The MGWR Class D were

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s built in batches from 1873 to 1887 for the

Midland Great Western Railway The Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) was the third largest Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland. It was incorporated in 1845 and absorbed into the Great Southern Railways in 1924. At its peak the had a network of , making it Ireland's ...

(MGWR) of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

to a

Martin Atock Martin Atock, also formerly known as Martin Attock, was an English railway engineer, who is best known as the Locomotive Superintendent of the Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) from 1872 to 1900. Life Atock was born in June 1834 in Pres ...

design. Numbering 39 at their peak they were the standard MGWR passenger locomotive of their era. Six of the class were rebuilt as .

Table

History

The D class were originally built as s between 1873 and 1887. The first batch of 12 were built by

Neilson & Company Neilson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Glasgow, Scotland. The company was started in 1836 at McAlpine Street by Walter Neilson and James Mitchell to manufacture marine and stationary engines. In 1837 the firm moved to Hyde Par ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

in 1873 and a further batch of 5 by Dübs & Company of Glasgow in 1876. The class took on all but the heaviest passenger duties becoming the standard passenger locomotive of their era. They were joined by a batch of six built by

Beyer, Peacock & Company Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English general engineering company and railway locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Openshaw, Manchester. Charles Beyer, Richard Peacock and Henry Robertson founded the company in 1854. The company close ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

in 1880–1881 and four were built by

Kitson & Company Kitson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer based in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Early history The company was started in 1835 by James Kitson (businessman), James Kitson at the Airedale Foundry, off Pearson Street, Hunslet, ...

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

in 1884. MGWR's own Broadstone Works built twelve between 1883 and 1887. Although Broadstone Works has been extended 1877 the reason that ten were subcontracted externally was due to Broadstone working to capacity at the time. The first batches from Neilsons and Dübs were withdrawn 1893–1898 and replaced by the more powerful MGWR Class K , which cascaded the remaining Class D's to secondary duties. The batch of six Beyer-Peacock locomotives were selected for a rebuild to a bogie design in 1900/01, the first use of such a configuration on the MGWR. The rebuilt locomotives were found wanting for their intended use on the

Sligo Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...

line west of

Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midland Region, with a population of 22,667 in the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census. The Counties of M ...

but nevertheless paved the way for the

MGWR Class A The Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) A Class, later Inchicore Class D5, consisted of 6 express passenger locomotives built at Broadstone Works in the period 1902-1905. The largest express passenger locomotive in Ireland for a short while ...

and Class C 4-4-0s whilst doing useful work in the

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

and

Achill Achill Island (; ) is an island off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland in the barony (Ireland), historical barony of Burrishoole, County Mayo. It is the largest of the Irish isles and has an area of approximately . Achill had a popu ...

areas. The remaining Kitson and Broadstone built members of the class were withdrawn between 1911 and 1922, being cascaded out by more powerful passenger locomotives being introduced.

References

{{Ireland Steam Locomotives Beyer, Peacock locomotives Kitson locomotives Neilson locomotives 2-4-0 locomotives 5 ft 3 in gauge locomotives D Steam locomotives of Ireland