Irish locomotive
development
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MGWR 4-4-0 129 Celtic designed Cusack (Rly Mag., 1902, 11, fp. 289)
This page still reflects the structure adopted in Steam locomotive development (which was not very good), but is being modified to accommodate the extra information provided via Clements and McMahon's Locomotives of the GSR. The railways of Ireland, and the majority of the steam locomotives which ran on them, were built when the whole country was part of the United Kingdom. Many British Chief Mechanical Engineers had been trained in Ireland or been Irish Locomotive Superintendents (e.g. J.A.F. Aspinall and R.E.L. Maunsell). Other CMEs or locomotive superintendents were trained in Great Britain and subsequently went to Ireland. Although the gauge is different (5 ft 3 in) a link, therefore, existed with British design. This was especially strong in Ulster on the Midland Railway, later LMS, owned Northern Counties Committee (NCC). Many "Irish" locomotives were constructed in "British" workshops, such as Beyer Peacock in Manchester, or at Derby works.
Almost inevitably the major administrative changes which took place in Great Britain were mirrored to an extent in Ireland. Thus the 1923 Grouping was followed by a railway grouping in the Republic of Ireland (Eire) in 1925 when the Great Southern Railways came into being.. This company was nationalized in 1945 to form part of the Coras Iompair Eireann (CIE). The LMS took over from the Midland Railway in Ulster, but in 1949 the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) was created from the NCC system and the Belfast and County Down Railway.
Due to the newly-established frontier between Ulster and the Republic, certain railways remained independent from these groupings and three companies remained "free" until their end (the County Donegal Railways Joint Committee; the Sligo, Leitrim & Northern Counties Railway and the Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway). It should be noted that this last still exists as a bus company. The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) which links Dublin and Belfast was eventually divided between the CIE and UTA in 1958.
During the period surveyed by Jones there was little locomotive development in Ireland and this was due to the severe financial difficulties of the period following Partition. Prior to that locomotive development tended to mirror that in "Mainland" Britain: thus, the Dublin and Kingstown Railway, the first Irish railway, used locomotives very similar to those used on the Liverpool & Manchester Railway. This parallelism makes any work, such as the fatally flawed Oxford Companion to British Railway history, absurd in its titular claim (English railway history might have been acceptable).
During the Second World War the Republic suffered from a severe coal shortage and this, plus the poor condition of the locomotive stock, hastened the process of dieselisation. Steam was retained for longer in Northern Ireland, due to the better condition of the locomotives and to Stormont's doubts about the viability of railways as such. Ireland both North (where a delightfully inappropriately named, but able, engineer named Pope held sway) and South contributed much to diesel railcar development which is the normal form of traction over great swathes of the crumbling railway notwork in mainland Britain.
The material assembled in this section has been abstracted from non-Irish sources, in the main. The Journal of the Irish Railway Record Society did not appear to be publicly available (it was not in the British Museum and was not available through the National Central Library or the Irish Central Library). A sample issue was examined for Steam locomotive development and, to judge from the contents of that one part, it was a serious omission from the point of view of retrospective material. KPJ would be very obliged to receive details of material not included. The Irish Railway Record Society has a lively website, but is mainly concerned with contemporary activity. The Irish Railway Preservation Society also has a website. Returning to traditional sources, United Kingdom-based journals did survey contemporary development in Ireland, and did offer some retrospective literature, especially the Locomotive, Railway Carriage & Wagon Review..
The Irish railways are surveyed in the following order:
This is very different to the order adopted in Jones and reflects the greater period to be covered eventually
General
literature: J.C. Conroy's scholarly A history
of railways, in Ireland does not examine mechanical development. The
final volume in the magnificent Regional History of the Railways of Great
Britain became magisterial once it extended its coverage to Ireland with
a well-received work by J.W.P. Rowledge. The only books which had treated
Irish locomotives as one unit by 1968/9 were R.N. Clements' and J.M. Robbins'
The ABC of Irish locomotives and W.E. Shepherd's Twentieth century
Irish locomotives. The former is unlike the remainder of the Ian Allan
"ABC" series in that it includes notes on both the railways and the locomotives,
in addition to tabulated data. The latter is similar in style and seems to
be based on the earlier work, but incorporates more detail. Since then
Rowledge has contributed a monumental survey of all
steam locomotives in Ireland, Nock has written a better than usual book on
Irish locomotive development: it is probably better in that it was a
one-off.
Ahrons, E.L.
Locomotive and train working in the latter part of the nineteenth
century; edited by L.L. Asher. Cambridge: Heffer, 1951-4. Volume
6 includes Irish railways
Originally published in Railway Magazine 1925/6
Clements, R.N. and Robbins, J.M. The ABC of Irish
locomotives. London, Ian Allan, 1949. 56 p. incl.. 16 plates. 46 illus.,
19 tables, map.
Conroy, J.C. A history of railways in Ireland. London, Longmans,
1928. [viii], 386 p. 16 tables. Bibliog. (footnotes).
Originally compiled as a Thesis for the M.A. Degree at University
College, Dublin. Reviewed Lomotivbe
Mag., 1928, 34, 101.
Doyle, Oliver and Stephen
Hirsch. Railways in Ireland, 1834-1984. Dublin: Signal, 1983.
204pp.
Published to celebrate 150 year anniversary of Dublin & Kingstown
Railway.
Fayle, H. Dublin surburban services. Rly Mag., 1954,
100, 297-304. 6 illus.
Includes notes on the motive power.
Fayle, H. The Irish railways during the War. J. Stephenson Loco.
Soc., 1946, 22, 59-70.
WW2: the effects of fuel shortages are emphasized.
Fayle, H. The narrow gauge railways of Ireland, London, Richard
Tilling Ltd., 1946. 204 p. incl. 60 plates + 3 folding plates. 206 illus.,
(incl. 8 line drawings :s. el.),diagr., 3 tables, 15 maps.
Each narrow gauge (mainly 3 ft 0 in) line is treated separately
Ferris, Tom. Irish railways in colour: from steam to diesel,
1955-1957. Leicester: Midland Publishing, 1992. 120pp
Needless to say a gift to the impoverished Norfolk County "Library":
copy seen very poorly printed..
Irish locomotive notes. Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1930,
36, 178; 250.
Irish locomqtives in 1932. Rly Mag., 1933, 73, 458.
In connection with this Railway Magazine reference it should
be noted that the May issues of this journal tended to specialize on Irish
affairs.
Irish notes. Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1938, 44, 387-8:
1939, 45, 10-11; 41-2; 83-4; 122-3; 149-50. 16 illus., diagr. (s.
& f. els.)
Irish railway events, 1947. J. Stephenson Loco. Soc., 1948,
24, 120-3.
Irish railways locomotive notes. Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev.,
1930, 36, 106.
Johnston, Norman.
Locomotives of the GNR(I). Newtownards: Colourpoint, 1999,
208pp.
Not entirely error-free: Hawthorn Leslie with an additional "e" to
the Hawthorn. In the Introduction notes his debt to R.N. Clements. Covers
much more than the Great Northern.
Kidner, R.W. The light
railway handbook . Part 4. Narrow gauge railways of Ireland.
McCormick, W.P. The railways of Northern Ireland and their locomotives.
[Belfast, Author] 2nd ed. [1946] . 30 p. 13 illus., table.
Brief notes.
Middlemass,
Thomas. Encyclopaedia of narrow gauge railways in Great Britain
and Ireland. London: Guild, 1991. 272pp.
Includes most Irish narrow gauge lines (the majority of which were
built to a common 3ft gauge).
Nock, O.S. Irish steam. a twenty
year survey 1920-1939. 1982.
Reed, K.H. Notes on Irish locomotives. Rly Mag., 1929,
65, 302-5.
Rolt, L.T.C. and Whitehouse,
P.B. Lines of character. London, Constable, 1952. [iv], 188 p.
+ front. + 32 plates. 65 illus. Bibliog
This contains the memorable account of the running of the cattle trains
on the Tralee & Dingle Railway.
Rowledge, J.W.P. The
Irish steam loco. register. Stockport: Irish Traction Group, 1993.
This book is extremely short of navigational aids: thus the Dublin
& Kingstown Railway (a British and Irish landmark) is treated on page
86, but the contents listing (there is no index) places the user no nearer
than somewhere between page 57 and 115. Once the Irish page is complete this
deficiency will be rectified.
Shepherd, W.E. Twentieth century Irish locomotives. [Union
Publications, 1969] , 61 p. 23 illus., table.
Winchester, Charles. Railways of Ireland 180th Anniversary
1834-2014. (edited by John Christopher). Amberley. 96pp.
See review in Backtrack
(2014, 28, 765) relating to strange nature
of this text especially that relating to locomotives
Whitehouse, P.B. A Northern Ireland miscellany, 1949. Rly Mag.,
1950, 96, 340-2; 316-17. 7 illus.
Accent on the narrow gauge lines.
Young, R.A. A railway holiday in Ireland. Rly Mag., 1959,
105, 342-7; 416-20.9 illus.
The Dublin & Kingstown Railway was one of the earliest British railways, was built to 4 ft. 8½ in. gauge and followed from the construction of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway (and another reason to reject Simmons' absurd paradigm as exemplified in the flawed Oxford Companion). Its earliest locomotives were built by Forrester & Co of Liverpool and included the first tank locomotives which Balkwill claims were Victoria and Comet in 1835.
Dublin & Kingstown Railway: centenary of Irish locomotive building.
Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1941,
47, 133-4.
Early locomotives Dublin and Kingstown
Ry. Locomotive Mag., 1926,
32, 336-7. 2 diagrams (side elevations)
Original locomotives supplied in 1834: three from Sharp, Roberts &
Co. named Britannia, Hibernia and Manchester and three from
George Forrester: Dublin, Kingstown and Vauxhall. The Sharp
engines had vertical cylinders and drove via a bell crank motion. The Forrester
locomotives were the first to have horizontal motion. These 2-2-0 had 5ft
driving wheels. Two further Forrester locomotves were obtained in 1836 named
Victoria and Comet: these were similar to the other Forrester products, but
conveyed the coke and water on the locomotive. The other Forrester products
were similarly modified, but the Sharp engines retained their tenders. In
1839 two locomotives were constructed at the company's own workshops in
Serpentine Avenue, Ballsbridge, Dublin and were the first locomotives to
be constructed by a railway company in the British Isles. These were Star
and Jupiter and had 5ft 3in coupled wheels and 11 x 18in cylinders
and had a 2-2-2T arrangement. Three further engines followed:
Princess, Shamrock and Erin. Both Hibernia and
Princess are illustrated: the latter based on the original drawing
sent us some time back by the courtesy of George H. Wild, locomotive
superintendent of the former Dublin and South Eastern Railway. The wheels
of the Princess were of cast iron with spokes of I section, and were
made at the Dublin works. The valves were driven by a rocking shaft, with
gab motion. The boiler carried a working pressure of 90 psi. The cylinders
were 11 in. diameter by 16 in. stroke and the driving wheels 5 ft. 6 in.
diameter. The front carrying wheels were 4 ft. diameter and the rear 3 ft.
diameter; the wheelbase was 6 ft. 1 in. leading to driving and 4 ft. 11½
in. driving to trailing. It is said the original iron fireboxes of these
engines were welded up, that is, the front and back plates, crown and sides
at the joints. Other engines built at Ballsbridge of the same type, and soon
after the Princess, were named as follows: Bellisle, Albert, Burgoyne,
Cyclops and Vulcan. At this period the Dublin and Kingstown was
4 ft. 8½ in. gauge, but the gauge was converted to 5 ft. 3 in. in 1854-5,
when the line was leased to the Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Ry. The alteration
of the engines entailed three new straight, longer axles, and lengthening
the frame stays only.
Lowe, James W. British steam locomotive
builders. 1975.
Sekon's Evolution of the steam
locomotive notes that three similar locomotives to the Experiment
were constructed for the Dublin & Kingstown Railway in 1833. These
early products suffered from steam leakage from the vertical cylinders and
these were subsequently abandoned. Excellent source of information. Notes
that 2-2-2WT Princess was first tank engine. Ten locomotives constructed
at Grand Canal Street Works tabulated. Information on Locomotive
Superintendents.
Murray, K.A. Ireland's first railway. Irish Railway Record Society.
1981. 236pp
Well received in Railway
Wld., 1982, 43, 152
Narrow gauge lines (absorbed into Great Southern Railways/CIE)
Chapter 8 of Clements and McMahon Locomotives of the GSR covers all the GSR narrow gauge lines and their locomotives, many of which were switched between lines, notably to the Cavan & Leitrim where coal traffic was strategically important. Fayle's Narrow gauge railways of Ireland describes all the lines considered in this section and it is, therefore, mentioned first. All shared the 3 ft 0 in gauge and the GSR and CIE adopted the policy of transferring locomotives from one section to another. All lines were lightly built and all are now closed, although a few tourist lines use some of the preserved locomotives. Steep gradients, sharp curvature and roadside tramway sections were other common features. W.J.K. Davies' Light railways opens his Chapter 4 entitled Ireland with "Ireland, unlike the rest of the British Isles, presents the case of a true network of secondary railways but, alas, a network of lines badly mismanaged, both by the state authorities and by the individual company promoters..
Fayle, H. The narrow gauge railways of Ireland. London, Richard Tilling Ltd., 1946. 204 p. incl.. 60 plates + 3 folding plates. 206 illus. (incl. 8 line drawings s. els.), diagr., 2 tables, 15 maps.
Cavan & Leitrim Railway
Opened on 24 October 1887 according to
Middlemass. It connected Dromod on the Mullingar
to Sligo line with Belturbet, the terminus of the GNR(I) branch from Ballyhaise
on the Clones to Cavan section. There was a branch from Ballinamore to Arigna
(known as the Tramway) and an extension thence to the coal mines at
Derreenavoggy. Its main traffic, coal from the mines at Agrigna, gave it
a longer life and the line tended to gather locomotives from other sections
as they closed beginning with the Cork, Blackrock & Passage 2-4-2Ts and
ending with ex-Tralee & Dingle 2-6-2Ts. Its own locomotives are listed
in the following table (all were supplied by R. Stephenson: all were 4-4-0T
except for No. 9 (0-6-4T): all were given suffix L by GSR.Nos. 1-8 rebuilt
with larger boilers: 1902-6..
