Power type Steam Total produced 58 | Designer John Cameron Configuration 0-6-2T | |
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Builder Hawthorn Leslie & Co. (27);Nasmyth, Wilson & Co. (12);North British Locomotive Co. (6);Vulcan Foundry (13) Build date 1914–1921, rebuilt 1924 | ||
The Taff Vale Railway A class was a class of 0-6-2T steam tank locomotives designed by J. Cameron and introduced to the Taff Vale Railway in 1914. The A class was an enlarged version of the Taff Vale Railway O4 class designed by Tom Hurry Riches in 1907.
42 of the A class locomotives were rebuilt with taper boilers and superheaters by the Great Western Railway (GWR) and vacuum brakes for passenger working in 1924. All 58 passed to British Railways (BR) in 1948, until the introduction of the BR 82xxx 2-6-2Ts in the mid-1950s, these engines were widely used on passenger workings in the South Wales Valleys.
The first loco withdrawn was 344 in November 1952 from Cardiff Cathays shed. The last seven locos 370, 373, 381, 383, 390, 398 and 402 were withdrawn together in August 1957 from Abercynon shed. None are preserved.
Builders and numbering
The locomotives were built in several batches by Hawthorn Leslie, Nasmyth, Wilson and Company, Vulcan Foundry and North British Locomotive Company. Their GWR/BR numbers were in the range 303-440 but they were not consecutive and were intermingled with other classes.