West India Improvement Company 4-6-0 Locomotives in Jamaica

Class 15 (Locobase 20716)

Data from P C Dewhurst, "The Jamaica Government Railway and its Locomotives", Locomotive Magazine, Volume 25 (15 July 1919), p. 109-110. Works numbers were 4000-4001 in 1890.

It's something of an understatement for Dewhurst to declare that this pair of Ten-wheeler locomotives represented "a great advance in power". While they weren't big by North American measure, a 75% increase in cylinder volume and a 20% rise in boiler pressure equated to more than double the previous maximum starting tractive effort in Jamaica. They were the first to be designed "for working the hill sections", a requirement that informed the purchase of virtually all succeeding locomotives in Jamaica, Dewhurst contended.

They were typically American engines with extended wagon top boilers, steel fireboxes with domes mounted on top, two lifting type injectors, balanced slide valves, link motion with rocking shafts, four-bar crossheads, swing-link bogies, and equalized drivers. They were delivered with Le Chatelier water compression brakes but cylinder cover problems led to their removal by 1902. (Le Chatelier water brakes are described in Locobases 3458 and 13777)

15's boiler was replaced in 1899, 16's in 1908.

The two remained in service for 25 years before being retired in February (16) and July (15) 1914.

Class 17 (Locobase 20717)

Data from P C Dewhurst, "The Jamaica Government Railway and its Locomotives", Locomotive Magazine, Volume 25 (15 August 1919), p. 132-133. Works number was 2651 in 1891.

This cross-compound introduce the then-voguish compound expansion concept to Jamaican locomotives. Except for the unequal cylinder diameters and related details, the design duplicated the pair of Rogers simple-expansion Ten-wheelers shown in Locobase 20716.

Some of the compound-only provisions were Batchellor's version of semi-automatic starting and intercepting valves. The larger low-pressure cylinder sat outside of the smokebox's left side.

The WIIC and JGR retained the compound setup until 1904, but replaced the boiler in 1900 (and setting up the original as a stationary boiler). A similar fate awaited the replacement boiler when the 17 was scrapped in 1908.

Class 19 (Locobase 20718)

Data from P C Dewhurst, "The Jamaica Government Railway and its Locomotives", Locomotive Magazine, Volume 25 (15 August 1919), p. 133-134. Works number was 4875 in 1893.

Two years after Rhode Island delivered a cross-compound based on Rogers Ten-wheelers of 1890, Rogers produced one of its own for the island raillway system. Still seeking a good compounding ratio and hoping to match fuel and water savings with more power, Rogers built a bigger boiler and firebox, and added cylinder volume to both the HP and LP cylinders.

But Dewhurst pointed out several differences in compound operation between Rhode Island's semi-automatic version and the one delivered by Rogers: [T]he starting valve is operated by hand from the cab, the intercepting valve automatic causes compound working after a few strokes and the engine cannot be operated 'simple'." The LP cylinder was mounted on the right-hand side of the firebox.

Another difference, however, was the retention of compounding until the end of its career in 1919. "It has been very successful," wrote Dewhurst in 1919, "and has done a great amount of heavy work, but is now at the end of its life."

Class 23 (Locobase 20722)

Data from P C Dewhurst, "The Jamaica Government Railway and its Locomotives", Locomotive Magazine, Volume 25 (15 September 1919), p. 134-135. Works numbers were 5053-5056 in 1895.

This was the production batch of the cross-compound #19 produced for Jamaica in 1893 (Locobase 20718). Still trying to perfect the compounding ratio, the Paterson, NJ builder added two inches to the LP cylinder's diameter. The lead was a double radial truck, a design first used in the Rogers compound 4-4-0 described in 20720.

Unlike most compounds delivered to North American railways, these engines were not converted to simple-expansion during their careers. Experience running the 24, converted to simple-expansion with two 18" x 24" in 1902 and run in that configuration until 1909, showed that coal consumption was "heavy". so it reverted to its original compound setup.

New boilers were fitted to all four locomotives in 1907-1911 and all but 16, which was scrapped in 1917, still served in 1919.

The design was "very successful" according to Dewhurst, "remarkable fo getting away quickly with their loads."