LNWR "Bloomer" Class
No. 895 Torch in photographic grey livery c.1880
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerJames McConnell
Builder(a.): Sharp, Stewart & Co. (25); Kitson & Co. (5); Wolverton Works (10)
(b.): R and W Hawthorn (7); Vulcan Foundry (4); Wolverton Works (20)
(c.):Wolverton Works (3)
Build date1851–1862
Total produced(a.): 40
(b): 31
(c): 3
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte2-2-2
 • UIC1A1
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Leading dia.(a.): 4 ft 6 in (1.372 m)
(b.): 4 ft 0 in (1.219 m)
(c.): 4 ft 6 in (1.372 m)
Driver dia.(a.): 7 ft 0 in (2.134 m)
(b.): 6 ft 6 in (1.981 m)
(c.): 7 ft 6 in (2.286 m)
Trailing dia.(a.) & (b.): 4 ft 0 in (1.219 m)
(c.): 4 ft 6 in (1.372 m)
Loco weight(a.): 29.5 long tons (30.0 t);
(b.): 23.65 long tons (24.03 t);
(c.): 34.75 long tons (35.31 t)
Boiler pressure100 psi (0.69 MPa) later increased to 150 psi (1.03 MPa)
Heating surface(a.): 1,448.5 sq ft (134.57 m2)
(b.): 1,230 sq ft (114 m2)
(c.): 1,222.8 sq ft (113.60 m2)
CylindersTwo, inside
Cylinder size(a.): 16 in × 22 in (406 mm × 559 mm);
(b.): 16 in × 21 in (406 mm × 533 mm);
(c.): 18 in × 24 in (457 mm × 610 mm)
Valve gearStephenson
Performance figures
Tractive effortvarious between 5,700 lbf (25 kN) and 11,016 lbf (49.00 kN)
Career
OperatorsLNWR Southern Division
Withdrawn1866, 1876–1888
DispositionOriginal locomotives all scrapped. Replica for static display completed 1991. Full-size working engine under construction

Bloomer was a name used to refer to three similar classes of 2-2-2 express passenger locomotives designed by James McConnell for the Southern Division of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). A total of seventy-four were built between 1851 and 1862. The classes were similar in design and layout but differed in dimensions.

History

The name "Bloomer" was at first a nickname, but was quickly adopted officially. The nickname was a topical one in the autumn of 1851 when the first engine arrived on the line, because of the current popular excitement aroused by the appearance of women wearing trousers, as advocated by Mrs Amelia Bloomer. The widespread belief that they were awarded this nickname because they showed more of their wheels than earlier engines makes no sense: most earlier engines on the line had naked wheels.

Another enduring myth is that until 1862 the Bloomers (and other Southern Division engines) were painted vermilion. They were not, although some were painted a very dark plum-red from 1861, before the standard livery reverted to green in the following year, and then changed to black from 1873.

In April 1862, the Southern Division locomotives were renumbered into the all-LNWR series by the addition of 600 to each engine's number.

Apart from two of the 6 ft 6 in engines which were scrapped in 1866, all the Bloomers were given nameplates in 1872; the names awarded were of the usual miscellaneous variety customary on the LNWR.

(a) 7 ft driving wheel Bloomers ('Large Bloomers' from 1862)

Large Bloomer No. 895 Torch at Monument Lane shed in 1877

The design of these was derived from six successful 2-2-2 locomotives supplied to the railway by Bury, Curtis and Kennedy in 1848. McConnell substituted plate frames, provided larger boilers and 7 ft 0 in (2.134 m) driving wheels. The first twenty were built by Sharp, Stewart and Company in 1851–1853. A further twenty examples were built in 1861/2: five by Sharp Stewart & Co., five by Kitson and Company, and ten at the Wolverton railway works of the LNWR.[1]

They were numbered 247–256, 287–296 and 389–408 until 1862, when they were renumbered by the addition of 600, becoming 847 to 1008.

The locomotives were primarily used on express passenger services between London and Birmingham and, from 1860, also from Rugby to Stafford.

During the 1860s and 1870s, most of the class were rebuilt with new (Crewe) boilers; the original 2,000 gallon tenders were reduced to hold 1,700 gallons because of the introduction of water troughs on the main line. Withdrawals took place between June 1876 and November 1888.

