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...

 Leo Class 2-4-0

Whyte notation

The Whyte notation for classifying steam locomotives by wheel arrangement was devised by Frederick Methvan Whyte and came into use in the early twentieth century encouraged by an editorial in American Engineer and Railroad Journal...

 broad gauge steam locomotive

Locomotive

A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

s for goods train work. This class was introduced into service between January 1841 and July 1842, and withdrawn between September 1864 and June 1874.

These locomotives were the first for the railway with coupled wheels as they were designed as goods locomotives, but they later found use on passenger trains too. All the class were altered to 2-4-0ST saddle tanks.

The locomotives were built by three different workshops, each with its own naming convention. The first three came from R and W Hawthorn and Company

Hawthorn Leslie and Company

R. & W. Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Limited, usually referred to as Hawthorn Leslie, was a shipbuilding and locomotive manufacturer. The Company was founded on Tyneside in 1886 and ceased building ships in 1982.-History:...

, who named them after strong animals. The next three were named after volcano

Volcano

2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...

es by Fenton, Murray and Jackson

Fenton, Murray and Jackson

Fenton, Murray and Jackson was an engineering company at the Round Foundry off Water Lane in Holbeck, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-Fenton, Murray and Wood:...

, while the final twelve came from Rothwell and Company carrying the names of the twelve houses of the zodiac

Zodiac

In astronomy, the zodiac is a circle of twelve 30° divisions of celestial longitude which are centred upon the ecliptic: the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year...

.

