The ''Eagle'' class were sixteen

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 (SDR),

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 ...

(CR) and associated adjacent 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, Walker and Gooch who were contracted to operate the locomotives for both the railways.

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 ...

designed them as a development of his earlier Comet class. They had slightly smaller wheels but larger tanks containing 1,100 gallons, a 37.5% increase. They were built by

Slaughter, Grüning and Company The Avonside Engine Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Avon Street, St Philip's Marsh, St Philip's, Bristol, England between 1864 and 1934. However the business originated with an earlier enterprise Henry Stothert and Company. Origins The ...

. The locomotives were bought by the SDR on 1 July 1866 after which they were operated as a combined fleet over both the SDR and CR, but they continued to be accounted to their original owner. 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

* ''Hawk'' (Slaughter, Grüning & Co. 591? of 1859); GWR no. 2108; withdrawn 1885 :Named after the bird of prey,

hawk Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and others. This ...

. * ''Giraffe'' (SG 365 of 1859); GWR no. 2112; withdrawn 1877 :''Giraffe'' hauled the first train on the

Launceston and South Devon Railway The South Devon and Tavistock Railway linked Plymouth with Tavistock in Devon; it opened in 1859. It was extended by the Launceston and South Devon Railway to Launceston, in Cornwall in 1865. It was a broad gauge line but from 1876 also carried ...

on 1 June 1865 with ''Dart''. :The locomotive was named after the animal,

giraffe The giraffe is a large Fauna of Africa, African even-toed ungulate, hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the Largest mammals#Even-toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on ...

. * ''Lion'' (SG 366 of 1859); GWR no. 2113; withdrawn 1883 :Named after the powerful animal,

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

. * ''Antelope'' (SG 367 of 1859); GWR no. 2114; withdrawn 1884 :Named after the swift animal,

antelope The term antelope refers to numerous extant or recently extinct species of the ruminant artiodactyl family Bovidae that are indigenous to most of Africa, India, the Middle East, Central Asia, and a small area of Eastern Europe. Antelopes do ...

. * ''Tiger'' (SG 411 of 1860); GWR no. 2116; withdrawn 1884 :Named after the powerful animal,

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

. * ''Hector'' (SG 412 of 1860); GWR no. 2117; withdrawn 1892 :Named after the Greek mythological character,

Hector In Greek mythology, Hector (; , ) was a Trojan prince, a hero and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. He is a major character in Homer's ''Iliad'', where he leads the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing c ...

. * ''Dart'' (SG 559 of 1863); GWR no. 2119; withdrawn 1885 :''Dart'' hauled the first train on the

on 1 June 1865 with ''Giraffe''. :The locomotive was named after the dart missile.

Cornwall Railway

* ''Eagle'' (SG 360 of 1859); GWR no. 2106; withdrawn 1876 :Named after the bird of prey,

eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

. * ''Elk'' (SG 361 of 1859); GWR no. 2107; withdrawn 1877 :Just two days after the opening of the railway ''Elk'' was derailed near St Germans and fell off Grove viaduct with fatal consequences. :The locomotive was named after the animal,

elk The elk (: ''elk'' or ''elks''; ''Cervus canadensis'') or wapiti, is the second largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. ...

. * ''Lynx'' (SG 363 of 1859); GWR no. 2109; withdrawn 1876 :Named after the strong animal,

lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...

. * ''Gazelle'' (SG 364 of 1859); GWR no. 2110; withdrawn 1865 :Named after the swift animal,

gazelle A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . There are also seven species included in two further genera; '' Eudorcas'' and '' Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third former subgenus, ' ...

. * ''Mazeppa'' (SG 362 of 1859); GWR no. 2111; withdrawn 1885 :Named after an epic poem, '' Mazeppa'' by

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

. * ''Wolf'' (SG 368 of 1859); GWR no. 2115; withdrawn 1878 :Named after the strong animal,

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

. * ''Cato'' (SG 522 of 1863); GWR no. 2118; withdrawn 1877 : Cato was a name shared by many famous Romans. * ''Pollux'' (SG 592 of 1865); GWR no. 2120; withdrawn 1892 :Named after the Greek mythological character, Pollux, it had originally been intended to be named ''Tamar'' after the

River Tamar The Tamar (; ) is a river in south west England that forms most of the border between Devon (to the east) and Cornwall (to the west). A large part of the valley of the Tamar is protected as the Tamar Valley National Landscape (an Area of Outsta ...

. * ''Castor'' (SG 593 of 1865) GWR no. 2121; withdrawn 1882 :Named after the Greek mythological character' Castor, it had originally intended to be named ''Fal'' after the

River Fal The River Fal () flows through Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordere ...

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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:South Devon Railway Eagle Class Broad gauge (7 feet) railway locomotives 4-4-0ST locomotives Avonside locomotives

Eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

Railway locomotives introduced in 1859