The MGWR Class D were

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 built in batches from 1873 to 1887 for the

Midland Great Western Railway The Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) was the third largest Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland. It was incorporated in 1845 and absorbed into the Great Southern Railways in 1924. At its peak the MGWR had a network of , making it Irela ...

(MGWR) 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 ...

to a

Martin Atock Martin Atock, also formerly known as Martin Attock, was an English railway engineer, who is best known as the Locomotive Superintendent of the Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) from 1872 to 1900. Life Atock was born in June 1834 in Presto ...

design. Numbering 39 at their peak they were the standard MGWR passenger locomotive of their era. Six of the class were rebuilt as .

Table

History

The D class were originally built as s between 1873 and 1887. The first batch of 12 were built by

Neilson and Company Neilson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Glasgow, Scotland. The company was started in 1836 at McAlpine Street by Walter Neilson and James Mitchell to manufacture marine and stationary engines. In 1837 the firm moved to Hyde Park ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

in 1873 and a further batch of 5 by

Dübs and Company Dübs & Co. was a locomotive manufacturer in Glasgow, Scotland, founded by Henry Dübs in 1863 and based at the Queens Park Works in Polmadie. In 1903 it amalgamated with two other Glasgow locomotive manufacturers to create the North British Loc ...

of Glasgow in 1876. The class took on all but the heaviest passenger duties becoming the standard passenger locomotive of their era. They were joined by a batch of six built by

Beyer, Peacock and Company Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English railway locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Openshaw, Manchester. Founded by Charles Beyer, Richard Peacock and Henry Robertson, it traded from 1854 until 1966. The company exported locomotives, ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

in 1880–1881 and four were built by Kitson & Co. of

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

in 1884. MGWR's own Broadstone Works built twelve between 1883 and 1887. Although Broadstone Works has been extended 1877 the reason that ten were subcontracted externally was due to Broadstone working to capacity at the time. The first batches from Neilsons and Dübs were withdrawn 1893–1898 and replaced by the more powerful MGWR Class K , which cascaded the remaining Class D's to secondary duties. The batch of six Beyer-Peacock locomotives were selected for a rebuild to a bogie design in 1900/01, the first use of such a configuration on the MGWR. The rebuilt locomotives were found wanting for their intended use on the

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

line west of

Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, with a population of 20,928 in the 2016 census. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 proclaimed Westmeat ...

but nevertheless paved the way for the MGWR Class A and Class C 4-4-0s whilst doing useful work in the

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

and

Achill Achill Island (; ga, Acaill, Oileán Acla) in County Mayo is the largest of the Irish isles, and is situated off the west coast of Ireland. It has a population of 2,594. Its area is . Achill is attached to the mainland by Michael Davitt Brid ...

areas. The remaining Kitson and Broadstone built members of the class were withdrawn between 1911 and 1922, being cascaded out by more powerful passenger locomotives being introduced.

References

{{Ireland Steam Locomotives Beyer, Peacock locomotives Kitson locomotives Neilson locomotives 2-4-0 locomotives 5 ft 3 in gauge locomotives D Scrapped locomotives