GWR Metropolitan Class
Encyclopedia
The Great Western Railway
Metropolitan Class 2-4-0T broad gauge steam locomotive
s with condensing apparatus
for working trains on the Metropolitan Railway
. This equipment was later removed, though the class continued to work suburban trains on GWR lines in London
. This class was introduced into service between June 1862 and October 1864, and withdrawn between June 1871 and December 1877.
The locomotives were built by three different workshops, each with a different series of names. The first two batches were delivered concurrently by the Vulcan Foundry
(named after insects), and Kitson & Co.
(named after foreign monarchs). These were followed by a batch from the railway's own workshops at Swindon, which were named after flowers.
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...
Metropolitan Class 2-4-0T 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 with condensing apparatus
Steam locomotive condensing apparatus
A steam locomotive condensing apparatus differs in purpose from the usual closed cycle steam engine condenser, in that its function is primarily either to recover water, or to avoid excessive emissions to the atmosphere, rather than maintaining a vacuum to improve both efficiency and power...
for working trains on the Metropolitan Railway
Metropolitan railway
Metropolitan Railway can refer to:* Metropolitan line, part of the London Underground* Metropolitan Railway, the first underground railway to be built in London...
. This equipment was later removed, though the class continued to work suburban trains on GWR lines in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. This class was introduced into service between June 1862 and October 1864, and withdrawn between June 1871 and December 1877.
The locomotives were built by three different workshops, each with a different series of names. The first two batches were delivered concurrently by the Vulcan Foundry
Vulcan Foundry
Vulcan Foundry was a British locomotive builder sited at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire .-History:It was originally opened in 1832 as Charles Tayleur and Company to produce girders for bridges, switches and crossings, and other ironwork following the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway...
(named after insects), and Kitson & Co.
Kitson & Co.
Kitson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer based in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-Early history:The company started as James Kitson at the Airedale Foundry, off Pearson Street, Hunslet in 1835 with Charles Todd as a partner...
(named after foreign monarchs). These were followed by a batch from the railway's own workshops at Swindon, which were named after flowers.
Locomotives
- Azalia (1864 - 1872)
- Built at SwindonSwindon WorksSwindon 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...
, it ran as a 2-4-0 tender locomotive. This locomotive was named after the flower, the azaleaAzaleaAzaleas are flowering shrubs comprising two of the eight subgenera of the genus Rhododendron, Pentanthera and Tsutsuji . Azaleas bloom in spring, their flowers often lasting several weeks...
.- Bee (1862 - 1874)
- Built by the Vulcan FoundryVulcan FoundryVulcan Foundry was a British locomotive builder sited at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire .-History:It was originally opened in 1832 as Charles Tayleur and Company to produce girders for bridges, switches and crossings, and other ironwork following the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway...
. This locomotive was named after the insect, the beeBeeBees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
.- Bey (1862 - 1872)
- Built by Kitson & Co.Kitson & Co.Kitson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer based in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-Early history:The company started as James Kitson at the Airedale Foundry, off Pearson Street, Hunslet in 1835 with Charles Todd as a partner...
A beyBeyBey is a title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. Accoding to some sources, the word "Bey" is of Turkish language In historical accounts, many Turkish, other Turkic and Persian leaders are titled Bey, Beg, Bek, Bay, Baig or Beigh. They are all the same word...
was a turkish chieftain.- Camelia (1863 - 1876)
- Built at Swindon. This locomotive was named after the flower, the cameliaCamelia-Awards:* Anugerah Industri Muzik 1998** Best New Artist**Best Vocal Performance in an Album for "Camelia"-Personal life:She was married to Mohd Ehsan Tun Ahmad Zaidi Adruce until their divorce in 1999. She then married a prominent local developer who is a Datuk in 2010. This makes her formal...
.- Czar (1862 - 1871)
- Built by Kitson & Co. The czar was the emperor of Russia.
- Fleur-de-Lis (1863 - 1872)
- Built at Swindon. This locomotive was named after a symbolic flower, the fleur-de-lisFleur-de-LisFleur-de-Lis is a fictional character, a comic book secret agent published by DC Comics. She debuted in Infinity, Inc. #34 , and was created by Len Wein, Randy Lofficier and Ross Andru.-Fictional character biography:...