No. | Name | WN/date | Withdrawn | |
1 | Isabel | 2612/1887 | 1949 | |
2 | Kathleen | 2613/1887 | 1959 | preserved |
3 | Lady Edith | 2614/1887 | 1959 | preserved |
4 | Violet | 2615/1887 | 1959 | |
5 | Gertrude | 2616/1887 | 1925 | |
6 | May | 2617/1887 | 1927 | |
7 | Olive | 2618/1887 | 1945 | |
8 | Queen Victoria | 2619/1887 | 1959 | name removed in 1921 |
9 | King Edward | 3136/1904 | 1934 |
Clements and McMahon Locomotives of the GSR pp. 211-15 cite the major dimensions for Nos. 1 to 8: 3ft 6in coupled wheels, 14 x 20in cylinders, 9ft2 grate area and a total heating surface of 588ft2. Boilers operated at 150 psi. Locomotives 1 to 8 were classified as 1L or Inchicore DN2. By June 1924 the average mileage of Nos. 1-4 was 500,000, and Nos. 5-8 300,000. They operated without brick arches until 1925 as it was considered that they steamed better without them, but brick arches were then fitted. Nos. 5 to 8 were fitted with encased motion for operating on the tramway until 1924: No. 7 Olive is shown working with encased motion and large headlamp. No. 9 was Robert Stephenson WN 3136/1904: it had 3ft 3in coupled wheels, 15 x 20in cylinders, 14ft2 grate area and a total heating surface of 747ft2. It was classified as 9L or HN1. Although it was designed to cope with two chain curaves, had flangeless trailing coupled wheels, it had a higher maximum axleload (11.25 tons) and track damage (especially between 1916 and 1918) was severe and eventually limited its operation. It was withdrawn in 1934.
Contemporary.
New tank locomotive, Cavan and Leitrim Railway.
Locomotive Mag., 1905,
11, 125, illus.
3ft gauge 0-6-4T designed to be capable of hauling 120 tons on gradient
of in 1 in 30 at 12 mph. 7ft 5in coupled wheelbase.. Cylinders 15in x 10in.
3ft 3in coupled wheels.746.5ft2 total heating surface
14ft2 grate area. 150 psi boiler pressure. Walschaerts valve
gear. T.S. Shamks locomotive superintendent. No. 9 King
Edward..
The Cavan and Leitrim Railway and its locomotives.
Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1936,
42, 249-52. 6 illus.
An extensive account written at the time when coal from Arigna had
grown in strategic importance, albeit is was very low quality: includes
photograph of telpher used on final stage to mine
Flanagan, P.J. The Cavan & Leitrim Railway. Newton Abbot
(Devon), David & Charles, 1966. 192 p. + col. front. + 24 plates. 67
illus., 8 diagrs., 7 tables, 11 plans. 3 maps. Bibliog.
The motive power is described in depth. Locomotives introduced from
other sections are also included.
Kirkland, R.K. The Cavan & Leitrim Railway. Rly Mag., 1951,
97, 339-45. 4 illus., table. map.
A table includes all locomotives which worked on the
railway.
Smith, W.A.C. The end of the Cavan & Leitrim. Trains ill.,
1959, 12, 412-15. 6 illus.
Colour photographs
A glimpse of the Cavan & Leitrim Railway.
Backtrack, 2020, 34,
579.
Cork & Muskerry Light Railway
Incorporated on 12 December 1883. Opened to Blarney Castle on 8 August
1887. Boyd's Schull & Skibbereen
Railway gives brief details of both the line and the locomotives
one of which was transferred by the GSR to the Schull & Skibbereen when
the Cork system closed completely from 29 December 1934: the line had suffered
competition from Cork City Tramway's electric trams and terminally from motor
buses.. There were branches to Coacchford and from St Anne's to Donoughmore
(opened in 1893). The line achieved notoriety when there was a violent collision
between a train and a steam roller in Cork on 6 September 1927..
Clements and McMahon Locomotives
of the GSR pp. 215-20 give slightly more information on the
line and considerably more on the locomotives. The Cork & Muskerry were
attractive narrow gauge lines in the vicinity of Cork City that had opened
in August 1887: their environs were the leafy lanes and pleasant valleys
west of the city were in complete contrast to the S&SR and its trains
began their journey westwards from the city by passing along the
street.
2-4-0T/4-4-0T
GSR Class 1k: Inchicore Class DN6
Nos. 1-3 City of Cork, Coachford and St. Annes were
built by Hughes at the Falcon Railway Plant (WN137/136/138) in 1887. They
were rebuilt as 4-4-0Ts in about 1889. The first two were withdrawn in 1938,
and No. 3 in 1924. They had 3ft 6in coupled wheels, 11½ x 18in cylinders,
8.25ft2 grate area, and a total heating surface of
472ft2. Boiler pressure was 140 psi.They were unusual in employing
Joy valve gear.. Clements and
McMahon Locomotives of the GSR page. 216. No. 4 was a Kitson 2-4-0WT
named Blarney (WN 235/1888). It was withdrawn in 1911.
0-4-4T
GSR Class 5k (later 6s): Inchicore Class EN1
The fifth and sixth engines supplied to the C&MLR, were unusual
in being of the 0-4-4 wheel arrangement the only narrow-gauge examples
in Ireland. They were bought to work the Donoughmore Extension Railway, opened
on 6 May 1893, a nominally independent section which served a thinly-populated
valley north-west of Cork. Delivered in 1892 and 1893 respectively from
Thomas Green & Son of Leeds:
they were WN 180/1892 Donoughmore running No.5 and WN . 200/1893 The
Muskerry (later simply Muskerry) running No.6. As built, they
had stove-pipe chimneys. In 1925 they became Nos. 5k and 6k (Class EN1) under
the GSR which took them into Inchicore Works when the line closed. Here they
were dismantled and stored. Later No.5 was re-assembled and numbered 9t for
employment on the Tralee & Dingle section but was never transferred to
Tralee. No.6 was similarly treated for service on the S&S
section as 6s but it had to return to Inchicore again shortly afterwards
as the buffer beams fouled Ballydehob platform and the goods and cattle docks
there and at the termini: also for alterations to the brake hose connection.
After this it did sterling work.
Clements and McMahon Locomotives
of the GSR page. 217.
Dimensions were: cylinders 14 x 20 in., driving wheels 3 ft 6 in. diameter (somewhat large for the gradients of the S&S section), bogie wheel diameter 2 ft 0 in., coupled wheelbase 6 ft 0 in., total wheelbase 14 ft 10 in; grate area 10.5ft2, total heating surface 600 ft2, boiler pressure 140 psi, water capacity 500 gallons, coal capacity 1 ton, weight in working order 25 tons; tractive effort 11,100 lbf.
4-4-0T
Further 4-4-0Ts were supplied by Brush Electrical (successors
to Hughes) and by Hunslet. See. Middlemass.
and especially Clements and McMahon
Locomotives of the GSR pp. 218-20. who record that each of these
locomotives received its own Inchicore classification:
DN3 7 Peake Brush Electrical WN 274/1898
(see also Sekon p. 324): 4ft
coupled wheels, 14 x 22in cylinders, 10.5ft2 grate area and ths
of 646ft2 Boiler pressure 140 psi. Withdrawn 1935.
DN7 8 Dripsey Brush Electrical WN 307/1904: 4ft
coupled wheels, 12 x 18in cylinders, 10.5ft2 grate area and ths
of 646ft2. Boiler pressure 140 psi.Withdrawn
1935.
DN1 4 Blarney Hunslet WN 1200/1919:
3 ft 6 in. coupled wheels, 13 x 20in cylinders, 8.25ft2 grate
area and ths of 467ft2. Boiler pressure 160 psi.Withdrawn 1927
after a very short life.
Cork, Blackrock & Passage Railway:
This railway closed in 1932, but four of the locomotives were transferred
to the Cavan & Leitrim. It opened on 8 June 1850 as a 5ft 3in gauge line,
but was converted to 3ft gauge in 1900 when it was extended to Crosshaven
.According to Clements and McMahon. pp. 214-15 the line was highly unusual
for thge Irish narrow gauge in having a double track section between Cork
and Blackrock, but this was sigled in 1927.Its primary traffic was suburban.
The original (broad gauge) loocomotives were supplied by Sharp Bros in 1850
and were all 2-2-2Ts: WN 655, 656 and 662. The narrow gauge locomotives were
Neilson 2-4-2Ts: WN 5561-4/1899: RN 4 to 7 which were suffixed P whilst at
Cork, but the numbers were changed to 10L to 13L on the Cavan & Leitrim.
No. 11L was withdrawn in 1936; No. 13L in 1954 and the remaining two in 1959..
According to Middlemass "they could run like hares".
They were classified as 4P later 10L and Inchicore FN1. They had 4ft 6in
coupled wheels, 14½ x 22in cylinders, 12ft2 grate areas and
a total heating surface of 801ft2. On the CLR they were restricted
to the main line and were not permitted on the Agrigna branch..
NARROW gauge locomotives (No. 5): 2-4-2T, No. 5, Cork, Blackrock & Passage
Railway (later Cavan & Leitrim Railway, No. 11). Railways, 1944,
5, 122-3. 4 illus., (incl.. line drawing : s. f. & r. els.)
Schull & Skibbereen Light Railway
Boyd gives a very extensive account of the locomotives used on this
railway. The line began as the West Carberry Tramway & Light Railway.
Clements and McMahon Locomotives
of the GSR pp. 221-3 portray the locomotives during the decline of
the line and quote the major dimensions of the locomotives in GSR days.
Boyd, James I.C. The Schull & Skibbereen Railway. 1999.
(Oakwood Library of Railway History No. 108)
Fayle, H. and Camwell, W.A. Round Roaring Water Bay : the Schull
& Skibbereen Light Railway. Rly Mag., 1940, 86, 257-62
+. 10 illus., map.
Newham, A.T. The Schull
and Skibbereen Tramway and Light Railway. (Locomotion papers, No.
24).
Originally presented as a lecture to the Irish Railway Record
Society.
Schull and Skibbereen Light Railway.
Locomotive Mag., 1906,
12, 150-1. 3 illus.
3ft gauge. 15¼ miles long laid on flat bottom rail. Formerly
known as West Carberry Light Railway & Tramway. Passing place at Ballydehob.
Severe gradients (1 in 24) and sharp curves (2 chains). Two mixed trains
per day with a journey time of 1 hour 20 minutes. Six carriages and four
locomotives. Three tramway locomotives were supplied by Dick Kerr in 1886:
0-4-0T with 9½ x 16in cylinders and 2ft 6in coupled wheels: 1 Marion:
2 Ida: 3 Ilen
No. 1 had been reboilered with a dome, but was out-of-service. Ida had been
rebuilt with a Belpaire boiler (illustrated). No. 4 Erin was supplied by
Nasmyth Wilson in 1888. It was a 4-4-0T with Belpaire boiler, 12 x 18in
cylinders, 3ft 4in coupled wheels, and 508ft2 total heating surface.
It was probably the first Irish locomotive with a Belpaire boiler. New No.
1 Gabriel had been supplied by Peckett (illustrtared). It was a 4-4-0T
with the wheels inside the frames, 12 x 18in cylinders and 3ft 0½in
coupled wheels.
Boyd (above) Chapter Fourteen Locomotives: Early three-foot gauge tramways
in Ireland using steam locomotives
Boyd began by dispelling any notion that the West Carbery was
a pioneer steam tramway in Ireland by tabulating its contemporaries.
Title |
Length |
Opened |
Engine builder |
Dublin & Lucan Tramway |
1¾ |
6/1881 |
Kitson & Co., Leeds |
Portstewart Tramway |
1¾ |
6/1882 |
Kitson & Co., Leeds |
Giant's Causeway... |
½* |
1/1883 |
W. Wilkinson & Co. Ltd, Wigan |
Castlederg & Victoria Bridge Tramway |
7¼ |
7/1884 |
Kitson & Co., Leeds |
* Only this short distance from Portrush station was worked by steam.
Boyd noted that none of the above four undertakings approached the WCT for length (although the Castlederg line was half of it KPJ), that none used Dick, Kerr-built locomotives, and that the operation and costs of each were available to the promoters of the WCT before construction started. In a period when steam tramway building was in vogue, perhaps established builders like Kitson and Wilkinson had full order books? Perhaps Dick, Kerr were anxious to break into the market and quoted a competitive price? Boyd stated that these questions remain unanswered: it was obviously the last (KPJ).
0-4-0T (tramway locomotives) GSR Class MN1
Three 0-4-0 tram engiines were supplied by
Dick Kerr in 1886 (in Chapter
being cited Boyd states "1888"): all had 2ft 6in diameter coupled wheels
and 9½ x 16in cylinders. They were named: Marion, Ida and
Ilen (Boyd used upper case for the names). Boyd conjectures the steps
that led to the conception of the West Carbery in the form of a street tramway,
though neither its length, gradients nor curves would be inadmissible as
these features were frequently found in the towns of the West Riding (e.g.
Huddersfield), but seldom of the severity and continuation of the WCT which
soon proved the street tram principle was unsuited to the
terrain.
Faults included the boiler/firebox design; the firebox brick-arches
were faulty, and the three were recommended for rebuilding with copper in
place of steel. The wrong material led to weeping of the boiler/firebox due
to unequal expansion of these materials. The weight in working order was
15 tons but they were unable to pull twice their weight on a gradient of
1 in 30. Some of the blame was placed on the firemen who were possibly
inexperienced. Sheet-steel skirting was taken down to a level approximately
3 in. above the rails; the rolling and pitching of the engine probably produced
shrieks of protest as it scraped the rails. There was an entrance through
the upper sheeting both front and rear; the former would allow the tubes
to be cleaned. With a coupled wheelbase of only 6 ft, the fore and aft pitching
was considerable. Well tanks held 350 gallons. Condensing of the live steam
was also a problem as the boilers were domeless. The engines were delivered
in a green livery. Marion and Ida were possibly named after
Director's wives; Ilen is the river at Skibbereen.
The locomotives failed from the first; shortage of steam was countered
by the early removal of the condensing gear, and the disconnection of the
vacuum brake. Leakages of both boiler and firebox were put down to cost-cutting
and the use of steel in construction. Unequal expansion would cause leakage.
The Company submitted, clearly with informed opinion, that the fireboxes
were wrongly made and detailed leaking tubes, and cracks around the firehole
door. To remedy a dire situation, the cure was seen in fitting new fireboxes
to the tram engines and then putting them on light duties; they would then
be replaced by conventional engines of adequate power output. Though this
objective was to be achieved over a number of years, the initial financial
position forbade it, but a start was made in 1888..
