Daniel Gooch standard gauge locomotives
Encyclopedia
The Daniel Gooch standard gauge locomotives comprise several classes of locomotives designed by Daniel Gooch
, Superintendent of Locomotive Engines for the Great Western Railway
(GWR) from 1837 to 1864.
to become the GWR's Northern Division. Consequently from then until his retirement in 1864, Daniel Gooch
(the company's Superintendent of Locomotive Engines, a post he had occupied since 1837), although a passionate advocate of the GWR's original broad gauge
, of necessity also became responsible for designing standard gauge locomotives for the new Northern Division. From 1858 the construction of standard gauge engines started at the newly enlarged Northern Division Works at Stafford Road, Wolverhampton; these were designed by Joseph Armstrong
, the Wolverhampton Locomotive Superintendent that the GWR had inherited along with the S&BR.
Alongside these Armstrong locomotives, several other standard gauge locomotive classes were built during these years under the aegis of Gooch himself, either at the Great Western's principal works at Swindon
, or else by outside firms, Swindon and Wolverhampton between them not yet having sufficient capacity for all the necessary new construction. Though these engines were mostly designed by Gooch himself, sometimes the influence of Joseph Armstrong may be evident.
Daniel Gooch
Sir Daniel Gooch, 1st Baronet was an English railway and transatlantic cable engineer and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1865 to 1885...
, Superintendent of Locomotive Engines for the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
(GWR) from 1837 to 1864.
History
In 1854 the GWR absorbed two standard gauge lines, the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway and the Shrewsbury and Birmingham RailwayShrewsbury and Birmingham Railway
The Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway opened on 12 November 1849. It merged with the Great Western Railway on 1 September 1854.The company formed originally as the Shrewsbury & Wolverhampton, Dudley & Birmingham Railway in 1844, it became Shrewsbury & Birmingham Railway in 1847.When the section...
to become the GWR's Northern Division. Consequently from then until his retirement in 1864, Daniel Gooch
Daniel Gooch
Sir Daniel Gooch, 1st Baronet was an English railway and transatlantic cable engineer and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1865 to 1885...
(the company's Superintendent of Locomotive Engines, a post he had occupied since 1837), although a passionate advocate of the GWR's original broad gauge
Broad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
, of necessity also became responsible for designing standard gauge locomotives for the new Northern Division. From 1858 the construction of standard gauge engines started at the newly enlarged Northern Division Works at Stafford Road, Wolverhampton; these were designed by Joseph Armstrong
Joseph Armstrong (engineer)
Joseph Armstrong was a British locomotive engineer and the second locomotive superintendent of the Great Western Railway...
, the Wolverhampton Locomotive Superintendent that the GWR had inherited along with the S&BR.
Alongside these Armstrong locomotives, several other standard gauge locomotive classes were built during these years under the aegis of Gooch himself, either at the Great Western's principal works at Swindon
Swindon Works
Swindon railway works were built by the Great Western Railway in 1841 in Swindon in the English county of Wiltshire.-History:In 1835 Parliament approved the construction of a railway between London and Bristol. Its Chief Engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel.From 1836, Brunel had been buying...
, or else by outside firms, Swindon and Wolverhampton between them not yet having sufficient capacity for all the necessary new construction. Though these engines were mostly designed by Gooch himself, sometimes the influence of Joseph Armstrong may be evident.
Classes
The classes concerned are as follows:- 57 Class: Nos. 57-68, 12 0-6-0 freight engines designed by Gooch built at Swindon in 1855-6. They were typical Gooch engines, resembling his broad gauge Standard Goods, suitably narrowed for the standard gauge. On delivery they had to be transported to Wolverhampton on specially constructed broad gauge wagons. Between 1873 and 1890 all were "renewed" at Wolverhampton - that is, built afresh with minimal use of parts from the original engines - and in 1890-91 William Dean added, for some reason, three more to the class, as Nos. 316-8. With a few exceptions the class remained in the Northern Division, and the last was withdrawn in 1927. Nos. 60 and 67 ran between 1876/7 and 1886 as saddle tank engines, having been renewed in that form by George ArmstrongGeorge Armstrong (engineer)George Armstrong was in charge of standard gauge steam locomotives for the Great Western Railway at Stafford Road Works, Wolverhampton from 1864 to 1897...
. - 69 Class: Nos. 69-76, eight Gooch 2-2-2s for the Wolverhampton-Shrewsbury line, built 1855-6 by Beyer, Peacock & Co.Beyer, Peacock and CompanyBeyer, Peacock and Company was an English railway Locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Gorton, Manchester. Founded by Charles Beyer and Richard Peacock, it traded from 1854 until 1966...
in Manchester. Four of these engines were the very first to be built by Beyer, Peacock, at their brand-new Gorton Works. In 1861, when standard gauge trains started to run through on the mixed gauge to Paddington, the engines moved south to work on the London-Oxford-Wolverhampton sections. After about 20 years the locomotives were "renewed" by George Armstrong at Wolverhampton, i.e. replaced by what were "from an engineering viewpoint new engines." Then in 1895-7, under William Dean at Swindon, they were reconstructed once more, emerging as 2-4-0s of the "River" Class.GWR River ClassThe 69 Class designed by William Dean for the Great Western Railway consisted of eight 2-4-0 tender locomotives, constructed at Swindon Works in 1895-7... - 77 and 167 classes: Nos. 77, 78 and 167-170, seven 0-6-0s built in 1857 and 1861 with boilers to Gooch's design but otherwise designed by the builders, Beyer, Peacock & Co.Beyer, Peacock and CompanyBeyer, Peacock and Company was an English railway Locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Gorton, Manchester. Founded by Charles Beyer and Richard Peacock, it traded from 1854 until 1966...
