GWR 2602 Class
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox Locomotive
|name=GWR 2602 'Kruger' Class
|powertype=Steam
|image=GWR Dean's ten-wheeled goods engine (Howden, Boys' Book of Locomotives, 1907).jpg
|caption=No. 2601, the Kruger 4-6-0
|designer=William Dean
|builder = GWR Swindon Works
|builddate= 1899–1903
|ordernumber = 116
|serialnumber = 1723, 1724–1732
|whytetype = 4-6-0 (1)
2-6-0 (9)
|gauge={{track gauge|56.5in|allk=on}}
|boilerpressure= {{convert|180|psi|abbr=on}}
|driverdiameter= {{convert|4|ft|7+1/2|in|m|3|abbr=on}}
|leadingdiameter= {{convert|2|ft|8|in|m|3|abbr=on}}
|cylindercount= 2
|cylindersize= {{convert|19|x|28|in|0|abbr=on}}
|operator = Great Western Railway
|fleetnumbers = 2601, 2602–2610
}}
The 2602 Class was a series of steam locomotives designed by William Dean and built at the Swindon Works of the Great Western Railway.
The GWR 2602 Class was designed to be a versatile and powerful locomotive, suitable for both passenger and freight services.
Design
They had outside frames for the six-coupled driving wheels but inside frames for the leading wheels. Initially, a distinctive visual feature was a large saddle-shaped sandbox over the first ring of the boiler. The class had two prototypes: No. 2601, which was a 4-6-0, while No. 2602 was a 2-6-0. These were built in 1899, and Nos. 2603-2610 followed later up to 1903, all 2-6-0. Though Dean was officially still in charge, Churchward's influence is evident in the rugged design. Their perhaps ironic nickname was after Paul Kruger, the Boer War leader defeated by Lord Roberts in 1900.
Problems
The somewhat experimental class was not successful; the boiler's high pressure and {{convert|3|ft|6|in|3|abbr=on}} long combustion chamber gave trouble{{sfn|le Fleming|1954|p=G40}} and the long {{convert|28|in|0|adj=on}} stroke of the inside cylinders led to fractures of the solid crank axles.{{sfn|Holcroft|1971|p=74}} The class was thus short-lived, and most were withdrawn around 1906. Several of the boilers were converted for stationary use in Swindon Works at reduced pressure and remained in service there until the 1950s.
Aberdare class
Their numbers were adopted in 1907 by some of the last batch of the popular and reliable Aberdare Class 2-6-0s, which may also have re-used some of the "Kruger"s' parts.{{sfn|le Fleming|1954|pp=G39-G40}}
References
{{reflist|colwidth=25em}}
Sources
- {{RCTS-LocosGWR-1|year=1968}}
- {{cite book |last=Holcroft |first=Harold |title=An Outline of Great Western Locomotive Practice 1837-1947 |year=1971 |orig-year=1957 |publisher=Ian Allan |location=Shepperton, Surrey |isbn=0-7110-0228-2 |author-link=Harold Holcroft }}
- {{cite book |last=le Fleming |first=H.M. |editor-last=White |editor-first=D.E. |title=The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway, part seven: Dean's Larger Tender Engines |date=October 1954 |publisher=RCTS |location=Kenilworth |isbn=0-901115-18-5 }}
External links
- [http://www.greatwestern.org.uk/drawings/loco/loco31.jpg Drawing of Kruger Class]
{{GWR Locomotives}}
Category:Railway locomotives introduced in 1899