Superheater: 69 sq ft (64m 2
)

Steam pressure: 250psi

(17 6kg,

cm 2

Grate area: 48 5sq ft (4.5m 2

Fuel: 22.0001b (lOt)

).

Water: 4,325gall (5,200 US)

(20m 3
Adhesive weight: 148,0001b
)

(67

5t)

Total weight: 347,0001b

(157 50

Length

overall: 70ft Oin

(21,336mm)

The

railways of Britain

became

Railways on

January

British

1948 and naturally there was

much speculation concerning the

kind of locomotives that would
succeed the "Duchess", "King",

"Merchant

Navy"

and

"A4"

classes of BR's illustrious predecessors In early 1951 it was

announced that none was planned but instead, the first full-size
Pacific for any British railway to
have only two cylinders was
unveiled This locomotive class
was intended to displace such
second-eleven power as the
"Royal Scot", "Castle" and "West
Country" classes rather than the
largest types
Britannia was a simple, rugged
4-6-2 with Belpaire firebox and

bearings on all axles, as

well as many other aids to cheap
and easy maintenance. It was
designated class "7", and had a
capacity to produce some 2,200
hp in the cylinders, at a very fair
consumption of coal, amounting
roller

to

some 5,0001b/h (2,270kg/h)

was well above the rate at

which a normal man could shovel

This

coal on to the fire but the large

firebox enabled a big fire to be

A total of 55

"Bntannia"s were
between 1951 and 1953.
They met their designers' goal of
a locomotive that was easy to
maintain, and also showed that
they were master of any express
passenger task in Britain at that
time They were allocated to all
the regions, but the one that
built

the best use of the new

engines was the Eastern. Their

made

were allocated to
and put to work on a

"Britannia"s

one

line

new high-speed

train

service

designed round their

abilities
During the 1950s in
most of Britain it could be said
that 20 years progress had meant
journey times some 20 per cent
specifically

On

longer.
the other hand the
new 4-6-2s working this new
timetable between London and
Norwich meant a 20 per cent
acceleration on pre-war timings,
in terms of the service in general.

being simple engines

both senses of the world, the
"Britannia's displayed economy
in the use of steam. In fact they
were right in the front rank yet
there was always the nagging
In spite of

in

fact

that

the

great

Chapelon

advance when some

compounds across the Channel

could on test do about 16 per

big effort of short duration was

required

cent better This figure would be

diluted in service by various

built

196

up

in

Above:

"Britannia" class 4-6-2

No, 70039 climbing Snap

September 1965

with a

Liverpool to Glasgow express.

Below:

"Britannia " class 4-6-2

No. 70020 Mercury hauling the

eastbound Capitals United

Express m

May

959.

factors but even so it was considerable, especially as within

almost exactly the same weight

action according to the position

of the reversing control in the
cab.

they could develop nearly

more cylinder horsepower There was, however, certain reluctance in Britain to go
compound, because for one thing
there was no counterpart to the
French works-trained mechanician drivers to handle such
complex beasts Past experience
had also shown the extra maintenance costs implicit in the com-

Permission was obtained in

to build a prototype for
.future BR top-line express passenger locomotives. As a twocylinder machine, the cylinder
size came out too big to clear
platform edges so, in spite of a

limits

1,500

plexity to have over-ndden economies due to the saving of fuel.

A point was perhaps missed,

though, that since the upper limit

of power output was a man

more economical
machine would also be a more
powerful one And since more
power involves faster running
shovelling, a

times and faster running times

more revenue, a more efficient
locomotive might be both a
money saver and a money earner
But there is another way of
obtaining some of the advantages
of

compounding and

that is to

expand the steam to a greater

extent in simple cylinders. This
in its turn means that the point
the stroke at which the valves
close to steam (known as the

and expressed in terms of

per cent) must be very early
However, the geometry of normal
valve-gears precludes cut-offs less
than, say, 1 5-20 per cent This is
because, if the opening to steam
cut-off

is

limited to less of the stroke than

the opening to exhaust (the

that,

same

valve being used for both)

also limited on the return
stroke This means steam trapped
in the cylinders and loss of
power The solution is to have
independent valves for admission
and exhaust and the simplest
is

way of doing

this is to

use poppet

valves actuated by a camshaft

Alas, it cannot be too simple
because the point of cut-off has
to be varied and, moreover, the

engine has to be reversed Both

these things are done by sliding
the camshaft along its axis, bringing changed cam profiles into

1953

yen

for simplicity, three cylinders

had

to

be used.

Now

it

is

a point

concerning poppet valves that

much

mechanism is common, however many cylinders

there are So poppet valves of the
British-Caprotti
pattern
were
specified for this sole example of
of the

Railways class "8"

locomotive On test, No 7 1000
Duke of Gloucester showed a 9
per cent improvement over the
the British

"Britannia" class in steam consumed for a given amount of

work done

It

was a world record

for a simple locomotive

Above: Class "8" 4-6-2

No. 7 1000 Duke of Gloucester.
Note the shaft which drives the
rotary-cam poppet valve gear.

Alas, although the boiler was

of impeccable lineage, being
based on the excellent one used

with

on the LMS "Duchess"

there was some detail

locomotives were built

So No 7 1 000 spent its brief

class,

of

its

proportions which interfered with

economical steam production at
high outputs It would have been
easy to correct the faults with a
investigation Unfortunately
the words of E.S. Cox, then
Chief Officer (Design) at BR
headquarters), "there were some
in authority at headquarters, although not in the Chief Mechanical Engineer's department,
who were determined that there
should be no more development
little

(in

steam",

so nothing

done and no more

was

class

"8"

life

as an unsatisfactory one-off locomotive After it was withdrawn

the valve chests and valve gear
was removed for preservation,
but that has not prevented a
more than usually bold preservation society from buying the
rest of the remains

Below: British Railways' illone and only class "8"

fated,

4-6-2,

Duke of Gloucester,

No.71000.

ClaSS 25 4-8-4

South Africa^Roilways(SAR), 1953

Tractive effort: -15.3601b

Axle load: 44,0001b

(20t)

4 x 28in

Cylinders:
:n)

Driving wheels: 60in

am)

Heating surface: 3.390sq

ft

Superheater: 630sq ft (58 5m 2

Steam pressure: 2251b/sq in

Grate area: 70sq

Fuel: 42.0001b

(6

ft

5m 2

(19t)

Water: 4,400gall (5.300 US)

(20m 3
Adhesive weight: 172,0001b
)

Total weight: 525,0001b

(238t)

Length

overall: 107ft 6>4in

(32,772mm)

Two

successful departures from

the fundamental Stephenson principles in one class of locomotive!

South African Railways had a

problem in operating the section
of their

Cape Town

to

Johannes-

burg main line across the Karoo

desert For many years they had
lived with it, facing the expense
of hauling in water for locomotive
purposes in tank cars during the
dry season, as well as the expense
of maintaining deep wells, pumps
and bore-holes in dry country
For a long time steam locomotive engineers had toyed with
the idea of saving the heat which

was wasted

in

steam exhausted

chimney. In power
and ships this steam is
condensed back to water and
much less heat is wasted. The

from

the

stations

problem is that condensing equipment is bulky and complex,

numerous

experimental condensing locomotives had been

built but savings in fuel costs
were always swamped by higher
maintenance costs
In this case there were not only
fuel costs, but there were also
heavy water costs to be considered, so the SAR decided to
look into the idea of condensing
locomotives for the Karoo Messrs
Henschel of Kassel, Germany,
had built a quantity of condensing locomotives during the war

and

in

make

1 948 they were asked to

a class "20" 2-10-2 into a

condensing locomotive. The condenser was mounted on a greatly

extended tender, while a
special turbine-dnven fan took

care of the draught, now that

there was no exhaust blast to
induce it directly in the Stephen-

son manner.
Test indicated that the apparatus saved 90 per cent of the

water normally used and

cent of the coal, results that

promising enough

to

per

were

warrant

SAR embarking on an unprecedented programme of introducing condensing locomotives.

