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 ...

Metropolitan Class

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 ...

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s with condensing apparatus were used for working trains on the

Metropolitan Railway The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex su ...

. The equipment was later removed, though the class continued to work

suburban train Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are consi ...

s on GWR lines in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The class was introduced into service between June 1862 and October 1864, and withdrawn between June 1871 and December 1877. Twenty-two locomotives were built to the

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 ...

arrangement from 1862 to 1864., ''Metropolitan'', 2-4-0T The locomotives were built by three workshops, each with a different naming system. The first two batches were delivered concurrently by 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, crossi ...

(named after insects), and Kitson & Co. (named after foreign monarchs). These were followed by a batch from the railway's own workshops 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 ...

, that were named after flowers. Around 1865, seven of the class were rebuilt as tender locomotives: ''Hornet'', ''Mogul'', ''Azalia'', ''Lily'', ''Myrtle'', ''Violet'', ''Laurel''., ''Metropolitan'', 2-4-0 All were withdrawn between 1871 (''Czar'') and 1877 (''Rose'' & ''Shamrock'').

Locomotives

* ''Azalia'' (1864–1872) :Built at

, it ran as a 2-4-0 tender locomotive. Named after the flower, the

azalea Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Octob ...

. * ''Bee'' (1862–1874) :Built by the

. Named after the insect, the

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

. * ''Bey'' (1862–1872) :Built by Kitson & Co. Named after a

bey Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...

who was a Turkish chieftain. * ''Camelia'' (1863–1876) :Built at Swindon. Named after the flower, the

camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controversy ...

. * ''Czar'' (1862–1871) :Built by Kitson & Co. The

czar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the t ...

was the emperor of Russia. * ''Fleur-de-Lis'' (1863–1872) :Built at Swindon. Named after a symbolic flower, the

fleur-de-lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

. * ''Gnat'' (1862–1874) :Built by the Vulcan Foundry. Named after the insect, the

gnat A gnat () is any of many species of tiny flying insects in the dipterid suborder Nematocera, especially those in the families Mycetophilidae, Anisopodidae and Sciaridae. They can be both biting and non-biting. Most often they fly in large num ...

. * ''Hornet'' (1862–1873) :Built by the Vulcan Foundry, it was later altered to a 2-4-0 tender locomotive. Named after the insect, the

hornet Hornets (insects in the genus ''Vespa'') are the largest of the eusocial wasps, and are similar in appearance to their close relatives yellowjackets. Some species can reach up to in length. They are distinguished from other vespine wasps by th ...

. * ''Kaiser'' (1862–1872) :Built by Kitson & Co. A

kaiser ''Kaiser'' is the German word for "emperor" (female Kaiserin). In general, the German title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (''König''). In English, the (untranslated) word ''Kaiser'' is mainly ap ...

was an emperor of Austria or Germany. * ''Khan'' (1862–1872) :Built by Kitson & Co. A

khan Khan may refer to: *Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan *Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name *Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...

was an Asian leader. * ''Laurel'' (1864–1872) :Built at Swindon, it ran as a 2-4-0 tender locomotive. Named after the tree, the

laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

. * ''Lily'' (1864–1872) :Built at Swindon, it ran as a 2-4-0 tender locomotive. After withdrawal the boiler was sold to the Telegraph Construction Company who used it as a stationary boiler on board the

SS Great Eastern SS ''Great Eastern'' was an iron sail-powered, paddle wheel and screw-propelled steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and built by John Scott Russell & Co. at Millwall Iron Works on the River Thames, London. She was the largest ship ev ...

. Named after the

lily ''Lilium'' () is a genus of Herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in mu ...

family of flowers. * ''Locust'' (1862–1876) :Built by the Vulcan Foundry. Named after the insect, the

locust Locusts (derived from the Vulgar Latin ''locusta'', meaning grasshopper) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstanc ...

. * ''Mogul'' (1862–1872) :Built by Kitson & Co, it was later altered to a 2-4-0 tender locomotive. A

mogul Mogul may refer to: History *Mughal Empire, or any member of its ruling dynasty Persons * Magnate ** Mogul, Secret Service codename for President Trump ** Business magnate, a prominent person in a particular industry **Media mogul, a person who ...

was the leader of the Mughals. * ''Mosquito'' (1862–1877) :Built by the Vulcan Foundry. Named after the insect, the

mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

. * ''Myrtle'' (1864–1873) :Built at Swindon, it ran as a 2-4-0 tender locomotive. Named after the myrtle genus of flowering plants. * ''Rose'' (1863–1877) :Built at Swindon. Named after the flowering shrub, the

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

, the symbol of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. * ''Shah'' (1862–1872) :Built by Kitson & Co. The

shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

was the ruler of Persia. * ''Shamrock'' (1863–1877) :Built at Swindon. Named after the flowering plant, the

shamrock A shamrock is a young sprig, used as a symbol of Ireland. Saint Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, is said to have used it as a metaphor for the Christian Holy Trinity. The name ''shamrock'' comes from Irish (), which is the diminutive of ...

, the symbol of

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 ...

. * ''Thistle'' (1863–1874) :Built at Swindon. Named after the

thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. ...

family of flowering plants, the symbol of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. * ''Violet'' (1864–1872) :Built at Swindon. Named after the flower, the

violet Violet may refer to: Common meanings * Violet (color), a spectral color with wavelengths shorter than blue * One of a list of plants known as violet, particularly: ** ''Viola'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants Places United States * Viol ...

. * ''Wasp'' (1862–1875) :Built by the Vulcan Foundry. Named after the insect, the

wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

References

* * * {{GWR Locomotives Metropolitan 2-4-0T locomotives 2-4-0 locomotives Broad gauge (7 feet) railway locomotives Vulcan Foundry locomotives Kitson locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1862