South Devon Railway 2-4-0 locomotives

The South Devon Railway 2-4-0 locomotives were small 2-4-0 broad gauge locomotives operated on the South Devon Railway, mainly on its branch lines such as that to Ashburton.

On 1 February 1876 the South Devon Railway was amalgamated with the Great Western Railway, the locomotives were given numbers by their new owners but continued to carry their names too.

Locomotives

King

Infobox Locomotive
name="King"
powertype=Steam
whytetype=2-4-0T
driversize=3 ft 0 in
leadingsize=2 ft 6 in
wheelbase=9 ft 6 in
cylindersize=9 in dia × 16 in stroke
gauge=7 ft 0¼ in
builder=Avonside Engine Co.

* "King" (1871 - 1878) GWR no. 2171"King" was a small side-tank locomotive built by the Avonside Engine Company. It did not last long as a broad gauge locomotive, being converted to narrow gauge in 1878. It then operated in this form until 1907 as GWR no. 2, after which it was sold to the Bute Works Supply Company.

"Named after a monarch, see King".

Prince

Infobox Locomotive
name="Prince"
powertype=Steam
whytetype=2-4-0ST
driversize=4 ft 0 in
leadingsize=3 ft 0 in
wheelbase=12 ft 0 in
cylindersize=12 in dia × 17 in stroke
gauge=7 ft 0¼ in
builder=Ince Forge Company

* "Prince" (1871 - 1892) GWR no. 2137"Prince" was similar to 0-6-0 Taurus, a small 0-6-0 engine built by the Ince Forge Company three years earlier. It was converted to standard gauge in 1893 and operated in this form as GWR no. 1316 until 1899, after which it was used as a stationary boiler at Swindon railway works until finally dismantled in 1935.

"For other uses of the name Prince, see Prince (disambiguation)".

* "Jupiter"
* "Mercury"
* "Saturn"

Three more locomotives were under construction in 1876 when the South Devon Railway was amalgamted into the Great Western Railway. They were similar to "Prince" except for slightly smaller 11½ in dia × 17 in cylinders.

The parts had been supplied by the Ince Forge Company for erection at Newton Abbot, however the part built locomotives were taken to Swindon railway works where they were completed as side-tank locomotives 1298, 1299 and 1300. 1299 was fitted with a crane for work at Swindon in 1881, while the other two were stationed at Exeter for working the Culm Valley Light Railway and withdrawn in 1926 (1298) and 1934 (1300).

The names are those of planets but were probably chosen for their mythological links as many other South Devon Railway locomotives carried the names of gods. "See Saturn, Mercury, Jupiter".

References

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* Tiny, "Broadsheet 13 & 14", Broad Gauge Society [http://www.broadgauge.org.uk] , 1985
* Railway company records can be consulted at The National Archives