"25"
that end came the class
4-8-4 described on this page.
The 4-8-4s were up-to-date in
all respects Roller bearings were
used not only for all the main
bearings but also for the connecting and coupling rods. As
can be seen, the latter were
arranged as individual rods between adjacent crank pins thereby
doing away with knuckle joints.
The cylinders were cast integrally
with the frames, using a one-piece
locomotive
frame a similar
one supported the equipment in
the tender. The boiler was the
largest possible within the SAR
loading gauge and as a result the

To

chimney and dome were purely

vestigial.

In

all

90 condensing

loco-

motives were supplied, Nos.345

to 3540, all except one Henschel
prototype by the North British

Glasgow,
50 noncondensing "25"s were also sup-

Locomotive Co.
Scotland.
plied,

known

of

=C"ES*

further

as class

"25NC"

and numbered 3401 to 3450.

Ten came from NBL and 40 from
Henschel. The tenders hold 18
tons of coal and 12,000 gallons

Above: Class "25NC" 4-8-4

takes water en route from

De Aar to Kimberley on the mam

line

from Jo 'burg to Capetown.

was of non-condensmg

This loco

type

when

originally built.

This superb drawing

of a class "25" condensing

Below:

locomotive gives a vivid

impression of the extreme
length of this "Puffer which
never puffs".

5m 3 of water and were somewhat shorter than those attached

to the condensing locos.

(54

Once
in

in service the class

was

most respects very successful,

fatal departure
from the Stephenson principle of
using the jet of exhaust steam to

but that usually

draw

the

fire

the

Achilles heel

condensing locomotives at
first nearly caused disaster. The
fan blades of the blower that was
used in place of the blast-pipe
wore out rapidly, due to the ash
and grit in the exhaust gases
Eventually with Henschel's help,
of

all

problem was overcome As

had been intended, over the
the

"dry" section of the

to

Cape Town

Johannesburg main

line,

bet-

ween Beaufort West and De Aar,

class "25"

Left, above: A
4-8-4 with condensing tender.

Below: Class "25NC" No.3530

lays down a fine trail of smoke
with a freight near Modder

River m April 1979. The unusual

shape of tender indicates where
the condensing eguipment was
removed by con version.

these condensing locomotives

enabled a number of costly

watering points to be closed

as well as obviating the
to haul in water at others
this section they dealt with
everything from the famous "Blue
Train" to train loads of coal It is a
strange sensation to watch a
"25" starting a heavy train, there
is complete silence apart from

down
need
Over

the whine of the blower fan. The

condenser silently absorbs those

tremendous

blasts of

so fascinate and

thrill

steam

that

the ferro-

equinologist.
By the 1970s, a better solution
was on hand for the waterless
Karoo the diesel locomotive
So these strange "puffers that
never puff" lost their justification
for existence. It was therefore
decided to convert the condensing engines to non-condensing,
the main alteration consisted of
converting the original condensing tenders to rather strangelooking long low water-carts

very few unconventional steam

locomotive classes ever successfully run in service and consequently a remarkable tour de
force of locomotive engineering

The

fleet of

non-condensing

"25"s, however, remain, with the

original

50 now increased

to

139. They are now largely

grouped at Beaconsfield Shed,

Kimberley. At the present time

they still work the main line south

from there to De Aar, and also

east to Bloemfontein and northwest to Warrenton Many of them
have regular crews and with
official encouragement are specially

polished, decorated,

and

in

some cases named

More amazing than one could

imagine

at this late stage

the
history of steam locomotion, is
the fact that a South African class

"25"

undergoing fundamental
development The honoured name of Andre Chapelon
is

further

the source of a new way of

burning coal in a locomotive
is

the air needed for combustion is

led in through short largediameter tubes just above the
fire The result is that the firebed,
behaving more like a chemical
reaction than a furnace, reacts to
give off producer gas, which
mixes with the air being drawn
into the firebox and burns cleanly

The result no more firethrowing black smoke or clinker

forming, coupled with a substantial decrease in coal consumption And all for the very
minimum of expenditure
The system suggested by
Chapelon was used by a certain
South American engineer called
Da Porta on the locomotives of a
coal-hauling line not far from
Cape Horn, after years of successful use there, a small South
African class "19D" was conthere.

verted in

1979. During

1981,

"25NC" No 3450 was

rebuilt to class "26" on the same
lines as the class " 1 9D" Success
class

Currently only one condensing

locomotive remains, kept really

firebox

as a working museum-piece It is
a reminder of what is one of the

steam back

has been such that there is even a

prospect that the use of these
gas-fired
locomotives
might
arrest the decline of steam in this,

same time

one

The basis of the idea is to

divert a proportion of the exhaust
into the fire. At the
a high proportion of

of

its

last

strongholds.

199

ClaSS 59 4-8-2+2-8-4
Tractive

Axle

load:

Driving wheels:
Imm)

Heating surface: 3.560sq

Superheater: ;.'sqft(69
Steam pressure: 25psi
.

piece of empire building, violently

ft

4m 2

opposed at home, yet suo

One of its objectives was
suppression

Grate area: .'.".sq ft (6 7m 2

Fuel (oil): : 700gall (3,250 US)
)

US)

OOgalll 10.400

Adhesive weight: 357,0001b

Total weight: 564,0001b
(256t)

Length

(31,737mm)
Often in this narrative British
climbs like Shap and Beattock
have been spoken of with awe
Shap has 20 miles (32km) of 1 in
75 (1.3 per cent) but what would
one say about a climb 350 miles
(565km) long with a ruling grade
of 1 in 65 1 5 per cent) ? But such
(

(1,448mm)

Heating surface: 2,322sq ft

(216m 2
Superheater: 494sq ft (46m 2
)

).

Steam pressure: 200psi

2
1 kg/cm
).

Grate area: 49 6sq

Fuel: 27,0001b

ft

(4

6m 2

(12t)

Water: 7,000gall (8,400 US)

(32m 3
Adhesive weight: 178,0001b
)

(81t)

Total weight: 418,0001b (190t)

Length overall:

92ft

4m

(28,143mm)

A railway linking Cape Town up

the whole length of Africa to
Cairo was the impossible dream
of an English clergyman's son
called Cecil Rhodes, who eventu-

was to give his name to

now known as Zimbabwe "The railway is my right
ally

Rhodesia,

200

Kenya & Uganda Railway (as it

then was) went to Beyer, Peacock
Manchester for 4-8-2 + 2-8-4
Beyer-Garratts, with as many
mechanical parts as possible standard with the 4-8-0s. It was the

answer to mass movement on

501b/yd(24kg/m) rails
As the years went by, other
Garratt classes followed and the

K&UR became East African Railways In 1954 with the biggest

backlog of tonnage ever faced

ISA 4-6-4+4-6-4

Tractive effort: 47,5001b

(21,546kg)
Axle load: 34,0001b (15.50Cylinders: (4) 17^x26in
(445 x 660mm)
Driving wheels: 57in

(14

that

of

overall: 1041

Class

the

of the slave trade

was quickly achieved;

the second objective was to
facilitate trade and that also was
successful to a point where the
railway was always struggling to
move the traffic off enng By 1926
a fleet of 4-8-0s were overwhelmed by the tonnage and the
and

Water:

955

makes its way

The building of the metregauge Uganda Railway, begun
in 1892, was a strangely reluctant

28in

1mm)

Railways (EAR),

is

;.

Cylinders

K^Afacan

the ascent from Mombasa to

Nairobi, up which every night
the legendary "Uganda Mail"

effort: B3,3501b

waiting movement, the administration ordered 34 of the greatest

Garratt design ever built. Whilst
their main role was the haulage
of freight, these giant "59" class
were regarded as sufficiently
passenger train oriented to be
given the names of East African
mountains Also, of course, they

Rhodesia:
Rhodesia Railways (RR), 1952

Above: East African Railways

dass "59" 4-8-2 +2-8-4 No. 5904
Mount Elgon.
bore the

attractive

maroon

livery

of the system.

