Taff Vale Railway U1 class

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The Taff Vale Railway U1 Class was a class of 0-6-2 steam tank locomotive operated by Taff Vale Railway, Wales, from 1895. They were still in use when the Taff Vale Railway was acquired by the Great Western Railway in 1923.

[edit] Overview

Tom Hurry Riches, the Taff Vale Railway's Locomotive Superintendent brought out 2 similar classes, the U and the U1 for passenger working both 0-6-2Ts. The only difference between the U and U1 class was in the radial wheels which were 3' 8¾" in the former and 3' 1" in the latter.

The boilers were identical with those fitted on the N, O and O1 classes but worked at the design pressure of 160psi, the mixed traffic engines being worked at 150psi (or occasionally 140psi). The main differences from the mixed traffic engines were larger diameter driving wheels, a longer wheelbase and replacing the usual four bar motion with single bar.

[edit] Numbering

The U class consisted of 8 engines, Nos. 191-194, 23, 72, 76 and 77, all built by the Vulcan Foundry (Wks. Nos: 1437-1444) in 1895, and the U1 comprised 7 engines built by the same firm (Wks. Nos: 1458-1464).