0-6-0 Steam Locomotives in Great Britain

Class 1 (Locobase 20455)

Data from "The Rhymney Ry. And Its Engines," Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXI [21] (15 September 1915), pp. 201-202; and the Vulcan Foundry drawing archived at [], last accessed 29 October 2018. Works numbers were 413-418 in 1857.

These were the first locomotives to enter service with the Rhymney and in fact, they opened the railway's freight service. The design displayed the usual indifference to the effects of weather on the crew. Only a weatherboard mounted on the boiler provided any wind screening. In addition to the 171 2" tubes, the boiler held two more of 1 3/4"(44.45 mm) diameter

When they were retrofitted wtih new boilers in the mid-1870s, the shops outfitted the footplate with full cabs and Ramsbottom safety valves. New engines replaced the 1-3 in 1907 and 4-6 in 1909.

Class 10 (Locobase 20519)

Data from "The Rhymney Ry. And Its Engines," Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXII [22] (15 January 1916), pp. 10-11; and the Vulcan Foundry drawing archived at [], last accessed 29 October 2018. Works numbers were 422-423 in 1857.

Immediately after Vulcan Foundry delivered the three 2-4-0s described in Locobase 20456, they produced this pair of freight saddle tankers. The author described them as being "of very curious design" in that the three closely spaced axles were all located ahead of the firebox. What caught Locobase's eye was the fulsomeness of the saddle tank's curve and its envelopment of the smokebox.

Both engines enjoyed long careers in part because each was rebuilt twice. 10 was updated in 1886 and 1903, 11 in 1878 and 1894. Each locomotive's crew was given more weather protection in the form of roofs and side panels; the 10's enclosing the entire footplate.

Class 12 (Locobase 20520)

Data from "The Rhymney Ry. And Its Engines," Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXII [22] (15 January 1916), pp. 11-12. Works numbers were 705-708 in 1858.

Soon after Vulcan Foundry delivered the Rhymney's first six six-coupled tender engines (Locobase 20455), Kitson et al produced this quartet to very similar specifications. (The builder was then known as Kitson, Thompson & Hewitson. Thompson retired in 1859 and Hewitson died in 1863, after which Kitson reorganized as Kitson & Company.)

They were rebuilt in 1882-1883 with full cabs, slightly revised dome tender. The 15 was rebuilt as a stubby saddle tank in 1884. 12 and 14 served for over 50 years before being retired and 013 remained on the roster into 1913, when it was 54 years old.

Class 120 (Locobase 20035)

Data from "0-6-0 Tank Locomotive, Rhymney Railway", The Locomotive Magazine, Volume XVII (15 February 1911), p. 42.

Rhymney's locomotive superintendent C T Hurry Riches had Hudswell, Clarke build a pair of rail motors shown in Locobase 20034. In 1911, he converted the #1 into a six-coupled tank engine for colliers' passenger service between Rhymney Bridge, Ystrad Mynach and Merthyr. The miners rode in four six-wheel coaches.

Class 17 (Locobase 3218)

Data from "The Rhymney Ry. And Its Engines," Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXII [22] (15 March 1916), pp. 52-53. Works numbers were 478-479 in 1861.

An early saddle-tank design with the tanks originally carried forward to blanket the smokebox. The engines later were refitted in 1884 (18) and 1893 (17) with a steam dome farther forward on the boiler, shorter tank, and full cab.

Class 19 (Locobase 20521)

Data from "The Rhymney Ry. And Its Engines," Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXII [22] (15 March 1916), pp.53-54. Works numbers were 1424-1427 in 1868.

Locobase 20520 shows the first four tender goods locomotives supplied to the Rhymney in 1858. Ten years later, the same builder delivered this set of "very fine engines", said the LM survey, "much in advance of their time as regards size and appearance ...well suited for the heavy coal traffic." They retained the same "longboiler" layout that put all three axles ahead of the firebox.

The six drivers, their springs, and equalizing levers were all held between two runs of plate frames. The 6 ft 9 in (2.057 m) spacing between the first two axles was noticeably longer than the 5 ft (1.524 m) between the second and third. The class was also the last set of tenders the Rhymney would procure.

Rebuilds of the four in 1887-1888 changed little of the locomotives' outside appearance. 19 and 21 remained in service long enough to be rebuilt again in 1906. By 1916, the last of the four, now numbered 022, was still running.

Class 45 (Locobase 20523)

Data from "The Rhymney Ry. And Its Engines," Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXII [22] (15 May 1916), p. 88 Works numbers were 3174-3185 in 1884.

These saddle tanks followed the more numerous 23 class engines, retaining the running gear dimensions except for the increased cylinder volume. A six-inch (152 mm) increase in firebox length increased grate area.

Class H & I (Locobase 20522)

Data from "The Rhymney Ry. And Its Engines," Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXII [22] (15 May 1916), p. 88 (Thanks to Mr. A. McDiarmid HND BA Railway Mechanical Engineer for his 23 March 2023 email noting the proper nomenclature for RR locomotive classes.) Works numbers were 422-423 in 1857. Sharp, Stewart works numbers were 2233-2238, 2265-2268 in 1872. Nasmyth Wilson's works numbers were 168-169 in 1874 and 170-173 in 1875, and Robert Stephenson & Company's works numbers were 2340-2345 in 1878.

From about 1870 onwards, the Rhymney bought only tank locomotives. Perhaps the most numerous class was this set of six-coupled saddle tanks. Unlike earlier Rhymney tank engines, these carried the firebox between the two rear axles and the saddle tank lay over the border between the smokebox and the backplate of the firebox. The last set, built by Robert Stephenson, used 16 1/2" (419 mm) diameter cylinders.

Most of the class received new boilers in the 1890s and several still ran on the Rhymney into the 'teens.