Marion was in a dismantled state at Skibbereen
in 1906. Ida when seen at Skibbereen in 1924 was largely unused except
in emergency. Ida had been rebuilt in 1905 when it lost its tram-engine
appearance. A more conventional cab was fitted having an open back; the side
sheets were given a horizontal shutter which would close to keep out a little
of the Atlantic gales. In May 1901 a new, bigger boiler had been ordered
from Nasmyth, Wilson which cost £403: it was fitted with a Belpaire
firebox and a huge dome on its first ring, surmounted by Salter safety valves.
A very tall chimney was to aid combustion. A large brass lubricator was mounted
below the chimney. In this state the engine could produce a tractive effort
of 5,730 lbf with 140psi boiler pressure. Further modifications were made
before 1924, when the locomotive had a smokebox extension necessitating a
removal of the forward sandboxes so they were now outside the sheeting at
both ends as when new. The machine lasted until the GSR take-over
in 1925 but was not taken into stock; it was scrapped in 1926, although according
to Clements and McMahon it received an Inchicore classification. They note
as received into the GSR it had 2ft 6in coupled wheels and 9½in x 16in
cylinders..
4-4-0T Erin
Supplied by Nasmyth, Wilson (WN either 341 or 342/1888) and funded
by a loan of £1,600. As delivered, the vacuum brake was omitted, and
the bogie had disc wheels with splashers on the rear set. The livery was
green with white lining, and lettering on the side tank stated WEST CARBERY
TRAMWAY with ERIN painted below but no number. It was a sound
purchase and proved itself by outlasting the railway. It received a replacement
boiler from Peckett in March 1908 costing £428 and pressed to 150psi.
It had 'pop' safety valves, and the dome had been heightened to accommodate
a higher intake to the main steampipe and supply hotter steam to the injector.
Replacement disc wheels were fitted and in 1909 an extended coal bunker was
cantilevered out behind the cab as the capacity within was inadequate. The
side opening to the cab was partly infilled with sheeting. A Belpaire firebox
was fitted from new and was probably the first of its type in Ireland (Clements
and McMahon claim first in British Isles), whilst the Walschaerts valve gear
was a further novel feature. According to Clements and McMahon (page 222)
it weighed 24 tons, had a total heating surface of
509ft2, 9ft2 grate area
and 12 x 18in cylinders.
As built, only one injector was fitted, together with a crosshead-driven pump on the right-hand side. The evidence of the higher dome suggests that the steep gradients induced priming and modification was necessary to correct it; the original coal capacity was clearly too meagre for an engine required by the line's nature to consume more than average amounts of fuel.
A second injector was fitted later under the fireman's (left side) and fed a clack forward of the tank on that side. The dome-stearn-supplied injector on the right-hand tank top fed a clack on that side and was unusual in being controlled from the driver's side. In view of what footplatemen recalled of conditions, this was a wise precaution as the fireman was so constantly feeding the fire and keeping a look-out that water-levels and injector controls could take second-place. Duplication was essential. Except when in Skibbereen for repairs the engine was normally based at Schull and therefore became the regular duty engine; it was preferred to the Peckett-built engines which joined it later; the accessibility of the motion was a factor and the ride better with its longer driving wheelbase. In 1925 it acquired tank-side number plates bearing the number 4s surmounted by small characters GSR; the suffix 's' to the number indicated S&SR section under the GSR (which classified it DN5, the only member of the class).
4-4-0T No. 1 Gabriel
Peckett WN 1085/1906 was acquired to replace Marion, a tender
for £1,220 being accepted for a second 4-4-0T. Unlike No.4 Erin
which had inside frames, Gabriel was outside-framed. The driving wheel
diameter was reduced to 3 ft 0½in giving more tractive effort, the bogie
wheels increased to 2 ft 0 in. diameter, the driving wheelbase brought down
to 5 ft 0 in., bogie wheelbase 4 ft 0 in. (total wheelbase 15 ft). Boiler
pressure was increased to 160psi and with cylinders the same size as No.4
and smaller driving wheels, the tractive effort was enhanced to 9,650 lbf.
Coal capacity was 1¼ tons and weight in working order 26½ tons
which made for better adhesion. The grate area was 8 ft2 and total
heating surface 575 ft2 . The men liked her. Peckett's were proud
of their creation and their contemporary catalogue featured an embossed
representation of the engine on the cover.
In 1906 on the first arrival of the, engine at Schull, it was turned
and re-attached to the train, and was then blessed by Father John O'Connor,
the Parish Priest of Schull who mounted the leading footplate, broke a bottle
of champagne over the smokebox and duly named the engine.
It will be noted that on both this engine and its predecessor, ERIN,
the cowcatcher was on the front end only. GABRIEL carried a wooden tool box
and re-railing jack at the front end - or was the former for sand, as the
front and rear sanding pipes so visible when new, are missing on later
photographs? Furthermore, scrutiny of the maker's photograph shows only a
leading sandbox below the footplate; the rear must be below the floor of
the cab? Locally made rear sandboxes outside the frames appear more recently.
Note too the usual Peckett displacement lubricator on the back of the chimney
and the prominent compensating lever between the main driving springs. The
weary looking lamp which drooped at the foot of the chimney appears to be
of carbide type; it would not give much illumination but would be a better
warning than an oil one. It was carried on two brackets, shaped like a 'U';
the engine lamps were of conventional pattern.
The engine was classed 'DN4' by the GSR but exceptionally, the nameplates
were not removed as was their custom, 'No. l' being painted in small characters
on the front beam instead, though the listed number was 1s. This, and the
engines surviving to be absorbed in the GSR, were painted an un-lined black.
The boiler, which had never received pop safety valves, was beyond repair
in 1936 and the engine was scrapped in 1937. Its cylinders became a 'transplant'
onto No.3. GABRIEL had proved itself to be prudent purchase. Its only major
catastrophe occurred in Spring 1909 when the driving axle fractured; Peckett
supplied a new one at half-price, having considered its age.
4-4-0T No.3 Conciliation (Kent).
Purchased in 1914, this was another machine from Peckett (WN 1356/1914)
which proved to be of equally good value. It was almost identical to
Gabriel, and under the GSR was given No.3 to replace the tram engine
Ilen scrapped at that time. The name Kent had been bestowed
in place of the original through local patriotism. The Skibbereen fitter,
Paddy Murphy, who had been moved by the execution of Thomas Kent in Cork
gaol by the British in 1916, contrived to make a new pair of plates from
brass boiler tube and placed them before the Management Committee. This body
was sympathic to such a patriotic gesture, acceded to the request, and No.3
was re-christened accordingly. Boyd describes at length the local politics
which conspired in the renaming.
As this acquisition was a little shorter than Gabriel (24 ft
11 in.), it had a reduced heating surface at 514 ft2, grate area
of 7.58 ft2, a coal capacity of 18 cwt. and weight in working
order of 25½ tons (or possibly one ton less).# Painting, etc. was similar
to Is under the GSR and the engine outlasted the life of the railway. Under
the GSR, the engine was classed DN4.
Ex-Cork & Muskerry 0-4-4T No. 6s
The main account of this locomotive is included with
the Muskerry line. 6s had to return to Inchicore shortly after arrival
as the buffer beams fouled Ballydehob platform and the goods and cattle docks
there and at the termini: also for alterations to the brake hose connection.
After this it did sterling work.
It was the most powerful engine to work on the system so that at least those larger driving wheels would be offset on the steeper sections - the C&MLR had nothing of this nature to contend with. When working the Donoughmore line, Nos. 5 & 6 were usually turned at the end of each journey so that the cab was leading. The cowcatcher was at the front end for working the S&S section, whereas on the C&M Nos. 5 & 6 might sport the fitting at one end or the other!
Unique for the S&S line, it was driven from the left side which was likely to have been unpopular with most firemen. The bunker itself was pathetically small as built but Inchicore provided a new one of greater capacity - the increased height was noticeable.
As regards the vacuum brake, it may be noticed that No. 6s had two brake hoses at the bunker end and a single hose at the front. The double hoses were found necessary because the original single hose would not reach the train hoses when traversing a sharp curve. To make matters worse, there was a swing at the bunker end, a drawback which the other locomotives did not have. On No. 6s the bunker was always next to the train with chimney leading. To overcome this, when the engine returned to Inchicore to have the buffer beams 'trimmed', double hoses were fitted to the bunker.
Tralee & Dingle Light Railway
The railway opened in 1898 and had a main line of 32¼ miles plus
a 6 mile branch to Castlegregory. This railway accumulated a rich literature:
Tom Rolt's account in Lines of
character is amongst the best pieces of writing about railways.
Patterson's Clogher Valley
Railway (p. 94) noted that the railway experimented with the Holden
system of oil-firing as the Clogher's Locomotive Superintendent was sent
to Tralee to inspect the system. Middlemass lists locomotives supplied: all
except No. 7 and 8 (original) supplied by Hunslet (H): Nos. 7-8 by Kerr Stuart
(K). All received suffix T to numbers under GSR, except No.
4.Clements and McMahon
Locomotives of the GSR (pp. 224-6) quote different withdrawal
dates and these have been added to the table below in parenetheses and this
is followed by the main dimensions listed by them.:.
No. | Type | WN/date | withdrawn | GSR class | Inchicore class | Notes | |
1 | 2-6-0T | 477/1889 | H | 1953 (1954) | 1T | KN2 | |
2 | 2-6-0T | 478/1889 | H | 1953 (1954) | 1T | KN2 | |
3 | 2-6-0T | 479/1889 | H | 1959 | 1T | KN2 | transferred Cavan & Leitrim |
4 | 0-4-2T | 514/1890 | H | 1908 | |||
4 (originally 8) | 2-6-0T | 836/1903 | K | 1959 | 4T | KN1 | transferred Cavan & Leitrim |
5 | 2-6-2T | 555/1892 | H | P | 5T | PN2 | transferred Cavan & Leitrim: preserved at Tralee |
6 | 2-6-0T | 677/1898 | H | 1960 | 1T | KN2 | transferred West Clare thence to Cavan & Leitrim |
7 | 2-6-0T | 800/1902 | K | 1928 | 4T | KN1 | |
8 | 2-6-0T | 1051/1910 | H | 1955 | 1T | KN2 | transferred West Clare |
Hunslet 2-6-0T locomotives: these were fitted with Walschaerts valve
gear and had flangeless centre coupled (3ft 0½in) wheels; 13 x 18in
cylinders; 150 psi boilers with a total heating surface of 560ft2
and a grate area of 9.75ft2.
Hunslet 2-6-2T locomotive: this was the first inside frame narrow gauge
locomotive in the British Isles accoring to Clements and McMahon.. It was
supplied with Holden oil burning equipment, but converted to coal in 1893.
It was used to burn turf (peat) in 1944. It received a major overhaul in
1959. It has/had 3ft 0½in coupled wheels, 13½ x 18in cylinders,
a 150 psi boiler with a total heating surface of 601ft2 and a
grate area of 10.7ft2.
Kerr Stuart 2-6-0T locomotives: they had 3ft 0in coupled wheels, 12½
x 20in cylinders, 140 psi boilers with a total heating surface of
478ft2 and a grate area of 7.5ft2. No. 4 had been modified
in 1908 with larger cylinders (13½ diameter) and higher (160 psi) boiler
pressure. Somewhat inexplicably Clements and McMahon state: "Nominally more
powerful than the Hunslet 4-4-0Ts, these standard products of Kerr, Stuart
were unpopular on the TDLR". Presumably the 4-4-0Ts on the Cavan &
Leitrim. The lack of popularity included a lack of brake power which tended
to resttrict them to the Castlegregory branch, and the inside Stephenson
link motion.
Fayle, H. The Tralee and Dingle Light Railway. Loco. Rly Carr.
Wagon Rev., 1937, 43, 47-51.7 illus.
Whitehouse, P.B. and Powell, A.J. The story
of the Tralee & Dingle Light Railway. London, Locomotive Publishing
Co., [196 ]. [iv] , 76 p. 34 illus., 6 diagrs. (incl. 3 s.f. & r. els.),
tables, 2 maps.
West Clare Railway:
The West Clare Railway was incorporated in 1884 and opened from Ennis
to Miltown Malbay on 2 July 1887, and the South Clare
Railways on 3 August 1892. TThere was a triangular junction at Moyasta
and a network of 52.75 miles. he CIE modernized the motive power by replacing
steam with diesel railcars and locomotives, but this policy did not prevent
the line from being closed.
Fayle, H. The West Clare Railway. Rly Mag., 1939, 84,
339-45. 5 illus., table, plan, map.
Whitehouse, P.B. The West Clare Railway. Rly Mag., 1951,
97, 296-8. 4 illus., map.
Locomotive summary from Middlemass & Clements & McMahon pp.
