Furness Railway 94 class

(Redirected from Furness Railway Class L4)

The Furness Railway 94 class (unofficially classified L4 by Bob Rush), or "Improved Cleator Tanks", were built to haul mineral trains from inland to the blast furnaces on the coast around Workington.

Furness Railway 94 class
‘Improved Cleator Tanks’
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerWilliam Frank Pettigrew
BuilderKitson and Company
Serial number4855–4856, 5042–5043
Build date1912 (2), 1914 (2)
Total produced4
Specifications
Configuration:
 • Whyte0-6-2T
 • UICC1 n2t
Gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Driver dia.4 ft 7+12 in (1.410 m)
Trailing dia.3 ft 8+12 in (1.130 m)
Wheelbase20 ft 8 in (6.3 m)
Length30 ft 0.5 in (9.2 m) (1912)
35 ft 6.5 in (10.8 m) (1914)
Height13 ft 0 in (3.962 m)
Loco weight
  • 1912: 56 long tons 18 cwt (127,500 lb or 57.8 t)
  • 1914: 58 long tons 12 cwt (131,300 lb or 59.5 t)
Fuel typeCoal
Boiler pressure170 psi (1.17 MPa)
Heating surface
  • 1912: 1,016 sq ft (94.4 m2)
  • 1914: 1,246 sq ft (115.8 m2)
CylindersTwo
Cylinder size18 in × 26 in (457 mm × 660 mm)
Career
Operators
ClassFR: 94 class
Numbers
  • 1912: FR: 94–95
  • 1914: FR 92–93
  • → LMS: 11641–11644
Withdrawn1929–1934
DispositionAll scrapped

Variations

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The first two locos, numbers 94 & 95 were fitted with smokebox superheaters, with the smokebox extended to accommodate this and the chimney set far forward.[1] The apparatus was obviously unsuccessful, as a subsequent order for a further two locos, numbers 92 and 93 omitted this, having instead an extended boiler with the frames being extended to accommodate.

The locomotives operated on the northern part of the Furness Railway, particularly on the tracks of the Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway and the Cleator & Workington Junction Railway in the Cleator and Frizington areas.[1] Here they hauled trains of Haemetite Ore over the steep and sharply curved lines linking the mines to the coast.

Numbering

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By 1923 and the grouping of the FR into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway all four engines were still in service, and received the LMS numbers 11641–11644. The locos were withdrawn between 1929 and 1934.

Table of locomotives
Date new FR No. LMS No. Date withdrawn
1912 94 11641 November 1935
1912 95 11642 September 1929
1914 92 11643 August 1934
1914 93 11644 August 1932

References

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  1. ^ a b Peascod, Michael (September 1983). "Kitson radials of the Furness". Railway Modeller. 34 (395). Beer: Peco Publications & Publicity Ltd: 374–375.
  • Baxter, Bertram (1984). Baxter, David (ed.). British Locomotive Catalogue 1825–1923, Volume 4: Scottish and remaining English Companies in the LMS Group. Ashbourne, Derbyshire: Moorland Publishing Company. pp. 221–222.