GWR Sun Class
Encyclopedia
The Great Western Railway
Sun Class 2-2-2
broad gauge
steam locomotive
s for passenger train work. This class was introduced into service between April 1840 and January 1842, and withdrawn between January 1864 and June 1879.
A smaller-wheeled version of the Fire Fly Class
for working trains on the hilly sections of line west of Swindon
, they did not prove heavy enough for the task and were later altered to become 2-2-2T tank locomotives. Later still Sun, Hesperus, Gazelle, Wolf, and Assagais were given higher pressure boilers and in this form ran until 1879; the last unrebuilt locomotive having been withdrawn in 1872.
From about 1865, the Sun Class was known as the Wolf Class.
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
Sun Class 2-2-2
2-2-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-2-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle two powered driving wheels on one axle, and two trailing wheels on one axle. The wheel arrangement both provided more stability and enabled a larger firebox...
broad gauge
Broad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
steam locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s for passenger train work. This class was introduced into service between April 1840 and January 1842, and withdrawn between January 1864 and June 1879.
A smaller-wheeled version of the Fire Fly Class
GWR Firefly Class
The Firefly was a class of broad gauge 2-2-2 steam locomotives used for passenger services on the Great Western Railway. The class was introduced into service between March 1840 and December 1842, and withdrawn between December 1863 and July 1879....
for working trains on the hilly sections of line west of Swindon
Swindon railway station
Swindon railway station is in the town of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The station entrance is on Station Road, to the south of the line.It is approximately from the central bus station and the town centre...
, they did not prove heavy enough for the task and were later altered to become 2-2-2T tank locomotives. Later still Sun, Hesperus, Gazelle, Wolf, and Assagais were given higher pressure boilers and in this form ran until 1879; the last unrebuilt locomotive having been withdrawn in 1872.
From about 1865, the Sun Class was known as the Wolf Class.
Locomotives
- Antelope (1841 - 1870)
- Built by Sharp, Roberts and CompanySharp, Roberts and CompanySharp, Stewart and Company was a steam locomotive manufacturer, initially based in Manchester, England. The company was formed in 1843 upon the demise of Sharp, Roberts & Co. and moved to Glasgow, Scotland in 1888, eventually amalgamating with two other Glasgow-based locomotive manufacturers to...
, this locomotive was named after a fast animal, an antelopeAntelopeAntelope is a term referring to many even-toed ungulate species indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelopes comprise a miscellaneous group within the family Bovidae, encompassing those old-world species that are neither cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison, nor goats...
. It worked the first train from TeignmouthTeignmouth railway stationTeignmouth railway station is on the Exeter to Plymouth line and serves the town of Teignmouth, Devon, England. It is operated by First Great Western.-History:...
to NewtonNewton Abbot railway stationNewton Abbot railway station serves the town of Newton Abbot in Devon, England. It is from London on the Exeter to Plymouth line via the Reading to Taunton line, at the junction for the branch to . For many years it was also the junction for Moretonhampstead and the site of a large locomotive...
on the South Devon RailwaySouth Devon Railway CompanyThe South Devon Railway Company built and operated the railway from Exeter to Plymouth and Torquay in Devon, England. It was a broad gauge railway built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel-Chronology:* 1844 South Devon Railway Act passed by parliament...
on 30 December 1846.- Assagais (1841 - 1875)
- Built by Stothert and SlaughterAvonside Engine CompanyThe Avonside Engine Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Avon Street, St. Philip's, Bristol, England between 1864 and 1934. However the business originated with an earlier enterprise Henry Stothert and Company.-Origins:...
, this locomotive was named after an African spearAssegaiAn assegai or assagai is a pole weapon used for throwing or hurling, usually a light spear or javelin made of wood and pointed with iron.-Iklwa:...
- Aurora (1840 - 1866)
- Built by R and W Hawthorn and CompanyHawthorn Leslie and CompanyR. & W. Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Limited, usually referred to as Hawthorn Leslie, was a shipbuilding and locomotive manufacturer. The Company was founded on Tyneside in 1886 and ceased building ships in 1982.-History:...
with 14in dia × 18in cylinders, this locomotive was named after the goddess AuroraAurora (mythology)Aurora is the Latin word for dawn, the goddess of dawn in Roman mythology and Latin poetry.Like Greek Eos and Rigvedic Ushas , Aurora continues the name of an earlier Indo-European dawn goddess, *Hausos....