No. | Name | Type | Builder | WN/date | Withdrawn | GSR No. | coupled wheels | cylinders | grate area | ths | boiler pressure | Class | |
1 |
0-6-0T | Bagnall | 730/1887 |
1912 | |||||||||
2 |
0-6-0T | Bagnall | 738/1887 |
1900 | |||||||||
3 |
Clifden | 0-6-0T | Bagnall | 793/1887 |
1922 | ||||||||
4 |
Besborough | 0-6-0T | Bagnall | 794/1887 |
1901 | ||||||||
5 |
Slieve Callan | 0-6-2T | Dübs | 2890/1892 | 1952 | 5C |
3ft 6in* | 15 x20in | 11.18 | 750.5 | 150 | IN1 | preserved |
6 |
Saint Senan | 0-6-2T | Dübs | 2891/1892 | 1956 | 6C |
3ft 6in* | 15 x20in | 11.18 | 750.5 | 150 | IN1 | |
7 |
Lady Inchiquin | 0-6-2T | Dübs | 2892/1892 | 1922 | 3ft 6in* | 15 x20in | 11.18 | 750.5 | 150 | |||
8 |
Lisdoonvarna | 2-6-2T | Dübs | 3169/1894 | 1925 | 8C |
3ft 6in | 15 x20in | 11.12 | 741.8 | 150 | PN1 | |
9 |
Fergus | 2-6-2T | T. Green | 229/1900 |
1925 | 9C |
3ft 6in | 15 x20in | 11.18 | 750.5 | 150 | PN1 | |
2 |
Ennis | 2-6-2T | T. Green | 234/1900 |
1955 | 2C |
3ft 6in | 15 x20in | 11.18 | 750.5 | 150 | PN1 | § |
4 |
Liscannor | 2-6-2T | T. Green | 236/1901 |
1928 | 4C |
3ft 6in | 15 x20in | 11.18 | 750.5 | 150 | PN1 | |
10 |
Lahinch | 4-6-0T | Kerr Stuart | 818/1903 |
1952 | 10C |
3ft | 15 x20in | 12 | 700 | 160 | BN1 | |
11 |
Kilkee | 4-6-0T | Bagnall | 1881/1909 | 1953 | 11C |
3ft 6in | 15 x20in | 11.5 | 696 | 160 | BN2 | ¶µ |
1 |
Kilrush | 4-6-0T | Hunslet | 1098/1912 | 1953 | 1C |
3ft 9in | 15 x20in | 11.5 | 604 | 160 | BN4 | ¶ |
2 |
Ennistymon | 4-6-0T | Hunslet | 1432/1922 | 1953 | 3C |
3ft 9in | 15 x20in | 11.5 | 604 | 160 | BN3 | ¶ |
3 |
Malbay | 4-6-0T | Hunslet | 1433/1922 | 1956 | 7C |
3ft 9in | 15 x20in | 11.5 | 604 | 160 | BN3 | ¶ |
*The Dubs 0-6-2Ts had 3ft 6in coupled wheels (originally 4ft), screw
reverse, twin injectors, but inadequate cabs which required timber shutters
to keep out the Atlantic gales. The cylinders were 15 x 20in and the 150
psi boilers had a 702ft2 total heating surface and
11.18ft2 grate area.
§ used by Bulleid in 1950 for experimental steel firebox with heating
surfaces of: tubes 482ft2 and firebox 74ft2
fitted with pony truck which gave improved ride and improved cab
Design recommended by Board of Works for narrow gauge lines with
involvement of Barrington, Consulting Egineer to the WCR. Clements and McMahon
consider that the design, rather than the manufacturer, was at fault: the
cylinders drove onto the leading coupled axle and this led to the ash pan
was over the centre coupled wheel axles. The slide valves were located above
the cylinders.
µ Considered a very satisfactory locomotive
¶ No. 11 may have been fitted with Bagnall-Price valve gear; No. 1 certainly
was; the final two (and the most modern Irish narrow gauge steam locomotives)
were fitted with outside Walschaerts valve gear.
4-6-0T
BN3: 1922 : Carter
4-6-0 tank locomotives, West Clare Railway, Ireland.
Loco. Rly Carr. Wago Rev., 1923,
29, 94-5. illus., 2 diagrs. (s. & f. els.), plan.
Includes sectionalized diagrams.
4-6-0T No. 11 built Baguley 1909
West Clare Ry . Locomotive
Mag., 1909, 15, 201. illustration
No. 11 Kilkee illustrated
Belfast & North Counties Railway
Malcolm 2-4-0 No. 58
Failure of firebox near Antrim: led to increase in number of boiler examinations. (Currie)
Belfast and County Down Railway:
With the exception of the surburban line from Belfast to Bangor, the
system was closed in 1950, shortly after its absorption by the Ulster Transport
Authority. It was a small railway, but some post-1923 locomotive development
took place. Its locomotive history was interesting in that it extended back
to the Bury period. A complication in its history was the existence of a
separate Belfast, Holywood & Bangor Railway which obtained locomotives
from the BCDR and returned them, plus others to th BCDR in 1884. It is obvious
that the "new" (2011) Colourpoint book changes everything: it has now been
seen (KPJ) on a brief visit to the NRM (July 2012). It is one of the best
railway books ever seen by him, but lacks a really good index (KPJ would
gladly have done one for nothing the book is so good). DWM fails
to record the physical attractiveness of the book (a rare attribute in the
21st century), its less than perfect index, or that the railway had considered
electrification in the 1920s.
Contemporary
Recent Belfast and County Down locomotives.
Locomotive Mag., 1903, 9,
186-88. 5 illustrations
Coakham, Desmond. The Belfast and County Down
Railway. Colourpoint, 256 pp.
Reviewed by "DWM" in Backtrack,
2011, 25, 765.
The Belfast & County Down was the smallest of the three main line
railway companies serving the North of Ireland. It did exactly what it said
on the label, running out from the south eastern suburbs of Belfast along
the commuter belt on the shore of Belfast Lough to Bangor and also throwing
off a line into rural County Down. This, the 'main line', split at Comber
serving the sometime packet port of Donaghadee on the east coast and Downpatrick,
Ardglass and Newcastle. The BCDR was linked to the Great Northern of Ireland
at its northern and southern extremities, but not to the NCC. The reviewer
calls this a 'proper' company history: something which has become quite a
rarity in recent years. The author ranges far, wide and deep into his subject,
the story is told with style and authority and with a splendid mixture of
political, personal and engineering matters covered in appropriate detail.
As with all Colourpoint productions, the book is beautifully illustrated
with a fine selection of pertinent photographs and is well provided with
maps and diagrams. The rise and consolidation of the County Down to its peak
in the years leading up to WW1 is recorded in detail. The inter-war years
and the competition with road transport and the effect of the WW2 on the
railway lead naturally down to the 'nationalisation' of 1948 when the County
Down became part of the Ulster Transport Authority. A chapter entitled 'The
BCDR as we knew it' gives the author a chance to range over the system at
the end of the steam era in word, plan and photograph.
In addition to all the 'background history' of the County Down the author
provides details on services, shipping, accidents - which with amazing regularity
seem to involve Ballymacarrett Junction just east of the Queen's Quay terminus
- signalling and permanent way. Rolling stock and locomotives are thoroughly
dealt with. The County Down experimented with diesel traction in the thirties.
It used the expertise of the neighbouring Harland &Wolff shipyards to
provide a couple of diesel-electrics but on the locomotive side the railway
will probably always be associated with the four Beyer, Peacock 'Baltic'
tanks it acquired in 1920 - a classic case of 'flattering to deceive!'. The
full extent of the locomotive and carriage fleets are listed as a series
of tabulated appendices and the book is blessed with a comprehensive index.
In his initial acknowledgements the author thanks his publisher 'for undertaking
publication of this narrative, hopefully the definitive history of the BCDR'.
"It has been a pleasure to review a 'definitive history'; this splendid book
comes highly recommended!"
Fayle, H. Belfast & County Down Rly., and its locomotives. Loco.
Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1941, 47, 215-17; 239-41; 262-5: 1942,
48, 12-14; 37-40. 27 illus. (incl. line drawing s.el.), map.
The LAST days of the Belfast & County Down Railway. Rly Mag.,
1950, 96, 267-9. 2 illus.
McNeill, D.B. The Belfast and County Down Railway. Rly Obsr,
1935, 7, 216-17. table.
Parkes, G.D. Exit steam on the Belfast & County Down. Rly
Wld, 1955, 16, 59-60. 4 illus.
Patterson, E.M. The Belfast & County Down Railway. Lingfield
(Surrey), Oakwood Press, 1958. liii , 51 p. + 8 plates. 22 illus., diagr.,
2 tables, 2 maps. (Oakwood library of railway history. No. 15).
Includes a chapter on locomotive development and gives a complete
listing reproduced below.
Reed, K.H. Locomotives of the B.C.D.R.. Rly Mag., 1939,
84, 416-22.15 illus., table.
Mainly illustrations and tabulated technical data.
The following is based upon Patterson (some of the uncertainty is
due to the loss of records during German bombing of Belfast during
WW2):
Bury period:
2-2-2: 1848-
Believed to have been 2-2-2 supplied by Bury, Curtis & Kennedy;
ordered 1846; delivered 1848. Numbered 1-4. No. 4 was sold in 1858; Nos.
1 and 3 in 1865, but No. 2 probably lasted until about 1883.
2-2-2WT: Fairbairn: 1850-1
Fayle suggested were 2-2-2WT: Numbered as 1 and 2 tank engines until
1859; thence as Nos. 4 and 5. Lasted until 1877 and 1867.
2-4-0T: Beattie patent: Beyer Peacock: 1857-9
Ordered in 1856 (WN 53/1857; 55/1858 and 104/1859). First two had
15 x 22in cylinders and 5ft 6in coupled wheels and last had 12 x 18in cylinders
with 5ft coupled wheels. First two lasted until 1896 and 1894. The smaller
locomotive may have been withdrawn in 1880: it is illustrated (photograph)
in Fig. 8. Coakham adds considerably to this, noting both Beattie's special
connections with the North of Ireland; especially with
W.R. Anketell of the CDR and
his correspondence with Sir John
Macneill on coal burning..
0-4-2: Fairbairn: 1859
Two freight engines numbered 8 and 9 which lasted until 1886/7
2-4-0ST: Vulcan Foundry: 1864-
Works numbers: 508/1864; 537-8/1865; 561/1866 and 590/1867 and 793/1876
and 797/1876 were either supplied directly to the BCDR, or in the case of
the 1876 locomotives directly to the separate Belfast, Holywood & Bangor
Railway. WN 537/8 became BHBR Nos. 1 and 2 in 1870, but returned to the BCDR
in 1884 following the Company's absorption. Fig. 2 shows one of these locomotives
at Ballynahinch in c1900. The two more recent locomotives remained in sdervice
until 1909..
Further Belfast, Holywood & Bangor Railway locomotive:
Hawk
A Sharp 2-2-2 (formerly Ulster Railway, and BCDR, perhaps lasted only
a few months on absorption; or it may have been ex-Ulster Railway
Spitfire; altered to a 2-2-2WT and used on Belfast & Ballymena
Railway from 1849 as Hawk; then rebuilt as 2-4-0T being sold to BHBR
and used as a ballast engine for Bangor extension.
2-4-0ST: Yorkshire Engine Co.: 1870
WN 151-2 supplied to Belfast, Holywood & Bangor Railway and absorbed
into BCDR stock: Withdrawn 1891.
Fowler tank locomotive: 1867
Ordered in 1866; withdrawn in 1882. Numbered as No. 1
2-4-0: Manning Wardle: 1868
WN 261/2: former rebuilt 1874 and 1883; latter in earlier year only.
Originally had an American appearance with side window cabs. Running numbers
12 and 13: No. 12 lasted until 1904; No. 13 withdrawn 1888 and possibly
cannibalized to keep No. 12 running.
0-6-0: Vulcan: 1875
WN 746. Goods engine, numbered 14; first on line to haul six-wheeled
tender. Lasted until 1904.
0-6-0: Beyer, Peacock: 1878
WN 1789: engine was rather like the Vulcan goods; allocated number
4, vacant from scrapping of the original No. 1 tank engine. Lasted until
1922.
R.G. Miller period
First signs of standardisation became evident.
0-4-2 mixed traffic engines: Sharp, Stewart: 1880-1890
WN 2879/1880; 3358/1886; 3392/1887; 3432/1888 and 3615/1890. Running
numbers: 2, 9, 10, 13 and 16. All were converted to tank engines in BCDR
shops between 1900 and 1902 and thereafter were mainly on shunting and branch
line work. No. 9 was in reserve stock from 1945; and was renumbered 28: withdrawn
in 1949.
0-4-2: BCDR: 1881
At the Board meeting in February 1882 it was minuted that "A new engine
and tender built in the company's workshops has been put upon the line. .
" This was numbered 8, and very little data remains, but was probably built
from bits and pieces, the main contributions coming from the original no.
2 Bury engine: its life was short.
0-4-2T: Fairbairn/Sharp Stewart
Two engines of chequered history were taken into stock in 1882 and
1883. They appear to have been built by Fairbairn, just before the closure
of its works in 1863, and were then acquired by Sharp, Stewart. They were
bought by the Newry & Armagh Railway in 1864 and became part of the GNR
(I) stock in 1879, which disposed of them as No. 80 and 82, in 1883 and 1882
respectively. Details of their transfer to the BCDR are obscure, but they
were considered in detail by H. C. Fayle in The Locomotive. They appear BCDR
Nos. 1 and 8: No.8 was withdrawn in 1897, being cannibalised to repair No.
1, which ran until 1909.
2-4-2T: Beyer, Peacock 1891
In 1891 Miller ordered a class of four 2-4-2T engines with inside
cylinders compounding on the Worsdell von Borries principle. They were
characterised by high-pitched boilers, Walschaerts valve gear, small driving
wheels, and short side tanks. They were WN 3358-61; running numbers 18-22.
Fig. 9 shows No. 22 in its original state. They mainly worked to Bangor;
but proved too rigid on the curves, and the single leading axles were replaced
by outside-bearing bogies, becoming 4-4-2Ts in about 1893. Patterson stated
that between 1903 and 1905 No. 21 was further altered, when the 18¼
in. by 24 in. "compound cylinders" were removed and temporarily replaced
by 17 in. by 24 in. simples: this would seem to imply that the high pressure
cylinder was replaced. All scrapped in 1920.
2-4-0: Beyer, Peacock: 1892
WN 3511-13: running numbers 23-5. Wordsdell von Borries compounds
(2-cylinder type): cylinders were 16/23¼ in. by 24 in. They were mostly
used for main-line working. In 1920 withdrawn and scrapped.
0-6-0: Beyer, Peacock: 1892
Beyer, Peacock supplied a second 0-6-0 engine, which was numbered
26. This engine saw much service on the Donaghadee branch, working both goods
and passenger trains, until 1950.
2-4-0: Beyer, Peacock: 1892
The conversion to simples of the compound passenger class of 2-4-0
engines, built in 1892, was anticipated by the building in 1894 of a 2-4-0
simple with 6 ft. driving wheels. This engine far outlasted its fellows;
although on the reserve list at the beginning of World War II it was reprieved
and was given a Belpaire firebox in 1943, with a boiler identical with the
then standard class of 4-4-2 tanks. It proved its worth on Newcastle trains,
handling them with elan as late as January 1950. After the closure of the
main line it never ran again, and for some years it lay under cover in the
motor shed at Queen's Quay before being finally auctioned along with most
of its younger brethren on 19 January 1956.