By

standards their statistics are very impressive over

double the tractive effort of any
British

208,

locomotive ever employed in passenger service back home, coupled with a grate area nearly 50
per cent greater Oil-firing was
used but provision was made for
a mechanical stoker if coal burning ever became economic in
East Afncan circumstances There
was also provision for an easy
conversion from metre gauge to
the Afncan standard 3ft 6in
(1,067mm) gauge, as well as for
fitting vacuum brake equipment,
should the class ever be required
to operate outside air-brake territory in Tanzania
All the latest and best BeyerGarratt features were applied,
such as the self-adjusting mam
pivots, the "streamlined" ends to
the tanks, and those long handsome connecting rods driving

on the

coupled axle Four

gear
were worked by Beyer's patent
Hadfield steam reverser with

18.8,

15

19.0,210,
15 3 The idea
gradual rise in

3, 15.5,

21.0, 190, 15 3,

was

that

the

axle-load should permit operation

on 801b/yd (38 6kg/m) rail north

and west of Nairobi in addition to
951b/yd (45.7kg/m) rail which
was by then general between
Nairobi and the coast.

The results of fresh motive

power were very impressive, the
backlog of traffic was quickly
cleared and the new engines
soon found themselves the largest and most powerful steam
locomotives in the world. That
they remained that way for 25
years was due to the economical
use of well-maintained steam
power long preventing any case
being made out for a change to
diesel traction
Even so the diesel did win in
the end, displacing the "59"s
from the mail trains quite early on

third

Above: East African Railways

space beneath
made 1 4 or 15 hours
continuous hard steaming no

the class, with

results that were controversial
operationally, and quite unambiguously awful aesthetically
One feature which did not
work out was the tapered axle
loadings, which gave successive
axle-loads in tons when running

problem

forward of 154,

of the original.

4-8-4+4-8-4 with 27-ton axleloading, 115,0001b (52,476kg)

tractive effort and 105sqft(9.8m 2
fire grate was shelved indefinitely

as class " 15A", and to which the

particulars given here apply A

now Botswana. The BulawayoCape Town and Bulawayo-

came from

Johannesburg expresses were

sets of Walschaert's valve

hydraulic

locking

mechanism

The virtues of the short fat Garratt

boiler, with clear

the firebox,

Later,

Giesl ejectors

hand, the telegraph

my

voice"

Rhodes at the height of his

power When Rhodes died in
1902 his Cape-to-Cairo line had
reached the River Zambesi, 280

were

fitted

to

15.4, 19.0, 20.9,

sound solid chunks

Peacock engineering,
they also showed the whole objective of the Garratt concept by
were

typical

said

of Beyer,

miles (450km) north of Bulawayo,

but there was sufficient impetus
to reach Bukama, 2,700 miles

having a tractive effort greater

than and a grate area equal to the
largest "straight" locomotive ever
to run back in Britain, but within

(4,345km) from

what

is

Cape Town

now Zaire, by

In 1930, for

in

1914.

working a 484-mile

(778-km) stretch of this Cape-toCairo line between Mafeking

and Bulawayo, what had now
become Rhodesia Railways ordered four 4-6-4+4-6-4 BeyerGarratts from England They

Above left:

Class "15A"Beyer-

Garratt 4-6-4+4-6-4 No. 400 of

Rhodesia Railways (now National
Railways of Zimbabwe) under

steam test at Bulawayo Works

overhaul

after

Left: Rhodesia Railways

Beyer-Garratt 4-6-4+4-6-4 No.
358. This class " 1 5" is running

bunker first on the

to Bulawayo tram.

Victoria Falls

an axle-load

limit

30

p*er

cent

Delays in completing bndge

strengthening works denied the
Cape-to-Cairo route to the new
locomotives (known as the " 1 5th"
class) so they went into service
on the Bulawayo to Salisbury
less

main line, the haulage of the

celebrated "Rhodesia Express"
was entrusted to them In service
the class

proved

to

be excellent

runners and very light on maintenance They played a large

part in converting the RR management to the idea of a mainly
Garratt-operated system and so,
immediately after the war, a further 30 were ordered as allpurpose locomotives for the railway Between 1949 and 1952 yet
another 40 with slight modifications were delivered, known

class "59" 4-8-2+2-8-4 No.

5916 Mount Rungwe

and gradually from the freights

between 1973 and 1980. In addition a proposed "61" class

Below: East African Railways

Beyer Garratt No. 5928 Mount
Kilimanjaro, depicted

superb crimson lake

final

10

Franco-Beige

of

the

livery

Messrs.
France, Beyer,

Peacock being then swamped

with Garratt orders.

The resulting 74 locomotives

were the largest class ever
acquired by the RR They were
also the second most numerous
design of Beyer-Garratt, as well
as being the first Garratts to have
the "streamlined" front tanks. On
a 50mph (80km/h) locomotive,
streamlining could only be for
show, but the improved lines
greatly ameliorated the rather
severe looks of previous Garratts
Their most notable assignment
was the British royal family's tour
in 1947, when two "15th" class
decked out in royal blue handled
the 730-ton "White Tram" Not
until 1963 was the class able
to take over the work for which
they were originally bought, and
for the next ten years the "15"
and "15A" classes monopolised
the traffic between Bulawayo

and Mafeking, through what

is

part of these duties, long-distance

trains of this kind were worked
on the caboose system, whereby
two crews would operate the

one in the cab on duty and

the other taking their ease in a

train,

comfortable sleeping and eating

van (the caboose) marshalled
next the engine The 970 mile
(1,556km) round trip from Bulawayo to Mafeking and back
would take three days and two
nights

When

the railways in northern

Rhodesia became Zambian

ways, a

number

of

Rail-

"15"s were

allocated north of the Zambesi. A

few others have been withdrawn,
but some 50 remain It is a
pleasure to write not only that
most of these are still in service
but also that a policy has been
adopted by oil-poor but coal-rich
Zimbabwe to rebuild their fleet
of Garratts In this way these fine

locomotives should be good for

many more years of service
201

Class 498.1 4-8-2Czechoslovak

Tractive effort: 4

Axle

State Railways (CSD),

1954

the main
ings were fitted to
axle bearings and also to the
motion Most remarkably the
centre big end was also a roller
bearing, the designers had sufconfidence to wall up this
beanng between the webs of the

9201b

all

load:

Cylinders

Driving wheels: 72in

mm)
Heating surface: 2,454sq

crankshaft

ft

Other sophisticated equipment

Adhesive weight: see text

Total weight: 428,5001b 194t)

included powered reversing gear,

mechanical stoking, a combustion
chamber, arch tubes and thermic
syphons in the firebox, as well as
from
adjustment
load
axle
41,0001b (18.5t) to 37,0001b ( 16 8t)
with corresponding reduction in
adhesive weight from 1 64,0001b
(74t) to 148,0001b (67.5t). The

Length

effect

Superheater: 797sq ft (74m

Steam pressure: .'28psi

Grate area: 52sq

ft

(4

9m 2

2
)

Fuel: .3.0O01b(15t)
Water: ;.700gall (9,200 US)

overall: 83ft

Vjin

(25.594mm)
These remarkable locomotives
in

their

handsome blue

livery

were some of the finest steam

passenger express locomotives
ever to be placed on the rails

Anyone

with a

gift for

arithmetic

of this change was to

transfer weight from the driving
wheels to the leading bogie and
rear pony truck. The alteration
would enable the locomotives to
be employed on the country's

secondary main lines which would

accept the lower axleloading, once the principal routes
only

could tell quite a lot about them

by merely glancing at the number,
which has the class designation
as a prefix The first figure gives

had become electrified The

change involved moving the pos-

the number of driving axles, take

the middle figure, add 3, multiply
by 10 and the answer is the

being

maximum

domes

permitted speed

km/h, then take the

add 10 and

in

last figure,

that gives the axle

load to the nearest ton So the

498 1 class had four driving
axles, a maximum speed of 120
km/h (75mph) and a maximum
axle load of between 18 tons and
19 tons Fifteen were built by
the

famous Skoda Works dunng

the pivot points of the

levers, provision

ition of

compensating

made

do this without
physical modifithe three
are, respectively from the

making
cations.

for

front,

steam.

to

any

Incidentally,

top feed, sand and

other unusual

Amongst

features are the ten-wheel tenders

with one six-wheel and one fourwheel bogie. The three sets of

Walschaert's gear are conventional except that the drive to the

inside set is taken from a return
crank mounted outside on the

coupled-wheel crankpm on

1954-55

third

Amongst things one can hardly

tell from a glance would be the

the left-hand side.