.- Comet (1840 - 1871)
- Built by R and W Hawthorn and Company with 14in dia × 18in cylinders, this locomotive was named after a fast moving heavenly body, a cometCometA comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
.- Creese (1842 - 1866)
- Built by Stothert and Slaughter, this locomotive was named after the KrisKrisThe kris or keris is an asymmetrical dagger or sword nowadays most strongly associated with the culture of Indonesia, but also indigenous to Malaysia, Southern Thailand and Brunei. It is known as kalis in the southern Philippines. The kris is famous for its distinctive wavy blade , but many have...
, a short wavy dagger.- Djerid (1841 - 1870)
- Built by Stothert and Slaughter, this locomotive was named after a throwing spear, the djeridDjerid (weapon)A type of throwing spear about 3 ft. long, usually with a wooden haft and small steel head but sometimes all steel used for hunting and warfare. Arab in origin, it was used in Asia Minor, India and Africa...
- Eclipse (1840 - 1864)
- Built by R and W Hawthorn and Company.
- Gazelle (1841 - 1879)
- Built by Sharp, Roberts and Company, this locomotive was named after the swift animal, gazelleGazelleA gazelle is any of many antelope species in the genus Gazella, or formerly considered to belong to it. Six species are included in two genera, Eudorcas and Nanger, which were formerly considered subgenera...
.- Giraffe (1841 - 1872)
- Built by Sharp, Roberts and Company, this locomotive was named after the swift animal, giraffeGiraffeThe giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...
.- Hesperus (1841 - 1876)
- Built by R and W Hawthorn and Company with 14in dia × 18in cylinders and an experimental boiler, it was later rebuilt with a conventional one. It was named after HesperusHesperusIn Greek mythology, Hesperus is the Evening Star, the planet Venus in the evening. He is the son of the dawn goddess Eos and is the brother of Eosphorus , the Morning Star. Hesperus' Roman equivalent is Vesper...
a character in Roman mythology.- Javelin (1841 - 1870)
- Built by Stothert and Slaughter, this locomotive was named after a thrown weapon, a javelinJavelinA Javelin is a light spear intended for throwing. It is commonly known from the modern athletic discipline, the Javelin throw.Javelin may also refer to:-Aviation:* ATG Javelin, an American-Israeli civil jet aircraft, under development...
.- Lance (1841 - 1870)
- Built by Stothert and Slaughter, the name is that of a thrown weapon, a lanceLanceA Lance is a pole weapon or spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior. The lance is longer, stout and heavier than an infantry spear, and unsuited for throwing, or for rapid thrusting. Lances did not have tips designed to intentionally break off or bend, unlike many throwing weapons of the...
.- Meridian (1840 - 1870)
- Built by R and W Hawthorn and Company.
- Meteor (1840 - 1864)
- Built by R and W Hawthorn and Company, this locomotive was named after a fast moving heavenly body, a MeteorMETEORMETEOR is a metric for the evaluation of machine translation output. The metric is based on the harmonic mean of unigram precision and recall, with recall weighted higher than precision...
.- Rocket (1841 - 1870)
- Built by Stothert and Slaughter, this locomotive was named after a swift projectile, a rocketRocketA rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
- Stiletto (1841 - 1870)
- Built by Stothert and Slaughter.
- Sun (1840 - 1873)
- Built by R and W Hawthorn and Company, this locomotive was named after the SunSunThe Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
.- Sunbeam (1840 - 1870)
- Built by R and W Hawthorn and Company.
- Wolf (1841 - 1873)
- Built by Sharp, Roberts and Company, this locomotive was named after the strong animal, wolf.
- Yataghan (1841 - 1871)
- Built by Stothert and Slaughter.
- Zebra (1841 - 1871)
- Built by Sharp, Roberts and Company, this locomotive was named after the fast animal, the zebraZebraZebras are several species of African equids united by their distinctive black and white stripes. Their stripes come in different patterns unique to each individual. They are generally social animals that live in small harems to large herds...
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