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South Devon Banks
The South Devon Banks are a series of steep inclines on the ex- GWR railway line linking Exeter and Plymouth in Devon, England. These two cities are separated by the rocky uplands of Dartmoor forcing the early railway surveyors to propose that the line skirt the difficult terrain of the comparatively sparsely populated moorland. Isambard Kingdom Brunel, in surveying the South Devon Railway, opted to push a line along a coastal strip between the Exe and Teign valleys, and then to climb the southern outliers of Dartmoor making for the head of the Plym estuary. From Newton Abbot, the line climbs Dainton Bank, and from Totnes it climbs Rattery Bank, reaches a peak at Wrangaton summit, and then descends Hemerdon Bank to reach Plymouth. These three are collectively known as the South Devon Banks. Dainton Bank The third steepest main line bank on the British mainland, with 2 miles varying between 1 in 36 and 1 in 57. Leaving Newton Abbot station, the line is near level until Aller Junct ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838 with the initial route completed between London and Bristol in 1841. It was engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who chose a broad gauge of —later slightly widened to —but, from 1854, a series of amalgamations saw it also operate standard-gauge trains; the last broad-gauge services were operated in 1892. The GWR was the only company to keep its identity through the Railways Act 1921, which amalgamated it with the remaining independent railways within its territory, and it was finally merged at the end of 1947 when it was nationalised and became the Western Region of British Railways. The GWR was called by some "God's Wonderful Railway" and by others the "Great Way Round" but it was famed as the "Holiday ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GWR 3031 Class
The Dean Single, 3031 Class, or Achilles Class was a type of steam locomotive built by the British Great Western Railway between 1891 and 1899. They were designed by William Dean for passenger work. The first 30 members of the class were built as 2-2-2s of the 3001 Class. The first eight members of the class (numbers 3021-3028, built April–August 1891) were built as convertible broad gauge 2-2-2 locomotives, being converted to standard gauge in mid-1892, at the end of broad gauge running on the Great Western Railway. A further 22 were built in late 1891 and early 1892, this time as standard gauge engines. Although the 3001 class were fitted with larger boilers than earlier GWR 2-2-2 classes, the diameter of the boiler was constrained by its position between the driving wheels. Thus boiler capacity could only be increased by making the boiler longer, not wider, bringing the smokebox and cylinders in front of the leading axle. The extra weight of the larger boilers was bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Double-heading
In railroad terminology, double heading indicates the use of two locomotives at the front of a train, each operated individually by its own crew. The practice of triple-heading involves the use of three locomotives. The practice of multi-heading involves the use of multiple locomotives and so on. Double heading is most common with steam locomotives, but is also practised with diesel locomotives. It is not strictly the same practice as two or more diesel or electric locomotives working ' in multiple' (or 'multiple-working'), where both (or all) locomotives are controlled by a single driver in the cab of the leading locomotive. Advantages Double heading is practised for a number of reasons: * In the UK it was usually to gain traction on steep inclines, twice the amount of driven wheels - twice the amount of grip. * The need for additional motive power when a single locomotive is unable to haul the train due to uphill grades, excessive train weight, or a combination of the two. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Rail Class 41 (Warship Class)
The British Rail Class 41 diesel-hydraulic locomotives were built by the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow during 1957 and 1958. Although they were withdrawn before TOPS was introduced, British Rail classified them as Class 41. All were named after Royal Navy vessels, hence the nameplates each bore a subtitle "Warship Class". History The fleet was ordered by the British Transport Commission as direct comparison with the British Rail Class 40, and were not actually wanted by the Western Region, who preferred their production fleet of D800 Warships. The D600s were the result of power politics within the BTC and the WR: the former was unwilling to sanction radical, stressed-skin lightweight construction locomotives at the time, while the latter was equally insistent that at least some of the new Type 4 power range locomotives on order be equipped with hydraulic transmission. They were much heavier than production Warships (almost compared to ) and can be regarded as stan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GWR 6800 Class
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 6800 Class or Grange Class was a mixed-traffic class of 4-6-0 steam locomotive, built to replace the GWR 4300 Class 2-6-0. There were 80 in the class, all built at the Swindon works, using some reconditioned parts from withdrawn 4300 Class locomotives. Background The GWR locomotive standardisation policy pursued by George Jackson Churchward envisaged a range of locomotive classes which would be suitable for the majority of duties, and yet which would share a small number of standard components. Amongst the designs suggested in 1901 was a 4-6-0 with diameter driving wheels, and the Standard No. 1 boiler. Although planned in 1901, none were built during Churchward's lifetime. C.B. Collett, (Churchward's successor at Swindon Works) rather introduced the Hall class with diameter driving wheels. The 4300 Class of 2-6-0 tender locomotives had been introduced on the GWR for mixed traffic duties in 1911, and by 1932 there were 342 in service. Ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GWR 4900 Class
The Great Western Railway 4900 Class or Hall Class is a class of 4-6-0 mixed-traffic steam locomotives designed by Charles Collett for the Great Western Railway. A total of 259 were built at Swindon Works, numbered 4900–4999, 5900–5999 and 6900–6958. The LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 and LNER Thompson Class B1 both drew heavily on design features of the Hall Class. After nationalisation in 1948, British Railways gave them the power classification 5MT. Background By the end of 1923 the Great Western Railway (GWR) was well served with express passenger locomotives of the Saint and Star classes and had recently introduced the Castle Class. However, the mixed-traffic 2-6-0 locomotives of the 4300 Class were beginning to struggle with the increasing loads. George Jackson Churchward had recognised this with the introduction of the 4700 class 2-8-0 with driving wheels, intended for express goods and relief passenger trains. However, Charles Collett preferred the idea of a Sai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GWR 4073 Class
