Cambrian 2-4-0 Locomotives in Great_Britain

Class Maglona (Locobase 20356)

Data from "The Locomotive History of the Cambrian Railways", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XX [20] (15 January 1914), p. 12. Works numbers were 1681-1683 in 1866

LM's report said that this trio were of Sharp, Stewart's standard design. The second and third engines were named Gladys and Seaham, respectively.

Many factors doubtless played parts in the decision to put new boilers on these locomotives in 1893-1894, but it seems pretty clear that they still did the job satisfactorily. The new boiler could be pressed to 150 psi (10.34 bar) and had 79 more sq ft of heating surface area. (Locobase suspects that the grate and firebox weren't touched.)

At the time of writing--20 years after the refits had been completed--all three were "still at work."

Class Mazeppa (Locobase 20134)

Data from "The Locomotive History of the Cambrian Railways", Locomotive Magazine, Volume 19 (15 December1913), pp. 284. Works numbers were 1400-1401, 1412-1413 in 1863; 1485-1488 in 1864; 1633, 1632, 1655-1656 in 186.

Representing a number of Sharp, Stewart batches of these "useful little locomotives", these dozen engines were interleaved with similar 0-6-0s supplied to the Cambrian in the same years and shown in Locobase 20131.

The LM report's author described them as being "of very handsome appearance." And indeed they had "double brass beadings round the driving wheel splashers, raised fireboxes with brass cleading, and a brass safety valve casing of artistic design." An accompanying photograph shows the boiler carrying a simple brass dome over the center course, the engine's nameplate over the front truck, and the utter lack of weather protection for the driver and fireman. (Although North American locomotives were then nearing or at the peak of adornment, they never quite presented the trim decoration found on locomotives like these.)

The class's 66" drivers, while not of express scale, certainly qualified the engines as passenger haulers. Until 1893, they and the six small Beaconsfield 4-4-0s shown in Locobase 20140 powered "the whole of express services of the Cambrian Railways". According to LM, they had "always been, within their power, most satisfactory engines."

More than 25 years after they entered service, the class received new boilers; see Locobase 20135.

Class Mazeppa rebuilt (Locobase 20135)

Data from "The Locomotive History of the Cambrian Railways", Locomotive Magazine, Volume 19 (15 December1913), pp. 285.

More than 25 years after these twelve express engines entered service (Locobase 20134), locomotive superintended William Aston subjected them to an upgrade similar to that executed on similar six-coupled goods locomotives (see Locobase 20131). The Mazeppas also received a three-ring boiler, but one of slightly smaller dimensions and housing smaller-diameter tubes.

44 and 56 later underwent conversion to side tanks in 1908 and 1909 respectively. When the original LM report appeared, 29-31, 42, and 54 had been withdrawn from service. Five were still employed on local trains.