Great Southern & Western 0-6-0 Locomotives in Ireland

Class 101/J15 (Locobase 8933)

Data from "101 (GSR J15) 0-6-0 No.186" on the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland at

[]; and last accessed 28 January 2023. 91 came from the Inchicore Works. Other works numbers were Beyer, Peacock- 747-750, 780-783, 1251-1252, and 2029-2030; and Sharp, Stewart: 2155-2158, 2310-2311, 2837-2838.

The design was developed by Beyer Peacock at Alexander McDonnell's instigation, and it was a winner. RPSI notes that Inchicore produced most of the 111 locomotives acquired over the 37 years between 1866 and 1903.

And, notes RPSI, their value to the GS&W didn't flag: "[W]hen CIÉ abandoned steam haulage at the end of 1962 they were still the most numerous class with nearly half their number still in traffic. They were to be found all over the broad gauge lines of the Republic on all duties from shunting to main line passenger turns."

No real frills, just a standard British Isles six-coupled locomotive with inside motion, outside connecting rods, tall steam dome, and Belpaire firebox. The few batches had 17" x 24" cylinders using steam pressed to 140 psi.

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Class 200 class (Locobase 20642)

Data from E E Joynt, "The Modern Locomotives of the Great Southern and Western Railway", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXIV [24] (15 February 1918), pp. 34-35. See also "Great Southern & Western Railway" on John Speller's Web Pages - Great Southern Railways at [], last accessed 18 January 2020.

Locobase 13305 showed the 17" cylinder Standard Goods locomotives (also dubbed the "101s" after the first engine's road number) and Locobase 20640 describes the 18" variant that entered production in 1882. As the latter entry explains, the GS&W found the class underpowered to the point that their trains frequently lost time due to low adhesion and poor steaming qualities.

This led to a redesign by Mr Robert Coey, the line's locomotive superintendent in 1902 that addressed the need to produce more steam and to reduce slipping. He added 35 tubes to the boiler and significantly increased both the grate and firebox areas. E E Joynt commented on the success of the upgrade, moting that the design "gained about 3 tons in adhesion weight and added very considerably to the general efficiency as compared to engines fitted with the original boilers."

Joynt also reported on an "air valve" added to the smokebox; GS&WR fireman Landry invented the device. It admitted air to the smokebox through ports that led directly up the chimney (stack). By reducing the flow over the firebars, the air valve improved fuel economy and spark-arresting. Noting that "principal parts of the products of combustion" traveled through the upper banks of tubes, Joynt wrote that damping "excessive draught" induced hot gases to travel through lower tubes in the bundle balanced the heat values throughout the tube section. Over the grate itself, the more even exhaust improved combustion in the firebox. And in the smokebox, the air valve reduced sparking. Trials determined that coal consumption dropped by up to 4 lb/mile (1.13 kg/km).

[Its promise may have proved quite limited. Locobase couldn't find any other mention of the device.]

In the same year as this design was built, the GS&W operated 1,100 miles of the 3,100 miles of railway in Ireland (more than the second and third largest Great Northern of Ireland and Midland & Great Western combined). See a beautiful map from 1902 on John Speller's page.

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Class 201 (2nd) (Locobase 20694)

Data from E E Joynt, "The Modern Locomotives of the Great Southern & Western", Locomotive Magazine,Volume XXIV [24] (15 October 1918), pp. 166-167.

As noted in Locobase 10637's account of the original 207 0-6-0Ts, that class suffered from a maldistribution of weight that required the addition of weight on the front end. When Henry Ivatt decided to build two additional engines for similar work, he reduced the design's axle loading by 1 ton 6 cwt ( 2,912 lb/1,321 kg) and overall engine weight by 1 ton 17 cwt (4,144 lb/1,880 kg). To accomplish the weight trimming, Ivatt reduced the size of the boiler by deleting 25 boiler tubes and accepting lower water and coal capacity.

As the pair hauled main-line passenger trains on the last leg of trips to North Wall and Amiens Street, they received automatic brakes, reducing valves, and a pipe connecting them to the steam-heated passenger cars.