2-4-2T: Beyer, Peacock: 1896-7
Miller extended his standardisation policy in 1896-97 when six 2-4-2Ts
were supplied by Beyer, Peacock: WN 3853-4/1896 (running
numbers 5 and 7) followed by WN 3868-9/1897 running numbers: 8 and 27 and
WN 3882-3 (28 and 29). Driving wheels were 5 ft 6 in. diameter, a standard
size on later passenger engines. No. 29 was scrapped in 1923, 8 in 1925,
and 28 in 1937. In 1928 Nos. 7 and 27 had their cylinders lined: these two,
together with No. 5, worked through WW2. The first two engines of the class
(5 and 7) had shorter side tanks than the 1897 versions; Patterson puzzingly
stated that No. 27 retained its short side tanks until 1943; when it was
brought into line with the other two still running. 5 and 7 went for scrap
in 1949; 27 followed in October 1950.
0-6-0: Beyer, Peacock: 1904
A further 0-6-0 goods engine was supplied by Beyer, Peacock (WN 4594)
to take over No. 14 from the old Vulcan 0-6-0. This was the first on the
line to have a Belpaire firebox, and its total heating surface of 1305
ft2 was the greatest of any engine owned by the company. Later
the total heating surface was slightly reduced when a new boiler was fitted.
The engine scrapped in 1954.
0-6-0: Beyer, Peacock: 1914
WN 5842 (No. 10) had similar cylinder dimensions to No. 14, but had
a larger boiler when new, working at 170 psi with a total heating surface
of 1438 ft2. Subsequent reboilering led to reduced working pressure
of 160 psi. Scrapped in 1956.
Six wheels coupled goods engine, Belfast and County Down Ry.
Locomotive Mag., 1915,
21, 29-30. illustration
Built Beyer Peacock to specification of R.G. Miller, locomotive
engineer
0-6-0: Beyer, Peacock: 1921
A further 0-6-0 goods engine WN 6072/1921 came in 1921, becoming No.
4. It was similar to the 1914 locomotive, but the total heating surface was
slightly reduced. It worked excursion trains of up to sixteen 6-wheelers
to Newcastle. Withdrawn 1956.
Steam railcars (rail motors): Kitson:
Rowledge states that these were Kitson WN 4296-7/1905 and
4383/1906. Patterson's tabulated data state that were Beyer Peacock products,
but text states Kitson. A growth in commuter traffic led to a rail motor
service to Holywood from May 1905. Stopping trains ran frequently to Holywood
and the Bangor trains were accelerated by omitting stops. Three rail motors
came from Kitson: each consisted of a clerestory-roofed coach with a rear-end
bogie, the front being rigidly fixed to a 0-4-0 tank engine which could be
detached when necessary. The boiler operated at 160 psi and had a Belpaire
firebox; total heating surface was 505 ft2. These rail motors
were separately numbered from the engine stock. The use of the rail motors
was extended to the suburban traffic of east Belfast, and they ran as far
as Dundonald. They had a short life being withdrawn after 1918, the engines
being scrapped in 1924, but the coach portions were given ordinary bogies
and ran until the end of steam workings.
4-4-2T: Beyer, Peacock: 1900
Contemporary
Ten-wheeled compound tank engine, Belfast & Countv Down Ry.
Locomotive
Mag., 1900,
5,145. illustration
For heavy passenger traffic between Belfast and Bangor, the B. &
C. D. Ry, used a very fine looking and powerful type of tank engine. They
had coupled wheels 5-ft. diameter, the coupled centres being 8-ft. 9-in.
apart. The H. & L. P. cylinders were 18½-in. and .26½-in. in
diameter respectively, with a stroke of 24-in. The valve motion was Walschaerts
type.
4-4-2T: Beyer, Peacock: 1901-9
Beyer, Peacock built the the largest class of engines on the BCDR.
These 4-4-2 tank engines were successfully used on all portions of the system.
In spite of their modest tractive effort of 14,292 lbf, they coped with long
trains of 6-wheeled carriages to and from Newcastle on Saturday excursions
and at holiday times. WN 4231-3/1901 (30, 3 and 15) formed the first batch;
WN 4585-6/1904 (11 and 12) followed. All had flush-topped fireboxes when
built. Three further engines were added in 1909 (WN 5262-4) numbered 1, 17,
and 20. These differed in having Belpaire fireboxes and boiler pressures
raised to 175 psi from 160 psi, although later the lower figure was reverted
to.
4-4-2T: Beyer, Peacock: 1921
Rehabilitation at the end of WW1 resulted in the scrapping of nearly
a third of the stock. To replace them, Miller's successor, ordered a further
four of the 4-4-2 tanks, and these were delivered in 1921 (WN 6073-4/6091/6098)
becoming 13, 18, 19, and 21. Differences from the earlier engines included
trailing Cartazzi axles, placed an inch further from the rear coupled wheels.
Boiler pressure was 160 psi. Eventually all locomotives in the class were
fitted with Belpaire fireboxes.
4-6-4T: Beyer, Peacock: 1920
The literature on the Miller/Crosthwait Baltic tanks is more extensive.
Patterson stated that Beyer, Peacock delivered the four "massive" Baltic'
tank engines WN 5999-6002 (22, 23, 24 and 25) in 1920. These were a
characteristic feature of Bangor workings for over thirty years. The Baltics
remained the heaviest tank engines on any Irish line until the introduction
of the NCC 2-6-4 tanks from Derby in 1946. They had 19 x 26 in. outside cylinders
and Walschaerts valve gear. They never became noted for sprightly performance,
and in their latter years, competing with imported ex-NCC tanks, they appeared
decidedly sluggish. At the same time their coal consumption became notorious,
and a figure of 70 lb. per mile was attributed to them by harassed crews.
The total heating surface was 1622 ft2, and tractive effort 19,340
lbf. Water and coal capacity were 2000 gallons and 4 tons respectively, and
the weight in working order was over 80 tons. They were scrapped in 1956.
Owing to their weight they were kept to the Bangor line, but shortly after
delivery it was decided to test the performance of one of them on a heavy
stock train over part of the main line. The Fair Day at Ballynahinch led
to a Baltic hauling 35 loaded trucks from the branch terminus with a further
15 added at the junction. Thereafter, the sluggish Baltic failed to keep
the couplings tight and in one of the hollows past Saintfield the train broke
in two places. The performance was repeated near Ballygowan, and the train
was brought into Comber piecemeal. The experiment was not repeated.
Fryer, Charles British Baltic tanks:
the story of six types of British 4-6-4 tank locomotives. 1993.
56pp.
Ottley 15791: not seen, but recommended by Steamindex user
Scott, W.T. Irish Baltic tanks.
Backtrack, 1994, 8, 98-100.
Feature incorrectly attributed to Stott. The Belfast & County
Down Railway's 4-6-4T is alleged to be due to pressure from the Directors
who had visited the LBSCR and had hoped for something on a similar scale.
The Locomotive Superintendent, R.G. Miller refused to become involved in
such folly, but his successor J.L. Braithwaite was railroaded into ordering
some Baltics from Beyer Peacock. These arrived in 1920, but were heavy of
fuel due to a poor front-end. The UTA attempted to improve the design. B&w
illus: BCDR No 25 at Belfast Queen's Quay; ex BCDR No 23 now UTA 223 at
Belfast.
Rowledge, J.W.P. The County Down
Baltic tanks. Backtrack, 1994, 8, 166
See feature above. The expert on Irish locomotives corrects some errors.
The successor to R.G. Miller was John L. Crossthwait, not Braithwaite as
printed, who joined the company during 1919. The period of gestation for
the Co. Down Baltics was rather longer than the author suggests. As early
as October 1913 Beyer, Peacock forwarded a proposal for a 2-6-4T, followed
by revised versions in November and December 1915. Even if the directors
were impressed by the Brighton Baltics in 1916, the 2-6-4T was still in favour
when two further schemes were submitted on drawings dated 1st August and
13th October 1917. Then a further version was dated 27th March 1918, being
presumably the scheme on which the order was based when confirmed in July
1919 - thus the Baltic was accepted in Miller's time. In view of conditions
following the end of the First World War, the railway was very lucky to receive
the engines so quickly, the first two in June 1920 and the other two in the
next month.
0-6-4T
29: 1923 : Crosthwait/Beyer, Peacock
Patterson states WN 6134; running No. 29. Designed for shunting work
in the Belfast dock area and could negotiate curves of 170 ft radius. The
boiler and cylinders were identical with the later 4-4-2 tanks. The leading
end of the coupling rod was provided with ½ in side play, and the bogie
had 5 in side play. During UTA ownership it was used for a time at Queen's
Quay and was then taken across to York Road. Scrapped 1956.
New 0-6-4 side-tank locomotive, Belfast and County Down Ry..
Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1923,
29, 317. illus.
0-6-4 tank engine, Belfast & County Down Railway. Rly Mag., 1923,
53, 472. illus.
Retrospective and critical
Probert, W.A. The Irish 0-6-4 tanks. Trains ill., 1954,
7, 122-3. 4 illus., table. Addenda pp. 178-9.
4-4-2T
8:1924: Crosthwait/Beyer, Peacock.
Patterson: the last three engines to be added to BCDR stock were
essentially heavier versions of the 4-4-2T class. Wheel sizes were the same,
but the wheelbase was 2 ft more at 29 ft. 3 in. The boilers were similar
to those of the Baltics, as were coal and water capacity. Total heating surface
was 1369 ft2 and tractive effort 18,443 lbf. WN 6201-2/ running
Nos. 8 and 16 came in 1924, but WN 7139/ running No. 9 arrived in 1945, a
few days before the accident which sealed the fate of the company. The weight
of these engines, 66 tons, prevented their use on the main line beyond Comber
until after 1939. During the war years No. 16 was shedded at Donaghadee.
These were also withdrawn in 1956.
NEW Irish locomotives. Rly Mag., 1925, 56, 462. illus.
PASSENGER tank engine, Belfast and County Down Ry.. Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon
Rev., 1925. 31, 133.4. illus.
World War 2
The railway suffered very serious damage during WW2 and this led to the loan of GSR 428 class 2-4-2T No. 430 from July 1941 to October 1945: this was used on the Ballnahinch branch. Clements and McMahon page 137.
Castlederg & Victoria Bridge
Railway
Patterson's Clogher Valley
Railway gives brief details of the motive power on this 3ft gauge
line: the early locomotives were Kitson 0-4-0s, but in 1904 (according to
Patterson) Hudswell Clarke 2-6-0T WN 698 was supplied which cost £1600.
The maker's photograph shows it called Victoria, but the name was
not carried in service. The locomotive was never turned and was fitted with
skirts on one side only. The locomotive was acquired by the Clogher Valley
Railway in 1934 and converted into a 2-6-2T at Auchnacloy.
Middlemass gave a complete stock list and this
is reproduced below:.
No. | Name | Type | Date | Maker | WN | Withdrawn | |
1 | Mourne | 0-4-0T | 1884 | Kitson | T108 | 1904 | |
2 | Derg | 0-4-0T | 1884 | Kitson | T107 | 1912 | |
3 | 0-4-0T | 1891 | Kitson | T257 | 1928 | ||
4 | 2-6-0T | 1904 | Hudswell Clarke | 698 | 1933 | sold to Clogher Valley Railway | |
5 | 0-4-4T | 1912 | Hudswell Clarke | 978 | 1933 | ||
[6] | 2-4-0T | 1878 | Beyer Peacock | 1828 | 1933 | bought from NCC in 1928
|
The Castlederg and Victoria Bridge Tramway, Ireland.
Locomotive Mag., 1903, 8,
87. illustration
Describes modification to condensing apparatus on 1891 Kitson locomotive
by Charles S. Bracegirdle
Narrow gauge locomotive for the Castlederg and Victoria Bridge Railway.
Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1910,
16, 9. 2 illus.
No. 4 supplied by Hudswell Clarke: 3ft gauge: fitted with condensing
gear.
Casserley, H.C. the Castlederg and Victoria Bridge Tramway.
Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1931,
37, 137-9. 5 illus.
Normally known as a railway. Most of the photographs were taken
by the Author: exception being petrol railcar which had been withdrawn by
time of visit. General Manager was W.J. Davidson and engineer was G.H.
Pollard.
Clogher Valley Railway:
This roadside tramway operated between Maguire's Bridge and Tynan.
It opened in 1887 and closed in 1941. It was originally known as the Clogher
Valley Tramway. The line was characterised by sharp curves and steep gradients.
Also in Middlemass.
The Clogher Valley Ry.
Loco. Mag., 1913,
19, 276.
Concentrates on the locomotives (Works Numbers given) and crimson-painted
rolling stock
Hurst, E. The Clogher Valley (Light) Railway.
Rly Mag., 1900, 7,
315-20
Map. Comment written in pre-automobile era.
Patterson, E.M. The Clogher Valley Railway. 1972.
Wonderful account of what must have been a remarkable line. R.N. Clements
is acknowledged for the section on locomotives. Some of the bibliography
is recycled in this section, and the notes on the locomotives come from this
source.
'VOYAGEUR", pseud. The Clogher Valley Railway. Rly Mag., 1941,
87, 193-5; 212-13. 7 illus., map.
Locomotive stock
The locomotives were designed to run cab first and were fitted
with skirts and cowcatchers, and originally with condensers. Sharp Stewart
supplied six 0-4-2Ts in 1887: WN 3369-74 and these received the names:
Caledon, Errigal, Blackwater, Fury, Colebrooke and Erne. They
had large headlamps, originally oil-lamps and later acetylene. The original
livery was black, but this was changed to green on the first repaint.
J. Tomlinson was the Consulting
Engineer. Akalind was responsible for increasing the bunker size. When the
condensers were removed the feedwater pumps were replaced by injectors. A
trial was made with steam sanding, but the sand got into the motion. In 1910
Hudswell, Clarke (WN 914) supplied an 0-4-4T Blessingbourne, but this
lacked adhesion and there were problems with the steam brake. It was withdrawn
in 1926. Akerlind was involved
in this design. Further developments in steam traction (there were also further
developments with diesel railcars and rail tractors) was the acquisition
of a 2-6-0T from the Castlederg and Victoria Bridge Tramway in 1934: 2-6-0T
(Hudswell, Clark, 698/1904) and its rebuild as a 2-6-2T and the purchase
of an Atkinson, Walker 0-4-0T (WN 114/1928): this last was a total disaster
as a steam locomotive (Patterson pp. 216-19) and had been recommended by
Robert Killin: It did, however,
form the basis for a small diesel locomotive (Gardner engine) on the County
Donegal Railway where it was named Phoenix and is preserved in this form
in Belfast..
