Locomotives of the Glasgow and South Western Railway

The locomotives of the Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR). The G&SWR had its headquarters in Glasgow with its main locomotive works in Kilmarnock.

Engines inherited from constituent companies

The G&SWR was formed in 1850 from a merger of the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway (GPK&AR) and the Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway (GD&CR). A number of other companies were absorbed by the G&SWR or its predecessors, including the Ardrossan Railway, the Paisley and Renfrew Railway and the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway.

Engines built by the Glasgow and South Western Railway

One notable feature of the G&SWR’s locomotive stock was its aversion to tank engines. Until very late on in the company’s history these were used only when circumstances absolutely demanded it.

Patrick Stirling (1853-1866)

See Patrick Stirling

Class Date Builder No. built
2-2-2 95 1855 Neilson 4
2 1857-60 G&SWR Kilmarnock 13
40 1860-4 G&SWR Kilmarnock 10
45 1865-8 G&SWR Kilmarnock 11
0-(2-2)-0 99 1855 R & W Hawthorn 4
2-4-0 94 1854/5 Neilson 1
109 1858 Beyer-Peacock 1
0-4-2 105 1856 R & W Hawthorn 4
9 1857 Neilson 7
34 1858-9 R & W Hawthorn 10
23 1860-2 Sharp Stewart 20 8 rebuilt as tanks during 1881-5.
131 1864 R & W Hawthorn 10
141 1866 Neilson 10 4 rebuilt as tanks during 1886-7.
0-4-0 52 1864-6 G&SWR Kilmarnock 6
0-6-0 103 1855 R & W Hawthorn 2
46 1862-3 G&SWR Kilmarnock 6
58 1866-7 G&SWR Kilmarnock 6
1867-9 Neilson 20

James Stirling (1866-1878)

See James Stirling

Class Date Builder No. built 1919 nos. LMS Class LMS nos.
2-2-2WT 159 1867 Neilson 1
2-4-0 8 1868-70 G&SWR Kilmarnock 15
75 1870-1 G&SWR Kilmarnock 10 726-7 1P 14000
0-4-2 187 1870-1 Neilson 20 8 rebuilt as tanks during 1888-9.
208 1873 Dübs 10 651-5 U 17023-6
221 1874-8 Neilson 50 635-50 U 17035-45
1876 Dübs 10
4-4-0 6 1873-7 G&SWR Kilmarnock 22
0-4-0 65 1871-4 G&SWR Kilmarnock 22 732-3
0-4-0ST 157 1867-70 A.Barclay 5
218 1873 Allen Andrews 2
220 1873 A.Barclay 1 Second Hand, purchased 1874 from Glamorgan Coal Co.
113 1875-6 G&SWR Kilmarnock 6
0-6-0 13 1877-8 G&SWR Kilmarnock 12 563-584 with gaps 1F 17103-11

Hugh Smellie (1878-1890)

See Hugh Smellie

Class Date Builder No. built 1919 nos. LMS Class LMS nos.
2-4-0 157 1879-81 G&SWR Kilmarnock 12 720-5 1P 14001-2
4-4-0 119 1882-5 G&SWR Kilmarnock 24 467-8, 700-719 1P 14116-37 14 rebuilt with “X3” boilers in 1921-2 to become class 2P
153 1886-9 G&SWR Kilmarnock 20 448-466 1P 14138-56
0-4-4T 1 1879-81 G&SWR Kilmarnock 4 728-31 1P 15241-4
0-4-0T 291 1883 A.Barclay 1 734 U 16042 Second hand, purchased 1885, Works shunter
0-4-0ST 218 1881 Andrews, Barr & Co 2 658-9 U 16040-1
0-6-0 224 1881-92 G&SWR Kilmarnock 44 135-9, 560-616 with gaps 1F 17112-64 10 rebuilt with “X3” boilers in 1923-5 to become class 2F
1883 Neilson 10
1889 Dübs 10

James Manson (1890-1911)

