Crampton locomotive explained

A Crampton locomotive is a type of steam locomotive designed by Thomas Russell Crampton and built by various firms from 1846. The main British builders were Tulk and Ley and Robert Stephenson and Company.

Notable features were a low boiler and large driving wheels. The crux of the Crampton patent was that the single driving axle was placed behind the firebox, so that the driving wheels could be very large. This helped to give this design a low centre of gravity, so that it did not require a very broad-gauge track to travel safely at high speeds. Its wheel arrangement was usually or .

Design variations

Because the single driving axle was behind the firebox, Crampton locomotives usually had outside cylinders. However, some inside cylinder versions were built using indirect drive, then known as a jackshaft. The inside cylinders drove a crankshaft located in front of the firebox and the crankshaft was connected to the driving wheels by outside rods. Some long-wheelbase s were also built using this crankshaft system. The boiler feed-pump was often driven from the crankshaft as well because many Cramptons were built before the injector was invented.

Another feature on some Crampton locomotives was the use of a boiler of oval cross-section, to lower the centre of gravity. It was later seen as a major flaw, because the internal pressure would tend to push the boiler into a circular cross-section and increase the risk of fatigue.

Usage

Crampton locomotives were used by some British railways and speeds of up to 120 km/h (75 mph) were achieved on the LNWR. They were more popular in France, southern Germany and the US. In France the expression "prendre la Crampton" meant to catch an express, and in the argot of the Saint Cyr military academy, footplate staff were known as "officiers de Crampton" (and this as late as 1971). One of the French examples has been preserved in the Cité du Train (the French Railway Museum) at Mulhouse and is still in working order. This is number 80 of the Chemin de Fer de l'Est, the Paris-Strasbourg line, which is named "Le Continent".

Locomotive list

The approximate numbers of Crampton-type locomotives built in Europe were:

• Great Britain: 51
• France: 127
• Germany: 135

Manufactured in Great Britain

Built by Tulk and Ley

All were of the wheel arrangement.

Works no.	Date built	Railway	Name/no.	Notes
10	1847	Namur and Liege Railway	Namur
11	1847	Namur and Liege Railway	Liege
	1847	Namur and Liege Railway
12?	1847	London and North Western Railway, Southern Division	200 London
14	1847	Dundee and Perth and Aberdeen Junction Railway	Kinnaird
	1847	Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway	35 Pegasus
	1848	Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway	36 Phlegon
17	1854	Maryport and Carlisle Railway	12

Notes:

Built by Robert Stephenson and Company

Robert Stephenson and Company built a number of Crampton type locomotives for the South Eastern Railway and the London, Chatham and Dover Railway. These were all of wheel arrangement with inside cylinders and indirect drive. The inside cylinders drove a crankshaft located in front of the firebox and the crankshaft was coupled to the driving wheels by outside rods.

Works no.	Date built	Railway	No./Name	Notes
785	1851	South Eastern Railway	134
786	1851	South Eastern Railway	135
787	1851	South Eastern Railway	136 Folkstone
788	1851	South Eastern Railway	137
789	1851	South Eastern Railway	138
790	1851	South Eastern Railway	139
791	1851	South Eastern Railway	140
792	1851	South Eastern Railway	141
793	1851	South Eastern Railway	142
794	1851	South Eastern Railway	143
	1851	Prussian Eastern Railway	England
	1851	Prussian Eastern Railway
	1851	Prussian Eastern Railway
	1851	Prussian Eastern Railway
	1851	Prussian Eastern Railway
	1851	Prussian Eastern Railway
1381	1862	London, Chatham and Dover Railway	Coquette
1382	1862		Echo
1383	1862		Flora
1384	1862		Flirt
1385	1862		Sylph

Notes:

Built by Bury, Curtis, and Kennedy

All except Liverpool which was .

Works no.	Date built	Railway	No./Name	Notes
355	1848	London and North Western Railway, Southern Division	245 Liverpool
?	1848	South Eastern Railway	68
?	1848	South Eastern Railway	69
?	1848	South Eastern Railway	72
?	1848	South Eastern Railway	74
?	1848	South Eastern Railway	75
?	1848	South Eastern Railway	78

Notes:

Built by E. B. Wilson and Company

Works no.	Date built	Railway	Name/no.	Notes
?	1847	North British Railway	55
?	1847	Eastern Counties Railway	108
?	1847	Eastern Counties Railway	109
?	1847	Eastern Counties Railway	110
?	1847	Eastern Counties Railway	111
?	1847	Eastern Counties Railway	112
?	1847	Aberdeen Railway	26
?	1847	Aberdeen Railway	27

Notes:

