GS&WR Class 400

The GS&WR 400 class or CIE class B2 were a class of 4-6-0, built for the Great Southern & Western Railway in the period 1916 to 1923.[1]:235—244[2]

GS&WR Class 400
402 on Special at Kingsbridge (Heuston) in 1938
Type and origin
Power typesteam
DesignerE. A. Watson
Builder
Build date1916—1923
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte4-6-0
Gauge1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Cylinders4 (as built)
2 (as rebuilt)
Career
OperatorsGreat Southern & Western Railway
LocaleIreland
Dispositionscrapped
Details for engine 400 as built.[1]:235—244

Design

The 400 class was a 4-cylinder 4-6-0 steam locomotive, these, the only 4 cylindered locomotives in Ireland, were not a success. Ten were built, but were considered unreliable, and the majority were rebuilt as two cylinder machines in the late 1920s, although the last to be rebuilt was 407, as late as 1937.[1]:235—244

Livery

These locomotives were originally given a black livery, typical of the GS&WR at the time. When the GS&WR, along with several other companies formed to make the GSR, these locomotives were given the GSR Battleship grey livery. In the CIE days, they carried either the GSR grey or the new CIE green, identical to the livery on No.800 Meadbh, although a "Flying snail" should be on the tender, rather than the (incorrect) GSR lettering.

Rebuilding

Due to their unreliability, the class was completely rebuilt, par three, which were scrapped. When the locomotives were rebuilt they became two cylinder machines, and the majority had split footplates, none looked were completely alike to another.[1]:235—244 For example, No. 401 had a split footplate, while No. 402 had a flush footplate. No. 406 had a flush footplate a far as its cylinders, as the cylinders were higher than the rest of the footplate, they proved far more reliable after their rebuilding, and gave many good years of service to the GSR and CIE.

Service after rebuilding

The 400s were the largest steam locomotives in Ireland until the building of the GSR Class 800. They mainly worked on the Dublin-Cork mainline, pulling expresses and heavy goods traffic, along with seasonal beet trains. In 1950, the Enterprise Express was extended to Cork, and these locomotives, along with the 800s, and possibly 500s, were entrusted with these runs. After the arrival of the Metropolitan Vickers A and C class Diesels, these locomotives were made more redundant. No.401 and 402 were still in service in 1962, but all were scrapped by 1964.

Model

There is a detailed O Gauge model of engine 404 in the Fry model railway collection. It was originally built by Bassett-Lowke for the British Empire Exhibition.[1]:380

References
  1. Clements, Jeremy; McMahon, Michael (2008). Locomotives of the GSR. Colourpoint Books. ISBN 9781906578268.
  2. Carse, Barry (October 2016). "Coras Iompair Éireann in 1946". Irish Railway Record Society (191). Archived from the original on 29 November 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  • Locomotives of the GSR.
  • Irish railways in color: A Second Glance.
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