Daniel Gooch standard gauge locomotives
The Daniel Gooch standard gauge locomotives comprise several classes of locomotives designed by Daniel Gooch, Superintendent of Locomotive Engines for the Great Western Railway (GWR) from 1837 to 1864.
History
In 1854 the GWR absorbed two standard gauge lines, the
Alongside these Armstrong locomotives, several other standard gauge locomotive classes were built during these years under the aegis of Gooch himself, either at the Great Western's principal works at Swindon, or else by outside firms, Swindon and Wolverhampton between them not yet having sufficient capacity for all the necessary new construction. Though these engines were mostly designed by Gooch himself, sometimes the influence of Joseph Armstrong may be evident.
Classes
The classes concerned are as follows:
57 Class
Nos. 57-68, twelve
69 Class
Nos. 69-76, eight Gooch 2-2-2s for the Wolverhampton-Shrewsbury line, built 1855-6 by Beyer, Peacock & Co. in Manchester. Four of these engines were the very first to be built by Beyer, Peacock, at their brand-new Gorton Works. In 1861, when standard gauge trains started to run through on the mixed gauge to Paddington, the engines moved south to work on the London-Oxford-Wolverhampton sections. In the 1872–75 period, the locomotives were "renewed" by George Armstrong at Wolverhampton, i.e. replaced by what were "from an engineering viewpoint new engines." Cabs were fitted from 1880, and new boilers of a different design were fitted to all except no. 69 between 1887 and 1893. Then in 1895–97, under William Dean at Swindon, they were reconstructed once more, emerging as 2-4-0s of the "River" Class.[3][4]
77 and 167 classes
Nos. 77, 78 and 167-170, seven 0-6-0s built in 1857 and 1861 with boilers to Gooch's design but otherwise designed by the builders, Beyer, Peacock & Co.[5][6]
79 Class
Nos. 79-90 and 119-130, 24 0-6-0 freight engines designed by Gooch and built at Swindon in 1857 (79-90) and 1861-2. Very similar to the 57 class but with smaller driving wheels, they hauled the important coal traffic between Pontypool Road and Birkenhead (carrying fuel for the Atlantic liners, which burned Welsh steam coal). 13 of them were renewed under William Dean at Swindon, and they were withdrawn between 1905 and 1918.[7] The other 11 were rebuilt by George Armstrong as saddle tank locomotives, becoming the 119 class.
91 Class
Nos. 91 and 92, two
93 Class
Nos. 93 and 94, built 1860 at Swindon. These were the GWR's first
131 Class
28
"Sharps" or 157 Class
Nos. 157-166, ten 2-2-2s built in 1862 "to Gooch's specifications" by Sharp, Stewart and Company, and closely resembling the 69 Class. In 1879 Nos. 157, 161 and 163 were renumbered 172, 173 and 174 respectively, while the others were "renewed" in 1878-9, that is, withdrawn and replaced by ten officially new engines, William Dean's 157 Class. In their original form, the "Sharps" worked mainly on the Paddington-Wolverhampton expresses.[12]
"England" or "Chancellor" Class
Nos. 149-156, eight 2-4-0s built in 1862 "to GWR drawings" by George England & Co. at the Hatcham Ironworks, New Cross, Surrey. They were stationed at Wolverhampton for expresses to the north, and were renewed in 1878-1883, also at Wolverhampton.[13][11]
320 Class
Nos. 320 and 321, two
322 or "Beyer" Class
Thirty 0-6-0s built by Beyer, Peacock & Co. of Manchester. The first 20, Nos. 322-41, were ordered by Gooch and built in 1864; ten more, Nos. 350-59 followed in 1866, having been ordered by Armstrong. The latter were the last 19th-century GWR locomotives to be built by an outside contractor. Like the 79 Class, they were initially used between Pontypool Road and Birkenhead. Between 1878 and 1885, six were rebuilt at Wolverhampton as saddle tank engines. The rest were withdrawn between 1912 and 1934, and quite exceptionally three of the class, Nos. 354, 355 and 388, achieved mileages of over 1,500,000.[15]
Notes
- ^ Tabor 1956, pp. D44–D47.
- ^ le Fleming 1958, p. E30.
- ^ Tabor 1956, pp. D6–D7.
- ^ Holcroft 1953, pp. 42–3, 47.
- ^ Tabor 1956, p. D49.
- ^ Holcroft 1953, p. 43.
- ^ Tabor 1956, pp. D47–D48.
- ^ Tabor 1959, pp. F5–F6.
- ^ le Fleming 1958, p. E12.
- ^ Tabor 1956, pp. D50–D52.
- ^ a b Holcroft 1953, p. 49.
- ^ Tabor 1956, p. D9.
- ^ Tabor 1956, pp. D20–D21.
- ^ Tabor 1959, pp. F26–F27.
- ^ Tabor 1956, pp. D52–D55.
Sources
- Holcroft, Harold (1953). The Armstrongs of the Great Western. London: Railway World.
- Tabor, F. J. (February 1956). White, D. E. (ed.). The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway, part four: Six-wheeled Tender Engines. Kenilworth: RCTS.
- le Fleming, H. M. (April 1958). White, D. E. (ed.). The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway, part five: Six-coupled Tank Engines. OCLC 500544510.
- Tabor, F. J. (August 1959). White, D. E. (ed.). The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway, part six: Four-coupled Tank Engines. RCTS.