South Devon Railway Leopard class
Encyclopedia
The Leopard class were four 4-4-0
saddle tank broad gauge
designed for passenger trains but were also used on goods trains when required. They were built by the Avonside Engine Company
for the South Devon Railway
, but also operated on its associated railways. Although designed for easy conversion to standard gauge this was never carried out.
On 1 February 1876 the South Devon Railway was amalgamated with the Great Western Railway, the locomotives were given numbers by their new owners but continued to carry their names too.
4-4-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels...
saddle tank 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 :...
designed for passenger trains but were also used on goods trains when required. They were built by the Avonside Engine Company
Avonside Engine Company
The Avonside Engine Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Avon Street, St. Philip's, Bristol, England between 1864 and 1934. However the business originated with an earlier enterprise Henry Stothert and Company.-Origins:...
for 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...
, but also operated on its associated railways. Although designed for easy conversion to standard gauge this was never carried out.
On 1 February 1876 the South Devon Railway was amalgamated with the Great Western Railway, the locomotives were given numbers by their new owners but continued to carry their names too.
Locomotives
- Lance (1875 – 1892) GWR no. 2130
- It was one of two locomotives kept working at Swindon railway works for shunting the broad gauge stock into the workshops for conversion or dismantling, until it too was dismantled in June 1893.
- This was the second South Devon Railway locomotive to carry this name, it was previously carried by a Comet classSouth Devon Railway Comet classThe Comet class were 12 4-4-0 saddle tank broad gauge locomotives operated on the South Devon Railway and associated railways. They were designed for passenger trains on this steep and sharply curved line but were also used on goods trains when required....
locomotive. The name is that of a thrown weapon, a lanceLanceA Lance is a pole weapon or spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior. The lance is longer, stout and heavier than an infantry spear, and unsuited for throwing, or for rapid thrusting. Lances did not have tips designed to intentionally break off or bend, unlike many throwing weapons of the...
.
- Leopard (1872 – 1893) GWR no. 2128
- It was one of two locomotives kept working at Swindon railway works for shunting the broad gauge stock into the workshops for conversion or dismantling, until it too was dismantled in June 1893.
- This locomotive is named after the leopardLeopardThe leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
, a fast animal.
- Osiris (1875 – 1892) GWR no. 2131
- This was the second South Devon Railway locomotive to carry this name, it was previously carried by a Comet classSouth Devon Railway Comet classThe Comet class were 12 4-4-0 saddle tank broad gauge locomotives operated on the South Devon Railway and associated railways. They were designed for passenger trains on this steep and sharply curved line but were also used on goods trains when required....
locomotive. The name is that of an Egyptian god, OsirisOsirisOsiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and...
.
- Stag (1872 – 1893) GWR no. 2129
- This locomotive is believed to have worked the last train on the St Ives branchSt Ives Bay LineThe St Ives Bay Line is a railway line from to in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It was opened in 1877, the last new broad gauge passenger railway to be constructed in the country...
on 20 May 1892 before this and all other lines were converted to standard gauge. It then took the empty coaches from there to Swindon railway works where it was kept for shunting the broad gauge stock into the workshops for conversion or dismantling, until it too was dismantled in June 1893.
- A stagDeerDeer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
is a fast animal.