This arrangement

is

similar to

existence of a third inside cyl-

whose

axis is inclined at 1
in 10 to the horizontal, driving,
like the outside cylinders, on the
second coupled axle Roller bearinder,

Right: A conspicuous red star

decorates the front end of a
Czechoslovak State Railways'
class "498.1 "4-8-2.

242 Class 4-8-4

Tractive effort: 46,2831b
(21,000kg).
Axle load: 42,0001b

Spain:
Spanish National Railways System (RENFE), .956

only class of 4-8-4 in Western

Europe and the ultimate achievement of Spanish steam locomotive
engineering. They were descended from a long line of 4-8-2s
dating from 1925. Those built

(19t).

Cylinders: (2) 25M x 28in

(640 x710mm).
Driving wheels: 74?4in
(1,900mm)
Heating surface: 3, 1 6 1 sq

(16kg/cm 2 )
Grate area: 57sq ft (5 3m 2
Fuel (oil): 3,000gall (3,600 US)

before 1944 were compounds,

but since then the world standard
form of a two-cylinder simple has
prevailed. In the case of these
4-8-4s the only departure from
this has been the use of the Lentz
system of poppet valves, with an
oscillating camshaft actuated by
a set of Walschaert's valve gear

(13.5 3

each

(293m 2

ft

).

Superheater:

25sq

ft

(1045m 2
Steam pressure: 228psi
)

).

).

Water: 6,200gall (7,440 US)

(28m 3
Adhesive weight: 167,5001b
)

side.

The ten locomotives were supby the Maquimsta Terrestre

y Maritima of Barcelona in 1 956
plied

(76t).

and were numbered 242.2001-

Total weight: 469,5001b (2 1 3t).

Length overall: 88ft O^in
(26,840mm)

10. Details included a feed-water

heater, equipment for the French

These magnificent locomotives,

built to a gauge of two Spanish
yards or

5ft

5.9in (1,674mm),

were the final European express

passenger locomotive class, the
202

TIA water-treatment system, a

cab floor mounted on springs,
and a turbo-generator large

enough to supply current to light

the train as well as the engine.
Lights on the locomotive included
one just ahead of the Kylchap

"

Chapelon's
found
on
"242A1" 4-8-4 and it reflects a
good deal of contact between
him and the CSD before politics
put an end to such interchanges.
It is interesting to find amongst
that

the progenitors of the "498.1"

class a group of three three-

cylinder

much

in

compound
the

4-8-2s very

French

tradition

double chimney, so

that at night
as well as in the daytime the
fireman could judge by the colour

of the exhaust whether he had

adjusted the oil-firing controls
correctly All axleboxes had roller

beanngs. A special green livery

lesser Spanish steam locomotives were painted plain black
set off a truly superb appear-

ance

The

4-8-4s were built to work

the principal expresses over the
unelectnfied section of the main
line from Madrid to the French

border at Irun, that is, from Avila

to Miranda del Ebro. They had
no problems in keeping time
with such trains as the "Sud
Express" loaded up to 750 tons,
although really fast running was
precluded by an overall speed

These were built in 1949

It was found, though, that the
simple locomotive was better on
an all-round basis and the "498 1
class followed directly on previous

were excellent performers both

on heavy international expresses
and lighter faster trains On test
speeds up to 93mph 1 49km/h)
were achieved and in normal

4-8-2s, that is, the rune "486"

class of 1933-38 and the forty
"498 0" class of 1946-49 The

running the

4-8-2s, known as the "Albatross" class by their crews,

new

speed

of

maximum permitted
75mph 20km/h) was
(

often achieved.
Steam traction

has recently

come to an end in Czechoslovakia.

It

is

understood

that 4-8-2

498 106 has been

preservation but
if

the

it

No

set aside for

is

not

known

work has been completed

Below: A fine view of class

"498.0" 4-8-2 No.498.82. Note
the unusual design offender with
one four-wheel and one
six- wheel bogie.

68mph (1 lOkm/h).
"242" class demonan ability to run at
(134km/h) on the level

restriction of

Even

so, the

on

strated

84mph
with

480

test

tons,

as

well

as to

develop 4,000hp in the cylinders.

In service they could maintain a

speed of 35mph (55km/h) with

600 tons along 1 in 100 (1 per
cent) gradients The tenders of
the 4-8-4s were absurdly small
for such a huge locomotive No
doubt the size of turntable available prevented any larger ones
being attached, but in the absence
of water troughs there was no
possibility of making long nonstop runs in the face of a need for
some 70 gallons (0.3m 3 ) per mile
with less than 6,200 gallons

(28m 3

available.

Steam has now been eliminated

Spain for normal use. Whilst
various steam locomotives have
been seen on special excursion
trains, they have not so far included a "242", although one
in

Left: Note the small tender on

this Spanish class "242" 4-8-4.

Right: Spanish National

Railways class "242" 4-8-4
No.242.2001.

(No.242.2009)

depot

at

is

set aside in the

Miranda del Ebro

203

RM Class 4-6-2
Tractive eHort:
5.698kg)

China:
Railways of the People's Republic, 1958

5971b

( 1

Axle load:

--6.2841b (2

It)

Cylinders:
22W x 26in
(570 x 660mm)
Driving wheels: 69in
)

(1.750mm)

Heating surface: 2,260sq ft

(210m 2
Superheater: 700sq ft (65m 2
)

Steam pressure:

cm 2

2 3psi
1

Grate area: 62sq

ft

(5

75m 2

Fuel: 32,0001b (14 50

Water: 8,700gall 1 0,400 US)
(

(30

5m 3

Adhesive weight: 137,750

(62

5t)

Total weight: 38.3491b 174t)

(

Length

overall: 73ft 5!^in

(22,390mm)
This unusual but neat-looking
4-6-2 is thought to be the final
design of steam express passenger locomotive in the world

There

is

another reason

treated as the last

book and

why

word

it

is

in this

because the
country which produced it is also
the last in the world to have steam
locomotives in production Those
now being built are basically
freight locomotives but are used
for express passenger trains on
certain mountain lines in the
People's Republic of China With
many new lines under construction it is possible in China to ride
a 1980s railway behind a 1980s
steam locomotive
The "RM" "Ren Ming" or
"People" class 4-6-2s are descended from some passenger
locomotives supplied by the lap-

204

that

is

anese to the railways of their

puppet kingdom of Manchukuo,
otherwise Manchuria. The older
engines in pre-liberation days
were known as class "PF-1"
("PF" stood for "Pacific") but
afterwards they became redesignated "SL" standing for
"Sheng-Li" or "Victory". Locomotive construction to Chinese
design did not begin for several
years after the Communist victory
of 1949, but by 1958 the construction of the

"RM"

class

was

under way at the Szufang (Tsingtao) Works. It was an enlarged

version
the
"SL" class,
of
capable of a power output 12^
per cent greater

The main difference between

the "RM" and "SL" class and
indeed between the

and

virtually

all

"RM"

class

other steam loco-

motives outside the

USSR was

in the position of the

main steam-

pipe. This normally ran forward

from the dome inside the boiler,

but

in

these engines there

was

room for it to be situated much

more accessibly in well-insulated
trunking above the boiler

An

shared with
other Chinese steam power, is
the provision of an air horn, in
addition to a normal deepsounding dragon-scaring steam
chime whistle. In other ways,
though, these fine engines followed what had been for many
years the final form of the steam
locomotive. Thus we find two
interesting

detail

only, using outsideadmission piston-valves driven

by Walschaert's valve gear,
coupled with a wide firebox
boiler with no frills except a big

Above: Brand new "Forward"

class

steam locomotive No. QJ

3404 on

test at the

People's

Locomotive factory at Datong,

China, m October 1980.
superheater and a mechanical
stoker Apart from this last feature
British readers could reasonably
regard the "RM" class as what a
class "7" 'Britannia' 4-6-2 might
have been if the designers had
had similar axleload limitations
but another 3ft of vertical height
with which to play.
Visitors to' China report that
these engines can frequently be

encountered

travelling at

speeds

cylinders

Below: The world's final steam

express design, a "People" class
4-6-2 No.RM 1201 near Jinan,

December

1980.

around 65mph (105km/h) on

hauling

routes

level

600 ton

passenger trains There is reason

to suppose that about 250 were
built during the years 1958 to
1964 and that the numbers run
from RM1001 to RM1250 Wide
variations

insignia

the

in

and

slogans which decorate present

day Chinese steam locomotives
introduce some variety into the
plain (but always clean) black
finish

used An "RM" class, speci-

painted in green, was used to

haul the inaugural train across
the great new bridge across the
Yangtse River at Nanking
The type of locomotive still
being produced (and used on
trains in the mountains) in China
is the standard 2-10-2 freight
locomotive of the "Qian Jing" or
ally

"March Forward"

class.