. - 79 Class: Nos.79-90 and 119-130, 24 0-6-0 freight engines designed by Gooch and built at Swindon in 1857 (79-90) and 1861-2. Very similar to the 57 class but with smaller driving wheels, they hauled the important coal traffic between Pontypool Road and Birkenhead (carrying fuel for the Atlantic liners, which burned Welsh steam coal). 13 of them were renewed under William Dean at Swindon, and they were withdrawn between 1905 and 1918. The other 11 were rebuilt by George Armstrong as saddle tank locomotives, becoming the 119 classGWR 119 Class (tank engine)The 119 Class of the Great Western Railway consisted of a series of 11 0-6-0 saddle tank engines. They were numbered 119-21 and 123-30 and had originally been built in 1861 at Swindon Works as tender engines to a design of Daniel Gooch, part of the 79 Class...
. - 91 Class: Nos. 91 and 92, two 0-4-0 saddle tanks supplied in 1857 by Beyer, Peacock & Co., to their own design, for shunting at the collieries around Wrexham. Though No.91 was withdrawn in 1877, its sister had a very long life, surviving until 1942, having spent its last three years as a stationary boiler at Wellington.
- 93 Class: Nos 93 and 94, built 1860 at Swindon. These were the GWR's first 0-6-0 tank locomotives. In 1875 and 1877 they were completely renewed at Wolverhampton to become members of the 1901 ClassGWR 1901 ClassThe GWR 1901 Class was a class of 120 small 0-6-0 saddle tank steam locomotives. Numbered 1901-2020, they were designed by George Armstrong and built at the Wolverhampton railway works, England, of the Great Western Railway between 1881 and 1895...
; just before this they are known to have been at Chester and Wolverhampton respectively. - 131 Class: 28 0-6-0s designed by Gooch: Nos. 131-6, built 1862 at Swindon; 137-148, built 1862 by Slaughter, Grüning & Co. of Bristol; and 310-19 built 1864-5 at Swindon. These locomotives used Stephenson, not Gooch valve gear, for the first time at Swindon; this may have been at Armstrong's suggestion. They were later renewed at Wolverhampton.
- "Sharps" or 157 Class: Nos. 157-166, ten 2-2-2s built in 1862 "to Gooch's specifications" by Sharp, Stewart and Company, and closely resembling the 69 Class. In 1879 Nos. 157, 161 and 163 were renumbered 172, 173 and 174 respectively, while the others were "renewed" in 1878-9, that is, withdrawn and replaced by ten officially new engines, William Dean's 157 ClassGWR 157 Class (Dean)The 157 Class of 2-2-2 steam locomotives designed in 1878-9 by William Dean was originally regarded as a reconstruction or renewal of Joseph Armstrong's own 157 Class of 1862. But, as was often the case, these Dean engines were new, and had more in common with Armstrong's more recent, and larger,...
. In their original form, the "Sharps" worked mainly on the Paddington-Wolverhampton expresses. - "England" or "Chancellor" Class: Nos.149-156, eight 2-4-0s built in 1862 "to GWR drawings" by George England & Co.George EnglandGeorge England and Co. was an early English manufacturer of steam locomotives founded by the engineer George England of Newcastle upon Tyne...
at the Hatcham Ironworks, New Cross, Surrey. They were stationed at Wolverhampton for expresses to the north, and were renewed in 1878-1883, also at Wolverhampton. - 320 Class: Nos. 320 and 321, two 2-4-0 well tanks built at Swindon in 1864 for working on the underground Metropolitan RailwayMetropolitan railwayMetropolitan Railway can refer to:* Metropolitan line, part of the London Underground* Metropolitan Railway, the first underground railway to be built in London...
in London. They were the first standard gauge engines anywhere to have condensers, though the system was not a success. Within ten years both were converted to tender engines, and they were withdrawn in 1881. - 322 or "Beyer" Class: 30 0-6-0s built by Beyer, Peacock & Co. of Manchester. The first 20, Nos. 322-41, were ordered by Gooch and built in 1864; ten more, Nos. 350-59 followed in 1866, having been ordered by Armstrong. The latter were the last 19th-century GWR locomotives to be built by an outside contractor. Like the 79 Class, they were initially used between Pontypool Road and Birkenhead. Between 1878 and 1885 six were rebuiltGWR 322 Class (tank engine)Six Great Western Railway outside-framed 0-6-0 locomotives, originally built by Beyer, Peacock & Co. as 322 class tender engines, were subsequently rebuilt in 1878-85 as saddle tank locomotives by George Armstrong at Wolverhampton Works. They were numbered in sequence as 322-327, No. 323 having...
at Wolverhampton as saddle tank engines. The rest were withdrawn between 1912 and 1934, and quite exceptionally three of the class, Nos. 354, 355 and 388, achieved mileages of over 1,500,000.