Glasgow & South Western 4-4-0 Locomotives in Great_Britain

Class 107 (Locobase 2240)

Data from C.E.S., "Glasgow and South Western Express Engines", English mechanic and world of science, Number 657 (26 October 1877), pp. 170-171. See also Ahrons (1927) and Glover (1967).

One of the James Stirling designs. Ahrons points out the large cylinder ports -- 16" x 1 1/2" -- and the power reversing gear, which "was the parent of nearly all modern (1925) forms of steam reversing gear." Deep firebox yielded 84 sq ft of heating surface. CES's detailed report includes the information that the driver diameter had been reduced to 84" by the time of publication.

Locobase 2239 shows the later batch that had slightly larger cylinders and a bigger boiler.

Class 11 (Locobase 2265)

Ahrons (1927). See also Edward Cecil Poultney, British Express Locomotive Development (London: George Allen and Unwin, 1952), pp. 36, 39.

Four-cylinder simple engine -- the British Isles' first with four cylinders -- produced with two different diameters and strokes. James Manson used just two eccentrics, according to Railroad Gazette (14 January 1898), placing them between the inside cranks and connecting to the outside valves through rocker arms. A photograph shows the relatively small cylinders lying horizontal in troughs under the running board and between the bogie axles.

This engine had an unusual history. Although a single example that experimented with the 4-cylinder layout, 11 remained in service for decades. In the 1920s, it was deemed worthy of an upgrade; see Locobase 2330.

Class 131 (Locobase 2286)

Data from Ahrons (1927). See also "Glasgow & South Western Railway-Peter Drummond's Engines" in Steamindex's website at [], last accessed 9 April 2017.

Simple-expansion design by Peter Drummond and fitted with steam driers. These were far from fully satisfactory express locomotives, according to Steamindex:" Careful handling was necessary to get the best out of these engines. Uphill they were sluggish, and they rolled badly so that endeavours to regain lost time were not recommended, particularly on the sinuous roads in the Paisley and Glasgow areas."

Drummond followed this class almost immediately with the more successful superheater variant shown in Locobase 20177.

One rebuilt by Whitelegg; see Locobase 2330.

Class 137 (Locobase 20177)

Data from "New 4-4-0 Express Locomotives: Glasgow and South Western Railways" Railway Magazine, Volume 37, p. 470; and "New Passenger Engines, Glasgow & South Western Ry", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXI [21] (15 October 1915), p.221. See also "Glasgow & South Western Railway-Peter Drummond's Engines" in Steamindex's website at [], last accessed 9 April 2017. G&SW works numbers were 451-456.

Derived directly from the 131s shown in Locobase 2286, this class ran primarily between Carlisle and Glasgow. In addition to the superheater, the design had a 12" (305 mm) longer smokebox and inside radial valve gear. At the time of their introduction, these were the heaviest 4-4-0s operating in the British Isles.

According to Steamindex, "They proved excellent machines, fast hill-climbers and economical on coal and water by G. & S.W.R. standards, though when some official figures were published under L.M.S. auspices 63.4 Ibs. of coal per mile was given for this class, a consumption far in excess of the Midland compound which replaced it on many duties. "

Class 153 (Locobase 20955)

Data from E L Ahrons, "The Locomotive of the Glasgow and South Western Railway", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXIX [29] (15 March 1923), pp. 83-85.

Not long after his shops completed the last of the Greenock Bogies (Locobase 20953) in 1885, Hugh Smellie introduced a somewhat larger passenger engines that rolled on drivers tall enough to meet main-line express schedule demands. Sixteen offered a profile very similar to the earlier class, but four were fitted with extended smokeboxes.

"As far as the writer remembers," wrote Ahrons, "these were the earliest extended smokeboxes to be used in the country." Unlike most such installations, however, the extension consisted of a smaller-diameter drum, which inspired the crews to nickname them "drummers." Ahrons added "They certainly had a very soft and regular 'beat'."

Class 18 (Locobase 10636)

Data from "Express Locomotive, Glasgow and South Western Railway," The Locomotive Magazine, Vol XIV (15 January 1908), p. 9.

This big-wheeled group of Eight-wheelers was obviously designed by James Manson to work the fastest trains over the most forgiving profile.

Class Class 8/375 (Locobase 20819)

Data from "Glasgow and South Western Railway Locomotive Rebuilds", Locomotive, Volume 26 (15 July 1920), pp. 142-143. See also "Glasgow & South Western Railway-Robert Whitelegg's Engines" on the Steamindex.com website at [], last updated 20 December 2020.