2-6-2T
REBUILT tank locomotive, Clogher Valley Rly. Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev.,
1936, 42, 242. 2 illus.
No.4 a Castlederg and Victoria Bridge Tramway 2-6-0T (Hudswell, Clark,
1904), was acquired and rebuilt as a 2-6-2T at the C.V.R. work shops at
Aughnacloy
Cork, Bandon and South Coast
Railway:
This railway, long-closed, was almost isolated from the rest of the
Irish system. The only connection with the rest of the G.S.R. was made through
the railways in Cork docks. Clements and McMahon Chapter
6. Locomotive engineers included
James Johnstone, briefly his
father before him and Thomas
Conran..
Chisholm, A.J. A run with an
Irish excursion train: an account of how the Cork, Bandon and South Coast
Railway conducts its excursion traffic. Rly Mag., 1902, 11,
55-60.
Written in the condescending "Colonial" style adopted by some at that
time: uses the expression "priest-ridden" without any justification. Purely
descriptive. Illus of Argadeen at Ballinascarthy Junction and at
Courtmacsherry and US 0-6-0ST No. 19
Cross, L.C. The locomotives of the Cork, Bandon & South Coast
Railway. Rly Mag., 1934, 74, 355-61. 9 illus., 5 tables.
Fayle, H. The Cork, Bandon and South Coast Rly. and its locomotives.
Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1939, 45, 163-5; 219-21; 275-7;
336-8. 26 illus. (incl. 9 line drawings: s. el.)
A re-examination of this series of articles shows that at least one
class was totally absent from Steamindex and that some others may have treated
too lightly: Ernie Shepherd has still to be seen in Eastern Siberia (alias
Norfolk)
Shepherd, Ernie. Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway. Hinkley:
Midland Publishing, 2005.
Reviewed by Tim Edmonds in J. Rly Canal Hist. Soc., 2006,
35, 311: well received.
Early locomotives
The Great Southern & Western Railway sold two of its Bury locomotives
to the Cork & Bandon Railway: both of which were then numbered 8. GSWR
No. 24, a 2-2-2, was sold for £350 in October 1872. It ran 703 miles
in its new location and then broke a valve spindle and four days later bburst
a stream pipe. It was withdrawn in November 1874 and sold in February 1875.
No. 38, a 2-4-0, was sold by the GSWR in May 1871, when it became CBR No.
8; then No. 2 about a year later and worked as a shunter until March 1877
following which it was broken up.
Clements, McMahon &
O'Rourke.
4-6-0T
Bandon tanks: Johnstone/Beyer Peacock:
1906-20
GSR Class 463 B4
Clements and McMahon (pp. 162-3) note that
the wheel arrangement was unusual and normally associated with the narrow
gauge. They do not mention the Whitby tanks
on the North Eastern Railway: a design which was virtually contemporaneous,
but larger. They were Beyer Peacock WN 4752/1906; 5265/1909; 5413/1910;
5616/1912; 5822/1914; 5954/1919; and 6034 and 6077/1920. As built they had
5ft 2½in coupled wheels; 18 x 24in cylinders; a grate area of
24ft2 and a total heating surface of 1182.5ft2. They
were highly regarded by the footplate crews, with the exception of the difficult
access to the cab. No. 468 was lent to Grand Canal Street shed for the summer
season in 1929 and was well received there. From then until 1956 one was
usually sent north to assist with summer services on the DSER section. The
last were not withdrawn until 1963. Nock described the
class as "very useful".
Ten wheel tank locomotives, Cork,
Bandon & South Coast Ry.. Locomotive Mag., 1906, 12,
131. illus.
Fayle, H. The Cork, Bandon and South Coast Rly. and its locomotives.
Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1939,
45, 336-8. 26 illus. (incl. 9 line drawings: s. el.)
Rutherford, Michael. The development of the large British passenger
tank engine. Part 3. More variety. (Railway Reflections No. 146).
Backtrack, 2008, 22,
686-95.
Includes the Bandon tanks.
No. 463 was fitted with an R class Belpaire boiler. Locomotive Mag., 1944, 50, 186
No. 467 was rebuilt with a Belpaire boiler with superheater: 894 ft2 total heating surface (including superheater), pop safety valves, 22.1 ft2 grate area and 150 psi boiler pressure (Fayle)
No. 10
GSR Class 471 B5
Built by Dubs as a 4-4-0T (similar to Class 479): WN 3048/1895. Rebuilt
as a 4-4-2T in 1903 and as a 4-6-0T in 1906. It had 5ft 6in coupled wheels,
16 x 22in cylinders, a total heating surface of 839ft2 and a grate
area of 14.5ft2. It was withdrawn in 1933.
Clements and McMahon pp.. 165-6 .
0-6-2ST
Nos. 19 and 20: Burnham & Williams (Baldwin Locomotive Co.), Philadelphia,
USA
WN 18027-8/1900 (Rowledge
Irish steam locomotive register). They had 18 x 24 in outside
cylinders, 4ft 8in coupled wheels,1179 ft2 total heating surface
and 18.79 ft2 grate area. They were withdrawn in 1914 (No. 20)
and 1912 (No. 19) Locomotive Mag.,
1939, 45, 336-8 and
Locomotive Mag., 1901,
6, 41
0-6-0ST
Nos. 6, etc: Beyer Peacock
GSR Classes 472-5: J24 etc
Based on Beyer Paecock 2131 Class, later developed into 3064 Class
(presumably latter two belonged to this): both types widely used in British
collieries and exported widely. They had 17 x 24in cylinders, 14ft2
grates and with the exception of CSBR No. 6 had a total heating surface
900ft2: No. 6 had 691ft2 having been rebuilt in 1922.
Clements and McMahon page. 164
WN | date | CBSCR | GSR No. | GSC Class | Inchicore | coupled wheel diam | withdrawn |
2046 | 1881 | 6 |
472 |
472 |
J24 |
4ft 6in |
1940 |
2156 | 1882 | 12 |
474 |
474 |
J23 |
4ft 5in |
1925 |
2902 | 1887 | 5 |
475 |
475 |
J21 |
4ft 3in |
1939 |
3288 | 1890 | 16 |
476 |
475 |
J21 |
4ft 3in |
1925 |
3629 | 1894 | 17 |
473 |
472 |
J24 |
4ft 6in |
1935 |
4-4-2T
CBSCR Nos. 3, 9 and 16:
GSR Class 479 C6
Built as 4-4-0Ts by Dubs and Neilson Reid and converted into 4-4-2Ts.
CBSCR No. | GSR No. | Builder | WN | Date | Rebuilt | Withdrawn |
3 | 479 | Dubs | 2777 | 1891 | 1902 | 1930 |
9 | 480 | Neilson Reid | 4741 | 1894 | 1898 | 1935 |
18 | 481 | Neilson Reid | 4740 | 1894 | 1900 | 1935 |
All had 5ft 6in coupled wheels, 16 x 22 cylinders and 14.5ft2 grates, but the Dubs locomotive had slightly different boiler dimensions shown in parentheses: tubes 751 (757); firebox 80 (82). The withdrawal date for No. 481 seems somewhat spurious as it was still at work in the summer of 1936, The Dubs locomotyive had laminated springs whereas the other two had helical springs. There were also differences between the cabs and bunkers between the two types. Clements and McMahon page. 168
4-4-0T
CBSCR Nos. 2 and 7: 1875/1901
GSR Class 477 D18
No. 2 originated as a Dubs 2-4-0T in 1875 as WN 861 and was rebuilt
as a 4-4-0T in 1908. No. 7 is claimed by Johnstone to have been built (or
assembled) at Rocksavage in 1901. The boiler for No. 7 came from one of the
spare Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway boilers auctioned when that
railway ceased broad gauge operations, and the frames came No. 7, an 0-4-0ST
withdrawn in 1897. The locomotives were withdrawn in 1930 and 1934. .
Clements and McMahon page. 167.
2-4-0T
CBSCR No. 1
GSR Class 482 G6
Similar to Cork & Macroom Direct Railway Dubs-built 2-4-0Ts
(classified as Class 487). WN 760/1874. 5ft coupled wheels;
15 x 22in cylinders; 11.2 ft2 grate area, total heating surface:
830.5ft2. Clements and McMahon pp. 169.
Cork & Macroom Direct Railway
Operated from its own terminus at Capwell in Cork. Was profitable
and resisted amalgamation, after which services diverted to Albert
Quay.
2-4-0T
Class 487 G5: Dubs: 1865-81
Very similar (differing in coupled wheel diameter) with Dubs design
for Cork & Bandon Railway (GSR Class 482 G6) 5ft 6in
coupled wheels; 15 x 21in cylinders; 10.5 ft2 grate area; total
haeting surface 760ft2.
CMDR | GSR | WN |
withdrawn |
2 | 487 | 18/1865 |
1928 |
3 | 488 | 235/1867 |
1934 |
4 | 489 | 1505/1881 | 1928 |
No. 488 transferred to Castleisland branch. Clements and McMahon pp. 174-5.
0-6-2T
C&MDR No. 5
Class 490 I2
Andrew Barclay WN 1022/1905. Withdrawn 1935
5ft 1in coupled wheels; 16 x 24in cylinders; 16 ft2 grate area.
Clements and McMahon p. 175.
Contemporary references
The Cork & Macroom Direct Ry.
Locomottive Mag., 1903,
8, 8. 2 illustrations
Tank locomotive for the Cork and Macroom Direct Railway.
Locomotive Mag., 1908,
14, 33. illus.
This noted that No. 1 (Dübs 1865) (see Locomotive Mag,
8, 8) had been scrapped and had been replaced by an Andrew Barclay. 0-6-2T
(WN 1022/1904) with a Webb type radial axle, a total heating surface of
1046ft2 and a 16ft2 grate area. The Belpaire boiler
operated at 160 psi and pop type safety valves were fitted. The livery was
black with broad vermillion bands with white lining. No. 3 had been repainted
in the same livery. The older locomotives were listed as above but the Works
Number for No. 3 was listed as WN 236/1867. This also notes that it was rebuilt
in 1899, and No. 4 in 1897. Except for No. 3 these retained the sage
green livery at that time. Maurice J. Reen was the Locomotive
Superintendent.
2-4-2T
Class 491 F5: Robinson: 1891
This 2-4-2T was supplied to the Waterford, Limerick & Western
Railway during Robinson's period as Locomotive Superintendent by Vulcan Foundary:
WN 1315/1891. It was identical to GSWR Class 267.
It was withdrawn in 1934.
Timoleague & Courtmacsherry Light
Railway
Ballinascarthy & Timoleague Junction Light Railway opened in 1890
and ran from the CBSCR Clonalkilty branch at Ballinascarthy to Timoleague
and thence over a roadside tramway to Courtmacsherry. The company owned three
locomotives (none had numbers, only names): an 0-6-0ST Slaney bought
from the contractor who built the line: withdrawn 1920. Clements and McMahon
pp. 177-8. Fayle Locomotive Mag.,
1939, 45, 336-8. is very detailed
0-6-0ST Slaney
Hunslet bought from Robert Worthington, the contractor for building
the railway. It had 12 x 15 in cylinders and 3 ft coupled wheels. It was
scrapped in 1914
2-6-0T
Hunslet WN 611/1894 Argadeen Class K5
3ft 6in coupled wheels; 14 x 18in cylinders; total heating surface
539 ft2, grate area 10.2 ft2
Sent to Inchicore for scrapping in 1929, but reboilered at Broadstone with
boiler from Imp and lasted until 1957. In this form it had the Kerr
Stuart built for a railmotor and had a total heating surface of 623.26
ft2and a grate area of 9.5 ft2. Clements and McMahon
p. 177-8
0-4-2T
St Molaga Class L6
Hunslet WN 520/1890. 3ft 3in coupled wheels; 10½ x 16in cylinders;
6.2 ft2 grate area, Clements and McMahon p. 178.
County Donegal Railways Joint
Committee:
This formerly independent 3 ft 0 in gauge railway was acquired jointly
by the NCC and GNR (I) in 1906, but was operated as a separate unit. It had
begun life as an Irish standard gauge line (the Finn Valley Railway) between
Strabane and Stranolar which was incorporated in 1863 and was converted to
3ft gauge in a single weekend in July 1894 (Notwork Rail please note). The
earliest diesel railcars to operate in the British Isles were owned by the
CDRJC and this policy, plus the poor Donegal roads, enabled the line to remain
open until 1960. In addition to the railcars, a stock of pre-1923 4-6-4Ts
and 2-6-4Ts was maintained. Patterson's book provides
a detailed history of this company. A locomotive stock list is taken from
Middlemass.
Standard gauge Finn Valley Railway (West Donegal Railway)
locomotives
Three Sharp Stewart 2-4-0Ts WN 3021-3 of 1881 worked the line: These
were numbered (but not in WN sequence) and were named Alice, Blanche
and Lydia. Alice lasted until 1926 finding work elsewhere.
Donegal Railway
No. |
Name |
Type |
Date |
Builder |
WN |
Withdrawn |
|
4 |
Meenglas |
4-6-0T |
1893 |
Neilson |
4573 |
1935 |
|
5 |
Drumboe |
4-6-0T |
1893 |
Neilson |
4574 |
1931 |
|
6 |
Inver |
4-6-0T |
1893 |
Neilson |
4575 |
1931 |
|
7 |
Finn |
4-6-0T |
1893 |
Neilson |
4576 |
1931 |
|
8 |
Foyle |
4-6-0T |
1893 |
Neilson |
4577 |
1937 |
|
9 |
Columbkille |
4-6-0T |
1893 |
Neilson |
4578 |
1932 |
|
10 |
Sir James |
4-4-4T |
1902 |
Neilson |
6103 |
1933 |
|
11 |
Hercules |
4-4-4T |
1902 |
Neilson |
6104 |
1933 |
|
12 |
Eske |
4-6-4T |
1904 |
Nasmyth Wilson |
697 |
1954 |
|
13 |
Owenea |
4-6-4T |
1904 |
Nasmyth Wilson |
698 |
1952 |
|
14 |
Erne |
4-6-4T |
1904 |
Nasmyth Wilson |
699 |
1961 |
|
15 |
Mourne |
4-6-4T |
1904 |
Nasmyth Wilson |
700 |
1952 |
|
County Donegal Railways Joint Committee: all 2-6-4Ts supplied by Nasmyth Wilson in two batches, one in 1907 and one in 1912:
No. | Name | WN | Withdrawn |
16 | Donegal/Meenglas | 828/1907 | |
17 | Glenties/Drumboe | 829/1907 | |
18 | Killybegs/Columbkille | 830/1907 | |
19 | Letterkenny/Finn | 831/1907 | 1940 |
20 | Raphoe/Foyle | 832/1907 | 1955 |
21 | Ballyshannon/Alice | 958/1912 | 1961 |
22 | Stranolar/Blanche | 956/1912 | 1959 |
23 | Stabane/Lydia | 957/1912 | 1961 |
Contemporary
New tank locomotives, County Donegal Joint Committee.
