Bloomer was a name used to refer to three similar classes of
2-2-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-2-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, two powered driving wheels on one axle, and two trailing wheels on one axle. The wheel arrangement both ...
express passenger locomotives designed by
James McConnell
James Edward McConnell (1815–1883) was one of the first locomotive engineers of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). He was Locomotive Superintendent of the LNWR's Southern Division at Wolverton railway works from 1847 to 1862 and o ...
for the Southern Division of the
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom.
In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...
(LNWR). A total of seventy-four were built between 1851 and 1862. The classes were similar in design and layout but differed in dimensions.
History
The name "Bloomer" was at first a nickname, but was quickly adopted officially. The nickname was a topical one in the autumn of 1851 when the first engine arrived on the line, because of the current popular excitement aroused by the appearance of women wearing trousers, as advocated by Mrs
Amelia Bloomer
Amelia Jenks Bloomer (May 27, 1818 – December 30, 1894) was an American newspaper editor, women's rights and temperance advocate. Even though she did not create the women's clothing reform style known as bloomers, her name became associate ...
. The widespread belief that they were awarded this nickname because they showed more of their wheels than earlier engines makes no sense: most earlier engines on the line had ''naked'' wheels.
Another enduring myth is that until 1862 the Bloomers (and other Southern Division engines) were painted vermilion. They were not, although some were painted a very dark plum-red from 1861, before the standard livery reverted to green in the following year, and then changed to black from 1873.
In April 1862 the Southern Division locomotives were renumbered into the all-LNWR series by the addition of 600 to each engine's number.
Apart from two of the 6 ft 6 in engines which were scrapped in 1866, all the Bloomers were given nameplates in 1872; the names awarded were of the usual miscellaneous variety customary on the LNWR.
(a) 7 ft driving wheel, Bloomers, known as Large Bloomers from 1862.
![LNWR engine No](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/LNWR_engine_No.895_%27Torch%27.jpg)
The design of these was derived from six successful 2-2-2 locomotives supplied to the railway by
Bury, Curtis and Kennedy in 1848. McConnell substituted
plate frames, provided larger boilers and driving wheels. The first twenty were built by
Sharp, Stewart and Company
Sharp, Stewart and Company was a steam locomotive manufacturer, initially located in Manchester, England. The company was formed in 1843 upon the demise of Sharp, Roberts & Co.. It moved to Glasgow, Scotland, in 1888, eventually amalgamating wit ...
in 1851–1853. A further twenty examples were built in 1861/2: five by Sharp Stewart & Co., five by
Kitson and Company
Kitson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer based in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
Early history
The company was started in 1835 by James Kitson (businessman), James Kitson at the Airedale Foundry, off Pearson Street, Hunslet, ...
, and ten at the
Wolverton railway works
Wolverton railway works, known locally as Wolverton Works or just The Works, was established in Wolverton, Buckinghamshire, by the London and Birmingham Railway Company in 1838 at the midpoint of the route from London to Birmingham. The line w ...
of the LNWR.
[London and North Western Railway Society.]
They were numbered 247–256, 287–296 and 389–408, until 1862 when they were renumbered by the addition of 600, becoming 847 (etc.) to 1008.
The locomotives were primarily used on express passenger services between London and Birmingham and, from 1860, also from Rugby to Stafford.
During the 1860s and 1870s most of the class were rebuilt with new (Crewe) boilers; the tenders which originally contained 2000 gallons were reduced to hold 1700 gallons because of the introduction of water troughs on the main line.
Withdrawal took place between June 1876 and November 1888.
* Number assigned, but possibly never carried
(b) 6 ft 6in driving wheel, Small Bloomers.
![LNWR engine No](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/LNWR_engine_No.602_Small_Bloomer_Class.jpg)
Eleven smaller examples were built in 1854 with driving wheels intended for secondary fast main-line trains and branch lines of the Southern Division. These engines were originally intended by McConnell to be a 7 ft-wheel variant of his Patent class, but the design was altered by order of the directors to a smaller version of the successful Bloomers. Like them, the design was closely based on the Bury, Curtis & Kennedy 6 ft single of 1848; McConnell called the Small Bloomer design 'Bury's Improved'.
Seven were built by
R and W Hawthorn
R and W Hawthorn Ltd was a locomotive manufacturer in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, from 1817 until 1885.
Locomotive building
Robert Hawthorn first began business at Forth Bank Works in 1817, building marine and stationary steam engines. In 1820, ...
and four by
Vulcan Foundry
The Vulcan Foundry Limited was an English locomotive builder sited at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire (now Merseyside).
History
The Vulcan Foundry opened in 1832, as Charles Tayleur and Company to produce girders for bridges, switches, crossi ...
. A further twenty of this design were built at Wolverton Works between 1857 and 1861.
Numbers originally carried were an assortment from 2 to 381, renumbered 602 (etc.) up to 981 in 1862.
Two were withdrawn in 1866 but the others were rebuilt between 1868 and 1876; the last one was scrapped in 1887.
(c) 7 ft 6in driving wheel, H-class Special Bloomers.
Three examples were built by Wolverton Works in 1861 with driving wheels together with McConnell’s patented
firebox
Firebox may refer to:
*Firebox (steam engine), the area where the fuel is burned in a steam engine
*Firebox (architecture), the part of a fireplace where fuel is combusted
*Firebox Records
Firebox Records was a Finnish record label based in S ...
, which were intended for the fastest expresses. They were heavier than had been planned, so a further two engines, ordered and under construction, were cancelled in February 1862. This led to McConnell’s immediate resignation. The three completed engines (Nos. 372/3/5) went into store, so hardly ran in their original state. One of them (No. 373) was put on show at the
International Exhibition
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
in South Kensington from May to November 1862.
After rebuilding with normal boilers in 1866/7 they worked until withdrawal in 1880 and 1882. Many years later they were described as "Extra-large Bloomers".
Replicas
![LNWR Bloomer No](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/LNWR_Bloomer_No._670_at_Tyseley.jpg)
An accurate full-size non-working replica was built, by apprentices, for static display outside Milton Keynes station in 1991. It represented the type as in 1873–76 condition, was numbered '1009' as if to follow the last of the class, 1008, and was named 'Wolverton' to commemorate the Southern Division Works, although no engine was so named on the LNWR. It was taken into Wolverton Works (then owned by Alstom and later by Railcare) in 2006 for renovation and repainting. The renovation was funded and carried out by the various owners of Wolverton works and latterly by Knorr-Bremse RailServices at Wolverton Works. The Wolverton and Greenleys Town Council and the Wolverton Arts and Heritage Society wanted the replica to have a position on Stratford road outside the Railway works but this was not viable and led to much delay in the re-siting the model. On 3 March 2017, the replica was moved to its new home at
Milton Keynes Museum
Milton Keynes Museum is an independent local museum in the parish of Wolverton and Greenleys in Milton Keynes, England. It is mostly run by volunteers with a small number of paid staff.
The museum is housed in a former Victorian farmstead.
I ...
.
A full-size working engine as in original Southern Division condition (pre-1862) was begun at
Tyseley
Tyseley is a district in the southern half of the city of Birmingham, England, near the Coventry Road and the districts of Acocks Green, Small Heath and Yardley. It is located near the Grand Union Canal.
Etymology
Tyseley means "Tyssa's clearin ...
in 1986 and was 90% completed by 1990. It has never been finished; however, the LNWR Bloomer project was launched in June 2019 in order to complete the locomotive.
References
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{{LNWR Locomotives
2-2-2 locomotives
Bloomer
Railway locomotives introduced in 1851
Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain
Scrapped locomotives