Wirral Railway 0-4-4 Locomotives in Great_Britain

Class 2 (Locobase 6477)

Data from [] (accessed 8 April 2005). The largest class of locomotives on the Wirral, this quintet was actually delivered to the Seacombe, Hoylake & Deeside, which combined with the Wirral the year after the 5th locomotive was delivered. Leading the train with the adhesive axles probably allowed the engine to get a better start.

The class served the S H & D and the Wirral until grouping with the LMS in 1924. They then were quickly retired. (Locobase 6475 shows a slightly smaller 4-4-2T apparently based on the same design.)

Class 3 (Locobase 6479)

Data from [] (accessed 8 April 2005); and "Tank Locomotive, Wirral Ry.", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXI [21] (15 March 2017), p. 53.

The last locomotive delivered directly to the Wirral before the railway was grouped into the LMS, this single tank used the same boiler and Belpaire firebox as the earlier 0-6-4T (Locobase 6474). According to the LM report, the Wirral's heavy commuter traffic dictated the design. Trains ran down the 13 1/2 miles (22 km) from Liverpool to the nearby suburbs on the Wirral Peninsula west of the city.

Of all the Wirral locomotives shown in the table, this one had the heaviest footprint; it was in fact one of the heaviest 0-4-4Ts built for any railway. Perhaps the high axle loading contributed to its early retirement only 14 years after it entered service.

Class 7 (Locobase 6478)

Data from [] (accessed 8 April 2005). The adhesion weight given in the table seems much too low at 23 t 2 cwt; using 33 t 2 cwt -- a likely correction -- yields the value shown in the specifications.

This pair of tanks were more powerful and a bit bigger than the 5 procured by the Seacombe, Hoylake & Deeside a few years earliers (Locobase 6477). In particular, grate area grew substantially, which contributed to a useful increase in firebox heating surface. Like the earlier 0-4-4Ts, these were taken in by the LMS upon grouping.