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 "one ...

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 ...

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 both ...

Mather, Dixon locomotives. They were built by

Mather, Dixon and Company Mather, Dixon and Company was an engineering firm in Liverpool, England. It was established in 1826 at the Bath Street Foundry to build marine and stationary steam engines. Production of steam locomotives began in 1827. Products Early years Th ...

, but were unsuccessful, and were rapidly replaced 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 Superintendent of Locomotive Engines on the Great Western Railway from 1837 to 1864 and ...

, once he had been appointed as the Locomotive Engineer.

Locomotives

* ''Premier'' (Mather, Dixon 40; 1837 - 1840) :This locomotive, along with Charles Tayleur's ''

Vulcan Vulcan may refer to: Mythology * Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...

'' was delivered by canal to

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. The se ...

on 25 November 1837. It had cylinders. The name, which means "first", was later used on the first locomotive built at

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 ...

, the first of the Premier Class goods locomotives. * ''Ariel'' (Mather, Dixon 41; 1838 - 1840) :This locomotive was the second of the Mather, Dixon locomotives to arrive and featured cylinders. Ariel is, amongst other things,

an angel "An Angel" is a song by European-American pop group The Kelly Family. It was produced by Kathy Kelly and Hartmut Pfannmüller for their eighth regular studio album ''Over the Hump'' (1994) and features lead vocals by Angelo and Paddy Kelly. Pad ...

and a fairy in William Shakespeare's ''The Tempest''. * ''Ajax'' (Mather, Dixon 50; 1838 - 1840) :This rather distinctive locomotive had plate wheels instead of the more usual

spoke A spoke is one of some number of rods radiating from the center of a wheel (the hub where the axle connects), connecting the hub with the round traction surface. The term originally referred to portions of a log that had been riven (split l ...

d ones, the carrying wheels being . The cylinders were fed from a doubled-domed boiler. It was named after

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

, a Greek mythological hero. * ''Planet'' (Mather, Dixon 51; 1839 - 1840) :This locomotive was delivered in December 1838 before being put to work in August 1839. After withdrawal it was used as a stationary boiler at

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. * ''Mercury'' (Mather, Dixon 52; 1839 - 1843) :This locomotive was built to similar dimensions to ''Planet'' and also arrived in December 1838 but not accepted into service until 26 September 1839. It had 8 ft driving wheels and cylinders. The name comes from a Roman god and was later carried by one of the Ariadne Class standard goods locomotives. * ''Mars'' (Mather, Dixon 53; 1840 - 1840) :This locomotive was built with 10 ft wheels, but did not enter service until they had been changed to 8 ft ones. The cylinders were . It was not successful, being delivered in April 1840 and withdrawn in December. It was named after

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

, the Roman god of war, and this was carried by one of the 1841-built Firefly Class locomotives.

References

{{GWR Locomotives Mather Dixon Broad gauge (7 feet) railway locomotives 2-2-2 locomotives Early steam locomotives Steam locomotives of Great Britain Railway locomotives introduced in 1837