Even

in

being proabout 300 per

year at a special factory at Datong in Northern China. Various
reasons are given for this continued construction of steam
locomotives, unique in the world

1982 they are

duced

still

at a rate of

and recently reprieved indefinitely, but the basis seems to be a

combination of cheap indigenous
coal and traffic rising at some 1
per cent per year The construc-

m China
absorbs five times as many skilled
man-hours as steam locomotives
of equal capacity so one can
understand the reluctance of the
Chinese railways to dispose of
tion of diesel locomotives

cheap and reliable way of

coping with their ever-increasing
haulage problems.
It is very pleasant indeed to be
able to end this book on such a
this

satisfactory note, indicating a

real possibility that our beloved

steam locomotive might even

now be brought back from bnnk
of extinction South Africa, India,
Poland, Zimbabwe are, as we
have seen, other places where
the forces which toppled steam
from its throne may yet be contained But is there a possibility of

locomotive can match the diesel

in

performance and

for service (see

tral

availability

New York

Railroad's "Niagara"

Cenclass)

not surprising that an

Amencan

going ahead with

the development of a steam locomotive for the 2 1 st centuryconsortium

we

is

conclusion then,

and ease of servicing (see Norfolk

& Western's "J" class) and being
fully aware that it is now practical
to make steam environmentally
acceptable as well as more
efficient by
means of the
producer-gas firebox (see South

wish success to Amencan Coal

Enterpnses, Inc., without being
really sanguine that one day in
the future steam could be found
at the head of a luxury TwentyFirst Century Limited running

African Railways's class "26"),

between

it

is

Shall

in

New York and Chicago

Above: Displacing a fine plume

of steam, "People" class 4-6-2

No.RM 1019 heads north

through an autumnal snowfall
from Harbin, Manchuria,
with a passenger tram m
October 1980.

Below: A view of a beautifully

cleaned "People" class

4-6-2,

No.RM 1049 at Changchun

Shed, northeast China, 1980

reconquest by steam in
it had seemingly
vanished from the commercial
railway scene forever 7
Britain, where steam began, is

any

places where

poor prospect, a new and huge

combined with coal supplies that are expensive because
of the small seams and oldfashioned pits from which it is

oilfield,

mined, make it so. Any return

to steam (apart from steam for

seems

pleasure)

form

of

likely to

electric trains

sation to
nostalgic
their

take the

steam turbines on the

ground generating
It

is

some compen-

Britons

steam

electricity for

though, that

activities exist

country to an extent pro-

portionately

unparalleled

where The United

States,

else-

on

the

other hand, presents a different

aspect indigenous oil supplies
are now inadequate and, not
only that, coal production and
costs in a vast land are responding
in an excellent style to characteristic Amencan drive and know-

how Having demonstrated

in

the recent past that the steam

205

Index
A

Bete Humaine. La, lilm, 103

Beuth. Professor, 30

acock &

Co

40, 130, 132,

148.200,201

58

160

Alabama Great Southern

Algerian Ra

Railroad.

Birmingham Science Museum, 153

Bissell, Levi. 33
Blanc-Misseron.

150

106

Lille,

Bloom, Alan, 119, 153

i2,

106

"actions

62

ioc,

v served
locomotive, 101
n Coal Enterprises Inc. 205
American Locomotive Co 64, 78,
.

Bluebell Railway, 127. 177

Bogie, first, 2
Booth, Henry, 18
Bornes, August von, 50
Borsig, August, 30
Borsig & Co, Berlin, 27, 30, 106,

147
Boston & Albany Railroad, 124
Bousquet. Gaston du, 62
Bowen, HB, 157

Bowen-Cooke,
in Standard' 4-4-0, 25, 36
raid. 36
Ansaldo & C Sampierdarena. 44
Armstrong-Whitworth & Co 127

Andrews

W)

34
Columbia Railway Royal
Hudson, 157

British
British

174

_:ty Railroad

'5P5F' class, 133

AT

'Camelback'

56

"oast Line, 57
type,

inneenng

Pty.

class,

and

185

'A 10' classes.

105

137

7,
class, 66, 67
'El' class. 107
'N15X' class. 99

'CI

Sydney. 40

Australian Railway Histoncal

Society museum. Mile End.
127, 167
Australian Railway Histoncal

Society museum. Newport. 77

Railway Museum. 33, 97
Austro-Hunganan State Railways

Co. 40

Train,

31

196
108

Britannia' class

Duke

'King' class, 123

'King Arthur' class,

Locomotive
137, 177

69
127

Brooks, James, 24

Baden

State Railway, 74,

80

Baker's vaive gear, 17, 123, 124,

128. 16
Baldwin Locomotive Works. The.
20, 101. 120. 123. 131. 149.
:68. 174. 182. 184.
186, 192
Baldwin. Matthias. 20
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. 26

locomotive. 168
Fair of the Iron Horse. 1
Grasshopper' type, 26

Beaver

Hercu>

Museum. 163

Belgian National Railways

Co

'12'

class 166
Belgian State Railway. 34
10' class Fa
81
'17' class 48
'18'

Benguela Ra

c
'Cardear.

76
.

158,

and

S>

128

Canadian National Railways, 58

'Ul-a."Ul-b,"Ul-c,"Ul-d.'
'Ul-e,' classes. 158
'Ul-f class, 158
'U-4' class, 158

'23 IE' class,

78

'231F, '231G'and'231H'

Drummond, Peter, 43
Dubs & Co 40, 42
Dublin & Kingstown Railway,
,

'232R'
'232S'
'232U'
'240P'
'241A'

class,
class,
class,

97

189
189

189

79

class, 78,

110

class,

24 IP' class, 186

'242A1' class, 180
Fnchs A/S, 99

Vauxhalf, 22

Duddington,

driver,

136

o
Gab

30

valve gear,

Garbe, Robert, 51
Garratt, H W, 150
Garratt locomotives, 150, 151,200,

East Indian Railway, 116

Eastern Railway of France, 34, 63,

102
'241' class, 110
Chapelon Pacifies,

78

'Crampton' class, 34
Eastwick & Harrison, Philadelphia,
25
Egyptian State Railways, 63
Electro-pneumatic brakes, 154
Eiesco feed water heater, 123
Elliot, John, 115
'Empire State Express', train, 52,
124, 179
Esshngen Co, 27
Euskalduna, Bilbao, 148
Exhaust steam injector, 159

201
Garrett

&

Eastwick, Philadelphia,

25
General San Martin National
Railway '1501' class, 90
George V king, 109

German

Federal Railway,

88

'01' class, 8, 11, 13, 112, 113,

'0110' class, 113, 188

'03.' and '0310', classes 8, 11.
13, 113, 118
'05' class,

147

'011' class, 189

State Railway, 5 1 1 1 2 '0 1
011', '02', 03' and '031'

German

classes, 112,
'05' class,

188

146

'18 4' class,

204

'38' class,
'39' class,

Chitteranjan works, 184

Christian, king. 99

Chrzanow Works, 183, 184

Churchward, George Jackson,

68.

108
Cincinnati. New Orleans
Railroad, 123
Clarke, J T, 152

& Texas

Clegg, Anthony, 159

Clyde Engineering Co Sydney,
168
Cockerill & Co Belgium, 27, 167
Collett. Charles, 108
Columbian Exposition 1893, 52
Compound Locomotives, 15, 46,
50, 52, 57, 58 60, 62, 66, 70,
.

