LNWR Bloomer Class

LNWR "Bloomer" Class

No. 895 Torch in photographic grey livery c.1880

Type and origin Power type Steam Designer James McConnell Builder (a.): Sharp, Stewart & Co. (25); Kitson & Co. (5); Wolverton Works (10) (b.): R and W Hawthorn (7); Vulcan Foundry (4); Wolverton Works (20) (c.):Wolverton Works (3) Build date 1851–1862 Total produced (a.): 40 (b): 31 (c): 3

Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 2-2-2  • UIC 1A1 Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Leading dia. (a.): 4 ft 6 in (1.372 m) (b.): 4 ft 0 in (1.219 m) (c.): 4 ft 6 in (1.372 m) Driver dia. (a.): 7 ft 0 in (2.134 m) (b.): 6 ft 6 in (1.981 m) (c.): 7 ft 6 in (2.286 m) Trailing dia. (a.) & (b.): 4 ft 0 in (1.219 m) (c.): 4 ft 6 in (1.372 m) Loco weight (a.): 29.5 long tons (30.0 t); (b.): 23.65 long tons (24.03 t); (c.): 34.75 long tons (35.31 t) Boiler pressure 100 psi (0.69 MPa) later increased to 150 psi (1.03 MPa) Heating surface (a.): 1,448.5 sq ft (134.57 m2) (b.): 1,230 sq ft (114 m2) (c.): 1,222.8 sq ft (113.60 m2) Cylinders Two, inside Cylinder size (a.): 16 in × 22 in (406 mm × 559 mm); (b.): 16 in × 21 in (406 mm × 533 mm); (c.): 18 in × 24 in (457 mm × 610 mm) Valve gear Stephenson

Performance figures Tractive effort 80%: 30,544 lbf (135.87 kN)

Career Operators LNWR Southern Division Withdrawn 1866–1888 Disposition Original locomotives all scrapped. Replica for static display completed 1991.

Bloomer was a name used to refer to three similar classes of 2-2-2 express passenger locomotives designed by James McConnell for the Southern Division of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). A total of seventy-four were built between 1851 and 1862. The classes were similar in design and layout but differed in dimensions.

The name "Bloomer" was at first a nickname, but was quickly adopted officially. The nickname was a topical one in the autumn of 1851 when the first engine arrived on the line, because of the current popular excitement aroused by the appearance of women wearing trousers, as advocated by Mrs Amelia Bloomer. The widespread belief that they were awarded this nickname because they showed more of their wheels than earlier engines makes no sense: most earlier engines on the line had naked wheels.

Another enduring myth is that until 1862 the Bloomers (and other Southern Division engines) were painted vermilion. They were not, although some were painted a very dark plum-red from 1861, before the standard livery reverted to green in the following year, and then changed to black from 1873.

In April 1862 the Southern Division locomotives were renumbered into the all-LNWR series by the addition of 600 to each engine's number.

Apart from two of the 6 ft 6 in engines which were scrapped in 1866, all the Bloomers were given nameplates in 1872; the names awarded were of the usual miscellaneous variety customary on the LNWR.

The design of these was derived from six successful 2-2-2 locomotives supplied to the railway by Bury, Curtis and Kennedy in 1848. McConnell substituted plate frames, provided larger boilers and 7 ft 0 in (2.134 m) driving wheels. The first twenty were built by Sharp, Stewart and Company in 1851–1853. A further twenty examples were built in 1861/2: five by Sharp Stewart & Co., five by Kitson and Company, and ten at the Wolverton railway works of the LNWR.

They were numbered 247–256, 287–296 and 389–408, until 1862 when they were renumbered by the addition of 600, becoming 847 (etc.) to 1008.

The locomotives were primarily used on express passenger services between London and Birmingham and, from 1860, also from Rugby to Stafford.