Experiment (locomotive)

Experiment was a steam locomotive designed and built by Richard Roberts in 1833 for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR). The locomotive had vertical cylinders driving via bell cranks.

L&MR 32 Experiment
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerRichard Roberts
BuilderSharp, Roberts and Co.
Build dateFebruary 1833
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte2-2-0
Gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Leading dia.3 ft 6 in (1.067 m)
Driver dia.5 ft 0 in (1.524 m)
CylindersTwo, vertical
Cylinder size13 1⁄3 in × 18 in (339 mm × 457 mm)
Career
OperatorsLiverpool and Manchester Railway
DispositionSold December 1836; later scrapped

History

L&MR No.32[1] Experiment was built in 1833 with vertical cylinders mounted just behind the chimney, driving the wheels via a bell crank. The locomotive also had piston valves. These valves were probably the reason that the design was not a success, rather than the bell crank transmission, which was used successfully in other locomotives.[2] Another reason that the locomotive was not successful was steam leakage from the cylinders.[1] Experiment was withdrawn after a few months.[2]

Three similar locomotives were built for the Dublin and Kingstown Railway.[1] Locomotives to this design were built for the Dundee and Newtyle Railway, but they were soon altered.[2]

References
  1. "Sharp Roberts & Co". Steam Index. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  2. "Curiosities of Locomotive Design". Catskill Archive. Retrieved 5 April 2008.

Sources
  • Baxter, Bertram (1978). Baxter, David (ed.). British Locomotive Catalogue 1825–1923, Volume 2A: London and North Western Railway and its constituent companies. Ashbourne, Derbyshire: Moorland Publishing Company. p. 13. ISBN 0-903485-51-6.
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