78.90,96,98, 102, 106, 110,

Giffard injector,

39

Giovi incline, 44

Federal Railway of Austria '214'

Glasgow Museum of Transport, 77

Glehn, Alfred de, 62
Golsdorf, Karl, 52, 97

class,

148
Federated Malay States Railways,

Gooch, Daniel, 28
Gooch's valve gear, 45, 47

162

Gorley, Ray, 159

Gotthard Railway, 91
Grand Junction Railway, 23
Grand Trunk Western Railroad,
Graz-Koflach Railway, 33
Great Eastern Railway, 60, 58
'Claud Hamilton' class, 60
Great Northern Railway, 39

class,

97

162
'O' class, 162
Fenton, Murray & Jackson & Co,
'H' class,

Florida East Coast Railroad, 159

Floridsdorf works, Vienna, 52
'Flying Scotsman' train, 7, 39
Forges et Acieres de la Marine et
d'Homecourt, Soc des, 180

202

31

Gibbs, AW, 68
Gibson, driver. 76

Czechoslovaks

class,

106

Germany Museum, Munich,

Robert, 92
Fawcett, Brian, 132
Federal Railway of Austria. '210'
Fairlie,

28
Ferrymead Museum of Science and
Industry, 129
Festiniog Railway, 93
Festival of Britain 1951, 33

State Railways

80
74

'P10' class, 106

'Flying Hamburger,' 136
Kaiserlautern Works, 25

Coras Iompair Eireann 800 class,

163
Corpet-Louvet & C, 189
Cossart valve gear, 107, 149
Cox, ES, 196
Crampton' locomotives, 34
Crampton. Thomas, 29, 34
Crawford, D.F.. 100
Crosti, Piero, 95
Currie, James, 76
1'

gear, 169.

classes, 103
23 IK class (ex-PLM),

Rio Grande Western

Railroad footplate view, 12
Didcot Steam Centre, 109, 177
Dinting Railway Centre, 1 19
Dodge Park, Council Bluffs,
preserved locomotive, 165
Dreyfus, Henry, 125

Finnish State Railways,

'Hg' class, 117
'Hv2' class, 1 17

17

Hv3' class, 117

Flamme, J B 81
,

George, 22
Fourquenot. Victor, 40
Fowler, Sir Henry, 66

40
95

Fowler, Sir John,

1

194

of

Chicago World Fair 1933, 119

Chinese Railways, 128, 190

poppet valve

187
French National Railways Co, 32,
110
23 1C class (ex-PLM), 96
'23 ID' class, 103

&

200

Mallet simple locomotives, 170

Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
Railroad, 134
Chicago, Milwaukee, St Paul &
Pacific Railroad, 134
class, 134
F7' class, 134
Chicago & North Western Railway,
134, 160
160
E4'

Franklin's

RM,

Forrester,

184

48

Denver

East African Railways '59' class,

'iaSS

'498

76

48
Campbell. Henry R 24
Canadian Locomotive Co,

Berlin-Anhalt Railway Beulh. 30

Berlin & Potsdam Railway, 26

206

Edward, 23

'908' class,

:.:,

130, 137, 146, 170, 171, 180,

186, 189

'Dunalastair' class,

das

Belpaire. Alfred,

90

176

Caledonian Railway, 76
'123' class single, 77

Railroad

25

Belfast Transport

Pacific Railway

'1501' class Pacific,

Bullied, Oliver,

Bury,

A
Meadows

Buenos Aires &

22

26
Mallet pioneer in USA, 170
Bangladesh locomotives, 73. 116
Bar frames, first. 23. 26
Bayview Park. Sarnia. preserved
locomotive. 159
Beardmore. William. & Co, 73
Beattie,

Brooks Locomotive Works,

Dunkirk NY, 24, 55
Brunei, Isambard Kingdom, 28
Brunei, Marc, 34
Brunswick Railway, 26
Brussels Exhibition 1897, 48
Buddicom, WB. 32

Dautry, Raoul, 102

Dean, William, 68
Deeley.
59,66, 108

187

'L-2a'

'SL' class,

'Merchant Navy' class, 176

'Midland Compound' class, 66
Royal Scot' class, 118, 119
'Schools' cla

'L2' class,

class, 204
'QJ' class, 204, 205
'RM' class, 204

114

70

Railway, 64,

'F15' class, 64
'F17' and 'F18' classes, 64
'F16' class, 64
F 19' class, 64, 186

'PF-r

1948, 119,

trials

'Saint' class,

Chesapeake & Ohio

t'.r

152, 153
of Gloucester 196

99

P' and 'P2' classes,

'PR' class, 71

26

Industry, 175

Advanced Passenger

'E' class Pacifies,

Chapelon. Andre, 78, 97, 102, 180,

192, 199

Chicago Museum

V2' class. 160

'Castle' class,

132

Central Vermont Railway, 158

Champlain & St Lawrence Railway,

184

class,

A2'
'A3'

A4' class 4-6-2.

57

first,

48

British Rail.

3751 class 174. 175

Mallet locomotives, 174
class,

Engineering Standards

Association locomotives, 72

das

125
Cavour, Count. 44
Cegielski Works, 182, 183
Central of Aragon Railway, 1 48
Central Pacific Railroad Jupiter, 37
Central Railway, India, 185, 193
Central Railway of Peru 'Andes'
class,

Danish State Railways. 70

Datong Works, 204, 205

186

i Steam Centre,
1 19,
153
Bnstol & Exeter Railway. 29. 35 '9ft

Railwa
2900-

>

Caprotti, Arturo, 95
Caprotti rotary cam valve gear, 95,
133, 150, 197
Case School of Science, Cleveland,

92

Brazilian National Railways metregauge 4-8-4 class 1 92

single' class,

Park, Winnepeg.
preserved locomotive. 159
Atchison, Topeka & Sante Fe

Assmboine

194
Capreol, Ontario, preserved
locomotive, 159
'Tl' class (Selkirk

Col R J 98
Birmingham & Gloucester Railway,
26
Birmingham Railway Museum, 109,
Billinton.

Canadian Pacific Railway, 135, 156

'F-la' and 'F-2a' classes, 135
HI' class 'Royal Hudson, 156

Franco. Attilo,
Franco-Beige. Raismes, 201
Franco-Crosli boiler, 95
Franklin's automatic axle box
wedges. 181

58

'8ft single' class,

38

'Large Atlantic' class, 66

Pacific class, 104
Great Northern Railway of Ireland

'V and

130

'VS' classes,

Great Southern Railways '800'

162
Great Southern & Western Railway,
class,

162
Great Western Railway, 28. 35, 63
Broad gauge, 28, 29
'Castle class, 104, 108,
'City' class,

18

67

28
French compounds,
'Fire Fly' class,

Great

68, 108

Britain, steamer,

'Hall' class.

29

69

'King' class, 11, 14, 122

'North Star' class, 23, 28
'Prince' class, 2-2-2, 29

Speed

Jodphur State Railway

Johnson, R P. 168
Johnson. S W. 48, 66

67

record,

108

'Star' class.

Zeiss optical selling out of

frames, 69

Great Western Railway Museum, 67

Great Western Society. 109
Green Bay Railroad Museum,
Wisconsin. 137
Gresley-Holcrof t derived valve gear.

192

Pacific,

Museum
59

D 18

Jones, David, 42
Jones. Turner & Evans & Co.,
Jugoslav State Railways, 1 10
Jura-Simp!on Railway, 32. 33,

28

90

'P2' class
'V2' class Green Arrow', 66.
'V4' class. 160

Wl*

Quebec, 135, 137. 157. 159.

160

(No 10000). 137

Museum, York, 43
class

Speed record, world, 136

London & North Western

195
National Railway Museur.
33. 35, 40. 63. 79
37.

'Dreadnought' class 46
Experiment' compound

Locomotives en Sud-

Museum. Great

Britain. 39. 43.

44.66. 114,

!
137, 153. 161
National Railways of Zimbabwe.

Crewe works, 92
des

Jo.

George the

27

::na.