Locomotives

Name	Manufacturer	Serial Nº	Built	Withdrawn	Notes
Elephant Elephant Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...	R. & W. Hawthorn & Co. R and W Hawthorn R and W Hawthorn Ltd was a locomotive manufacturer in Newcastle upon Tyne, England from 1817 until 1880.-Locomotive building:Robert Hawthorne first began business at Forth Bank Works in 1817, building marine and stationary steam engines. In 1820, his brother joined him and the firm became R and W...	319
Buffalo American Bison The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...	R. & W. Hawthorn & Co.	320
Dromedary Dromedary The dromedary or Arabian camel is a large, even-toed ungulate with one hump on its back. Its native range is unclear, but it was probably the Arabian Peninsula. The domesticated form occurs widely in North Africa and the Middle East...	R. & W. Hawthorn & Co.	321
Hecla Hekla Hekla is a stratovolcano located in the south of Iceland with a height of . Hekla is one of Iceland's most active volcanoes; over 20 eruptions have occurred in and around the volcano since 874. During the Middle Ages, Icelanders called the volcano the "Gateway to Hell."Hekla is part of a volcanic...	Fenton, Murray and Jackson Fenton, Murray and Jackson Fenton, Murray and Jackson was an engineering company at the Round Foundry off Water Lane in Holbeck, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-Fenton, Murray and Wood:...	35			Hecla: On 24 December 1841 it was involved in a fatal accident in Sonning Cutting Sonning Cutting Sonning Cutting is on the original Great Western Railway built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It is to the east of Reading station and to the west of Twyford station near the village of Sonning in Berkshire, England. It had been intended to route the railway around the north of Sonning Hill past the...  near Reading Reading railway station Reading railway station is a major rail transport hub in the English town of Reading. It is situated on the northern edge of the town centre, close to the main retail and commercial areas, and also the River Thames... . It was hauling a so-called "baggage train" consisting of both passenger and goods trucks, when it ran into an earth slip in the cutting, killing eight passengers. At the coroner's inquest on the passengers killed the jury returned a verdict of accidental death in all cases and a deodand Deodand Deodand is a thing forfeited or given to God, specifically, in law, an object or instrument which becomes forfeit because it has caused a person's death....  of one thousand pounds on the engine, tender and carriages. The deodand was later overturned.
Stromboli Stromboli Stromboli is a small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast of Sicily, containing one of the three active volcanoes in Italy. It is one of the eight Aeolian Islands, a volcanic arc north of Sicily. This name is a corruption of the Ancient Greek name Strongulē which was given to it...	Fenton, Murray and Jackson	36
Etna	Fenton, Murray and Jackson	37
Aries Aries (astrology) Aries is the first astrological sign in the Zodiac, which spans the zodiac between the zero degree and the 29th degree of celestial longitude. The Sun enters Aries when it reaches the northern vernal equinox, which is usually on March 21 each year, and remains in this sign until around April 20...	Rothwell and Company	66
Taurus Taurus (astrology) Taurus is the second astrological sign in the Zodiac, which spans the zodiac between the 30th and 59th degree of celestial longitude. Generally, the Sun transits this area of the zodiac between April 21 to May 21 each year...	Rothwell and Company	67			Taurus: worked the first South Devon Railway train from Newton Newton Abbot railway station Newton Abbot railway station serves the town of Newton Abbot in Devon, England. It is from London on the Exeter to Plymouth line via the Reading to Taunton line, at the junction for the branch to . For many years it was also the junction for Moretonhampstead and the site of a large locomotive...  to Torquay Torre railway station Torre station is a suburban station on the Riviera Line in Torquay, Devon, England. The station is operated by First Great Western but is not staffed; except for one evening train it is only served by local services.-History:...  on 18 December 1848.
Gemini Gemini (astrology) Gemini is the third astrological sign in the Zodiac, which spans the Zodiac between the 60th and 89th degree of celestial longitude. Generally, the Sun transits this area of the zodiac between May 21 to June 20 each year...	Rothwell and Company	68
Cancer Cancer (astrology) Cancer is the fourth astrological sign in the Zodiac. It is considered a water sign and one of four cardinal signs. Cancer is ruled by the Moon. Individuals born when the Sun is in this sign are considered Cancerian individuals...	Rothwell and Company	69
Leo Leo (astrology) Leo is the fifth astrological sign of the Zodiac, originating from the constellation of Leo. In astrology, Leo is considered to be a "masculine", positive sign. It is also considered a fire sign and is one of four fixed signs ruled by the Sun.Individuals born when the Sun is in this sign are...	Rothwell and Company	70
Virgo Virgo (astrology) Virgo is the sixth astrological sign in the Zodiac, which spans the zodiac between the 150th and 179th degree of celestial longitude. Generally, the Sun transits this area of the zodiac between August 23 to September 22 each year...	Rothwell and Company	71
Libra Libra (astrology) Libra is the seventh astrological sign in the Zodiac, originating from the constellation of Libra. In astrology, Libra is considered a "masculine", positive sign. It is also considered an air sign and is one of four cardinal signs...	Rothwell and Company	72
Scorpio Scorpio (astrology) |Infobox align="right" style="border:3px solid white;"||style="text-align: center;"|Scorpio is the eighth astrological sign in the Zodiac, which spans the zodiac between the 210th and 239th degree of celestial longitude. Generally, the Sun transits this area of the zodiac between 24 October and...	Rothwell and Company	73
Sagittarius Sagittarius (astrology) Sagittarius is the ninth astrological sign in the Zodiac, which spans the zodiac between the 240th and 269th degree of celestial longitude...	Rothwell and Company	74			Sagittarius: worked the first train to on 9 September 1851.
Capricornus	Rothwell and Company	75			Capricorn: Along with Pices, worked the first train from to , the temporary terminus of the South Devon Railway South Devon Railway Company The South Devon Railway Company built and operated the railway from Exeter to Plymouth and Torquay in Devon, England. It was a broad gauge railway built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel-Chronology:* 1844 South Devon Railway Act passed by parliament...  at Plymouth Plymouth Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...  on 5 May 1848.
Aquarius	Rothwell and Company	76
Pisces	Rothwell and Company]	77			Pisces:Along with Capricornus, worked the first train from Totnes to Laira, the temporary terminus of the South Devon Railway at Plymouth on 5 May 1848.