GS&WR 37 Class
4-4-2T No. 317 partially hidden behind a railmotor
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer H. Ivatt / Coey Builder Inchicore Build date 1894 & 1901 Total produced 6
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-4-2T Gauge 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) Leading dia. 3 ft 0 in (910 mm) Driver dia. 5 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,740 mm) Trailing dia. 3 ft 9 in (1,140 mm) Length 34 ft 1+3⁄4 in (10,408 mm) Axle load 12.5 long tons (12.7 t) Loco weight 48.5 long tons (49.3 t) Water cap. 1,130 imp gal (5,100 L; 1,360 US gal) Boiler pressure 160 lbf/in2 (1.10 MPa) Cylinders 2 Cylinder size 16 in × 20 in (406 mm × 508 mm)
Performance figures Tractive effort 9,530 lbf (42.39 kN)
Career Operators GS&WR GSR CIÉ Class C7 (Inchicore) Number in class 6 Numbers 37–38, 317–320 Locale Ireland Withdrawn 1955 Disposition All scrapped
Details for No. 37 as built[1]

The Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR) Class 37 consisted of six 4-4-2T tank engines.^[1] The first two built by locomotive superintendent Henry Ivatt (Snr.) were based on a previous 2-4-0T design by McDonnell, as were some 2-4-2Ts Ivatt produced two years earlier for the Kerry branches.^[2]

Construction

In 1900 Robert Coey, who by then had been promoted Inchicore Railway Works Manager to locomotive superintendent, produced four of a heavier and more powerful 4-4-2T, these were known as Class 27.^[2]

Robert Coey in 1902 produced four more of the lighter class built by Ivatt, these were to be the final passenger tanks built by the GS&WR.^[2]

Design

The Class 37 had a very low 13 long tons 6 cwt (29,800 lb or 13.5 t) maximum axle load enabling a very high route availability. By contrast the Class 27 had a higher maximum axle load 15 long tons 10 cwt (34,700 lb or 15.7 t).^[1]

Service

On the amalgamation to Great Southern Railways in 1925 some of these classes were allocated to the former Dublin and South Eastern Railway (DSER) services to Bray,^[2] where there was a shortage of motive power at least in part due to the ravages of the Irish Civil War. By the 1930s most have been allocated to the Cork local services.^[1]

By 1948 the type was regarded as obsolete but all lasted until the 1950s with the last withdrawn in 1955.^[1]

References