Locomotives of the Glasgow and South Western Railway

The locomotives of the Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR). The G&SWR had its headquarters in Glasgow with its main locomotive works in Kilmarnock.

Engines inherited from constituent companies

The G&SWR was formed in 1850 from a merger of the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway (GPK&AR) and the Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway (GD&CR). A number of other companies were absorbed by the G&SWR or its predecessors, including the Ardrossan Railway, the Paisley and Renfrew Railway and the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway.

Engines built by the Glasgow and South Western Railway

One notable feature of the G&SWR’s locomotive stock was its aversion to tank engines. Until very late on in the company’s history these were used only when circumstances absolutely demanded it.

Stirling (1853-1866)

See Patrick Stirling

* Glasgow and South Western Railway 95 Class 2-2-2
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 99 Class 0-2-x-2-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 103 Class 0-6-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 105 Class 0-4-2
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 9 Class 0-4-2
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 34 Class 0-4-2
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 2 Class 2-2-2
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 40 Class 2-2-2
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 23 Class 0-4-2
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 46 Class 0-6-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 131 Class 0-4-2
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 52 Class 0-4-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 45 Class 2-2-2
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 58 Class 0-6-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 141 Class 0-4-2

Stirling (1866-1878)

See James Stirling

* Glasgow and South Western Railway 8 Class 2-4-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 75 Class 2-4-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 187 Class 0-4-2
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 65 Class 0-4-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 208 Class 0-4-2
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 6 Class 4-4-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 221 Class 0-4-2
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 113 Class 0-4-0T
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 13 Class 0-6-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 1 Class 0-4-4T

Smellie (1878-1890)

See Hugh Smellie

* Glasgow and South Western Railway 157 Class 2-4-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 22 Class 0-6-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 119 Class 4-4-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 153 Class 4-4-0

Manson (1890-1911)

See James Manson

* Glasgow and South Western Railway 8 Class 4-4-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 306 Class 0-6-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 326 Class 0-4-4T
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 336 Class 4-4-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 14 Class 0-6-0T
* Glasgow and South Western Railway No. 11 4-4-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 160 Class 0-6-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 361 Class 0-6-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 381 Class 4-6-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 240 Class 4-4-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 266 Class 0-4-4T
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 272 Class 0-4-0T
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 18 Class 4-4-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 17 Class 0-6-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 128 Class 4-6-0

Drummond (1911-1918)

See Peter Drummond

* Glasgow and South Western Railway 279 Class 0-6-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 131 Class 4-4-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 137 Class 4-4-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 403 Class 2-6-0
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 45 Class 0-6-2T
* Glasgow and South Western Railway 5 Class 0-6-0T

Whitelegg (1918-1922)

See Robert Whitelegg

* Glasgow and South Western Railway 540 Class 4-6-4T

Numbering and classification

The very first engines of the GPK&AR were named but soon after received numbers. As the GD&CR was always intended to merge with the former its engines were allocated numbers following on from the GPK&AR sequence.

From 1851 new engines were given the numbers of older engines that had been withdrawn from service. Eventually new engines were being allocated the numbers of old engines that were intended for withdrawal but which were still running and so two engines would be running with the same number. In 1878 Hugh Smellie introduced an ‘R’ list to cater for older engines whose number had been allocated to a newer one. Later on Manson used an ‘A’ list system, where the older engine had an ‘A’ added to its number. By 1919 the system was so complicated that there was a complete renumbering of all engines.

Class numbers were the number of the first engine built in the class. Given the policy on numbering this meant that classes with lower numbers could frequently be newer than higher numbered classes.

"See also" LMS locomotive numbering and classification

Liveries

Various shades of green provided the basic colour of the locomotives, with lining in black and white or black and yellow.

Preservation

The G&SWR locomotive stock fell foul of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway policy of standardisation following the grouping. Within ten years nearly 80% had been withdrawn from service and none remained by nationalisation. Only one G&SWR locomotive has survived:

* Glasgow and South Western Railway 5 Class 0-6-0T no. 9. In 1919 this became class 322, no. 324 and in the LMS was no. 16379.

Sold by the LMS in 1934 to a colliery in Denbighshire, and subsequently passing into National Coal Board ownership, it was from that location that it was acquired for preservation [cite book | last = Williams | first = Peter | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Britain's Railway Museums | publisher = Ian Allan Ltd | date = 1974 | location = Shepperton | url = | doi = | id = 0-7110-0565-6] . It is now on display in the Glasgow Museum of Transport.

ources

* Highet, Campbell (1965) "The Glasgow & South-Western Railway", Lingfield: Oakwood Press
* Smith, David L. (1976) "Locomotives of the Glasgow and South Western Railway", Newton Abbot: David & Charles

External links

* [http://www.gswra.org.uk/ The Glasgow & South Western Railway Association]