Birmingham New Street Station

LNWR Locomotives: lnwrbns_pg438

View of LNWR 2-2-2-0 Dreadnought class No 2064 'Autocrat' as it stands on the up middle road between Platforms 2 and 3 waiting to take forward an incoming train circa 1903. This engine was one of a class of forty compound locomotives built between 1884 and 1888 all with the unusual feature of the inside low pressure cylinder driving the forward set of wheels whilst the outside high-pressure cylinders drove the rear set of wheels. Because the two sets of driving wheels were not connected by coupling rods the apparent 2-4-0 wheel configuration was in fact the highly unusual 2-2-2-0 configuration.

The steam from the boiler passed through the high pressure cylinders and was re-used by passing through the low pressure cylinders. Engines utilising steam twice in providing power were described as compounds. The lack of coupling rods between the wheels was rare and legend has it that because the two sets of cylinders and wheels were independent of each other it wasn't unknown when locomotives started away to see one set rotate forward and the other set rotate backwards. Reality is that there were few instances recorded of this ever happening.

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