Loco. Mag., 1909, 15,
9.
2-6-4T type supplied by Nasmyth Wilson (WN 828-32) to the specification
and drawings of R. Livesey. Notes standard green livery, major dimensions
and intended ability to haul 120 tons up a gradient of 1 in 50. See also
Souvenir with December Issue.
Anderson, David. The last years of the County Donegal Railways.
Backtrack, 2017, 31,
454
Begley, Joe, Dave Bell, Steve Flanders, and Dave White. County
Donegal Railway: a visitor's guide. Donegal Railway Restoration Society,
1996. 120p.
Casserley, H.C. Britain's joint lines. London, Ian Allan, 1968.
224 p. 233 illus., 11 tables. Includes notes and data on the C.D.J.R.
locomotive stock.
Patterson, E.M.
The County Donegal Railways. 1962.
Chapter 7 (pp. 145-78) covers motive power and rolling stock: includes
six dimensional sketches of steam locomotives by G.T. Glover
Rowbotham, Robert. The story of the Wee Donegal'.
Narrow Gauge Wld, 1999, 1, (3), 18-20.
Includes colour illus. of Blanche and
Foyle
Salter, R.W.A. The County Donegal Railways. Rly Mag., 1931,
68, 125-30. 7 illus., map.
Smith, WA.C. The County Donegal Railways. Rly Mag., 1957,
103, 297-303 +. 8 illus., map.
www.trainweb.org/i3/locos.htm#l_by_l is an interesting website
4-6-4T
Scott, W.T. Irish Baltic tanks.
Backtrack, 1994, 8, 98-100.
Feature incorrectly attributed to Stott. The County Donegal Railway
4-6-4Ts were supplied by Nasmyth Wilson in 1904, and were originally
unsuperheated, but were superheated from 1920. They were heavy on coal
consumption and were displaced by the later 2-6-4Ts. B&w illus: CDR No
11 Erne at Raphoe; CDR No 9 Eske leaves Londonderry (Derry)
on passenger train in July 1953 with Craigavon bridge in background; CDR
No 9 Eske at Londonderry;
Scott, W.T. Reflections on the narrow
gauge (letter). Backtrack, 2007, 21, 509.
See colour pictures within feature
by Michael Rutherford beginning on page 311: both relate to powerful
locomotives working in Donegal: amplifies the information on the CDJR 4-6-4T
shown at Strabane which weighed 45 tons and could haul 445 tons on
the level and 175 tons over Barnesmore Bank (the mixed gauge turntable visible
was for turning wagons, not locomotives)
Dublin & Blessington Steam Tramway
This connected the Dublin Tramways which were electrified in 1898
at its outer terminus at Terenure with Blessington, and eventually with
Poulaphouca. The section between Terenure and Blessington opened in 1888.
The line closed in 1932. There were heavy gradients (1 in 20) on the outer
part of the line where a summit of 700ft above sea level was reached. The
information provided is from the Locomotion Paper. Also
in Middlemass
Fayle, H. and Newham, A.T.
The Dublin & Blessington Steam Tramway. Lingfield. 1963. 32pp.
(Locomotion papers No. 20)
The first six locomotives were enclosed tramway 0-4-0 well tanks,
built by the Falcon Works, Loughborough, in 1887. Saddle tanks were added
later to increase water capacity. The dimensions were: inside cylinders 9
x 14 in., wheels 2 ft. 6 in., boiler pressure 175 psi, tanks 230 gallons.,
coal half-ton, weight 11 tons. They cost £900 each. The Works Numbers
were probably 125-130, but the running numbers did not correspond. Ball governors
limited speed to 14 mile/h, but these were soon removed, and thereafter these
engines, which were known as the "kettles," sometimes attained 40 mile/h.
No.4 was put to drive machinery at Templeogue in 1894. The others were scrapped
as follows: No.2 in 1906, No.5 about 1911, No.1 in 1912, No.3 lasted till
1927, and No.6 received a complete rebuild at Broadstone Works, Midland Great
Western Ry., in about 1914. Previously there was a duplicate set of driving
levers at the smokebox end of the engine; the boiler was moved forward on
the chassis, leaving more room at the rear, and the front controls were removed.
This engine lasted until closure in 1932. In later years these engines were
confined as much as possible to the easier section of the line between Terenure
and Jobstown.
It was soon found that the capacity of the original type of locomotive was severely taxed on the long steep gradient between Embankment and Crooksling, the maximum load under the best weather conditions being two bogie coaches. In 1892, No.7, the first of a larger type with a 2-4-2 wheel arrangement, was supplied by Thos. Green & Son of Leeds: WN. 179. No.7 was virtually a railway locomotive with a duplicate cab at the front end used by the driver when running forward direction, as there were no turntables; the fireman always remained at the rear. A makers' photograph shows wheelcovers, but these were removed, and a longer chimney fitted to clear the top decks of the passenger cars. The dimensions were: cylinders 13 x 20 in., coupled wheels 3 ft. 6 in., leading and trailing wheels (Bissel trucks) 2 ft., coupled wheelbase 6 ft., side tanks holding 630 gallons., coal 1¾ tons, weight full 33 tons. No.7 was not used a great deal, and was rebuilt in 1910, and disposed of in 1915, having been found too heavy for the light track.
The next engine, No.8, was somewhat similar, but smaller and was at first an 0-4-2T type: it was supplied by Thos. Green: WN 218/1896. The cylinders were 13 x 18 in., coupled wheels 3 ft. 3 in., trailing wheels 1 ft. 10 in., coupled wheelbase 5 ft. 6 in., tanks 350 gals., coal 1¾ tons, weight full 27 tons. In 1903 it was rebuilt as a 2-4-2T at a cost of £100, and was then similar to the next engine, No.9, with a weight of 29 tons. No.9 was built by the Brush Engineering Works, Loughborough, in 1899, WN 284. It had modified Bissel trucks, the invention of Mr. W. Guilfoyle, the locomotive superintendent. The dimensions were similar to No.8 as rebuilt. No.8 was withdrawn in 1915, but No.9 lasted to the closing ofthe line in 1932.
In 1906 No.2, another 2-4-2T and similar in appearance to No. 9, was supplied by Thos. Green: WN 267. In 1915 this was renumbered 10, as the company wished to stress that it was the newest engine. The leading dimensions were: cylinders 12 x 18 in., coupled wheels 3 ft. 0¼ in., leading and trailing wheels (Bissel trucks) 2 ft. Like No.9, No. 10 lasted until closure in 1932.
On Bank Holidays one of the larger engines could take as many as five coaches over the entire distance, and if the train was longer a pilot was provided on the 1 in 20 incline; banking could not be employed as the couplings were too weak. Goods trains in the down direction were sometimes made up to twenty or more four-wheeled trucks and vans, but the endeavour was to work mixed trains as far as possible.
During WW1 the financial state of the undertaking declined due to higher wages and costs. In 1916 the Company acquired a 0-4-0 well tank locomotive from the Dublin and South Eastern Ry. It had originally formed part of one of the two steam railmotor cars obtained in 1905 from Kerr Stuart & Co., but owing to the excessive vibration, the engines were detached from the cars and used as separate units. The side tanks were removed and well tanks fitted instead, as well as heavy balance weights in the rear. The cylinders were 12 in. by 16 in., wheels 3 ft. 7 in., boiler 3 ft. 8 in. by 5 ft. 8 in; weight in working order 23 tons 14 cwt. The engine had carried the number 70 on the D. & S.E.R. and became No.2 on the Blessington Tramway, although it never carried this number. It only worked a short time, having been found too heavy for the track, and the outside cylinders and motion fouled various points, so that much trouble was experienced.
This last engine was exchanged for an 0-4-0ST named. Cambria from the Great Southern Rlys. in 1918. Cambria had originally been built in 1894 by the Hunslet Engine Co., Leeds, for Joseph Buggins & Son, the contractors for the Wexford and Rosslare Rly. The cylinders were 10 x 15 in., coupled wheels 2 ft. 10 in., grate area 5½ ft2., boiler pressure 140psi, weight in working order, 16 tons. It was fitted with a longer chimney to. clear the top decks of the passenger cars, and was numbered 5 in the Blessington stock. It lasted till 1928, and could take 33 wagons.
In the 1920s Ford and Drewry railcars were introduced and the steam locomotives gradually decayed: even the vacuum brake gear fell into disuse.
Dublin & Lucan Tramway
Opened on 2 July 1883. Formed an extension from the Dublin tramway
network, but to a different gauge: following closure (29 January 1925) and
reconstruction to the 5ft 3in gauge and electrification it reopened on 27
May 1928 as part of the Dublin United Tramway system. As a steam tramway
it had opened with a 2-4-2 tramway locomotive supplied by
Manlove, Alliot & Fryer
of Nottingham to a design by Edward
Perrett. The other tramway engines were Kitson T57/1883; T74/1883; T81/1883;
T104/1884; T108/1884; T224/1887 and Green 169/1992.
Dundalk, Newry & Greenore Railway:
This railway was owned by the LMS (formerly the LNWR), but was worked
by the GNR (I) from 1933. The motive power and rolling stock, which was retained
after the 1933 agreement, consisted of Victorian LNWR equipment adapted for
the broad gauge. The locomotives were Ramsbottom 0-6-0STs.
L. & N.W.R. engines for Ireland.
Locomotive Mag., 1902,
7, 49
Six 4ft 6in four-coupled double end side tanks (2-4-2T) had been
transferred to the Dundalk, Newry & Greenore Railway.
Barrie, D.S.M. The Dundalk, Newry & Greenore Railway and the
Holyhead-Greenore steamship service. Lingfield (Surrey), Oakwood Press,
1957. [ii] , 68 p. + col. front. 40 illus. (incl. 2 ports.), 3 plans,
map. Bibliog.
Livesay, H.M. The Dundalk, Newry & Greenore Railway.
Railways, 1951, 12, 220-2. 2 illus.
The Listowel and Ballybunion Railway
Lartigue monorail system opened in March 1888 and worked by three
Hunslet 0-3-0Ts with twin boilers with a total heating surface of 71.75
ft2. The cylinders were 7 x 12 in and the driving wheels were
2ft in diameter. Locomotive livery was dark green
Barton, H.H.C. Monorails. J. Instn
Loco,. Engrs., 1962, 52, 8-33. Disc.: 34-59.Paper No. 631).
Hunslet locomotive illustrated.
Goodman, F. The Listowel and
Ballybunion Railway. Rly Mag., 1900, 7, 163-8.
Includes works photograph of one of locomotives. Notes visit by members
of the International Railway Congress in 1895.
Londonderry & Lough Swilly
Railway:
This narrow gauge railway had a long mainline from Londonderry to
Burtonport (Letterkenny & Burtonport Extension Railway
not opened until 1903: contemporary account below), in western Donegal,
and another line to Carndonagh in the north of the same county. These long
distances made large locomotives necessary and both 4-8-0s and 4-8-4Ts were
operated. The latter had a tractive effort of 17,350 lbf and, on this basis,
were the most powerful narrow gauge engines in the British Isles. The line
suffered a verious accident on 30 January 1925 when a train was blown off
the Owencarrow viaduct in a gale: four were killed.
Middlemass notes that the railway began as a 5ft
3in gauge line between Londonderry and Buncrana on Lough Swilly and was
originally known as the Lough Foyle & Lough Swilly Railway. Bus replacement
began on 3 June 1940 when the section between Gweedore and Burtonport closed
to all traffic.
Casserley, H.C. Closure of the Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway.
Rly Mag., 1953, 99, 701-5. 8 illus. Errata p. 785.
Patterson, E.M. Exit.... the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway.
Rly Wld, 1953, 14,,61-3.3 illus.
Patterson, E.M. The
Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway. 1964.
Letterkenny and Burtonport Railway.
Rly Mag., 1903, 13, 120-3.
Long (49 miles) extension to Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway
opened in 1903. The 4-6-0Ts constructed for the Extension by Andrew Barclay
are described and illustrated: these were lettered L&BER (two
illustrated).
Broad gauge locomotives
These were all 0-6-0T and were sold when the line was converted to
3ft gauge on 28 March 1885 (the conversion was completed in a single weekend:
perhaps Notwork Rail should investigate).. These were: two from Gilkes,
Wilkinson: WN 141-2/1885 (these had been subscontracted from Fossick &
Hackworth according to Lowe (p. 178); two
from R. Stephenson: WN 1609-19/1864 and Sharp Stewart WN 2645/1876 and 2836/1879.
The last two were named St Patrick and St Columb. One of the
Gilkes locomotives was sold to the Belfast Central Railway and the two Stephenson
locomotives were sold to the Londonderry Port & Harbour
Commissioners.
