The Engines of the Great Western Railway

An  8' Gooch single is what most often comes to mind when engines are mentioned.   These colossal engines were not what was first envisioned.  When I K Brunel wrote the first engine Specification it required:

General form and detail to be decided by builder.

Piston speed not to exceed 280 feet per minute at 30 MPH.

Drawbar effort to be at least 800 pounds at 30 MPH

Weight not to exceed 10 and one half tons in working order.

Exactly what Brunel had in mind may never be known.  The specification could have been met by a small engine with a vertical boiler, with the following specs:

Minimum Brunel Requirements

A tiny engine which would tread lightly on the railway .   There were many ways to design sound engines according to this specification but what the GWR got was a collection of engines most often called the freaks:

Hurricane

Lion

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