Taff Vale Railway O4 class

Summary

The Taff Vale Railway O4 class was a class of 0-6-2T steam tank locomotives designed by Tom Hurry Riches and introduced to the Taff Vale Railway in 1907. They were rebuilt with taper boilers and superheaters by the Great Western Railway (GWR) from 1924.

Taff Vale Railway O4 class
'O4' No. 289 at Danygraig Locomotive Depot, Swansea Docks 1946
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerTom Hurry Riches
BuilderBeyer, Peacock & Co. (24);
Manning Wardle (7);
Vulcan Foundry (10)
Build date1907 (7), 1908 (14), 1910 (20)
Total produced41
Specifications
Configuration:
 • Whyte0-6-2T
Gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Driver dia.4 ft 6+12 in (1.384 m)
Loco weight61 long tons (68 short tons; 62 t)
Fuel typeCoal
Boiler pressure175 psi (1.21 MPa)
CylindersTwo, inside
Cylinder size17.5 in × 26 in (444 mm × 660 mm)
Performance figures
Tractive effort21,730 lbf (96.7 kN)
Career
OperatorsTaff Vale Railway
Great Western Railway;
British Railways
Retired1948–1955
DispositionAll scrapped

The first loco withdrawn was 402 in April 1948 from Treherbert shed. The last three locos, 290, 317 and 321 were withdrawn together from Cardiff East Dock shed in July 1955. None were preserved.

Builders and numbering edit

The locomotives were built in several batches by Vulcan Foundry, Manning Wardle and Beyer, Peacock and Company. Their GWR numbers were in the range 200-420 but they were not consecutive and were intermingled with other classes.

Year Quantity Manufacturer Serial Number TVR Numbers GWR Numbers Notes
1907 7 Manning Wardle 1698–1704 38, 43, 59, 67–69, 94 285, 287, 293–295, 420, 296 420 renumbered 220 sometime between 1946 and 1950
1908 7 Beyer, Peacock & Co. 5095–5101 39, 95, 97, 98, 101, 102, 104 286, 297–302 300–302 renumbered 200–202 sometime between 1946 and 1950
1908 7 Beyer, Peacock & Co. 5127–5133 6, 9, 48, 56, 58, 105, 111 280, 282, 289, 291, 292, 236, 314 314 renumbered 206 sometime between 1946 and 1950
1910 10 Beyer, Peacock & Co. 5384–5393 13, 49, 112–116, 118, 119, 121 409, 290, 315, 317–321, 324, 333 315, 317–321, 324, 333, 409 renumbered 207–211, 215–218 sometime between 1946 and 1950
1910 10 Vulcan Foundry 2529–2538 1, 28, 8, 17, 35, 36, 46, 108–110 278, 279, 281, 283, 284, 414, 288, 310, 311, 313 310, 311, 313, 414 renumbered 203–205, 219 sometime between 1946 and 1950

See also edit

External links edit

  • Rail UK database entry for Taff Vale Railway O4 class