''Thunderer'' was the first of a pair of

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 (the other being ''Hurricane'') built 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 ...

(GWR), England, by R. & W. Hawthorn & Co. whose design was very different from other locomotives. In order to meet

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 ...

's strict specifications, an

0-4-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven. The wheels on the earliest four-coupled locomotives were ...

frame carried the 'engine', while the boiler was on a separate six-wheeled frame. The driving wheels were geared 10:27 in order to reduce the cylinder stroke speed while allowing high track speed, in line with the specifications. The locomotive was delivered to the GWR on 6 March 1838 and ceased work in December 1839 after running only , but its boiler section was kept as a stationary boiler.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gwr Thunderer Locomotive Thunderer Broad gauge (7 feet) railway locomotives 0-4-0 locomotives Early steam locomotives Steam locomotives of Great Britain Hawthorn locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1838 Scrapped locomotives

See also

References