GWR Leo Class

Leo

Power type	Steam
Designer	Daniel Gooch
Builder	various
Configuration	2-4-0
Gauge	7 ft 0¼ in (2140 mm)
Leading wheel size	3 ft 6 in
Driver size	5 ft 0 in
Wheelbase	12 ft 9 in
Cylinder size	15 in dia × 8 in stroke
Career	Great Western Railway
Class	Leo

The Great Western Railway Leo Class 2-4-0 broad gauge steam locomotives for goods train work. This class was introduced into service between January 1841 and July 1842, and withdrawn between September 1864 and June 1874.

These locomotives were the first for the railway with coupled wheels as they were designed as goods locomotives, but they later found use on passenger trains too. All the class were altered to 24-0ST saddle tanks.

The locomotives were built by three different workshops, each with its own naming convention. The first three came from R and W Hawthorn and Company, who named them after strong animals. The next three were named after volcanoes by Fenton, Murray and Jackson, while the final twelve came from Rothwell and Company carrying the names of the twelve houses of the zodiac.

Locomotives

• Aquarius (1842 - 1870)

Built by Rothwell and Company. It was named after a house of the zodiac, Aquarius.

• Aries (1841 - 1871)

Built by Rothwell and Company. It was named after a house of the zodiac, Aries.

• Buffalo (1841 - 1865)

Built by R and W Hawthorn and Company. It was named after the large animal, the buffalo.

• Cancer (1841 - 1874)

Built by Rothwell and Company. It was named after a house of the zodiac, Cancer.

• Capricornus (1842 - 1870)

Built by Rothwell and Company. It was named after a house of the zodiac, Capricornus.

Along with Pices, this locomotive worked the first train from Totnes to Laira, the temporary terminus of the South Devon Railway at Plymouth on 5 May 1848.

• Dromedary' (1841 - 1866)

Built by R and W Hawthorn and Company. It was named after the camel-like animal, the dromedary.

• Elephant (1841 - 1870)

Built by R and W Hawthorn and Company. It was named after the large animal, the elephant.

• Etna (1841 - 1870)

Built by Fenton, Murray and Jackson. It was named after the volcano, Etna.

• Gemini (1841 - 1866)

Built by Rothwell and Company. It was named after a house of the zodiac, Gemini.

• Hecla (1841 - 1864)

Built by Fenton, Murray and Jackson, on 24 December 181 it was involved in a fatal accident in Sinning Cutting near Reading. It was hauling a so-called "baggage train" consisting of both passenger and goods trucks, when it ran into an earthslip in the cutting, killing eight passengers. It was named after the volcano, Hecla.

• Leo (1841 - 1870)

Built by Rothwell and Company. It was named after a house of the zodiac, Leo.

• Libra (1841 - 1871)

Built by Rothwell and Company. It was named after a house of the zodiac, Libra.

• Pices (1842 - 1874)

Built by Rothwell and Company. It was named after a house of the zodiac, Pices.

Along with Capricornus, this locomotive worked the first train from Totnes to Laira, the temporary terminus of the South Devon Railway at Plymouth on 5 May 1848.

• Sagittarius (1842 - 1871)

Built by Rothwell and Company. It was named after a house of the zodiac, Sagittarius.

Sagittarius worked the first train to Warminster on 9 September 1851.

• Scorpio (1841 - 1872)

Built by Rothwell and Company. It was named after a house of the zodiac, Scorpio.

• Stromboli (1841 - 1870)

Built by Fenton, Murray and Jackson. It was named after the volcano, Stromboli.

• Taurus (1841 - 1870)

Built by Rothwell and Company. It was named after a house of the zodiac, Taurus.

Taurus worked the first South Devon Railway train from Newton to Torquay on the 18 December 1848.

• Virgo (1841 - 1870)

Built by Rothwell and Company. It was named after a house of the zodiac, Virgo.