GWR Victoria Class
Encyclopedia
The Great Western Railway
Victoria Class were 2-4-0
broad gauge
steam locomotive
s for passenger train work. This class was introduced into service in two batches between August 1856 and May 1864. They were all withdrawn between 1876 and December 1880.
The first eight locomotives were named after ruling heads of state, but the remaining locomotives received the names of famous engineers, starting with the railway's own Isambard Kingdom Brunel
. This theme was continued with the Hawthorn Class
that followed.
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
Victoria Class were 2-4-0
Whyte notation
The Whyte notation for classifying steam locomotives by wheel arrangement was devised by Frederick Methvan Whyte and came into use in the early twentieth century encouraged by an editorial in American Engineer and Railroad Journal...
broad gauge
Broad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
steam locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s for passenger train work. This class was introduced into service in two batches between August 1856 and May 1864. They were all withdrawn between 1876 and December 1880.
The first eight locomotives were named after ruling heads of state, but the remaining locomotives received the names of famous engineers, starting with the railway's own Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
. This theme was continued with the Hawthorn Class
GWR Hawthorn Class
The Great Western Railway Hawthorn Class were 2-4-0 broad gauge steam locomotives for passenger train work. This class was introduced into service in 1865, a development of the Victoria Class....
that followed.
Locomotives
- Abdul Medjid (1856 - 1877)
- This locomotive was named after Abdul Medjid of Turkey.
- Alexander (1856 - 1878)
- This locomotive was named in honour of Alexander II of RussiaAlexander II of RussiaAlexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
.- Brindley (1863 - 1879)
- This locomotive was named after James BrindleyJames BrindleyJames Brindley was an English engineer. He was born in Tunstead, Derbyshire, and lived much of his life in Leek, Staffordshire, becoming one of the most notable engineers of the 18th century.-Early life:...
, the first canal builder.- Brunel (1863 - 1879)
- This locomotive worked the last broad gauge train in WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
on 11 May 1872. It was named after the Great Western Railway's much respected engineer, Isambard Kingdom BrunelIsambard Kingdom BrunelIsambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
, who had died in 1859.- Fulton (1863 - 1876)
- This locomotive was named after Robert FultonRobert FultonRobert Fulton was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat...
, who developed steam-poered ships.- Leopold (1856 - 1877)
- This locomotive was named in honour of Leopold I of BelgiumLeopold I of BelgiumLeopold I was from 21 July 1831 the first King of the Belgians, following Belgium's independence from the Netherlands. He was the founder of the Belgian line of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
.- Locke (1863 - 1881)
- This locomotive was named after the railway engineer, Joseph LockeJoseph LockeJoseph Locke was a notable English civil engineer of the 19th century, particularly associated with railway projects...
.- Napoleon (1856 - 1880)
- This locomotive was named in honour of Napoleon I of FranceNapoleon I of FranceNapoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
- Oscar (1856 - 1880)
- This locomotive was named for King Oscar I of SwedenOscar I of SwedenOscar I was King of Sweden and Norway from 1844 to his death. When, in August 1810, his father Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte was elected Crown Prince of Sweden, Oscar and his mother moved from Paris to Stockholm . Oscar's father was the first ruler of the current House of Bernadotte...
.- Otho (1856 - 1880)
- This locomotive was named in honour of King Otto of GreeceOtto of GreeceOtto, Prince of Bavaria, then Othon, King of Greece was made the first modern King of Greece in 1832 under the Convention of London, whereby Greece became a new independent kingdom under the protection of the Great Powers .The second son of the philhellene King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Otto ascended...
.- Rennie (1863 - 1878)
- This locomotive was named after the engineer, John RennieJohn Rennie (son)Sir John Rennie was the second son of engineer John Rennie and brother of George Rennie.-Early life:...
.- Smeaton (1863 - 1877)
- This locomotive was named after the engineer, John SmeatonJohn SmeatonJohn Smeaton, FRS, was an English civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbours and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist...
.- Stephenson (1863 - 1878)
- This locomotive was named after Robert StephensonRobert StephensonRobert Stephenson FRS was an English civil engineer. He was the only son of George Stephenson, the famed locomotive builder and railway engineer; many of the achievements popularly credited to his father were actually the joint efforts of father and son.-Early life :He was born on the 16th of...
.- Telford (1863 - 1879)
- This locomotive was named after the engineer, Thomas TelfordThomas TelfordThomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...
.- Trevethick (1863 - 1878)
- This locomotive was named after Richard TrevithickRichard TrevithickRichard Trevithick was a British inventor and mining engineer from Cornwall. His most significant success was the high pressure steam engine and he also built the first full-scale working railway steam locomotive...
who built the first working railway locomotives.- Victor Emmanuel (1856 - 1878)
- This locomotive was named after Victor Emmanuel II of ItalyVictor Emmanuel II of ItalyVictor Emanuel II was king of Sardinia from 1849 and, on 17 March 1861, he assumed the title King of Italy to become the first king of a united Italy since the 6th century, a title he held until his death in 1878...
.- Victoria (1856 - 1879)
- On 26 August 1862 Victoria ran away descending towards WeymouthWeymouth railway stationWeymouth railway station is a railway station serving the town of Weymouth, Dorset, England. The station is the terminus of both the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo and the Heart of Wessex Line from and .-History:...
, it crashed through the buffers and ended up in the street outside the station. It was named in honour of Queen VictoriaVictoria of the United KingdomVictoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
.- Watt (1863 - 1880)
- This locomotive was named after James WattJames WattJames Watt, FRS, FRSE was a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer whose improvements to the Newcomen steam engine were fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both his native Great Britain and the rest of the world.While working as an instrument maker at the...
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