Table of locomotives[2]
1854
Southern
Division
No.		MakerSerial
number		Date
built		1862
LNWR
No.		1872
name		Date
scrapped		Notes
247Sharp Brothers677Aug 1851847OdinDec 1878
248Sharp Brothers678Sep 1851848HecateOct 1883
249Sharp Brothers679Sep 1851849AeolusDec 1879Involved in Atherstone collision of 16 Nov 1860 and Easenhall bridge boiler explosion of 4 July 1861
250Sharp Brothers680Sep 1851850ColumbineNov 1881Involved in Harrow collision of 26 Nov 1870
251Sharp Brothers681Oct 1851851ApolloMar 1881
252Sharp Brothers682Oct 1851852BasiliskSep 1879
253Sharp Brothers683Nov 1851853VultureJan 1877
254Sharp Brothers684Nov 1851854DalemainDec 1877
255Sharp Brothers685Dec 1851855SandonDec 1877
256Sharp Brothers686Dec 1851856IngestreJune 1876
287Sharp Brothers700Oct 1852887KnowsleyMay 1882
288Sharp Brothers701Oct 1852888HydraApr 1882
289Sharp Brothers702Nov 1852889CamillaFeb 1884
290Sharp Brothers703Nov 1852890HelvellynMar 1877
291Sharp Brothers704Nov 1852891DukeApr 1883
292Sharp Brothers705Dec 1852892PolyphemusSep 1877
293Sharp Brothers710Dec 1852893HarpyMar 1885Renumbered 1817 in Dec 1884
294Sharp Brothers712Feb 1853894TrenthamApr 1883
295Sharp Brothers713Feb 1853895TorchMar 1887Renumbered 1828 in Dec 1884 and 3050 in Nov 1886
296Sharp Brothers715Feb 1853896DaedalusJuly 1877
399Sharp, Stewart1289Oct 1861999MedusaSep 1887Renumbered 1898 in Dec 1884
400Sharp, Stewart1290Oct 18611000UmpireMar 1885Renumbered 1902 in Dec 1884
401Sharp, Stewart1291Nov 18611001LeviathanDec 1884
402Sharp, Stewart1292Nov 18611002TheseusJune 1882
403Sharp, Stewart1293Nov 18611003TamerlaneMay 1886Renumbered 1905 in Dec 1884
404Kitson & Co.899Sep 18611004LuciferJuly 1883
405Kitson & Co.900Sep 18611005AchillesOct 1884
406Kitson & Co.901Oct 18611006ProserpineOct 1876
407Kitson & Co.902Oct 18611007PresidentDec 1877
408Kitson & Co.903Oct 18611008Rowland HillFeb 1885Renumbered 1907 in Dec 1884
389Wolverton Works—Mar 1862989ArchimedesSep 1887Renumbered 1853 in Dec 1884 and 3071 in Nov 1886
390Wolverton Works—Mar 1862990AlaricJune 1886Renumbered 1881 in Dec 1884
391Wolverton Works—Mar 1862991JapanJan 1882
392Wolverton Works—Mar 1862992StorkNov 1888Renumbered 1882 in Dec 1884 and 3023 in May 1887
393 *Wolverton Works—Apr 1862993BurmahFeb 1881
394 *Wolverton Works—Apr 1862994ArielSep 1884
395 *Wolverton Works—Apr 1862995BriareusSep 1879
396 *Wolverton Works—May 1862996RaglanJune 1882
397 *Wolverton Works—Apr 1862997BaronetJan 1882
398 *Wolverton Works—May 1862998UnaJune 1885Renumbered 1897 in Dec 1884

* Number assigned, but possibly never carried

(b) 6 ft 6 in driving wheels ('Small Bloomers')

Small Bloomer No. 602 at Rugby c. 1868

Eleven smaller examples were built with 6 ft 6 in (1.981 m) driving wheels in 1854 for use on secondary fast main-line trains and branch lines of the Southern Division. These engines were originally intended by McConnell to be a 7 ft-wheel variant of his Patent class, but the design was altered by order of the directors to a smaller version of the successful Bloomers. Like them, the design was closely based on the Bury, Curtis & Kennedy 6 ft single of 1848; McConnell called the Small Bloomer design 'Bury's Improved'.

Seven were built by R and W Hawthorn and four by Vulcan Foundry. A further twenty of this design were built at Wolverton Works between 1857 and 1861.[1] Numbers originally carried were an assortment from 2 to 381, renumbered 602 to 981 in 1862. Two were withdrawn in 1866, but the others were rebuilt between 1868 and 1876; the last one was scrapped in 1887.

