The Comet class were 12

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 and associated railways. They were designed for passenger trains on this steep and sharply curved line but were also used on goods trains when required. They were ordered by Evans and Geach who were contracted to operate the railway's locomotives. They were designed by

Daniel Gooch Sir Daniel Gooch, 1st Baronet (24 August 1816 – 15 October 1889) was an English railway locomotive and transatlantic cable engineer. He was the first Locomotive Superintendent, Superintendent of Locomotive Engines on the Great Western Ra ...

and based on his Bogie class locomotives built for 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, ...

who had previously operated the South Devon Railway. 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. Six similar locomotives were built for the

Vale of Neath Railway The Vale of Neath Railway (VoNR) was a broad gauge railway company, that built a line from Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare to Neath, in Wales, mostly to transport the products of the Merthyr iron industries to ports on Swansea Bay. The railway focus ...

Robert Stephenson and Company Robert Stephenson and Company was a locomotive manufacturing company founded in 1823 in Forth Street, Newcastle upon Tyne in England. It was the first company in the world created specifically to build Steam locomotive, railway engines. Famou ...

in 1851. Some of these could be found working on the South Devon lines after the 1876 amalgamation.

Locomotives

* ''Aurora'' (1852 – 1878) GWR no. 2099 :Built by Longridge and Company. Named after the goddess

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

. * ''Comet'' (1851 – 1884) GWR no. 2096 :Built by Longridge and Company. On 1 August 1853, it was working an express train when it collided with ''Ixion'', which had passed a danger signal at Rattery, Devon. :The name ''

Comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...

'' represents a heavenly body, and was reused on a Leopard class locomotive built in 1875. * ''Damon'' (1852 – 1876) GWR no. 2101 :Built by the

Haigh Foundry Haigh Foundry was an ironworks and foundry in Haigh, Greater Manchester, Haigh, Lancashire, which was notable for the manufacture of early steam locomotives. Origins Haigh Foundry was established in the River Douglas, Lancashire, Douglas Valley ...

, it was named after Damon, a Greek mythological character. * ''Falcon'' (1852 – 1878) GWR no. 2102 :Built by the Haigh Foundry. On 13 September 1866, ''Falcon'' was working the mail train when it failed to stop at the signal at

Plympton Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient Stannary, stannary town. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down riv ...

so it collided with ''

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC) was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, which was reta ...

'', which ran away to

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

. It was named after a bird, the

falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...

. * ''Ixion'' (1853 – 1878) GWR no. 2105 :Built by Stothert and Slaughter. On 1 August 1853, ''Ixion'' was working a goods train from

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

. At

Rattery Rattery is a village and civil parish in the South Hams district, in the county of Devon, England, a few miles from the villages Buckfastleigh and neighbouring village Ashburton . The name has been suggested as a variant of Red Tree but is ment ...

the driver ignored a danger signal and collided with a mail train while shunting. ''Ixion'' was badly damaged and was out of use for many months, despite having seen less than five months' work at the time. Named after

Ixion In Greek mythology, Ixion ( ; ) was king of the Lapiths, the most ancient tribe of Thessaly. Family Ixion was the son of Ares, or Leonteus (mythology), Leonteus, or Antion and Perimele, or the notorious evildoer Phlegyas, whose name connotes " ...

from Greek mythology. * ''Lance'' (1851 – 1873) :Built by Longridge and Company. ''Lance'' was written off after it was involved in a head-on collision with another train near Menheniot railway station on the

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 ...

on 2 December 1873. At the time it was providing front-end assistance to a heavy goods train. The name ''

Lance The English term lance is derived, via Middle English '' launce'' and Old French '' lance'', from the Latin '' lancea'', a generic term meaning a wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generic term meaning a spear">wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generi ...

'' means a projectile, and was reused on a Leopard class locomotive built in 1875. * ''Meteor'' (1851 – 1881) GWR no. 2098 :Built by Longridge and Company, ''Meteor'' was named after a heavenly body, a

meteor A meteor, known colloquially as a shooting star, is a glowing streak of a small body (usually meteoroid) going through Earth's atmosphere, after being heated to incandescence by collisions with air molecules in the upper atmosphere, creating a ...

. * ''Orion'' (1853 – 1878) GWR no. 2103 : Built by the Haigh Foundry. Named after

Orion Orion may refer to: Common meanings * Orion (constellation), named after the mythical hunter * Orion (mythology), a hunter in Greek mythology Arts and media Fictional entities Characters and species * Orion (character), a DC Comics c ...

, a Greek Titan. * ''Osiris'' (1853 – 1873) :Built by Stothert and Slaughter. On 31 October 1853, it was approaching Totnes railway station with a passenger train when it was hit by a goods train which had been unable to stop after descending the incline from

. After withdrawal, ''Osiris'' was taken to

Portreath Portreath ( or ) is a civil parishes in England, civil parish, village and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is about three miles (5 km) west-north-west of Redruth. The village extends along ...

where it provided steam for the stationary engine that powered the

cable railway A cable railway is a railway that uses a Wire rope, cable, rope or chain to haul trains. It is a specific type of cable transportation. The most common use for a cable railway is to move vehicles on a Grade (slope), steeply graded line that is t ...

which raised wagons from the harbour up to the

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 ...

line. :Named after

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

, the Egyptian god of death, the name was reused on a Leopard class 4-4-0ST. * ''Ostrich'' (1852 – 1877) GWR no. 2104 :Built by Fairbairn and Sons, ''Ostrich'' was named after a large African bird, the

ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds. Two living species are recognised, the common ostrich, native to large parts of sub-Saharan Africa, and the Somali ostrich, native to the Horn of Africa. They are the heaviest and largest living birds, w ...

. * ''Priam'' (1851 – 1876) GWR no. 2100 :Built by the Haigh Foundry, it was named after

Priam In Greek mythology, Priam (; , ) was the legendary and last king of Troy during the Trojan War. He was the son of Laomedon. His many children included notable characters such as Hector, Paris, and Cassandra. Etymology Most scholars take the e ...

, the king of Troy. * ''Rocket'' (1851 – 1877) GWR no. 2097 :Built by Longridge and Company, it was named after a projectile, a

rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

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 4-4-0ST locomotives

Avonside locomotives Passenger locomotives in the United Kingdom Railway locomotives introduced in 1851