Surprise locomotive
Encyclopedia
The Surprise was a nineteenth-century British
railway locomotive
. It achieved notoriety by killing its crew when its boiler
exploded during unsuccessful trials in the early days of the Lickey Incline
.
Built by William Church, who is mainly remembered for his typesetting
machine, although he also experimented with locomotives, it was an 0-2-2
well tank locomotive
with horizontal outside cylinders at the rear. Dr Church had invented an expanding mandrel
for fixing boiler tubes, and it was the first tank engine to have a multitube boiler. It used piston valves and eccentric motion.
The Surprise (named Victoria at the time) began trial runs as a ballast locomotive on the London and Birmingham Railway
in January 1838, then transferred to the Grand Junction Railway
. Notwithstanding its having reportedly achieved a speed of 60 miles an hour, it was never particularly successful.
In 1840, when the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway
was looking for engines to work the Lickey Incline, the locomotive, now called Surprise, was brought in, and its boiler exploded at Bromsgrove Station
. Both crewmen, Thomas Scaife and John Rutherford, were killed and several people were injured. Their monuments are in Bromsgrove churchyard, though the depiction of a locomotive on the tombstone is of one of the Norris Locomotives.
A new boiler was later fitted and the locomotive was renamed Eclipse. In 1850, it was seen at Camp Hill railway station
. By the late 1850s, it had been rebuilt as a six coupled engine on the Swansea Vale Railway
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
railway 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...
. It achieved notoriety by killing its crew when its boiler
Boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...
exploded during unsuccessful trials in the early days of the Lickey Incline
Lickey Incline
The Lickey Incline is the steepest sustained main-line railway incline in Great Britain and is situated south of Birmingham, in England. The climb is a gradient of 1-in-37.7 for a continuous distance of two miles ....
.
Built by William Church, who is mainly remembered for his typesetting
Typesetting
Typesetting is the composition of text by means of types.Typesetting requires the prior process of designing a font and storing it in some manner...
machine, although he also experimented with locomotives, it was an 0-2-2
0-2-2
An 0-2-2, in the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, is one that has two coupled driving wheels followed by two trailing wheels, with no leading wheels...
well tank locomotive
Tank locomotive
A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. It will most likely also have some kind of bunker to hold the fuel. There are several different types of tank locomotive dependent upon...
with horizontal outside cylinders at the rear. Dr Church had invented an expanding mandrel
Mandrel
A mandrel is one of the following:* an object used to shape machined work.* a tool component that grips or clamps materials to be machined.* a tool component that can be used to grip other moving tool components.- Variants :...
for fixing boiler tubes, and it was the first tank engine to have a multitube boiler. It used piston valves and eccentric motion.
The Surprise (named Victoria at the time) began trial runs as a ballast locomotive on the London and Birmingham Railway
London and Birmingham Railway
The London and Birmingham Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway ....
in January 1838, then transferred to the Grand Junction Railway
Grand Junction Railway
The Grand Junction Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was merged into the London and North Western Railway...
. Notwithstanding its having reportedly achieved a speed of 60 miles an hour, it was never particularly successful.
In 1840, when the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway
Birmingham and Gloucester Railway
The Birmingham and Gloucester Railway is a railway route linking Birmingham to Gloucester in England.It is one of the world's oldest main line railways and includes the famous Lickey Incline, a dead-straight stretch of track running up the 1-in-37 gradient of the Lickey Ridge...
was looking for engines to work the Lickey Incline, the locomotive, now called Surprise, was brought in, and its boiler exploded at Bromsgrove Station
Bromsgrove railway station
Bromsgrove railway station serves the town of Bromsgrove in Worcestershire. It is located at the foot of the two-mile Lickey Incline which ascends at a gradient of 1-in-37.7 towards Barnt Green on the line between Birmingham and Worcester. The station opened as part of the Birmingham and Gloucester...
. Both crewmen, Thomas Scaife and John Rutherford, were killed and several people were injured. Their monuments are in Bromsgrove churchyard, though the depiction of a locomotive on the tombstone is of one of the Norris Locomotives.
Norris Locomotive Works
The Norris Locomotive Works was a steam locomotive manufacturing company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that produced about a thousand railroad engines between 1832 and 1866. It was the dominant American locomotive producer during most of that period, and even sold its popular 4-2-0 engines...
A new boiler was later fitted and the locomotive was renamed Eclipse. In 1850, it was seen at Camp Hill railway station
Camp Hill railway station
Camp Hill railway station was a railway station in Birmingham opened by the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway in 1840 and was its first terminus.Subsequently the line extended to join the London and Birmingham Railway to the latter's Curzon Street terminus....
. By the late 1850s, it had been rebuilt as a six coupled engine on the Swansea Vale Railway
Swansea Vale Railway
|-|colspan="2" width="320"|-History:First opened in 1816 as a tramroad for conveying coal from Scott's Pit, near Birchgrove, to wharves on the River Tawe nearly four miles to the south, the Swansea Vale route grew to become a feeder railway for several mines and metal-working industries in the...
.