BCDR 4-6-4T
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderBeyer, Peacock & Company
Build date1920
Total produced4
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte4-6-4T
 • UIC2′C2′ht
Gauge5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm)
Driver dia.5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[1][lower-alpha 1]
Loco weight81.6 long tons (82.9 t; 91.4 short tons)
Fuel typeCoal
BoilerG8AS
Boiler pressure170 psi (1.17 MPa)
CylindersTwo (outside)
Cylinder size19 in × 26 in (483 mm × 660 mm)
Valve gearWalschaerts
Performance figures
Tractive effort19,340 lbf (86.03 kN)
Career
Operators
Number in class4
Numbers22–25 → 222–225 (UTA)
NicknamesBaltics[2]
Last run1953[3]
[3]

The Belfast and County Down (BCDR) 4-6-4 T were a class of four 6-coupled tank locomotives build by Beyer, Peacock & Company in 1920.[4] Generally reliable and well-liked but with mediocre performance, they spent their lives on the Queen's Quay, Belfast to Bangor until withdrawal in the early 1950s. These were the only class of 4-6-4T wheel arrangement to work in Ireland.

History

At the end of World War I, the BCDR needed more powerful locomotives, and the directors were impressed by the LB&SCR L class express tank engines used on the London to Brighton line. Petterson thus ordered locomotive superintendent R. G. Miller to construct a class of similar engines.[2] When the locomotives arrived in 1920 from Beyer, Peacock & Company they were inherited by Miller's successor Crossthwait. The BCDR locomotives were smaller than their English basis, with 19 in × 26 in (483 mm × 660 mm) cylinders and 5 ft 9 in[lower-alpha 1] driving wheels compared to 22 in × 28 in (559 mm × 711 mm) cylinders and 6 ft 9 in driving wheels.[2] Despite this, at over 81 tons the locomotives were noted for being very heavy.[2]

Numbered 22 to 25, they were allocated to heavy commuter trains on the 12+1⁄4 miles (19.7 km) Belfast Queen's Quay to Bangor line.[5][lower-alpha 2] In service, the class was reliable but performance was mediocre and coal consumption was very high.[2] Boocock has described them as "handsome" and "well-liked" and suggests the problem may have been due to short-travel piston valves rather than drafting.[7]

The BCDR was absorbed into the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) on 3 September 1948, and the class was renumbered 222 to 225.[8][3] Class WT 2-6-4T tank engines were transferred to the Bangor line from summer 1949 and their performance was substantially better, after which they began to replace the BCDR engines.[9] With the introduction of UTA MED diesel railcars, the Bangor line lost all steam working by 1953.[10] Only one worked past 1952,[3] with No. 222 surviving[lower-alpha 3] on the former Northern Counties Committee network with the remainder being withdrawn at Queen's Quay sidings.[9] All were ultimately scrapped in 1956.[9]

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 Patterson & Rowledge claim the driver diameter was 5ft 9in, Bookcock claims 5ft 6in
  2. ↑ There was a trail train to Ballynahinch when they first arrived and one was noted working in the former Northern Counties Committee network c.1953.[6]
  3. ↑ Boocock says No. 222 did not work after 1953 whereas Patterson does not specify a date but his prose suggests a later date.[3][9]

Footnotes

Sources

  • Bairstow, Martin (2007). Railways in Ireland. Vol. Part Two:Belfast and County Down. ISBN 1871944333. OCLC 931393119.
  • Boocock, Colin (1 October 2009). Locomotive Compendium Ireland (First ed.). Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 9780711033603. OCLC 423592044.
  • Patterson, Edward Mervyn (1982) [1958]. Belfast and County Down Railway. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-8306-X. OCLC 16552845.
  • Rowledge, J. W. Peter (1993). Irish Steam Loco Register. Stockport, England: Irish Traction Group. ISBN 9780947773335. OCLC 30815253.
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