Table of locomotives[3]
1854
Southern
Division
No.		1856
Southern
Division
No.		MakerSerial
number		Date
built		1862
LNWR
No.		1872
name		Date
scrapped		Notes
31013Vulcan Foundry358June 1854613—Dec 1866
31114Vulcan Foundry359June 1854614WyreFeb 1879
31215Vulcan Foundry360July 1854615LuneFeb 1883
31317Vulcan Foundry361July 1854617PartridgeJune 1883
31423R. & W. Hawthorn842Apr 1854623MedeaDec 1877
31524R. & W. Hawthorn843Apr 1854624—Dec 1866
31625R. & W. Hawthorn844May 1854625MastodonJuly 1878
31726R. & W. Hawthorn845June 1854626EarlMay 1879
31827R. & W. Hawthorn846June 1854627BulldogAug 1881
31929R. & W. Hawthorn847June 1854629SwanJan 1883
32030R. & W. Hawthorn865July 1854630RibbleFeb 1882
—7Wolverton Works—Aug 1857607InglewoodFeb 1883
—21Wolverton Works—July 1857621BelaFeb 1882
—103Wolverton Works—May 1857703OspreySep 1881
—140Wolverton Works—Aug 1857740St. DavidNov 1886Renumbered 1947 in Nov 1884
—238Wolverton Works—Oct 1857838PetrelMar 1879
—240Wolverton Works—1857840LonsdaleMar 1878
—2Wolverton Works—July 1858602CalibanAug 1881
—165Wolverton Works—Oct 1858765HeraldMar 1885Renumbered 1952 in Nov 1884
—168Wolverton Works—Feb 1858768GlynMar 1884
—180Wolverton Works—Dec 1858780BucephalusAug 1883
—3Wolverton Works—Oct 1859603LangdaleDec 1884Renumbered 1941 in Nov 1884
—66Wolverton Works—Aug 1859666PheasantDec 1877
—117Wolverton Works—May 1859717SwiftSep 1882
—189Wolverton Works—July 1859789CadmusDec 1880
—317Wolverton Works—Jan 1860917NapierJune 1880
—377Wolverton Works—Sep 1861977SultanFeb 1887Renumbered 1954 in Nov 1884
—378Wolverton Works—Oct 1861978MammothFeb 1885Renumbered 1957 in Nov 1884
—379Wolverton Works—Oct 1861979WaspJune 1880
—380Wolverton Works—Nov 1861980VandalMar 1887Renumbered 1816 in Dec 1884 and 3038 in Nov 1886
—381Wolverton Works—Nov 1861981CouncillorJan 1884Renumbered 1925 in Dec 1883

(c) 7 ft 6 in driving wheel (H-class 'Special Bloomers')

Three examples were built by Wolverton Works with 7 ft 6 in (2.286 m) driving wheels together with McConnell’s patented firebox in 1861, which were intended for the fastest expresses. They were heavier than had been planned, so a further two engines, ordered and under construction, were cancelled in February 1862. This led to McConnell’s immediate resignation. The three completed engines (Nos. 372/3/5) went into store, so hardly ran in their original state. One of them (No. 373) was put on show at the 1862 International Exhibition in South Kensington from May to November 1862.

After rebuilding with normal boilers in 1866/7, they worked until withdrawal in 1880 and 1882. Many years later, they were described as "Extra-large Bloomers".

Table of locomotives[4]
Southern
Division
No.		Date
built		1862
LNWR
No.		1865
Duplicate
No.		1871
Capital
No.		1872
Name		1879
Duplicate
No.		Date
scrapped
372Aug 186197211521198Delamere1940Jan 1880
373Nov 186197311551199Caithness1885Mar 1882
375May 186197511661200Maberley1871Mar 1882

Replicas

Replica No. 1009 on a plinth outside Milton Keynes Central Station
LNWR Bloomer No. 670 at Tyseley

An accurate full-size, non-working replica was built, by apprentices, for static display outside Milton Keynes station in 1991. It represented the type as in 1873–76 condition, was numbered '1009' as if to follow the last of the class, 1008, and was named 'Wolverton' to commemorate the Southern Division Works, although no engine was so named on the LNWR. It was taken into Wolverton Works (then owned by Alstom and later by Railcare) in 2006 for renovation and repainting. The renovation was funded and carried out by the various owners of Wolverton works and latterly by Knorr-Bremse RailServices at Wolverton Works. The Wolverton and Greenleys Town Council and the Wolverton Arts and Heritage Society wanted the replica to have a position on Stratford road outside the Railway works but this was not viable and led to much delay in the re-siting the model. On 3 March 2017, the replica was moved to its new home at Milton Keynes Museum.

A full-size working engine as in original Southern Division condition (pre-1862) was begun at Tyseley in 1986 and was 90% completed by 1990. It has never been finished; however, the LNWR Bloomer project was launched in June 2019 in order to complete the locomotive.

References

  1. 1 2 London and North Western Railway Society.
  2. ↑ Jack 2001, p. 248.
  3. ↑ Jack 2001, p. 203.
  4. ↑ Jack 2001, p. 238.
  • Baxter, Bertram (1978). Baxter, David (ed.). British Locomotive Catalogue 1825–1923, Volume 2A: London and North Western Railway and its constituent companies. Ashbourne, Derbyshire: Moorland Publishing Company. ISBN 0-903485-51-6.
  • Jack, Harry (2001). Locomotives of the LNWR Southern Division. Railway Correspondence and Travel Society. ISBN 0-901115-89-4.
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