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Mr. J.E. McConnell
1851 — Large Bloomers
1852 — Patents
1854 — Small Bloomers
1861 — Class H
Mr. J. Ramsbottom
1859 — Problems
1863 — Samsons
1866 — Newtons
Mr. F.W. Webb
1874 — Precursors
1874 — Precedents
1876 — 2-4-0 Tanks
1879 — 4ft 6in 2-4-2Ts
1882 — Experiments
1884 — Dreadnoughts
1884 — Comp. 4-2-2-0T
1885 — Comp. 2-2-2-2T
1887 — Comp. 2-2-2-2T
1887 — Comp. 2-2-4-0T
1887 — Impr. Precedents
1889 — Whitworths
1889 — Teutonics
1890 — 5ft 6in 2-4-2Ts
1891 — Greater Britains
1894 — John Hicks
1897 — Jubilees
1898 — 5ft 3in 0-6-2Ts
1901 — Alfred the Greats
Mr. G. Whale
1903 — Benbows
1904 — Precursors
1905 — Experiments
1906 — 6ft 4-coupled Ts
1908 — Renowns
Mr. C.J. Bowen Cooke
1910 — George Vs
1910 — Superhtr 4-6-2Ts
1911 — Prince of Wales
1913 — Claughtons
1915 — Prospero
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Large Bloomer Class
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Click on picture
for bigger image.
Photographer unknown
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Vital Statistics |
| Official Name |
Large Bloomer Class |
| Nickname |
|
| Water & Coal Storage |
Tender |
| Water Capacity |
2000 gallons |
| Coal Capacity |
2 tons |
| Wheel Arrangement |
2-2-2 |
| Driven Wheels |
Two: 7ft 0in |
| Carrying Wheels |
Four: LW 4ft 6ins, TW 4ft 0ins |
| Wheelbase |
8ft 4in + 8ft 6in |
| Total Wheelbase |
16ft 10in |
| Boiler |
4ft 2in dia, 11ft 9in long |
| Boiler Pressure |
100 psi (1851), 120 psi (1856), 150 psi (1861) |
| Grate Area |
18 sq ft / 18.9 sq ft |
| Tubes |
186/195, 2⅛ins dia, 12ft long |
| Total Heating Area |
1449 sq ft / 1470 sq ft |
| Cylinders |
Two inside 16in diameter; 22in stroke |
| Weight |
30 tons |
| Designer |
Mr. J.E. McConnell |
| Number in Class |
40 |
| Lifetime |
1851-1888 |
Notes: The design of these engines was copied closely from the Bury, Curtis & Kennedy 6ft 2-2-2 class of 1848, but with plate frames, bigger boilers and 7ft driving wheels. The first twenty were built by Sharp in 1851-1853, and were promptly nicknamed 'Bloomers' during the wild excitement aroused by Mrs Bloomer's advocacy of trousers for women. The name stuck and was adopted officially. To distinguish them from the smaller version of 1854-1861 they later became known as Large Bloomers.
The engines were very successful and another twenty were built in 1861/2: five by Sharp, five by Kitson, and ten at the L&NWR's Wolverton Works.
There were detail differences among the original engines, especially in the boilers. In the 1860s and 1870s most of the class were rebuilt with Crewe boilers containing 178 tubes of 1⅞in diameter. The original tenders had a well below the footplate which contained 500 of the total 2000 gallons of water, but the wells were removed by Crewe; the rebuilt tender contained 1700 gallons and was fitted with water pick-up gear.
All the Large Bloomers were given names in 1872. Scrapping began in 1876, but the longest-lived lasted for 34 years, and the last one went in November 1888. It was the last ex-Southern Division engine on the L&NWR.
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