GWR Thunderer locomotive
GWR Thunderer | |
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Type and origin | |
Power type | Steam |
Designer | T. E. Harrison |
Builder | R. & W. Hawthorn & Co. |
Serial number | 235 |
Build date | 1838 |
Total produced | 1 |
Specifications | |
Configuration | 0-4-0+6 |
Gauge | 7 ft (2,134 mm) |
Driver diameter | 6 ft 0 in (1,829 mm) |
Wheelbase | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
Cylinder size | 16 in × 20 in (406 mm × 508 mm) |
Career | |
Operator(s) | Great Western Railway |
Number in class | 1 |
Withdrawn | 1839 |
Disposition | Scrapped |
Thunderer was the first of a pair of locomotives (the other being Hurricane) built for the Great Western Railway (GWR), England, by R. & W. Hawthorn & Co. whose design was very different from other steam locomotives. In order to meet Isambard Kingdom Brunel's strict specifications, an 0-4-0 frame carried the 'engine', while the boiler was on a separate six-wheeled frame. The driving wheels were geared 10:27 in order to reduce the cylinder stroke speed while allowing high track speed, in line with the specifications.
The locomotive was delivered to the GWR on 6 March 1838 and ceased work in December 1839[1] after running only 9,882 miles, but its boiler section was kept as a stationary boiler.
See also
- GWR Hurricane locomotive - the second Hawthorn locomotive
- GWR Haigh Foundry locomotives - further geared locomotives
Notes
References
- Reed, P.J.T. (February 1953). White, D.E., ed. The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway, Part 2: Broad Gauge. Kenilworth: Railway Correspondence and Travel Society. ISBN 0-901115-32-0.
- Waters, Laurence (1999). The Great Western Broad Gauge. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-2634-3.
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