Built by R and W Hawthorn

Works no.	Date built	Railway	Name/no.	Notes
890	1854	Sjællandske Jernbane Selskab	Roeskilde
891	1854	Sjællandske Jernbane Selskab	Ringsted
892	1854	Sjællandske Jernbane Selskab	Sorø
893	1854	Sjællandske Jernbane Selskab	Slagelse
1006	1858	East Kent Railway	Lake
1007	1858	East Kent Railway	Sondes
1008	1858	East Kent Railway	Faversham
1009	1858	East Kent Railway	Chatham
1010	1858	East Kent Railway	Sittingbourne
1011	1858	East Kent Railway	Crampton

Notes:

Other builders

Builder	Works no.	Date built	Railway	Name/no.	Notes
Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company	53	1846	South Eastern Railway	92
LNWR Crewe Works	?	1847	London and North Western Railway, Northern Division	176 Courier
Kitson and Company	?	1848	Midland Railway	130
Kitson and Company	?	1848	Midland Railway	131
Timothy Hackworth	?	1848	London, Brighton and South Coast Railway	56
Timothy Hackworth	?	1848	London, Brighton and South Coast Railway	58
A. Horlock and Co		1848	Padarn Railway	Fire Queen
A. Horlock and Co		1848	Padarn Railway	Jenny Lind
R. B. Longridge and Company	?	1851	Great Northern Railway	200

Notes:

Manufactured in France

Builder	Works no.	Date built	Railway	Name/no.	Notes
Société Ch.Derosne et Cail	139–150 (12)	1849	Chemins de fer du Nord	122 Crampton to 133 Linné
Société J. F. Cail & Cie	188–199 (12)	1852	Chemins de fer de l'Est	79 Le Globe to 90 L’Amérique
Société J. F. Cail & Cie	219–230 (12)	1853–54	Chemins de fer du Nord	134 Pradier to 145 Van Eyck
Société J. F. Cail & Cie	329–340 (12)	1854		301 to 312
Société J. F. Cail & Cie	387–392 (6)	1855		313 to 318
Société J. F. Cail & Cie	414–429 (16)	1855	Chemins de fer du Nord	146 Alibert to 161 Volney
Société J. F. Cail & Cie	544–555 (12)	1857		319 La France to 330 La Grèce
Société J. F. Cail & Cie	443	1856	Chemin de fer du Nord	162 Alma
Société J. F. Cail & Cie	444	1856	Chemin de fer du Nord	163 Inkerman
Schneider et Cie	196–210 (15)	1856	Chemins de fer de l'Est	174 Eupatoria to 188 Taganrok
André Koechlin et Cie	820–829 (10)	1864	Chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée	31 Sylphie to 40 Moucheron

Notes:

Manufactured in Germany

Builder	Works no.	Date built	Railway	Name/no.	Notes
	?–? (4)	1853	Pfälzische Eisenbahnen	26 to 29
Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft Karlsruhe	?–? (2)	1854	Baden State Railway	67 Adler and 68 Falke
	553	1854	Sjællandske Jernbane Selskab	Thor
	554	1854	Sjællandske Jernbane Selskab	Njord
	555	1854	Sjællandske Jernbane Selskab	Baldur
	556	1854	Sjællandske Jernbane Selskab	Fenris
Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft Karlsruhe	?–? (8)	1854–56	Baden State Railway	69 Comet to 78 Basel
Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft Karlsruhe	?–? (8)	1854–56	Baden State Railway	69 Adler to 78 Falke
	557	1855	Sjællandske Jernbane Selskab	Skirner
	558	1855	Sjællandske Jernbane Selskab	Vidar
	?–? (14)	1855–63	Pfälzische Eisenbahnen	36–41, 46–49, 60–63
	?–? (3)	1856	Baden State Railway	1, 2, and 4
J. A. Maffei	?–? (12)	1857–58	Bayerische Ostbahn	A1 to A12
	424	1858	Sjællandske Jernbane Selskab	H.C. Ørsted
Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft Karlsruhe	?–? (8)	1858–59	Baden State Railway	Rheinfelden to Pfalz
Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft Karlsruhe	?–? (8)	1863	Baden State Railway	Badenia to Offenburg

Notes:

See also

• Long Boiler locomotive
• 6-2-0 for Crampton locomotives in the USA

Sources

• • Book: Bradley, D. L. . 1960 . The Locomotives of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway . .
• Book: Bradley, D. L. . 1963 . The Locomotives of the South Eastern Railway . .
  • • • Book: Sharman, M. . 1983 . The Crampton Locomotive . Oakwood Press . 0-9509067-0-0 .

External links

• The Cité du Train museum