South Eastern 4-2-0 Locomotives in Great_Britain


Class Details by Steve Llanso of Sweat House Media

Class Folkestone (Locobase 676)

Some data from G. Drysdale Dempsey A Rudimentary Treatise on the Locomotive Engine (1857; reprint 1970).

10 Crampton engines headed by the Liverpool were delivered by Robert Stephenson and Sons (works #785-794) to the South Eastern in 1851. They had inside cylinders and a high boiler (ironic in view of Crampton's original goal of keeping the boiler low); the drivers were powered through a countershaft. Like all Cramptons they were fast, the lead engine pulling 9 coaches at 78 mph during trials. They were, however, little used in Great Britain except on the South Eastern.

They were converted to 2-4-0s in 1869.

NB: The direct heating surface (including the firebox heating surface) is an estimate calculated by subtracting the calculated tube heating surface from the reported total evaporative heating surface.


Class Namur (Locobase 675)

Some data from G. Drysdale Dempsey A Rudimentary Treatise on the Locomotive Engine (1857; reprint 1970). See also "Crampton's Locomotives", American Railroad Journal,Volume 20 (1847), p. 293

One of the first of the "Crampton" types. Thomas Crampton believed that smooth running and a low center of gravity were key to successful running. To accommodate the larger fireboxes while not jeopardizing the running qualities, Crampton put the single driving axle behind the firebox. The design, which in the event still cramped the firebox, was not a great success in Great Britain. The Namur, Liege, and one other were not actually shipped to Belgium, but went into service on the South Eastern Railway as 81, 83, and 85.

They were fast (62 1/2 mph with a 50-ton train and 74 1/2 mph with tender only), but are said to have been rough on the track. ARJ (p. 552) quoted the 22 July 1847 London Morning Herald concerning Namur's other problems. The Herald conceded that Namur was "admirably balanced upon her wheels and of excellent workmanship." Even so, "hot axles have been a common occurrence ...she got her buffer beam broken, and her axle boxes injured, by most culpable negligence on the part of a driver of a pilot engine ...The fire box when well fed does not afford her all the steam necessary for high velocities with heavy loads.

Interesting sidebar from the website [link] (visited 24 Feb 2004): Rogers (in Rogers, H.C.B.

Chapelon: genius of French steam.. London: Ian Allan, 1972. notes: "But the most important aspect of Crampton's work was never recognised in Great Britain; this, as stated in Chapter 2, was his realisation of the importance of having steam passages of large cross-sectional area, and it was their excellent steam passages which made Crampton's engines the enormous success they were in France and Germany."

Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media
ClassFolkestoneNamur
Locobase ID676 675
RailroadSouth EasternSouth Eastern
CountryGreat BritainGreat Britain
Whyte4-2-04-2-0
Number in Class103
Road Numbers81
GaugeStdStd
Number Built103
BuilderRobert Stephenson & CoTulk & Ley
Year18511845
Valve GearStephenson
Locomotive Length and Weight
Driver Wheelbase (ft / m)
Engine Wheelbase (ft / m)15.98 / 4.8713 / 3.96
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m)
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg)
Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg)22,491 / 10,20223,153 / 10,502
Engine Weight (lbs / kg)58,874 / 26,70548,510 / 22,004
Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg)
Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg)
Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML)
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT)
Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m)37 / 18.5039 / 19.50
Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort
Driver Diameter (in / mm)72 / 182984 / 2134
Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa)90 / 62085 / 590
High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm)15" x 22" / 381x55916" x 20" / 406x508
Tractive Effort (lbs / kg)5259 / 2385.454404 / 1997.62
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) 4.28 5.26
Heating Ability
Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm)184 - 2" / 51182 - 2" / 51
Flues (number - dia) (in / mm)
Flue/Tube length (ft / m)11 / 3.3511 / 3.35
Firebox Area (sq ft / m2)99 / 9.2062 / 5.76
Grate Area (sq ft / m2)14 / 1.3014.50 / 1.35
Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)1153 / 107.16989 / 91.91
Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2)
Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)1153 / 107.16989 / 91.91
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume256.24212.50
Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information)
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation12601233
Same as above plus superheater percentage12601233
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area89105270
Power L139553321
Power MT387.68316.22

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