The nine Vale of Neath Railway 4-4-0ST locomotives were 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 :...

 4-4-0

4-4-0

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels...

 saddle tank steam locomotives. The first entered service in 1851 and the last was withdrawn in 1872. The Vale of Neath Railway

Vale of Neath Railway

The Vale of Neath Railway was a broad gauge railway line from Neath to Merthyr Tydfil, in Glamorgan, Wales, and also operated the Swansea and Neath Railway which gave it access to the docks at Swansea...

 was amalgamated

Consolidation (business)

Consolidation or amalgamation is the act of merging many things into one. In business, it often refers to the mergers and acquisitions of many smaller companies into much larger ones. In the context of financial accounting, consolidation refers to the aggregation of financial statements of a group...

 into the Great Western Railway

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...

 on 1 February 1865, but the locomotives retained their old numbers.

5 ft 6 in locomotives

• 1 (1851 – 1872)
• 2 (1851 – 1872)
• 3 (1851 – 1872)
• 4 (1851 – 1872)
• 5 (1851 – 1872)
• 6 (1851 – 1872)

The only locomotives on the Vale of Neath Railway in 1851 were these six bogie

Bogie

A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...

 tank locomotives. Built by Robert Stephenson and Company

Robert Stephenson and Company

Robert Stephenson and Company was a locomotive manufacturing company founded in 1823. It was the first company set up specifically to build railway engines.- Foundation and early success :...

, they were smaller-wheeled versions of Daniel Gooch

Daniel Gooch

Sir Daniel Gooch, 1st Baronet was an English railway and transatlantic cable engineer and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1865 to 1885...

's South Devon Railway Comet class

South Devon Railway Comet class

The Comet class were 12 4-4-0 saddle tank broad gauge 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....

 locomotives that were built at the same time by various companies. They were all withdrawn shortly after the Welsh gauge conversion in 1872.

5 ft 0 in locomotives

• 7 (1854 – c.1858)
• 8 (1854 – c.1858)
• 9 (1854 – c.1858)

Three additional bogie tanks were added to the fleet in 1854. With smaller wheels and larger cylinders they were more powerful than the earlier locomotives, but in about 1858 they were converted to 0-6-0STs

Vale of Neath Railway 0-6-0ST locomotives

Vale of Neath Railway 0-6-0ST locomotives were 0-6-0 saddle tank steam locomotives for working the heavy goods traffic on the Vale of Neath Railway and its associated lines in Wales. The first of 13 broad gauge locomotives entered service in 1854 and the last was withdrawn in 1886...

.