The 4073 or Castle Class are 4-6-0 steam locomotives of the Great Western Railway, built between 1923 and 1950. They were designed by the railway's Chief Mechanical Engineer, Charles Collett, for working the company's express passenger trains. They could reach speeds of up to . Background The origins of this highly successful design date back to the Star Class of 1907 which introduced the basic 4-cylinder 4-6-0 layout with long-travel valves and Belpaire firebox that was to become characteristic of Great Western Railway (GWR) express passenger locomotives. The Star class was designed to take the top express trains on the GWR, with 61 in service by 1914, but after World War I there was a need for an improved design. To meet this need, Chief Mechanical Engineer George Churchward had in mind an enlarged Star class design with a standard No.7 boiler, as fitted to his GWR 4700 Class express freight 2-8-0. However, this combination would have taken the axle load over the 20-ton limit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GWR 6000 Class
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 6000 Class or King Class is a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotives designed for express passenger work and introduced in 1927. They were the largest locomotives built by the GWR, apart from the unique Pacific ( ''The Great Bear''). The class was named after kings of the United Kingdom and of England, beginning with the then reigning monarch, King George V, and going back through history. They handled the principal GWR expresses on the main line from London to the West of England and on the Chiltern line to Birmingham and Wolverhampton, until 1962 when the class was withdrawn. Background and development By 1918, it was apparent to the GWR chief mechanical engineer George Jackson Churchward that his Star Class 4-6-0 locomotives would soon be incapable of handling the heaviest West of England expresses without assistance. He therefore proposed fitting the diameter boiler used on his 4700 Class 2-8-0 on to a 4-6-0 chassis, in 1919, to create a more ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Double Heading
In railroad terminology, double heading indicates the use of two locomotives at the front of a train, each operated individually by its own crew. The practice of triple-heading involves the use of three locomotives. The practice of multi-heading involves the use of multiple locomotives and so on. Double heading is most common with steam locomotives, but is also practised with diesel locomotives. It is not strictly the same practice as two or more diesel or electric locomotives working ' in multiple' (or 'multiple-working'), where both (or all) locomotives are controlled by a single driver in the cab of the leading locomotive. Advantages Double heading is practised for a number of reasons: * In the UK it was usually to gain traction on steep inclines, twice the amount of driven wheels - twice the amount of grip. * The need for additional motive power when a single locomotive is unable to haul the train due to uphill grades, excessive train weight, or a combination of the two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GWR 2900 Class
The Great Western Railway 2900 Class or Saint Class, which was built by the Great Western Railway's Swindon Works, incorporated several series of 2-cylinder passenger steam locomotives designed by George Jackson Churchward and built between 1902 and 1913 with differences in the dimensions. The majority of these were built as 4-6-0 locomotives; but thirteen examples were built as 4-4-2 (but converted to 4-6-0 during 1912/13). They proved to be a successful class which established the design principles for GWR 2-cylinder classes over the next fifty years. Background After finally converting the last broad gauge lines in 1892, the Great Western Railway (GWR) began a period of modernization as new cut-off lines shortened its routes to west of England, South Wales and Birmingham. During the first decade of the twentieth century the Chief Mechanical Engineer, George Jackson Churchward, designed or acquired a number of experimental locomotives with different wheel arrangements and boile ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cornish Riviera Express
The ''Cornish Riviera Express'' is a British express passenger train that has run between London Paddington and Penzance in Cornwall since 1904. Introduced by the Great Western Railway, the name ''Cornish Riviera Express'' has been applied to the late morning express train from London to Penzance continuously through nationalisation under British Rail and privatisation under First Great Western, only ceasing briefly during the two World Wars. The name is also applied to the late morning express train running in the opposite direction from Penzance to London. Through performance and publicity the ''Cornish Riviera Express'' has become one of the most famous named trains in the United Kingdom and is particularly renowned for the publicity employed by the Great Western Railway in the 1930s which elevated it to iconic status. Today it is operated by the Great Western Railway train operating company. History Through trains from London Paddington to Penzance began running on 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GWR 3700 Class
The Great Western Railway 3700 Class, or City Class, locomotives were a series of twenty 4-4-0 steam locomotives, designed for hauling express passenger trains. Construction In September 1902 a member of the Atbara Class, no. 3405 ''Mauritius'', was reboilered with a tapered domeless boiler and Belpaire firebox. The locomotive was the first GWR 4-4-0 to be fitted with a tapered boiler; the boiler became the prototype for Churchward's Standard No. 4 boiler. In March 1903 the first of the City Class, no. 3433 ''City of Bath'', was completed. It was fitted with the final form of the Standard No.4 boiler, with slightly curved sides and a tapered top to the firebox. Another nine locomotives were completed in May 1903. Between February 1907 and December 1908, nine Atbaras were rebuilt with this boiler and incorporated into the City Class. All members of the class were withdrawn between October 1927 and May 1931. Details Modifications Superheating of the boiler was first appl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