.- Gnat (1862 - 1874)
- Built by the Vulcan Foundry. This locomotive was named after the insect, the gnatGnatA gnat is any of many species of tiny flying insects in the Dipterid suborder Nematocera, especially those in the families Mycetophilidae, Anisopodidae and Sciaridae.In British English the term applies particularly to Nematocerans of the family Culicidae...
.- Hornet (1862 - 1873)
- Built by the Vulcan Foundry, it was later altered to a 2-4-0 tender locomotive. This locomotive was named after the insect, the hornetHornetHornets are the largest eusocial wasps; some species can reach up to in length. The true hornets make up the genus Vespa and are distinguished from other vespines by the width of the vertex , which is proportionally larger in Vespa and by the anteriorly rounded gasters .- Life cycle :In...
.- Kaiser (1862 - 1872)
- Built by Kitson & Co. A kaiserKaiserKaiser is the German title meaning "Emperor", with Kaiserin being the female equivalent, "Empress". Like the Russian Czar it is directly derived from the Latin Emperors' title of Caesar, which in turn is derived from the personal name of a branch of the gens Julia, to which Gaius Julius Caesar,...
was the emperor of Prussia.- Khan (1862 - 1872)
- Built by Kitson & Co. A khanKhan (title)Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
was an Asian leader.- Laurel (1864 - 1872)
- Built at Swindon, it ran as a 2-4-0 tender locomotive. This locomotive was named after the tree, the laurelBay LaurelThe bay laurel , also known as sweet bay, bay tree, true laurel, Grecian laurel, laurel tree, or simply laurel, is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glossy leaves, native to the Mediterranean region. It is the source of the bay leaf used in cooking...
.- Lily (1864 - 1872)
- Built at Swindon, it ran as a 2-4-0 tender locomotive. After withdrawal the boiler was sold to the Telegraph Construction Company who used it as a stationary boiler on board the SS Great EasternSS Great EasternSS Great Eastern was an iron sailing steam ship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and built by J. Scott Russell & Co. at Millwall on the River Thames, London. She was by far the largest ship ever built at the time of her 1858 launch, and had the capacity to carry 4,000 passengers around the...
. This locomotive was named after the lilyLiliumLilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs. Most species are native to the temperate northern hemisphere, though the range extends into the northern subtropics...
family of flowers.- Locust (1862 - 1876)
- Built by the Vulcan Foundry. This locomotive was named after the insect, the locustLocustLocusts are the swarming phase of short-horned grasshoppers of the family Acrididae. These are species that can breed rapidly under suitable conditions and subsequently become gregarious and migratory...
.- Mogul (1862 - 1872)
- Built by Kitson & Co, it was later altered to a 2-4-0 tender locomotive. A mogulMughal EmpireThe Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
was the leader of the Mughals.- Mosquito (1862 - 1877)
- Built by the Vulcan Foundry. This locomotive was named after the insect, the mosquitoMosquitoMosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
.- Myrtle (1864 - 1873)
- Built at Swindon, it ran as a 2-4-0 tender locomotive. This locomotive was named after the myrtle genus of flowering plants.
- Rose (1863 - 1877)
- Built at Swindon. This locomotive was named after the flowering shrub, the roseRoseA rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
, the symbol of EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.- Shah (1862 - 1872)
- Built by Kitson & Co. The shahShahShāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...
was the ruler of Persia.- Shamrock (1863 - 1877)
- Built at Swindon. This locomotive was named after the flowering plant, the shamrockShamrockThe shamrock is a three-leafed old white clover. It is known as a symbol of Ireland. The name shamrock is derived from Irish , which is the diminutive version of the Irish word for clover ....
, the symbol of IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.- Thistle (1863 - 1874)
- Built at Swindon. This locomotive was named after the thistleThistleThistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles often occur all over the plant – on surfaces such as those of the stem and flat parts of leaves. These are an adaptation that protects the...
family of flowering plants, the symbol of ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.- Violet (1864 - 1872)
- Built at Swindon. This locomotive was named after the flower, the violetViolet (plant)Viola is a genus of flowering plants in the violet family Violaceae, with around 400–500 species distributed around the world. Most species are found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere; however, viola species are also found in widely divergent areas such as Hawaii, Australasia, and the Andes in...
.- Wasp (1862 - 1875)
- Built by the Vulcan Foundry. This locomotive was named after the insect, the waspWaspThe term wasp is typically defined as any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor an ant. Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it, making wasps critically important in natural control of their...
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