4ft Shunter
Vital Statistics |
|
| Official Name |
4ft Shunter |
| Nickname |
? |
| Water & Coal Storage |
Side tanks and Bunker |
| Water Capacity |
420 gallon |
| Coal Capacity |
? tons |
| Wheel Arrangement |
0-4-0 |
| Driven Wheels |
Four 4ft 3in wheels |
| Carrying Wheels |
none |
| Wheelbase |
8ft 0in |
| Boiler |
3ft 0in diameter; 9ft 0in long |
| Boiler Pressure |
120 psi |
| Grate Area |
11 sq.ft. |
| Tubes |
120 |
| Total Heating Area |
415 sq.ft. |
| Cylinders |
Two inside 14in diameter; 20in stroke |
| Weight |
24 tons 14 cwt |
| Designer |
Mr. J. Ramsbottom |
| Number in Class |
20 |
| Lifetime |
1863—1933 |
Introduced in 1863 by Mr. Ramsbottom, this small four-wheeled
saddle tank  was used for shunting . They
were the first class to have
cast-iron H-section spoke driving wheels , later
fitted by Mr. Webb to most goods classes. The chimney had an ornamental
cap and there was no cab, simply a spectacle plate .
Both buffer beams and brake blocks
were of wood. Curiously the right-hand cab side sheet was continuous
and raised so coal could be stored at that side, there being no
bunker in this rudimentary design. Even stranger there was a step
and handrail at the side you could not enter, used by shunting staff
to ‘get a ride’ on the engine.
The Ramsbottom safety
valves had a long lever you could ‘knock off’ but no
cover around the spring to prevent tampering by the enginemen —
if they could increase the pressure power would be raised, but at
risk the boiler could explode catastrophically!
Ten more were built in 1892 (29 years later!), three being
finished as 0-4-2T crane tanks.
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