The ten Buffalo class 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 ...

locomotives operated on the South Devon Railway,

Cornwall Railway The Cornwall Railway was a broad gauge railway from Plymouth in Devon to Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth in Cornwall, England, built in the second half of the nineteenth century. It was constantly beset with shortage of capital for the construct ...

and

West Cornwall Railway The West Cornwall Railway was a railway company in Cornwall, Great Britain, formed in 1846 to construct a railway between Penzance and Truro. It purchased the existing Hayle Railway, and improved its main line, and built new sections between Pen ...

. They were designed for goods trains but were also used on passenger trains when required. These locomotives were built by the

Avonside Engine Company The 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 The firm was original ...

and designed for easy conversion to standard gauge after the broad gauge was converted on 21 May 1892. The locomotives of the three railways were operated as a combined fleet by the South Devon Railway but each was accounted to the railway that ordered it. On 1 February 1876 the South Devon Railway was amalgamated with the Great Western Railway, the locomotives were given numbers by their new owners but continued to carry their names too.

Locomotives

South Devon Railway

* ''Achilles'' (1873–1892) GWR no. 2165 :Converted to standard gauge and worked in this form as no. 1324 until 1905 when it was sold to the South Wales Mineral Railway and became their no. 7, later returning to the Great Western Railway and running as no. 818 until finally withdrawn in 1932. The locomotive was named after

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

, a Greek hero. * ''Buffalo'' (1872–1892) GWR no. 2160 :This locomotive was converted to standard gauge and worked in this form as no. 1320. It was named after an animal, the buffalo. * ''Camel'' (1872–1892) GWR no. 2162 :This locomotive was converted to standard gauge and worked in this form as no. 1322. It was named after an animal, the

camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

. * ''Dromedary'' (1873–1892) GWR no. 2166 :This locomotive was converted to standard gauge and worked in this form as no. 1325. It was named after a species of camel, the

dromedary The dromedary (''Camelus dromedarius''), also known as the dromedary camel, Arabian camel and one-humped camel, is a large camel of the genus '' Camelus'' with one hump on its back. It is the tallest of the three camel species; adult males sta ...

. * ''Elephant'' (1872–1892) GWR no. 2161 :This locomotive was converted to standard gauge and worked in this form as no. 1321. It was named after an animal, the

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

. * ''Python'' (1874–1892) GWR no. 2168 :Converted to standard gauge and worked in this form as no. 1318. Rather than being named after a snake, ''Python'' was named after the Greek mythological creature, the

Python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (prog ...

. * ''Vulcan'' (1874–1892) GWR no. 2169 :''Vulcan'' worked the last train on the Falmouth branch on 20 May 1892 before it was converted to standard gauge. The locomotive itself was also converted to standard gauge and worked in this form as no. 1319. The locomotive was named after Vulcan, a Roman god.

Cornwall Railway

* ''Dragon'' (1873–1892) GWR no. 2164 :Converted to standard gauge and worked in this form as no. 1323. The locomotive was named after the

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

, a kind of mythological animal. * ''Emperor'' (1873–1892) GWR no. 2167 :Converted to standard gauge and worked in this form as no. 1317 until 1905 when it was sold to the South Wales Mineral Railway and became their no. 6, later returning to the Great Western Railway and running as no. 817 until finally withdrawn in 1926. ''For other uses of the name, see Emperor (disambiguation).'' * ''Hercules'' (1872–1889) GWR no. 2163 :The locomotive was named after

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

, a Roman hero.

References

* * * * * Railway company records at

The National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...

{{SDR Locomotives Broad gauge (7 feet) railway locomotives 0-6-0ST locomotives Buffalo Avonside locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1872