The

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

(LNWR) 4ft Shunter was a class of

0-4-0ST Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven. The wheels on the earliest four-coupled locomotives were c ...

steam locomotives. Introduced in 1863 by Ramsbottom, 26 were built in 1863–1865, 10 in 1870, 10 in 1872, and 10 in 1892. The last three of the latter batch were soon rebuilt as

0-4-2ST Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement with no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. While the first locomotives ...

crane tank Crane or cranes may refer to: Common meanings * Crane (bird), a large, long-necked bird * Crane (machine), industrial machinery for lifting ** Crane (rail), a crane suited for use on railroads People and fictional characters * Crane (surname), ...

s. They survived into LMS ownership in 1923 and the last one was withdrawn in 1933. LNWR engine No

Unusually they were fitted with launch-type boilers. These have a cylindrical furnace, rather than a conventional locomotive firebox. This limits the grate area and ashpan size, although this is not a limitation for short-ranged shunters. One advantage is that the ashpan does not project downwards, making it possible to place the rear axle further back. For a dock shunter operating on tight radius curves this is useful, as it reduces the rear overhang and so the amount by which the coupling and buffers swing sideways on curves.

Preservation

One example survives in the NRM collection, kept at the

Ribble Steam Railway The Ribble Steam Railway is a standard gauge preserved railway in Lancashire, in the United Kingdom. It was opened to the public on 17 September 2005, running along Preston Docks. The railway began by housing much of the collection from th ...

. 1439 was built at Crewe in 1865. Re-numbered as 3042, it worked on the

Liverpool Docks The Port of Liverpool is the enclosed Dock (maritime), dock system that runs from Brunswick Dock in Liverpool to Seaforth Dock, Seaforth, Merseyside, Seaforth, on the east side of the River Mersey and the Great Float, Birkenhead Docks betwee ...

railway system, with oil fuel apparatus and a warning bell for use on the roadway lines. After the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1914, it was loaned to the

Kynoch Kynoch was a manufacturer of ammunition that was later incorporated into ICI, but remained as a brand name for sporting cartridges. History The firm of Pursall and Phillips operated a 'percussion cap manufactory' at Whittall Street, in Birmin ...

shell factory at

Witton, Birmingham Witton is an inner city area in Birmingham, England, in the metropolitan county of the West Midlands. It was within the ancient parish of Aston in the Hemlingford hundred of the historic county of Warwickshire. It is known as the home of As ...

and re-numbered 4. The larger round buffers, typical for small shunters, were fitted at this time. After the war, Kynoch purchased the locomotive and kept it in service. In 1935, it was given a new boiler by

W. G. Bagnall W. G. Bagnall was a locomotive manufacturer from Stafford, England which was founded in 1875 and operated until it was taken over in 1962 by English Electric. History The company was founded in 1875 by William Gordon Bagnall. The majority of ...

, a noted maker of small launch-type boilers, with an increased working pressure of and the original

Ramsbottom safety valve John Ramsbottom (11 September 1814 – 20 May 1897) was an English mechanical engineer. Born in Todmorden, then on the county border of Yorkshire and Lancashire. He was the Chief Mechanical Engineer for the London and North Western Railway f ...

replaced by two Pop safety valves. It became surplus in 1953, and was given to the BTC in 1954 for the beginnings of the National Railway Museum collection as the only surviving example of an original Ramsbottom locomotive (as ''Cornwall'' was one he rebuilt). Since January 2009, it has been displayed at the Ribble Steam Railway.

References

* * * {{LNWR Locomotives 4ft shunter 0-4-0ST locomotives B n2t locomotives Standard-gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain Railway locomotives introduced in 1863 Shunting locomotives