In the eyes of G&SW's Chief Mechanical Engineer RH Whitelegg, James Manson's 19th-Century "Manson Bogies" (Locobase 1115) were successful enough to merit updating them in the late 'teens. Whitelegg's appointment came when the G&SW motive power was worn down by four years of heavy wartime use and "consequent neglect, overwork, and materials" according to steamindex.

LM's report noted that the most important change was the replacement of the original three-course boiler by a recently standardized two-ring, paralle in form vessel applicable to several different G&SW classes. The boiler offered "considerably greater capacity and pressure."

Another useful update was a simplified valve gear layout inside the frame. Removing the slotted rocking shaft meant shucking six parts and making the action "much more direct". One result was a more stable setting that remained "true much longer than with the original gear.".

Steamindex pronounced the new boilers "indifferent steamers" that "sent the coal consumption up."

Class Greenock Bogies (Locobase 20953)

Data from E L Ahrons, "The Locomotive of the Glasgow and South Western Railway", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXIX [29] (15 March 1923), pp. 83-85.

Hugh Smellie designed these locomotives to fill a need for passenger engines on some West Coast service out of Glasgow. LM noted that in the course of reviving the use of a leading bogie, Smellie's design replaced the rigid center pivot with tracking that allowed lateral play. He also increased the wheelbase. But he followed contemporary practice in installing "all-inside" motion in which the cylinders lay inboard of the valves. Only the connecting rods were visible under full splashers. Footplate crews still withstood all weathers protected only by a short coaming around the weatherboard and spectacle windows. Moreover, Smellie continued the G&SW tradition of domeless boilers.

Nicknamed "Greenock Bogies" or "Wee Bogies" and built between 1882-1885, the class bore road numbers 119-120, 123-126, 129-136, 137-140, 155-156, 151-152, 127-128. They didn't usually haul main-line trains, instead working Glasgow-Greenock, Glasgow-Ardrossan, Glasgow-Ayr, and the Coast.

Four went to the scrapper before 1919: 123, 127, 155-156. 20 remaining locomotives took new road numbers 700-719. Many of these were upgraded in 1921-1922; see Locobase 20954.

Class Greenock Bogies-rebuilt (Locobase 20954)

Data from E L Ahrons, "The Locomotive of the Glasgow and South Western Railway", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXIX [29] (15 March 1923), pp. 83-85.

Thirty years after the first Greenock Bogies entered service (Locobase 20953), Locomotive Superintendent Whitelegg fitted a new X3 boiler with more heating surface area than the original vessel. It accounted for most of the increased weight of the rebuilt engine.

Much of the rest of the locomotive remained relatively unchanged, although the firebox heating surface area grew slightly and the crew enjoyed more protection from inclement weather.

"As rebuilt", Ahrons's report concluded,"they have proved extremely useful engines and are rendering excellent service."

Class Lord Glenarthur (Locobase 2330)

Ahrons (1927) and Edward Cecil Poultney, British Express Locomotive Development (London: George Allen and Unwin, 1952), pp. 36, 39. See also "Reconstructed Four-Cylinder Express Locomotive-London, Midland and Scottish Railway (G&SW Ry Division)", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXIX [29], No 366 (15 February 1923), p. 52.

Robert H Whitelegg, then the G & SW's locomotive superintendent, obviously saw enough in the nearly 30-year-old lone experiment in 4-cylinder power (Locobase 2265) to upgrade it. He only slightly modified the motion, which consisted at the time of two 14 1/2" and two 12 1/2" cylinders, each pair with a different stroke. After the renewal, all 4 cylinders had the same diameter, but retained their space-saving differences in stroke.

Whitelegg also added a superheater of modest dimensions, enlarged the firebox and grate, and raised the boiler pressure.

Class Manson Bogie (Locobase 1115)

Data from Ahrons (1927). See also Robert Tufnell, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Railway Locomotives (London: Quarto Publishing Ltd, 1986).

These attractive engines, sometimes described, says Tufnell, as "the neatest of all the British 4-4-0s," pulled 300-ton trains between Glasgow and the cityies of Carlisle and Stranraer over a very difficult route. Most were retired between 1925-1933, although 16 were upgraded with a new boiler as Class 8.

Class unknown (Locobase 2239)

Data from Ahrons (1927), pp. 197, 288.

Although Ahrons gives no information that distinguishes between the two classes of James Stirling's bogie express engine design, Locobase concludes by comparing the data that this was a later batch than those described in Locobase 2240. These engines had bigger boilers and fireboxes and 3 3/4" shorter drivers.

NB: Tube length is an estimate based on the calculation of tube surface area by subtracting reported firebox heating surface from reported total evaporative heating surface