The Experiment Class was a series of 30 three-cylinder 2-(2-2)-0

2-(2-2)-0

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2--0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, four powered but uncoupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels.-Usage:...

 compound locomotive

Compound locomotive

A compound engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages.A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure cylinder, then having given up heat and losing pressure, it exhausts directly into one or more larger...

s designed by Francis Webb

Francis Webb (engineer)

Francis William Webb was a British engineer responsible for the design and manufacture of locomotives for the London and North Western Railway .- Biography :...

 for the London and North Western Railway

London and North Western Railway

The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...

 between 1882 and 1884. They were Webb’s first large-scale experiment with a class of express compound locomotives, and the first engine was named accordingly. The experiment was not a success and they were quickly withdrawn by Webb's successor George Whale

George Whale

George Whale was a British locomotive engineer who worked for the London and North Western Railway .Whale was born in Bocking, Essex. In 1858 he entered Wolverton Works under James Edward McConnell, and from 1862 under John Ramsbottom. In 1865 he entered the drawing office at Crewe Works, and in...

soon after he took up office in 1903.