Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) Classes 1,2,3,4,5 and 13 were

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 ...

locomotives acquired over the period 1847-1862 serving the railway in its formative years.

MGWR Class 1

The MGWR Class 1 were supplied by

Thomas Grendon and Company Thomas Grendon and Company was an engineering company established in 1835 based in Grendons Foundry and Engineering Works, South Quay, Drogheda, Ireland. Employing up to over 600 people, it was first forced to close in the late 1880s with cont ...

from April 1847 with ''Dunsandle'' performing the trials and opening run. These engines were a replacement for a cancelled order from J & R Mallet of Seville Ironworks

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and arrived before the earlier order for MGWR Class 2 from

Fairbairn Fairbairn is a surname of Scottish origin which means "a handsome child." Notable people with the surname include: * Andrew Fairbairn (disambiguation), several people *Bill Fairbairn (born 1947), Canadian ice hockey player * Bruce Fairbairn (1949 ...

. Juno was later converted into a 2-2-2T tank locomotive.

MGWR Class 2

supplied 6 engines in response to a quote in 1846, the engines being delivered from June 1847. They seem to have accumulated less average mileages than MGWR Class 1 and were withdrawn within 10 years apart from ''Orion'' which was converted to a tank engine in 1852.

MGWR Class 3

The six MGWR Class 3 locomotives were also supplied by

in 1848. Built to a different design they had a longer service life than the Fairbairn Class 2.

MGWR Class 4

The MGWR Class 4 from

were

Well Tank A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water storage tanks, tanks, instead of a more traditional tender (rail), tender. Most tank engines also have Fuel bunker, bunkers (or fuel tank ...

locomotives ordered for the MGWR's Galway extension in 1851. One of the original order of 4 was believed to have been sent to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. They had a long service life of nearly 50 years with some remaining in use as stationary boilers up to 1906.

MGWR Class 5

With the exception of Class 13 all subsequent locomotive builds for the MGWR were of engines with the driving wheels connected by coupling rods for better adhesion. The MGWR Class 5 engines were themselves rebuilt as

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 ...

s beforce withdrawal and renumbered in the range 88-93.

MGWR Class 13

The final set of six

passenger locomotives for the MGWR designated Class 13 built by

R & W Hawthorn R and W Hawthorn Ltd was a locomotive manufacturer in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, from 1817 until 1885. Locomotive building Robert Hawthorn first began business at Forth Bank Works in 1817, building marine and stationary steam engines. In 1820 ...

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

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 ...

. They had double-sandwich frames, outside springs and cylinders. Their driving wheels at were the largest of any MGWR 2-2-2 locomotive. They were renumbered 43-48 between 1871 and 1873 switching the number range with MGWR Class 12 so all passenger engines could be brought into the number range 1 to 48.} Their final years saw them displaced from main line to branch services.

Notes

References

Sources

* * {{Ireland Steam Locomotives 2-2-2 locomotives 5 ft 3 in gauge locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1847 01 Scrapped locomotives Thomas Grendon and Company locomotives Steam locomotives of Ireland