The MGWR Classes F, Fa and Fb are a group of similar classes of 0-6-0 steam locomotives of the

Midland Great Western Railway The Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) was the third largest Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland. It was incorporated in 1845 and absorbed into the Great Southern Railways in 1924. At its peak the MGWR had a network of , making it Irelan ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

which were designed and built between 1921 and 1924. The locomotives could be used to handle goods and also for passenger traffic.

History

The Midland Great Western Railway was looking to modernise its motive power fleet, and turned to their Chief Mechanical Engineer,

Walter H. Morton William Herbert Morton (14 September 1877–1947) was a British locomotive engineer who rose to the position of general manager of the Great Southern Railways (GSR) in Ireland. He previously held the chief engineering positions for GSR and M ...

, to design a locomotive which could be capable of handling goods, and if required, for local passenger traffic. The specific official need for the new class was to replace the poorly performing MGWR Class C 4-4-0 locomotives on passenger and limited mail services on the

Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, with a population of 20,928 in the 2016 census. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 proclaimed Westmeath ...

—

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

section of the line. The resulting design from the Broadstone Works (Dublin) Drawing Office was for a six-coupled ( 0-6-0) tender locomotive, and the first appearing from the works in 1921, the last in 1924. There are some thoughts the design may have been influenced by the availability of cheap surplus parts following the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. This was the last complete class of locomotives designed and built at Broadstone before closure and transfer of work to

Inchicore Works Inchicore railway works, also known locally as 'Inchicore' or 'The Works', was founded by the Great Southern and Western Railway in 1846 and emerged to become the major engineering centre for railways in Ireland. Located west of Dublin city ...

. The only other locomotives to follow from Broadstone were the first of the "kit-built" Woolwich Moguls ( GSR Class 372) before this was also transferred to Inchicore. There was a total of 23 members of the class, the first three were Class F, the next ten (including the five

Armstrong Whitworth Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles and ...

built locomotives) were Class Fa, and the last ten with raised running plates were Class Fb. All were classified by the Great Southern Railways (GSR) as Class 623, or Class J5. All passed to the Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) on its formation in 1945. Examples of the class survived until 1963, almost to the end of steam on the CIÉ.

Oil firing

In the severe winter of 1946/47 coal was in short supply and, with services disrupted, the CIÉ. took the decision to convert 97 locomotives to oil-burning, the main classes chosen for this being the various

2-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. ...

s and the 623s, although this was extended to some 4-6-0s. Locomotives which were converted to oil-burning had a white circle painted on the smokebox and tender sides. A supply of coal from America arrived in March 1947 but it took a further three months to build up stocks before normal services could be resumed.

Service

Although initially fitted with steam heat for passenger and limited mail services, and noted for ability to perform GSR Class 372 mogul

services when required, it was also observed they had a high level of wear and attrition when used on such work. In practice they were predominantly employed on freight work, proving to be able to successfully work heavy livestock trains at moderately high speeds, albeit with a somewhat high maintenance requirement.

Livery

Since 1913 the MGWR had been painting all locomotives black with red linings so they being built from 1921 they would not have carried the bright emerald green of other MGWR locomotives. Unlike most MGWR engines they were not named and they carried painted rather than cast iron cabside number plates. On their first visit to the

workshop Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the on ...

s following the 1925

amalgamation Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal **Pan am ...

to form the GSR the class were repainted into the standard "dark battleship grey" colours of the new company. Buffer beams were

vermilion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color, color family, and pigment most often made, since antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its corresponding color. It i ...

. Following the absorption of the GSR into CIÉ in 1945, and CIÉs nationalisation in 1950, the only changes which took place were the addition of the light green CIÉ "flying snail" logo to the tender sides. The grey livery, like on most CIÉ locomotives, remained until withdrawal in the early 1960s.

References

* Modelling Irish Steam by Drew Donaldson. "Model Railways" magazine, 1978 * Irish Railway Modelling.Yuku.com (Response to a "Request for information" on liveries) {{DEFAULTSORT:MGWR Class F Armstrong Whitworth locomotives 0-6-0 locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1921 5 ft 3 in gauge locomotives F Scrapped locomotives Steam locomotives of Ireland