South Devon Railway Tornado class

The four Tornado class locomotives were 0-6-0ST broad gauge locomotives operated on the South Devon Railway and associated railways. They were designed for goods trains but were also used on passenger trains when required.

Tornado
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Daniel Gooch Builder Vulcan Foundry Serial number 365–366, 401–402
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 0-6-0ST Gauge 7 ft (2,134 mm) Driver dia. 4 ft 9 in (1.448 m) Wheelbase 15 ft 7 in (4.75 m) Cylinder size 17 in × 24 in (432 mm × 610 mm)
Career Operators South Devon Railway Class Tornado

They were ordered by Evans and Geach who were contracted to operate the railway's locomotives. They were designed by Daniel Gooch and based on his Banking Class locomotives built for the Great Western Railway who had previously operated the South Devon Railway, and built by the Vulcan Foundry.

On 1 February 1876 the South Devon Railway was amalgamated with the Great Western Railway, the locomotives were given numbers by their new owners but continued to carry their names too.

Three similar locomotives were built for the Vale of Neath Railway in 1854. Some of these could be found working on the South Devon lines after the 1876 amalgamation.

Locomotives

• Goliah (1855 – 1885) GWR no. 2141

This locomotive was named after a biblical character, Goliath.

• Sampson (1855 – 1884) GWR no. 2142

This locomotive was named after Samson, a biblical character associated with Goliath.

• Tornado (1854 – 1884) GWR no. 2139

On 13 March 1860 Tornado was working a goods train at Totnes when its boiler exploded, killing the driver. It was also notorious for being the locomotive of a runaway china clay train at Burngullow on the Cornwall Railway on 29 October 1872.

A tornado is a kind of wind.

• Volcano (1854 – 1877) GWR no. 2140

A volcano is a mountain that erupts magma.

References

• Reed, P.J.T. (February 1953). White, D.E. (ed.). The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway, Part 2: Broad Gauge. Kenilworth: The Railway Correspondence and Travel Society. ISBN 0-901115-32-0. OCLC 650490992.
• Beck, Keith; Copsey, John (1990). The Great Western in South Devon. Didcot: Wild Swan Publications. ISBN 0-906867-90-8.
• Gregory, R H (1982). The South Devon Railway. Salisbury: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-286-2.
• Rolt, LTC (1971). Red For Danger. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-330-20168-1.
• Waters, Laurence (1999). The Great Western Broad Gauge. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-2634-3.
• Railway company records at The National Archives