The first 19 locomotives ordered by

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "on ...

for the Great Western Railway included six

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 bo ...

Charles Tayleur locomotives. They were built by ''Charles Tayleur and Company'', which became later the

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, crossin ...

. The locomotives were unsuccessful and rapidly supplemented by the Star Class locomotives ordered by

Daniel Gooch Sir Daniel Gooch, 1st Baronet (24 August 1816 – 15 October 1889) was an English railway locomotive and transatlantic cable engineer. He was the first Locomotive Superintendent, Superintendent of Locomotive Engines on the Great Western Rai ...

once he had been appointed as the Locomotive Engineer. As built, they comprised two groups of three: the first group, delivered in 1837, had cylinders having a bore of and the second group, delivered in 1838, had cylinders having a bore of ; all had a stroke of .

14-inch cylinder locomotives

* ''Vulcan'' (Tayleur 51; 1837–1868) :This locomotive was the first to run on the Great Western Railway when it was tested on 28 December 1837 from its shed at

West Drayton West Drayton is a suburban town in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex and from 1929 was part of the Yiewsley and West Drayton Urban District, which became part of Greater London in 1965. Th ...

. It was withdrawn in 1843 but was rebuilt as a 2-2-2T tank locomotive and returned to service in 1846, running in this form until 1868. It survived for two more years at

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

as a stationary boiler. It is named after the workshops where it was built, which themselves were named after the Roman god of fire. * ''Æolus'' (Tayleur 52; 1837–1867) :This locomotive worked the first train on the Great Western Railway when it opened on 4 June 1838. In 1843 it was fitted with more conventional driving and carrying wheels with cylinders; at some time it was converted to a 2-2-2T

tank locomotive A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender. Most tank engines also have bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a tender-tank locom ...

. Named for

Aeolus In Greek mythology, Aeolus or Aiolos (; grc, Αἴολος , ) is a name shared by three mythical characters. These three personages are often difficult to tell apart, and even the ancient mythographers appear to have been perplexed about which A ...

, Greek ruler of the winds. * ''Bacchus'' (Tayleur 53; 1837–1842) :The name was later carried by a Pyracmon Class goods locomotive. Named for

Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; grc, wikt:Διόνυσος, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstas ...

, Roman god of wine-making.

12-inch cylinder locomotives

* ''Apollo'' (Tayleur 62; 1838–1867) :This locomotive was rebuilt in 1839 with new cylinders and was altered to become a 2-2-2T before it ceased work in 1867. Named for

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

, Greek and Roman god of the sun. * ''Neptune'' (Tayleur 63; 1838–1840) :The name was later carried by one of the Ariadne Class standard goods locomotives. Named for Neptune, Roman god of the sea. * ''Venus'' (Tayleur 64; 1838–1870) :This locomotive was withdrawn in 1843 but was rebuilt and returned to service in 1846. It now had driving and carrying wheels, with cylinders; at some time it was also converted to run as a 2-2-2T tank locomotive. Named for

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

, Roman goddess of love and fertility. The name was also carried by a Firefly Class locomotive from 1841.

References

Sources

* * {{GWR Locomotives Charles Tayleur Broad gauge (7 feet) railway locomotives 2-2-2 locomotives Early steam locomotives Vulcan Foundry locomotives Steam locomotives of Great Britain Railway locomotives introduced in 1837 Scrapped locomotives