Crewe type (locomotive)

'Crewe type' 2-2-2 locomotive 'Columbine'

'Crewe type' 2-2-2 locomotive 'Cornwall' as modified 1858

The Crewe type locomotive was a design of steam locomotive designed by Alexander Allan (locomotive engineer) and William Buddicom during the 1840s. It was widely copied elsewhere, particularly in France.

History

During early 1840s Alexander Allan and William Buddicom of the Grand Junction Railway created the design incorporating inclined outside cylinders and a double frame. It was built due to combat the frequent failure of crank axles on contemporary inside cylinder locomotive designs. The earliest examples were built by Buddicom at Chartreux for the Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest in 1844 where the type became know known as 'Le Buddicom'.^[1]

The first British examples were built by the newly created London and North Western Railway (LNWR) at Crewe Works in 1845, with a 2-2-2 wheel arrangement for passenger classes and 2-4-0 for freight. These designs were widely copied by other railways both in the UK and overseas during the 1850s and 1860s.^[2]

References

1. ^ Hamilton Ellis, Pictorial encyclopaedia of railways, Hamlyn, 1968 pp.51-2.
2. ^ Hamilton Ellis, Some Classic Locomotives, George Allen and Unwin, 1949, pp.19-32.