Furness Railway Class L4
Encyclopedia
The Furness Railway
L4 class, or "Improved Cleator Tanks", were built to haul mineral trains from inland to the blast furnace
s on the coast around Workington. The first two locos, numbers 94 & 95 were fitted with smokebox superheaters, with the smokebox extended to accommodate this and the chimney set far forward. The apparatus was obviously unsuccessful, as a subsequent order for a further two locos, numbers 92 & 93 omitted this, having instead an extended boiler with the frames being extended to accommodate.
The L4's operated on the northern part of the Furness Railway, particularly on the tracks of the Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway
and the Cleator & Workington Junction Railway in the Cleator and Frizington areas. Here they hauled trains of Haemetite Ore over the steep and sharply curved lines linking the mines to the coast.
By 1923 and the grouping of the FR into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
all four engines were still in service, and received the LMS numbers 11641–11644. The locos were withdrawn between 1929 and 1934.
Furness Railway
The Furness Railway was a railway company operating in the Furness area of Lancashire in North West England.-History:The company was established on May 23, 1844 when the Furness Railway Act was passed by Parliament...
L4 class, or "Improved Cleator Tanks", were built to haul mineral trains from inland to the blast furnace
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
s on the coast around Workington. The first two locos, numbers 94 & 95 were fitted with smokebox superheaters, with the smokebox extended to accommodate this and the chimney set far forward. The apparatus was obviously unsuccessful, as a subsequent order for a further two locos, numbers 92 & 93 omitted this, having instead an extended boiler with the frames being extended to accommodate.
The L4's operated on the northern part of the Furness Railway, particularly on the tracks of the Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway
Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway
The Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway was a standard gauge railway in Cumberland, England. It opened for goods traffic in 1855 and for passenger traffic in 1857.- Route :...
and the Cleator & Workington Junction Railway in the Cleator and Frizington areas. Here they hauled trains of Haemetite Ore over the steep and sharply curved lines linking the mines to the coast.
By 1923 and the grouping of the FR into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
all four engines were still in service, and received the LMS numbers 11641–11644. The locos were withdrawn between 1929 and 1934.