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Class 207 (Locobase 10637)

Data from "Six-Coupled Side Tank Engines, G S & W R," The Locomotive Magazine, Vol XIV (15 February 1908), p. 25. See also E E Joynt, "The Modern Locomotives of the Great Southern & Western", Locomotive Magazine,Volume XXIV [24] (15 October 1918), pp. 166.

Henry Ivatt designed these "heavy" tank shunter to work Cork's goods yard as well as hauling local goods trains through the tunnel to Rathpeacon. The design emerged with "a preponderance of weight on the trailing end." To compensate, the railway fitted the front buffer with 6" (152 mm) thck plates to balance the load.

Robert Coey supplied four more engines built to similar specs in 1901; see Locobase 20695.

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Class 217 (Locobase 20695)

Data from E E Joynt, "The Modern Locomotives of the Great Southern & Western", Locomotive Magazine,Volume XXIV [24] (15 October 1918), pp. 168.

When the GS&W's Robert Coey updated Henry Ivatt's 1895 "heavy" tank shunter (Locobase 10637) in 1901, he tweaked the design in minor ways. The boiler had two fewer tubes than the 207's 204 and a dome positioned somewhat further back on the boiler, and reducing bunker and tank capacities as well as maximum axle loading. A more significant change involved adopting a firebox that had a slightly lower crown than would be used later and thus slightly less direct heating surface area.

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Class 351/J9 (Locobase 20696)

Data from E E Joynt, "The Modern Locomotives of the Great Southern & Western", Locomotive Magazine,Volume XXIV [24] (15 March 1918), pp. 44-45; and 15 May 1918, pp. 77-78. See also Wikipedia at [], last accessed 18 January 2020.

Taking much of its boiler design from the 1900 express class 351 locomotives, this quartet of goods locomotives by Robert Coey adopted relatively tall drivers in their own right and a slightly longer wheelbase than earlier Standard Goods locomotives as a consequence.

Put in service on the fast goods and special cattle trains. Wikipedia cites Locomotives of the GSR in reporting that "The locomotives were particularly in demand for working goods and seasonal beet trains over the route to Rosslare".

Maunsell produced four more 351s that differed in platform and frame. The platform cleared the coupling rods and the frame stretched further forward to accommodate an extended smokebox.

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Class 355/K3 (Locobase 10443)

Data from " "New Locos, Great Southern & Western Ry, Ireland", Locomotive Magazine, Volume X [10] (12 March 1904), p. 44; and E E Joynt, "The Modern Locomotives of the Great Southern and Western Railway", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXIV [24] (15 July 1918), p. 113.

This was a rather tall looking engine from Locomotive Superintendent Robert Coey in which the gap between the small drivers and the relatively slender boiler accentuated the impression. Joynt explained that a 1902 strike at GS&W's Inchicore works led Coey to turn to an independent builder to build an "entirely new design in every respect" from the 351 class to handle the railway's heavier goods trains In addition to the greater cylinder volume, the builder increased boiler diameter, used heavier axles, and turned them in longer journals. The target was a train loading of 65 loaded wagons.

The class was delivered as an 0-6-0, but conversion to the 2-6-0 arrangement began in 1907 and spent the rest of their careers so configured; see Locobase 20697.

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Class J15 superheated (Locobase 4785)

Designed by A McDonnell. As reproduced on the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland's website -- [] and [] . The data reflect the later superheated version fitted with Z-class boilers. The big visual difference was the sizable Belpaire firebox.. RPSI's famed 186 received her new kit in 1932.

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Class J4 (Locobase 20338)

Data from "Superheater Goods Engine, Great Southern & Western Railway of Ireland", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XX [20] (15 April 1914), pp. .95-96. See also "Class 257 J4" on Steamindex at [], last accessed 25 January 2018.

Steamindex supplies the detail difference for this hearty class of goods locomotives, which were the first 0-6-0s on the GS&W with superheaters and piston valves. The first four had a basic Schmidt superheater, the last four were fitted with a similar design modified by Inchicore. 1914 engines also had snifting valves. The website's summary underscores the class's reputation: "Locomotives had a staccato exhaust and were in demand for seasonal beet trains over the difficult Rosslare route."

Later, most of the class were retrofitted with Belpaire boilers offering a slightly lower grate area of 19.5 sq ft (1.81 sq m).