Fifth

'Lady of the Lake

class,
-

'Coupe-vent' locomotives,
class 60
'Grosse

Kessler. Emil. works, 27,

Kiefer, Paul W. 124, 178

lschinehbau

AG

(Hanomag), 70

Hamson.

Fairfax.

122

Harrison. Joseph, 25
Haswell, John, 33
Haswell, John works, Vienna. 27
Heinl feed water heater, 1 88
Helsinki Technical Museum. 1 17
Henschel & Sohn, 148. 198
Heritage Park. Calgary, preserved
locomotive. 195
Hick of Bolton. 27

Highland Railway Duke'

183

42

-.-

Hitachi.

Holcroft-Gresley derived valve gear.

iam, 30
Hungarian State Railways '424'
class. 110

im

19

I
Austria, 52
class 52

New

210' and

'3 Iff classes.

97

class,
class.

XC

class.

YB'

class,

& Michigan Southern

Railroad 1-1 class, 54
Le Chateher counter pressure
brake. 42
Legem, -, 81
Lehigh Valley Railroad, 148
Lemaitre blast pipe. 115, 176
r-.nch, 80

72

Lima. Peru, preserved tocon

Lincoln, President Abraham, 121

-cool' class,

23

'Planet' clas

'Rocket' class.

20
6.

18

Sans Pared 18

Pans 1900. 59
Italian State Railways. 59.

70

70
'670' class, 59
ass, 59
685' class, 94
Italian bogie. 70
lvatt. Henry, 66

Locke, Joseph, 19
Locomotive, largest, 170
Loewy. Raymond, 100. 168. 169
Lokomo. Tamper*London & Birmingham Railway
'Bury 2-2-0' class, 23
London, Brighton & South Coast
Railway

98

iss,

Gladstone' clas; 42

43
London & Greenwich
'Terner' class.

Railway, 22

London, Midland & Scottish

Midland Compound'

class,

66

'Princess Royal' class, 153

Royal Scol
118
Turborr/j131

London & North Eastern Railway

'."ational

'C-62'claB, 21

Jams, John

Railways

182

Government

40
168

C36" class

'2-12' class. 41

New South Wales Railway Museum.

40

New

York Central Railroa i

124

11' class

Paris-Rouen Railway Buddicom'

'? 32
Pans-Strasbourg Railway
35
Le Con:.:
Pearson. ]. 35
in. 105

124.

104

Mcintosh. JF. 48. 76

Maffei of Munich. 30 44
Malayan Railway '56' class, 162
Malaxa Works, 148
Mallet. Anatole,

170

Niagara
'Sla'

and

54

178

York Central

New

Railroad No 952
York. New Haven & Ha
Railroad
:lass
148

& Hudson

River

D16a' class. 54
'D16sb
ass, 58
13.' and E6'
:

State Railway,

Metro poll tan -Vickers Co, 131

Mexican Rly Fairhe. 6, 92
Miani & Silvestn, Milai
Midi Railway, France. 63
Midland Railway, 48
48
Johnson Single ?._;
Midland Compound' class, 59.

66

100

te

Crawford mechanical stoker. 100

Duplex' locomotives. 168
Peppercorn. Arthur, 185
Iphia

& Columbia

Washington Cou:

William. 26
Norns Works. Vienna. 27
North British Locomotive Co, 40,
48, 73, 90. 102. !
193. 194. 198

Ql and Q2

classes 56
North Korea Railways. 10
North London Railway, 44
North Western State Railway, India,
72
Northern Frontier Railway, India,

Railroad

rj

26
: stown

Nomston Railroad
& Reading

Philadelphia

&
24

Railroad.

57
Piedmont State Railroads. 44
Plancher compounds. 59
Polish State Railways. 182, 183
lass, 183
182

Mediterranean System, 44
Mersey Docks & Harbour Board. 30
Merseyside County Museum,
Liverpool, 31

classes.

168
Altoona

Noms,

:stem Railway

74

58

100

Mecklenburg

classes.

K3' classes. 100

Zealand Government
Railways. 128
12, 128
Kb' classes. 128
'Q' class 64
Nock, O S, 162
Norfolk & Western Railwav
172
Noms locomotives, 26, 28
Noms. Octavius, 27

Mary. Queen, 109

Maunsell, Richard, 107, 114
Mechanical lubricator, 172

63

Railroad. 54,

178

:.

'Sic' classes.

New

Mallet locomotives, 170

N'aqu:r.:sra lerrestre v N'.ar.tirr.a

'Pu-29' class, 182

193
Northern Pacific Railroad, 120
A and A 1' classes. 120
A-2' class 120
'A-3' and A-4' classes. 120
A-5 class. 120
Northern Railway of France
102. Ill
Pacifies
Allan::

Chapelon
De Glehn

continuous welded, 1
Railway Correspondence & Travel
Rail,

79
62

Society,

4-6-4 locomotives. 106. 189

'Super-Pacific' class,

39

Preservation Society of
1
131

106

126
Missouri Pacific Railroad, 64
Mohawk & Hudson Railroad
Brother Johna th ai 21
Mohawk & Hudson Railroad
Experiment, 2
romotive Works, 135,
59, 184

Museum

Railway 43. 48
'5P5F' class 132
Fury 6399. 118
Duchess' class. 7, 152
'George the Fifth' class. 93

91
South V/ales
Railways. 40

79' clas

58

Metropolitan Railway, 40

Rocket. 18

YP' class 10, 192

Indonesian State Railways C53'
102
International Railway Congress.

202

18, 19
Patentee' class. 24, 28

16

Island Railroad,

Longridge, R.B. & Co.. 28

Longfellow, HW. 134
Louisa Railroad. 64
Love. William. 43
Lucerne Transport Museum. 91

Lake Shore

30

116
116
192

Long

L
Northumbenan.

184

class.

XA
XB'

'Problem class 38
'Queen Mary' class, 93
Teutonic
London i South Western Railway.
44. 114
'N15' class, 114
44
'Long boiler' locomotive type, 33
Long. Col Stephen, 26

60

96

Speed record. 35
Pans-Orleans Railway. 40, 63, 102
'3500' class Pa:
'4500' class Par:'.
78
4-8-0 rebuilds. 78

New

Lindbergh's Atlantic flight. 59

Liverpool & Manchester RIy, 6, 22

India Railway Standard

locomotives, 73, 1 16
Indian Railways. 72
Mail Engine' 4-6-0 class.

WP'

n L. 179
;line, 26
Lima Locomotive Co.. 186

Imperial Airways. 44
Imperial & Royal State Railways.
'6'

30

Kipling. Rudyard. 55
Kisha Seizo Kaisha. 183
Kitson & Co 73. 162
190. 191
Krauss-Helmholtz truck, 183
Krauss-Manei, Munich. 147. 193
Krupp of Essen, 147
Kylchap exhaust system, 8 1 181,
185. 192. 194. 203

inds Railways '3700' class,

38

Kemble, Fa
Kenya & Uganda Railway. 200

92

43

Railway, 35.

class,

Medusa compound, 46
Precursor class, 93

Pakistan locomotives. 73. 1 16

Pans Exhibition 1900. 51
Pans. Lyons & Mediterranean

40
'231-132AT'c:a

201

Awenque (GELSA). 192

-

Otahuhu. 129

189

National Railway

.-

23

116. 131
Grestey. Sir Nigel. 104. 184
Croupewent ({'Exportation

Science and

of

Technology. Ottavi
National Railway Museum. Delson.

57
130

class,

Norwegian State Railway?

Dovregnibben o.
Nuremberg-Furth Railwav
:

Nuremberg
147
Nydquist

transport

& Holm. 98

of Transportation,

Raton Pass
PC' poppet valve

147

museum.

Rennie.
25.

&

gear, 148.

162

28

Works and Museum, 148

Rhemgold Express, 80. 81
Rhodes, Cecil. 200
Rhodesia Railways '15' and '15A
class 200
Richmond. Fredencksburg &
Potomac Railroad. 27
Rogers. Thomas, and works. 36
Resita

Roller beanngs. 98. 120. 172. 185.

202
Rothwell

& Co

Roumanian

Bolton. 35
State Railways,
.

