The 14 Bristol and Exeter Railway 4-2-4T locomotives were

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

4-2-4T Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, two powered driving wheels on one axle, and four trailing wheels on two axles. The configuration was onl ...

steam locomotives built to three different designs. The first entered service in 1853. The

Bristol and Exeter Railway The Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER) was an English railway company formed to connect Bristol and Exeter. It was built on the broad gauge and its engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It opened in stages between 1841 and 1844. It was allied wi ...

was

amalgamated Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal **Pan ama ...

into the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

on 1 January 1876, and the last of the 4-2-4Ts was withdrawn in 1885. The distinctive designs by James Pearson, the railway company's engineer, featured single large

flange A flange is a protruded ridge, lip or rim (wheel), rim, either external or internal, that serves to increase shear strength, strength (as the flange of a steel beam (structure), beam such as an I-beam or a T-beam); for easy attachment/transfer o ...

less driving wheels and two supporting

bogie A bogie ( ) (or truck in North American English) comprises two or more Wheelset (rail transport), wheelsets (two Railroad wheel, wheels on an axle), in a frame, attached under a vehicle by a pivot. Bogies take various forms in various modes ...

s. The water was carried in both well and back tanks, leaving the boilers exposed in the same way as tender locomotives. The three types are distinguished by the size of driving wheel; the early wheels being replaced by smaller ones on later designs.

List of locomotives

9 feet

* 39 (1853–1868) * 40 (1853–1873) * 41 (1853–1873) * 42 (1854–1868) * 43 (1854–1871) * 44 (1854–1870) * 45 (1854–1870) * 46 (1854–1870) The first of Pearson's 4-2-4Ts were eight locomotives built by

Rothwell and Company Rothwell, Hick and Rothwell was an engineering company in Bolton, England. Set up in 1822, the partners became interested in the production of steam locomotives after the Rainhill Trials. The company's first engine was ''Union'', a vertical b ...

in 1853 and 1854 and were all withdrawn by 1873. The large wheels gave these locomotives a high top speed, with being reported on one train descending

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

Bank in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

7 feet 6-inch

* 12 (1862–1885) GWR No. 2005 * 29 (1859–1880) GWR No. 2006 These two locomotives were built as replacements for more conventional

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 ...

express passenger locomotives with driving wheels and were given wheels of this same size, rather than the wheels of their 4-2-4T predecessors. No. 29 was the first locomotive built at the Bristol and Exeter Railway's new

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

workshops in 1859. It had slightly larger cylinders and a wheelbase. When withdrawn in 1885 it was the end of Pearson's 4-2-4Ts. No. 12 followed in 1862 and returned to cylinders and had a slightly shorter wheelbase.

8 feet 10-inch

* 39 (1868–1876) GWR No. 2001 * 40 (1873–1877) GWR No. 2002 * 41 (1868–1877) GWR No. 2003 * 42 (1868–1877) GWR No. 2004 Four of the 9-foot locomotives were replaced by these "renewals", built in the Bristol and Exeter Railway workshops at

. A pair of their new 8-foot-10-inch-diameter () driving wheels can be seen at

Swindon Steam Railway Museum STEAM – Museum of the Great Western Railway, also known as Swindon Steam Railway Museum, is housed in part of the former railway works in Swindon, England – Wiltshire's 'railway town'. The museum opened in 2000. The site The museum is ...

. No. 39, recently renumbered as GWR 2001, derailed at

Long Ashton Long Ashton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It falls within the unitary authority of North Somerset and is one of a number of large villages just outside the boundary of city of Bristol urban area. The parish has a populat ...

near Bristol on 27 July 1876 and was withdrawn from service. While the poor condition of the track was a contributing factor, it was decided to rebuild the remaining three express 4-2-4Ts to more conventional 4-2-2 tender locomotives.

References

* * * * * * {{BER Locomotives Broad gauge (7 feet) railway locomotives 4-2-4T locomotives Bristol and Exeter Railway locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1853 Scrapped locomotives Passenger locomotives