Narrow gauge locomotives
No. |
Name |
Type |
Date |
Builder |
WN |
Withdrawn |
|
1 |
J,T. Mackay |
0-6-2T |
1882 |
Black, Hawthorn |
684 |
1911 |
|
2 |
Londonderry |
0-6-2T |
1883 |
Black, Hawthorn |
742 |
1912 |
|
3 |
Donegal |
0-6-2T |
1883 |
Black, Hawthorn |
743 |
1913 |
|
4 |
Innishowen |
0-6-0T |
1885 |
Black, Hawthorn |
834 |
1940 |
|
5 |
|
2-4-0T |
1873 |
R. Stephenson |
2088 |
1900 |
|
6 |
|
2-4-0T |
1873 |
R. Stephenson |
2089 |
1900 |
|
5 |
|
4-6-2T |
1899 |
Hudswell Clarke |
518 |
1954 |
|
6 |
|
4-6-2T |
1899 |
Hudswell Clarke |
519 |
1953 |
|
7 |
King Edward VII |
4-6-2T |
1901 |
Hudswell Clarke |
577 |
1940 |
|
8 |
|
4-6-2T |
1901 |
Hudswell Clarke |
562 |
1954 |
|
9 |
Aberfoyle |
4-6-2T |
1904 |
Kerr Stuart |
845 |
1928 |
|
10 |
Richmond |
4-6-2T |
1904 |
Kerr Stuart |
856 |
1954 |
|
11 |
|
4-8-0 |
1905 |
Hudswell Clarke |
746 |
1933 |
|
12 |
|
4-8-0 |
1905 |
Hudswell Clarke |
747 |
1954 |
|
13 |
|
4-6-2T |
1910 |
Hawthorn Leslie |
2801 |
1940 |
Became L&BER stock |
14 |
|
4-6-2T |
1910 |
Hawthorn Leslie |
2802 |
1943 |
Became L&BER stock |
5 |
|
4-8-4T |
1912 |
Hudswell Clarke |
985 |
1954 |
Originally L&BER stock: specific mention in Lowe p. 339 |
6 |
|
4-8-4T |
1912 |
Hudswell Clarke |
986 |
1954 |
Originally L&BER stock: specific mention in Lowe p. 339 |
1 |
|
4-6-0T |
1902 |
Andrew Barclay |
933 |
1940 |
Letterkenny & Burtonport Extension Railway |
2 |
|
4-6-0T |
1902 |
Andrew Barclay |
934 |
1954 |
Letterkenny & Burtonport Extension Railway |
3 |
|
4-6-0T |
1902 |
Andrew Barclay |
935 |
1954 |
Letterkenny & Burtonport Extension Railway |
4 |
|
4-6-0T |
1902 |
Andrew Barclay |
936 |
1953 |
Letterkenny & Burtonport Extension Railway |
4-8-0
Heavy locomotives for the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Ry. Locomotive Mag., 1912, 18, 207-8.
Carling, D.R. 4-8-0 tender
locomotives.
Built to the requirements of J. Connor by Hudswell Clark. Beyer Peacock
had tendered unsuccessfully. They were built for the Burtonport Extension
and had to be able to cope with 4 mile gradients at 1 in 40. Carling stated
that they were "more akin to those built for narrow gauge in Africa, Australia
or India than to those for European main lines".
Rutherford, Michael. More eight-coupled: a miscellany. (Railway
Reflections No.127). Backtrack,
2007, 21, 44-51.
Based on Carling: Ahrons cited Locomotive, 1912, Oct. 15
4-8-4T
Heavy locomotives for the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Ry. Locomotive Mag., 1912, 18, 207-8.
Scott, W.T. The Lough Swilly's eight coupled engines.
Rly
Wld, 1982, 43,
626-8.
Hudswell Clarke 4-8-0s (WN 746-7/1905) and 4-8-4Ts (WN 985-6/1912)
were supplied for the Letterkenny & Burtonport Extension Railway (and
4-8-4T No. 5 is shown with this lettering). The 4-8-4Ts were very powerful
locomotives and tended to work to Buncrana, handling heavy traffic during
WW1.
Scott, W.T. Reflections on the
narrow gauge (letter). Backtrack, 2007, 21, 509.
See colour pictures within feature
by Michael Rutherford beginning on page 311: both relate to powerful
locomotives working in Donegal: amplifies the information on the Swilly 4-8-4T
which notes that they were moved from the Burtonport Extension to the Buncrana
line in 1914 to work the heavy naval traffic during WW1. Also notes the pride
which Hudswell Clarke had in these large locomotives (it featured them in
its catalogues): but they weighed nearly 60 tons, well over the quoted
51.5.
Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners:
This railway had a mixed gauge system which extended to six
miles: (mixed 5 ft 3 in and 3 ft 0 in), but only broad gauge locomotives
were operated.
The railways of the Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners.
Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1934,
40, 379-81. 4 illus.
The original locomotive was one of the former LLSR broad gauge engines:
0-6-0T John Cooke, a Rober Stephenson & Co. product of 1864. There
were two locomotives in 1934: No. 1 (Robert Stephenson & Co. 0-6-0ST
WN 2748/1891) and No. 3 R.S. Smyth (Avonside WN 2031/1928). The latter
displaced No. 2 (Robert Stephenson & Co. 0-6-0ST WN 2836/1896).
Portrush and Giant's Causeway Tramway
Rutherford, Michael. Electric Light
Railways - A lost opportunity? (Railway reflections [No. 48]).
Backtrack,. 12, 680-9.
Interesting analysis of the problems of classification which leads
to some things being left out. For instance, when the Museum of Transport
at Clapham was closed most of the exhibits were sent to York and those relating
to London eventually formed the Covent Garden collection, but some exhibits
fell into a sort of limbo. Furthermore, the NRM excluses certain forms of
related transport, such as urban tramways. Rutherford notes that "demarkation
is somewaht arbitrary". The history of lighter railways in Britain began
with The Railway Construction Fascilities Act of 1864, The Regulation of
Railways Act of 1868 which recognized the light railway concept, the 1870
Tramways Act (for street tramways), and the Light Railways Act of 1896 which
was used for many urban tramways. Refers to a study by Peter Bosley (details
not given but see books). Electrification
was manifested on the Portrush and Bushmills, Bessbrook & Newry, and
other Irish tramways.
Vickers, R.L. Electric trains in
Ireland. Backtrack, 2003, 17. 635-40.
Mainly concerns the Giant's Causeway, Portrush & Bushmills Tramway.
This was engineered by William Atchison Traill and his brother Dr Anthont
Traill, both of whom had scientific backgrounds. Sir William Thomson (Lord
Kelvin) and Dr William Siemens both bought shares in the venture and Dr Edward
Hopkinson was a consultant. An Act was obtained in 1880. William Traill patented
both a conduit system and a contact system for the supply of electricity
to railway vehicles (full details given), but having experimented with a
two-rail system the third rail system was adopted (a caption p. 636 lower
is used to explain that the less troublesome overhead supply was adopted
in July 1899). The line opened on 29 January 1883 with steam traction,
but experiments with electric traction began in May/June and progress was
limited until hydro-electric power became available. Revenue earning electric
traction began on 28 September 1883. Steam traction had to be used on the
street sections until 1899. The story of William Traill and Edward Hopkinson
sitting on the third rail to convince the Board of Trade inspectors that
it was "safe" is repeated as is that of Lord Kelvin giving a shocking handshake
to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. The line was extended to the Giant's Causeway
on 1 July 1887. The author has made extensive use of J.H. MacGuigan's The
Giant's Causeway Tramway, 1964 (Ottley 1847). During WW1 the line was
involved in a battle with a German U-boat. Following a period of prosperity
during WW2, this historic line closed in 1950. Other lines considered in
farn less detail include the Bessbrook & Newry Railway opened on 1 October
1885. This was developed by James Nicholas Richardson with Mather & Platt
equipment and the expertise of Dr Edward Hopkinson. This used hydro-electricity
and third rail except over a level crossing where overhead supply was used.
The line closed in 1948, but acted as the inspiration for electric traction
on the City & South London Railway. The Dublin & Lucan Tramway is
mentioned: this opened on 8 March 1900. Drumm battery electric railcars operated
on the Dublin to Bray lines between 1932 and 1950 and the Dublin Area Rapid
Transit system opened on 23 July 1893. Sources are cited, notably J.C. Gilham's
The age of the electric train. Ian Allan, 1988 (Ottley 15615).
See letter from D.K. Horne (page 715) concerning William
Atcheson Traill's son Anthony who was ordered to sit on the live rail as
a child, the Engineering Department at Trinity College and the Clontarf to
Howth tram.
Portstewart Tramway
Opened June 1882. Closed 31 January 1926. 3ft gauge. Worked by three
Kitson tramway engines: T56/1882; T84/1883 (preserved and extant) and T302/1901.
Middlemass
Portstewart Narrow Gauge Tramway.
.Locomotive Mag., 1927, 33,
372-3
Portstewart Tramway. Loco. Rly Carr.
Wagon Rev., 1944, 50, 138-9.
Sligo, Leitrim & Northern Counties
Railway:
This was a small broad gauge railway which connected Sligo with
Enniskillen. An unusual feature of the locomotive stock was that it was named,
but not numbered.
Contemporary
The Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway.
Locomotive Mag., 1903, 8,
335-7. 4 illustrations
Contrary to usual practice, the locomotives were known by names only,
and not by numbers; the first two, Pioneer and Sligo (shown
in Fig. 1) were 6-wheels coupled side tanks (0-6-2T), with a pair of radial
trailing wheels, built by the Avonside Engine Co. in 1877 (WN 1197 and 1198),
and having the rare peculiarity of outside cylinders for the 5-ft. 3-in.
gauge. The connecting rods were unusually long and drove the third pair of
coupled wheels; The.dimensions of these engines were cylinders, diameter
16-in. with a stroke of 22-in., coupled wheels 3-ft. 10-in, and trailing
wheels (radial) 3-ft.4-in. diameter. The arrangement of the wheels is somewhat
unusual, there being relatively a disproportionate distance between the coupled
and trailinq wheels. Wheelbase : leading coupled wheels. to centre coupled
wheels 4-ft. 4~-in., centre coupled wheels to driving wheels 4-ft. 4½-in.,
driving wheels to radial wheels 6-ft. 11i-in., total wheelbase 15 -ft. 8-in.;
number of tubes 150 (2-in diameter), boiler pressure 130 psi.
Faughaballah (Clear the Way) was an outside cylinder Hunslet
0-4-0ST (WN 178/1878): cylinders 13 x 18-in; wheels 3-ft 4-in
In b1882 Beyer Peacock supplied the first two 0-6-4T which became the standard
motive power: they were Leitrim and Fermanagh. Lurganboy
followed in 1895 and Lissadell and Hazlewood in 1899. They
had 16½ x 20-in cylinders; 4-ft 9-in coupled wheels and 150 psi
boiler pressure..
In 1883 a 4-4-0T was obtained from Hudswell, Clarke & Co. WN 261: it
had 16 x 24-in outside cylinders, 5-ft coupled wheels, but due to a propensity
to derail was rebuilt with traiking wheels. It was named
Erne.
Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties
Railway. Locomotive Mag.., 1903,
8, 371
0-6-0T Waterford
NcNeill, D.B. The Sligo, Leitrim & Northern Counties Railway.
Rly Mag., 1956, 102, 330-7. 6 illus. table, map.
Parker, W. The Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway.
Rly Mag., 1924, 55, 101-5. 3 illus., table, map.
Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Ry.
Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1932,
38, 120.
Purchase of GNR(I) 0-6-0 No. 149 and named Sligo.
4-4-0
Sligo Leitrim and Northern Counties Ry.
Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev.,
1922, 28, 25
Purchase of two 4-4-0s from Great Northern Railway (Ireland); also
notes purchase of 0-6-4T from Beyer Peacock & Co. in 1917
[Two GNR (I.) 4-4-0s (Nos. 118 and 119) acquired by the S.L. & N.C.R. and named Black Lion and Glencar respectively]. Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1924, 30, 294.
0-6-4T
Lough Erne/Lough Melvin: 1949:
In 1882 the SLNCR purchased two 0-6-4Ts from Beyer, Peacock and further
additions of the same type were made between then and 1917. In 1949 two more
locomotives were leased from Beyer, Peacock. These were similar to the 1882
design, but incorporated some modifications.
Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway. Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1951, 57,145. illus.
Retrospective and critical
Probert, W.J. The Irish 0-6-4 tanks. Trains ill., 1954, 7, 122-3. 4 illus., table. Addenda p. 178-9.
Waterford and Tramore
Railway:
This line, opened in 1853, was completely isolated from the other
Irish railways. All repairs were conducted at Manor Station in Waterford.
Until 1935 a 2-2-2WT formed part of the motive power. A loophole in the
legislation relating to continuous brakes enabled the line to be operated
without them until 1933. The locomotive coal was carried within a bunker
within the cabs.
Near Contemporary
The Waterford and Tramore Ry.
Locomotive Mag., 1900,
5, 188-90.
Clements and McMahon pp. 170-3..
Casserley, H.C. Locomotive cavalcade. Berkhamsted:
author, 1952. page 118.
2-2-2WT [GSR No. 483] entering Waterford in 1934
Fayle, H. The Waterford and Tramore Railway. J. Stephenson Loco.
Soc., 1948, 24, 114-19 + plate. 3 illus.
Fayle H. and Newham, A.T. The Waterford & Tramore Railway.
Dawlish (Devon), David & Charles, 1964. (2nd ed. 1972). 48 p. + 12
plates. 38 illus., diagr., 3 plans, map.
2-2-2T
GSR Class 483 N1
Nos. 1 and 2 built by Fairbairn in 1855 and rebuilt in 1895 and 1897
when larger boilers supplied by Avonside were fitted. No. 1 was fitted with
a Hawthorn Leslie boiler in 1924 and had been fitted with the vacuum brake
by 1930. New cabs, bumkers and tanks were fitted in about 1910. The leading
dimensions were: 5ft driving wheels, 13 x 18in cylinders, 11.25ft2
grate area and 631.1ft2 total heating surface. In the summer
of 1926 No. 2 received a substantial boiler overhaul and the locomotive received
GSR grey, but it was withdrawn in October 1926. The singles were capable
of 40 to 45 mile/h. No. 1 worked on and there were hopes that it might be
preserved, but on 24 August 1935 it was derailed at Carriglong and was cut
up at the site. Clements and McMahon page 171
0-4-2WT
GSR Class 483 L3
Waterford & Tramore No. 3 supplied by Slaughter Gruning: WN 452/1861.
The GSR number was probably not carried. The locomotive had 5ft coupled wheels
and 15 x 22in cylinders, but according to Clements and McMahon page
172 the heating dimensions were not recorded. It broke a crank axle and was
withdrawn in 1930.
GSR Class 486 L1
Waterford & Tramore No. 4 supplied by Andrew Barclay: WN 1137/1908.
It had 4ft 6in coupled wheels, 15 x 22in cylinders, 12ft2 grate
area and 918ft2 total heating surface. Its performance was sluggish
and it was withdrawn when the boiler wore out in 1941. Clements and McMahon
page 173 ..
Very early locomotives
Bury Curtis & Kennedy locomotives were supplied to the Great Southern Railway and to the Belfast & Ballymena Railway Railway according to Rowledge's Irish steam loco register. According to Marshall's Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway V. 3 p. 60 these bar-framed six-wheeled engines built for the 5ft 3in gauge lasted much longer, presumably due to the greater width available.
Updated: 2018-10-29