Basingstoke & Alton Light Railway 4-4-0 Locomotives in Great_Britain


Class Details by Steve Llanso of Sweat House Media

Class 203 (Locobase 10340)

Data from "The Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway," The Locomotive Magazine, Vol VIII (13 June 1903), pp. 411. See "First Stop Buggleskelly", presented at [link], last accessed 13 May 2009.

Laid down as a 14-mile long light railway, the alignment was both sharp and steep and an average speed so low that a run from one end to the other could consume 46 minutes including 3 stops. Indeed, as required by the 1896 Light Railways Act, maximum speed was 25 mph and level-crossing speed no more than 10 mph.

The line was an orphan from the start, although during its first couple of decades it did a respectable amount of business. When World War One began and the military began requisitioning rails and locomotives for its operations in France, the B & A L R's parent

London & South Western readily agreed to have the line's rails pulled up and service abruptly ended.

But that was not that, as it turned out. After the war, local residents successfully blocked abandonment and forced reinstatement of the line, which occurred in August 1924. Alas, the Southern was no more interested in making a go of this route than had been the L & SW. Underscoring its feelings in 1928 by staging a wreck on the line for a film, the Southern closed passenger service on 12 September 1932 and ended goods traffic on 1 June 1936.

Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media
Class203
Locobase ID10340
RailroadBasingstoke & Alton Light Railway
CountryGreat Britain
Whyte4-4-0T
Number in Class1
Road Numbers203
GaugeStd
Number Built1
BuilderNine Elms
Year1891
Valve GearStephenson
Locomotive Length and Weight
Driver Wheelbase (ft / m) 6.83 / 2.08
Engine Wheelbase (ft / m)
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)
Engine Weight (lbs / kg)99,680 / 45,214
Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg)
Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg)99,680 / 45,214
Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML)
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT)
Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m)
Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort
Driver Diameter (in / mm)58 / 1473
Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa)160 / 1100
High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm)17.5" x 24" / 445x610
Tractive Effort (lbs / kg)17,234 / 7817.22
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort)
Heating Ability
Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm)201 - 1.75" / 44
Flues (number - dia) (in / mm)
Flue/Tube length (ft / m)
Firebox Area (sq ft / m2)
Grate Area (sq ft / m2)
Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)988 / 91.82
Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2)
Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)988 / 91.82
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume147.87
Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information)
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation
Same as above plus superheater percentage
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area
Power L1
Power MT

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