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Class Standard Goods 101 - 17" (Locobase 13305)

Data from E E Joynt, "The Modern Locomotives of the Great Southern and Western Railway", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXIV [24] (15 January 1918), p.18. See also G. Drysdale Dempsey, A Rudimentary Treatise on the Locomotive Engine (2nd Revised Ed with large additions treating of The Modern Locomotive by D. Kinnear Clark) (London: Crosby, Lockwood & Son, 1888), p. 144. See also John Robinson, "Modern Locomotives", Van Norstrand's Engineering Magazine, Volume X, No LXI (January 1874), p. 46.

Production in the first fifteen years ran as follows:

Year Builder Works numbers Road numbers

1866 Inchicore 112-113, 115

1867 Beyer, Peacock 148, 150

1868 Beyer, Peacock 151-154

1871-1872 Inchicore 155-156, 159-162, 157-158

1872 Sharp, Stewart & Co 163-166

1873 Inchicore 102,104, 167-168

1873 Sharp, Stewart 175-176

1873 Beyer, Peacock 177-178

1874-1878 Inchicore 106, 117, 169-174, 108,142, 179-180.

109, 119-121, 143, 144-146

1879 Inchicore 181-182

1879 Sharp, Stewart 185-186

1880 Inchicore 183, 184

1881 Inchicore 107, 139-141

1881 Beyer, Peacock 189-190

An appreciation of the J15 by A Donaldson, a former driver for the CIE, comments "The J15s stood high in the estimation of enginemen as reliable plodders which, however battered, would not let you down. When circumstances demanded, however, they had a fine turn of speed. " Donaldson notes that this was the only class of Irish locomotives to include more than 100 examples.

Joynt wrote that these earlier 17" locomotives, designed by Alexander McDonnell, rolled on unbalanced wrought iron wheels, used wooden buffer planks, used Giffard injectors.

Robinson's data from the 1874 article republished in Van Norstrand's, showed a smaller boiler from one of the earliest batches. Heating surface area data are smaller than Joynt's (846 sq ft/78.60 sq m in the tubes, 93 sq ft/8.64 sq m in the firebox for a total of 939 sq ft/87.24 sqm of evaporative heating surface area). He credited the engine, its boiler pressed to 140 psi (9.65 bar) with pulling a 607-long-ton load at 25 mph (40 kph) on the level. Coal consumption when pulling 55 wagons (presumably loaded) came to 35 lb/mile (9.86 kg/km).

Clark noted the plate frame and the inside cylinders. He then delves into a discussion of driver spacing with some useful observations. The first two axles were placed 7 1/4 feet (2.21 m) apart while the spacing between the last two was 8 ft 3 inches (2.51 m). The closer spacing of the first two serves two functions. It should improve the distribution of weight along the wheelbase with the driven axle "well forward" and it reduces the length of the coupling (US: main) rod to 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) or "a little over 5 1/2 times the length of the crank." Clark doesn't say directly, but such a short rod reduced stress on the whole assembly.

What the spacing did not do, he points out, was to balance the weight: "Even so, the weight on the hind wheels is considerably less than the others." This may have resulted from positioning the firebox between the last two driving axles.

Gross train loads could reach 607 long tons and still be hauled at 25 mph. Coal consumption measured 35 lb/mile (9.9 kg/km) when pulling 55 "waggons" [these may have weighed 10 long tons each].

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Class Standard Goods 101 - 18" (Locobase 20640)

Data from E E Joynt, "The Modern Locomotives of the Great Southern and Western Railway", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXIV [24] (15 February 1918), p.34-36. See also C J Bowen Cooke, British Locomotives: Their History, Construction, and Modern Developments (3rd rev and enlarged ed), (London: Whittaker and Co, 1900); and Jeremy Clements, Malcolm McMahon and Alan O'Rourke, Locomotives of the Great Southern & Western Railway (Collon: Collon Publishing, 2020). Builders included GS&W's Inchicore Works (91), Beyer Peacock (12), and Sharp, Stewart (8).

