TANK LOCOMOTIVE  NORTH LONDON RAILWAY.  1881

We give this week on page 379 a side elevation of a powerful six-coupled tank engine, built the year before last by Mr. J. C. Park, the locomotive superintendent of the North-London Railway, for goods service on that line.

 As will be seen from our engraving, the engine is of the outside-cylinder type. 

In regular daily work the engine hauls the "Poplar Goods" train made up as follows:

2 brake vans..................................... ………20 tons

50 mixed trucks averaging 8 tons each ...400 tons

Total............... ………………………………………420 tons

This load the engine has to take up Highbury bank, which is a gradient partly of 1 in 100 and partly 1 in 87, and the engine can start this train on the bank in all weathers.

It will be seen on reference to our engraving that the engine has a wheel base of 11 ft. 4 in. only, and it passes freely round curves of five chains radius, while from the excellent distribution of the weight it runs very steadily; the wheels are of cast iron with spokes of H section, the pattern being that which has been so extensively and successfully used on the London and North-Western Railway. Each crosshead works on a single guide bar above the piston rod as shown. The bearing surfaces are throughout very large.