Cork, Bandon & South Coast 0-6-2 Locomotives in Ireland

Class 19 (Locobase 10176)

Data from "American Engines for Ireland," The Locomotive Magazine, Volume VI [6] (February 1901), p. 40; and DeGolyer, Volume 23, p. 77. Works numbers were 18027-18028 in August 1900.

This pair of radial saddle-tank engines were the first American locomotives to be exported to Ireland. A 27 July note from Kenneth Rushton in the specifications outlined some "Hereafter" notes to refine the design:

"Make front driving springs one plate heavier,

Make driving brake shoes longer and higher,

Make bottom plate of tank heavier,

Ejector and injector pipes fastened with flanges,

Two heavy water gauges attached to boiler with flanges.:

The railway for which they were produced had begun construction in 1845 and required some impressive engineering feats before its line would reach Cork. The Ballinhassig tunnel was about 1/2 mile (0.8 km) long and the Chetwynd Viaduct consisted of four 110-ft (33.53 m) spans standing on masonry piers that rose 91 feet (27.74 m). Ultimately, the line connected Cork in the southeast with Clonakilty and Courtmacsherry, Baltimore, and Bantry in the southwest.

The line ultimately was absorbed by the Great Southern in 1924 and was closed to traffic on 31 March 1961.