Steam Locos of a Leisurely Era 1873 –2-4-0 – Midland Great Western Railway- Ireland

Steam Locos of a Leisurely Era

1873 –2-4-0 – Midland Great Western Railway- Ireland

A class of nineteen engines built for express working on the main line of the MGWR in Ireland.  Most of them were originally constructed in 1873-6 and rebuilt in the 1890s, but three of them were turned out new at Broadstone Works in 1897.  All MGWR engines were named previous to 1925, this class bearing such names as Active, Alert, Rapid, Swift, Sylph, etc., but the MGWR removed all these at the amalgamation, at which they became Nos. 650-68.  Of recent years most of them had received Belpaire boilers and superheaters, and all were still in traffic until the late 1950s.  The spread of dieselisation left them with little work, however, and several have since been scrapped.

Illustration:  No.666 (formerly 27 Clifden) as running in 1929.  The peculiarly shaped cab (an early form of streamlining?) was a feature of MGWR engines of the period, but these were latterly replaced by a more conventional design.

Dimensions as rebuilt:  Driving wheels – 5’ 8”,  Cylinders – 17”x 24”,  Pressure – 160 lb. (dome engines had 150 lb. pressure),  Tractive effort – 13,870 lb., Weight – 41 tons 13 cwt. Rob Roy – superstock.com