The redoubtable Steamindex cites Clement and Macmahon to quote their succinct endorsement of this mainstay class that achieved an average working life of 75 years: "Their robust simple construction made them great favourites [sic] with locomotive crews band shed staff, while their reliability and economy in operation pleased the financial managers."

Locobase 13305 showed the 17" cylinder Standard Goods locomotives (also dubbed the "101s" after the first engine's road number). In 1882, the GS&W's Inchicore shops began producing an 18" variant, which had 20 fewer tubes with a 1/4" (6.35 mm) smaller bore, but a boiler pressed to a higher psi. Thus the locomotive generated more power with less steaming capability, a result that Joynt noted "did not provide any reserve power."

On dry rail in "fairly normal conditions", a 101 coulld manage 45 loaded cars. But dampness, which another source noted was a frequent occurence in Ireland, compromised the engines' ability. Thus, reported Joynt, "owing to slipping and defective steaming much time was lost."

This led to a redesign by Mr Coey, the line's locomotive superintendent. See Locobase 20642.

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Class Standard Goods cross-compound (Locobase 20641)

Data from E E Joynt, "The Modern Locomotives of the Great Southern and Western Railway", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXIV [24] (15 February 1918), p.18.

Joynt reported that the 165's conversion to a cross-compound locomotive was quite successful as it "proved economical in coal and water." But the engine's tractive power proved lower than that of the simple-expansion 101 class from which it was taken. Moreover, loads were distributed unevenly over the three axles with the leading axle supporting the heavier LP cylinder. The third axle, located behind the firebox, carried a mere 9 tons 6 cwt (20,322 lb/9,449 kg).

When one of the cylinders cracked in 1896, the 165 was rebuilt as a simple-expansion Standard Goods.

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Class Superheated 351 (Locobase 20699)

Data from E E Joynt, "The Modern Locomotives of the Great Southern & Western", Locomotive Magazine,Volume XXIV [24] (15 May 1918), pp. 78-79. See also "0-6-0

Class 257 J4: 1913-14" on steamindex's website at [] last accessed 18 January 2020.

R E L Maunsell only briefly served as the GS&W's locomotive superintendent, but he undertook the upgrading of the fast goods stud. His quartet appeared in 1913. After his departure for the Southern Railway, E A Watson produced four more in 1914.

The original 351s (Locobase 10444) established the baseline for the new engines, but the introduction of superheaters transformed much of the design. Superheating meant piston valves driven by rocking shafts; the assemblies were tucked between the frames under the smokebox. The ratio of heating surface area to cylinder volume and grate area dropped considerably, but the 19% superheater ratio was relatively high. 72% of the engine's weight rested on the front two axles.

Steamindex weighs in with Clements and McMahon's very positive verdict: "The class was highly regarded being effective on freight and secondary passenger services. Locomotives had a staccato exhaust and were in demand for seasonal beet trains over the difficult Rosslare route."

Steamindex adds that most were rebuilt with Belpaire boilers that presented a slightly reduced grate area of 19.5 sq ft (1.81 sq m).

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Class unknown (Locobase 8976)

Data from C J Bowen Cooke, British Locomotives: Their History, Construction, and Modern Developments (3rd rev and enlarged ed), (London: Whittaker and Co, 1900), p. 320.

Bowen Cooke only says that these were side-tank engines for working branch passenger trains.

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Class unknown (Locobase 8977)

Data from C J Bowen Cooke, British Locomotives: Their History, Construction, and Modern Developments (3rd rev and enlarged ed), (London: Whittaker and Co, 1900). See also E E Joynt, "The Modern Locomotives of the Great Southern and Western Railway", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXIV [24] (15 November 1918), p. 178.

Bowen Cooke wrote that these engines ran on light railways to connect that service to the main lines over gradients as steep as 1 in 60 (1.67 %). Joynt added that the line was the Fermoy & Mitchelstown Branch, 11.35 miles (18.3 km) laid with 50 lb/yard (25 kg/metre) rail. A profile drawing shows a tall, tapered chimney (stack), capped dome shrouded by smooth cover, and closed-in cab.

Following the amalgamation of most Irish railways as the Great Southern in 1925, the pair served the Timoleague & Courtmacsherry section.

Still later, the 99 and 100 served as shunters on the Cork Quays and at Albert Quay station.