I4S

148

Swiss Fe
Swiss L

111

90

at
74

motives,
122, 172

Sydney Harbour Bridge, 4

Szufang (Tsingtaol works, 204

107

Western & Atlantic Railroad

36
Western Pacific Railroad, 155
Western Railway of France, 32, 102
niway, India, 193
Whale, Gei
i:rangements, 9
Williams, Robert. 194
Willoteaux piston valves, 78, 103
Winans P
Wolff, AH.

United States Railroads

32

Britain).

United Railways of Havana

27
' loc'

154

Upper

Italy

Railroads Vittono

44
Emanuel'
Thomas, 95

Urcqhart,

51

50

II

Worsdell, Wilson, 56

5A) Ps-4

94.95

class.

122
Southern Slate Railway, Austria, 33
Soviet Railways, 190
class 0-10-0,
'FD' class, 190
E'

lata

"Sum' and

'S'. 'Su'.

'Sv' classes,

94,95
Spanish National Railways System
242' class 202
Speed records, world, 136, 147
Spencer. Bert, 105
Stahllier, Der, lilm,

Victor Emmanuel, king, 44

Victorian Government Railways,
76
'A class 4
'DD' class 4-6-0, 77

Thornton, Sir Henry, 158

Thune A/S, 147
Timken Roller Bearing Co 120
Todd, Kitson & Laird & Co.. 30
Traitment Integral Arniarui

'R' class,

77

'S' class,

Transportation

'Gloggnitzer' class, 33

Vienna Locomotive Works, 184

Vienna-Raab Railway Philadelphia,

Museum, Roanoke,

173

131.

26

expansion locomotive. 181

Truck, first, 2
Tulk & Ley, Lowca, 34
Triple

ways

1'

Willows, 73, 92, 116, 127, 133

54,

class,

91
State Railways (lava) Pacific. 102
Steamtown. Bellows Falls, 127, 135,
157, 159
Steamtown. Carnforth, 97

&

148

Stephe
Stephe

George, 6
Locomotive Society.

1)

198

Stephensc
Stephenso
162
Stephenson's valve gear. 7. 30
itrick, 39
Stothert & Slaughter & Co 28
Strasburg Rail Road. 55. 101

.eminent

126
166

Wagner, Dr R

Stroudley, William.

Chatham Railway

Yarrow & Co, 137

Young, Robert R,

16

I
Zambian

Railways, 201
Zara, Giuseppe, 58. 70
Zara truck, 70, 147
Zola, Emile, 103

188

107

Walschaerl. Egide, 48, 65

Walschaert's valve gear, 1 7, 65

Centipede' tenders, 120

Challenger' class Mallet, 13, 170
FEF-r to'FEF-3' classes 164

Washington, George, 64
Webb, Francis W. 39,46,92
Webb. W A, 126

Werkspoor, Utrecht. 91, 102

Foundry, USA. 21

43

Superheaters, locomotive, 50
Swedish State Railways F' class, 98

Railway,

2-8-8-0 Mallet locomotives,

4-12-2 locomotive, 171

20

P, 112.

Wamwnght. H S

200
Umekoii Museum, 183
Union Pacific Railroad, 37

Uganda

3d Best

59

Baron Gerard, 181

Vulcan Foundry, Newton-leVuillet,

'Twentieth Century Limited,

v.ngton.

Vogt, Axel,

Turbine locomotive

101 class, 180

Pacific locomotives, 102
State Railways Holland 70

16

Vienna-Gloggnitz Railway

203

Transandine Railway, 90

State Railway of France, 32, 63, 102

76

187,

25

Stamp, Lor

Vanderbilt tender, 111, 158

Vauclain compounds, 57

Engineering & Locomotive

Thompson, Edward, 184

190

'P36'cUr

^m

v
v Norns model,

98

190

JS' class.

Picture Credit
ers wish to thank the following organisations and individuals who have supplied
rjook Photographs have been credited by page number Some references

isons of space, been abbreviated, as follows

in-Alien

& Research Services

tern

bottom, Swedish State Railways 99: Swedish State Railways/MARS 100: top, IM larvis, bottom.
101: CV 102: 'V 102-103: CV 103: LG Marshall 104: CV 105: 'V 106: CV 106-107: GFA
109: ". 110:. ,[ - 1 10-1 1 1: top, C Gammell, bottom, CV 1 1 1: GFA 1 12:
107
108:
top, J Winkley, bottom R Bastm 113: R Bastin 114: D Cross 115: R Bastin 116: Victorian
Government Railways 116-117: Colour-rail' RM Quinn 117: top, CV, centre, GFA, bottom,
".'.'....- .-,- 119: CV 120: Burlington Northern
121: CV 122: Southern
Railways
Finnish State
1 18:
Railway System/MARS 123: CV 124: IM Jarvis 125: top, GFA, bottom, AAR 126: South
Australian Railways 127: top, D Cross bottom, South Australian Railways 128: K Cantlie 129:
top, C Gammell, bottom D Cross 130: top, CV, bottom, CV 131: CV 132: CV 133: CV 134: top.
134-135
JMJarvis, centre, IM
1EA 135: top, GFA, bottom, Canadian Pacific 136:top,CV,
cente, CV, bottom. Colour-rail Htl James 137: top, CV, bottom left, CV, bottom right, CV 146:
147: Norwegian State Railways 148:
top, Bundarchiv, bottom, Norwegian State Railways
CGammeli 148-149:
149: top, AAR, bottom CV 150: GFA 151: CV 152: DCross 153: top.
155:CV. bottom ". 154:
GFA bottom, CV 156: British Columbia Railway/MARS 157:
160-161:
Railways/MARS 159:
158:
Canadian
National
British Columbia R
Chicago & North We
161: Colour-rail 163: top. CV. bottom, CV 164: C Gammell
165: top, IM Jarvis,
166: top, CV. bottom. I Dunn 167: top, CV bottom, SAR
168: top, CV, bottom GFA 169:- p D Cross, bottom, GFA 170: CV 171: Union Pacif.c RR 172:
JM larvis 173: top, IM Jarvis, bottom, GFA 174: GFA 175: left, Santa Fe RR, right, GFA 176: CV
177
178: IM Jarvis 179: top, GFA. bottom. JM Jarvis 180: top, VR/Femno, bottom. VR
181:
182:top, K Yoshitani. bottom, CGammeli 183: K Yoshitani 184: Colour-rail/R Hill 185:
top, CV, bottom, C Gammell 186: B Stephenson 187: C&ORR/MARS 188: top, R Bastin centre
CV, bottom, M Whitehouse 189: top, CV, bottom, VR 190: top, CV, centre R Ziel, bottom,
191: top, I Westwood, bottom, R Ziel 192: Colour-rail/RM Quinn 193: top, CV,
J Westwood
bottom. Colourrail/RM Quinn 194: Canadian Pacific 195: CV 196: top, D Cross, bottom, CV
198:
197:Colou:
i.South African Railways/MARS, bottom, CV 199:CGammell
200: top, CV, centre, CV, bottom, CV 201: CV 202: top, CV, bottom, Colour-rail/JG Dewing 203:
top, CV, bottom, RENFE/MARS 204: top, Y Hollmgsworth, bottom, C Gammell 205: lop
R Gillard, bottom, CV

GFA

Amencana

Pa 9 e

enson, bottom,

BBC

12:

!F A,

':

22:

Hultoi

right,

Ba

31

'

Horn. Science Mm--41:

42:

50

49.

27

25:

35
43:

36
45
berg 51:

IR;

56-57:

'

'

V 75:

65

top.

'

bottom,

GFA

State Railways bottom,

66

CV. bottom,

66-67:
71
76
77
".'

70-71
72-73:

"

e\

67:

'.

t(

1.

40

39
48:

'

CV

32:

34
1

55

24

30

47

CV,

7:

bottom. N Trotter 11: left. B Stephenson. lo|

bottom, D Cross, top,
13:
17
18:
r, CV, bottom.
20: top. Science Museum, bottom, AAR 21

i,

81:

94

90
95

90-91
icy.

bottom.

MC

91

Italian State

Railway

96

'

97:

nebl.l

98:

.|

ml

>