LNWR Greater Britain Class
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| LNWR Greater Britain class | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LNWR No. 2053 Greater Britain | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) Greater Britain class was a class of ten 2-2-2-2 steam locomotives designed for express passenger work by F. W. Webb.
The first of the ten locomotives was built in October 1891, and a second followed in May 1893; the remaining eight came from Crewe Works in April and May 1894.
They were three-cylinder compound locomotives: the two outside high pressure cylinders drove the trailing drivers via Howe-Stephenson valve gear, the one inside low pressure cylinder drive the leading drivers via a slip eccentric. There was no connection between the two sets of drivers.
All the locomotives were named; one unusual feature (shared with the John Hick class) was that the names were split over two nameplates, one on each driving wheel splasher. This necessitated the use of two-word names, rather than some of the abbreviated names the LNWR had previously used.
They continued in service until Webb's retirement. His successor, George Whale preferred simple superheated locomotives; consequently they were all scrapped between 1906 and 1907.