See James Manson

Class Date Builder No. built 1919 nos. LMS Class LMS nos.
4-4-0 8 1892-1904 G&SWR Kilmarnock 57 377, 396-447 1P 14157-202, 14244-5, 14249-53 17 rebuilt with “X1” boilers in 1920-1 to become class 2P
336 1895-9 Dübs 25 350-74 2P 14203-27
194 1899-1901 G&SWR Kilmarnock 16 469-484 1P 14228-43
240 1904-11 G&SWR Kilmarnock 17 375, 378-93 2P 14246-8, 14254-67
18 1907-12 G&SWR Kilmarnock 15 337-49, 376, 395 2P 14268-9, 14366-78
11 1897 G&SWR Kilmarnock 1 394 2P 14509 rebuilt twice (see "Lord Glenarthur" below)
4-6-0 381 1903 North British 10 495-504 3P 14656-65
1910-1 G&SWR Kilmarnock 7 505-11 14666-72
128 1911 North British 2 512-3 3P 14673-4
0-4-4T 326 1893 Neilson 10 520-529 1P 15245-54
266 1906 G&SWR Kilmarnock 6 305-10 U 16080-5
0-4-0T 272 1907-9 G&SWR Kilmarnock 6 316-21 U 16044-9
0-6-0T 14 1896-1914 G&SWR Kilmarnock 15 275-89 1F 16103-17
0-4-2 113 1900-1 G&SWR Kilmarnock 7 268-74 1F 17028-34
224 1901-4 G&SWR Kilmarnock 30 238-267 1F 17046-75
0-6-0 306 1892-3 Dübs 20 178-197 1F 17165-84 3 rebuilt with “X3” boilers in 1925 to become class 2F
160 1897-9 G&SWR Kilmarnock 18 160-177 1F 17185-202 4 rebuilt with “X3” boilers in 1925-6 to become class 2F
281 1911-2 G&SWR Kilmarnock 10 140-9 2F 17203-12
361 1900 Neilson 20 115-34 2F 17474-93 21 rebuilt with “X2” boilers in 1920-4 to become class 3F
1907-12 North British 12 103-114 17494-505
1910 G&SWR Kilmarnock 2 101-2 17506-7
17 1910 North British 15 86-100 2F 17508-22 1 rebuilt with “X2” boiler in 1920 to become class 3F

Peter Drummond (1911-1918)

See Peter Drummond

Class Wheels Date Builder No. built 1919 nos. LMS Class LMS nos.
4-4-0 131 1913 North British 6 331-336 3P 14510-5
137 1915 G&SWR Kilmarnock 6 325-330 3P 14516-21
0-6-0T 5 1917 North British 3 322-324 2F 16377-9
0-6-2T 45 1915-17 North British 18 11-28 3F 16410-27 (later 16910-27)
0-6-0 279 1913 North British 15 71-85 4F 17750-64
2-6-0 403 1915 North British 11 51-61 4F 17820-30 "Austrian Goods"

R. H. Whitelegg (1918-1922)

See Robert Harben Whitelegg

Class Date Builder No. built G&SWR nos. LMS Class LMS nos.
4-4-0 485 1921 G&SWR Kilmarnock 1 485 2P 14270 Same as rebuilds of Manson's “8” class
4-6-4T 540 1922 North British 6 540-545 5P 15400-5
0-4-0ST 735 1904 Peckett 1 735 U 16043 Acquired secondhand from Ayr Harbour in 1919
0-6-2T 1 1919 North British 10 1-10 3F 16400-9 (later 16900-9) Similar to Drummond “45” class.
0-6-0 150 1921 G&SWR Kilmarnock 2 150-1 3F 17523-4 Same as rebuilds of Manson's “361” class

Numbering and classification

The very first engines of the GPK&AR were named but soon after received numbers. As the GD&CR was always intended to merge with the former its engines were allocated numbers following on from the GPK&AR sequence.

From 1851 new engines were given the numbers of older engines that had been withdrawn from service. Eventually new engines were being allocated the numbers of old engines that were intended for withdrawal but which were still running and so two engines would be running with the same number. In 1878 Hugh Smellie introduced an ‘R’ list to cater for older engines whose number had been allocated to a newer one. Later on Manson used an ‘A’ list system, where the older engine had an ‘A’ added to its number. By 1919 the system was so complicated that there was a complete renumbering of all engines.

Class numbers were the number of the first engine built in the class. Given the policy on numbering this meant that classes with lower numbers could frequently be newer than higher numbered classes.

See also LMS locomotive numbering and classification

Liveries

Various shades of green provided the basic colour of the locomotives, with lining in black and white or black and yellow.

Locomotives under LMS ownership

The G&SWR locomotive stock fell foul of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway policy of standardisation following the grouping. Within ten years nearly 80% had been withdrawn from service and only a single 1 Class 0-6-2T engine remained by nationalisation in 1948.

Preservation

Glasgow and South Western Railway No 9 at Glasgow transport museum

Only one G&SWR locomotive has survived:

Sold by the LMS in 1934 to a colliery in Denbighshire, and subsequently passing into National Coal Board ownership, it was from that location that it was acquired for preservation.[1] It is now on display in the Glasgow Museum of Transport.

Notes

  1. ↑ Williams (1974)

Sources

External links