County Donegal 4-4-4 Locomotives in Ireland


Class Details by Steve Llanso of Sweat House Media

Class Class 3 (Locobase 2689)

Data from R M Livesey, "Rolling-Stock on the Principal Irish Narrow-Gauge Railways", Proceedings of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (London: IME, 1912), pp. 609; reproduced in, Engineering, Volume 94, (2 August 1912), pp. 169-176, table on p. 175. Works numbers were 6103-6104 in 1902.

These little engines -- the other was named Hercules, after a director of the company -- were rated at 325 tons on the flat. Their bulk meant a high axle loadi such that that they operated only on the 60-65-lb (30-32.5 kg/metre) rail between Londonderry and Stranorlar, said RWA Salter in Railway Magazine in Feb 1931 (see [link]).

They served County Donegal until they were scrapped in 1933.

However, SJ Carse, writing in the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI)'s excellent journal 5 Foot Three (appearing on [link], visited in November 2002), reveals that the design was a mismatch for requirements from the start. They had the lowest tractive effort of any CR engines and gave a lot of trouble. Put out of service sometime in the 1920s, they were scrapped in 1935.

Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media
ClassClass 3
Locobase ID2689
RailroadCounty Donegal
CountryIreland
Whyte4-4-4T
Number in Class2
Road Numbers10-11
Gauge3'
Number Built2
BuilderNeilson, Reid
Year1902
Valve GearStephenson
Locomotive Length and Weight
Driver Wheelbase (ft / m) 7.25 / 2.21
Engine Wheelbase (ft / m)26.12 / 7.96
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase 0.28
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m)26.12 / 7.96
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg)23,856 / 10,821
Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg)46,648 / 21,159
Engine Weight (lbs / kg)86,324 / 39,156
Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg)
Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg)
Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML)1200 / 4.55
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT) 2.80 / 3
Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m)39 / 19.50
Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort
Driver Diameter (in / mm)48 / 1219
Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa)150 / 1030
High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm)14" x 20" / 356x508
Tractive Effort (lbs / kg)10,413 / 4723.26
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) 4.48
Heating Ability
Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm)142 - 1.75" / 44
Flues (number - dia) (in / mm)
Flue/Tube length (ft / m) 9.83 / 3
Firebox Area (sq ft / m2)76 / 6.97
Grate Area (sq ft / m2)11.50 / 1.07
Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)713 / 66.24
Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2)
Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)713 / 66.24
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume200.09
Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information)
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation1725
Same as above plus superheater percentage1725
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area11,400
Power L13681
Power MT347.93

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