GWR Dean experimental locomotives
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During the 1880s and 1890s, William Dean constructed a series of experimental locomotives to test various new ideas in locomotive construction for the
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 ...
.


Locomotives


No. 1

This locomotive appeared in 1880 as a
4-4-0 4-4-0 is a locomotive type with a classification that uses the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement and represents the arrangement: four leading wheels on two axles (usually in a leading bogie), four po ...
T, but was rebuilt in 1882 as a
2-4-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles and no trailing wheels. The notation 2-4-0T indi ...
T. It was withdrawn in 1924.


No. 7

Number 7 was built in 1886 at Swindon as a
tandem compound A compound locomotive is a steam locomotive which is powered by a compound engine, a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. The locomotive was only one application of compounding. Two and three stages were used in shi ...
2-4-0 with coupled wheels and outside frames. The diameter low pressure cylinders were in front of the high pressure cylinders, the pistons being carried on the same piston rod. Valves for the low pressure cylinders were below, and those for the high pressure cylinders above the cylinders. One set of valve gear drove each pair of valve spindles. This setup proved difficult to access for maintenance, and the locomotive was relegated to minor routes. It was
broken up Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of parts, which can be sold for re-use, or for the extraction ...
in 1890. The wheel centres were used in building No. 7 of the Armstrong class.


No. 8

Number 8 was built in 1886 as a
broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...
convertible 2-4-0 tandem compound, the low- and high-pressure piston rods sharing a common crosshead. It had
driving wheel On a steam locomotive, a driving wheel is a powered wheel which is driven by the locomotive's pistons (or turbine, in the case of a steam turbine locomotive). On a conventional, non-articulated locomotive, the driving wheels are all coupled ...
s, six plate frames and a high-pressure boiler rated at . The frames consisted of a double frame supporting the driving axleboxes, and an external frame from which the hornblocks for the leading wheels projected. Unsuccessful in its trials, it was never taken into stock or converted to . In 1894 the wheel centres were used in a conventional standard gauge
4-4-0 4-4-0 is a locomotive type with a classification that uses the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement and represents the arrangement: four leading wheels on two axles (usually in a leading bogie), four po ...
, No. 8 of the Armstrong class.


No. 9

This unit started out in 1881 as a
4-2-4T Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, two powered driving wheels on one axle, and four trailing wheels on two axles. This type of locomotive is ...
, with two diameter driving wheels and unusually large cylinders. It was the only tank locomotive built by the Great Western Railway (though not the only such tank locomotive operated by the Great Western, which inherited some from the
Bristol and Exeter Railway The Bristol & Exeter Railway (B&ER) was an English railway company formed to connect Bristol and Exeter. It was built on the broad gauge and its engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It opened in stages between 1841 and 1844. It was allied with ...
). It did little work as it was prone to
derail A derail or derailer is a device used to prevent fouling (blocking or compromising) of a rail track (or collision with anything present on the track, such as a person, or a train) by unauthorized movements of trains or unattended rolling stock. ...
ing, indeed it did this in front of William Dean on its first trial move out of the shed. In 1884, it was rebuilt as an unconventional 2-2-2 tender locomotive with outside
Stephenson valve gear The Stephenson valve gear or Stephenson link or shifting link is a simple design of valve gear that was widely used throughout the world for various kinds of steam engines. It is named after Robert Stephenson but was invented by his employees. ...
. In 1890, it was rebuilt with more standard double frames and inside valve gear similar in style to the Queen Class. In this guise it was named ''Victoria'' in honour of
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
.


No. 10

A 2-2-2 locomotive that, as with number 9, was eventually rebuilt to be similar to the Queen class. In this latter guise it was named ''Royal Albert'' in honour of Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria.


No. 13

Tank locomotive number 13 first appeared in 1886 as a 2-4-2WT, or well tank. In this form it worked on the St Ives branch and also on the Watlington branch. In 1897, it was rebuilt as a
4-4-0 4-4-0 is a locomotive type with a classification that uses the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement and represents the arrangement: four leading wheels on two axles (usually in a leading bogie), four po ...
ST, or saddle tank. The large bunker and rear water tank were reduced in size. This allowed the rear carrying wheels to be removed, and a saddle tank fitted over the boiler. The frames were extended to allow the fitting of a
bogie A bogie ( ) (in some senses called a truck in North American English) is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transp ...
truck at the front. It continued to work on various branch lines, being loaned to the
Liskeard and Looe Railway The Liskeard and Looe Railway was a railway originally built between Moorswater, in the valley west of Liskeard, and Looe, in Cornwall, England, UK, and later extended to Liskeard station on the Cornish Main Line railway. The first section w ...
and later continuing to work on the Looe branch. It was also recorded on the
Highworth Highworth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, England, about northeast of Swindon town centre. The 2011 Census recorded a population of 8,151. The town is notable for its Queen Anne and Georgian buildings, dating ...
and Brixham branches, and working in the
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...
area, before finally moving to
Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...
, from where it was withdrawn in 1926.


Nos. 14 and 16

Two rather more conventional 2-4-0 express locomotives were turned out in 1888 and ran on the broad gauge. They were similar to the standard gauge 3206 Class ''Barnums turned out in 1889 but with large in driving wheels. Following the abolition of the broad gauge in 1892, they were renewed, reappearing as standard gauge
4-4-0 4-4-0 is a locomotive type with a classification that uses the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement and represents the arrangement: four leading wheels on two axles (usually in a leading bogie), four po ...
locomotives in 1894.


No. 1490

In 1898, after Churchward had become Dean's assistant, a solitary 4-4-0PT was built at Swindon (Lot no. 114, works no. 1702), and was the first GWR locomotive with
pannier tank 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 locomot ...
s. It had driving wheels, and was intended as the prototype of a new class for working over the Metropolitan Railway, but was both unstable and too heavy. After a few years spent shunting, it was sold in 1907 by the GWR to the Ebbw Vale Steel, Iron & Coal Co. In 1908 it came into the possession of the
Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway The Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway (B&MR) was a railway company in Wales. It was originally intended to link the towns in its name. Finding its access to Merthyr difficult at first, it acquired the Rumney Railway, an old plateway, and ...
, which numbered it 35, but sold it again in 1916 to the Cramlington Colliery Co. It was eventually scrapped in 1929.


References


Sources

* * * * * * {{GWR Locomotives
Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...
Broad gauge (7 feet) railway locomotives 2-4-0 locomotives 4-4-0 locomotives 4-2-4T locomotives 2-4-2T locomotives Experimental locomotives Scrapped locomotives