Dolgoch (locomotive)

Preserved British steam locomotive

Dolgoch

Dolgoch at Tywyn Wharf in 2024

| Type and origin

Power type| Steam
Builder| Fletcher, Jennings & Co.
Serial number| 63[1]
Model| Class Bb
Build date| 1866[1]
Total produced| 1
| Specifications

Configuration:
| ​
• Whyte| 0-4-0WT
Gauge| 2 ft 3 in (686 mm)
Driver dia.| 2 ft 4 in (711 mm)[1]
Wheelbase| 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)[1]
Length| 17 ft 5 in (5.31 m)[1]
Loco weight| 10 long tons 5 hundredweight (11.5 short tons; 10.4 t)[1]
Boiler pressure| 150 lbf/in2 (1.03 MPa)[1]
Cylinders| Two, outside
Cylinder size| 7+5⁄8 in × 16 in (194 mm × 406 mm)[1]
| Performance figures

Tractive effort| 4,236 lbf (18.84 kN)[1]
| Career

Operators| Talyllyn Railway
Numbers| 2
No 2 Dolgoch at Tywyn Wharf station around 1900. The locomotive is carrying the name "Pretoria" Dolgoch in 1951 Dolgoch in 2021

Dolgoch[a] is a narrow gauge 0-4-0WT steam locomotive. It was built by Fletcher, Jennings & Co. and is one of the oldest locomotives still in active service. It was delivered to the Talyllyn Railway in 1866[2][page needed] and continues to run on this railway to this day.

Dolgoch was the only serviceable locomotive on the Talyllyn Railway when it was preserved by volunteers in 1951 and kept the railway running during this time.[3][page needed]

## Design

[edit]

The design is unusual for an 0-4-0. It has a long wheelbase for its gauge and the driving axle is behind the firebox in a layout similar to a Crampton locomotive.[4] This prevents the use of a conventional valve gear layout which is driven from the rear axle. Instead, the Allan valve gear is driven from the leading coupled axle and doubled back to connect to the valve rods. Dolgoch has two water tanks - the main well tank between the frames and a smaller back tank at the rear of the cab.

## History

[edit]

The locomotive was renamed Pretoria between about 1900 and 1914 in celebration of the relief of the township of Pretoria in South Africa by Lord Roberts during the Boer War. It then reverted to the original name Dolgoch.[2] For most of the Railway's life, names were painted only on the North side of the locomotives. Polished brass nameplates have only been carried in preservation.

In early 1945, Dolgoch was sent to the Atlas Foundry in Shrewsbury to be overhauled. At this time the railway's only other locomotive, Talyllyn, was so worn out it could not be safely operated and services on the railway were suspended. Dolgoch returned to service in September 1945, with new displacement cylinder lubricators mounted on each side of the smokebox, a new chimney, repaired inner firebox and a retubed boiler.[5]

Around 1949, Dolgoch's boiler was patched, and on 26 August 1949, Dolgoch cracked its frame in an accident, which resulted in its driver being dismissed from the company. Dolgoch was the only operable locomotive from 1945 until 1952, when Edward Thomas was restored for use.[5]

Between 1954 and 1963, Dolgoch underwent a major overhaul.[1]

## In fiction

[edit]

The fictional locomotive Rheneas in The Railway Series by the Rev. W. Awdry is based on Dolgoch. [6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Welsh pronunciation: [dolgoχ]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "No. 2 'Dolgoch'". Talyllyn Railway. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
2. ^ a b Boyd 1988
3. ^ Rolt 1953
4. ^ "Tank locomotives for the Talyllyn Railways". Engineering. 27 January 1877.
5. ^ a b Quine, Dan (March 2015). "Dolgoch, 1945-1950". Talyllyn News. Talyllyn Railway.
6. ^ "The Awdry Connection". Talyllyn Railway. Retrieved 25 October 2018.

## Bibliography

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dolgoch.

* Boyd, James I.C. (1988). The Talyllyn Railway. WildSwan Publications. ISBN 0906867460.
* Rolt, L.T.C. (1953). Railway Adventure. Constable/David and Charles/Pan.

* v
* t
* e

Talyllyn Railway

Main articles|

* Talyllyn Railway
* Rolling stock
* Stations and halts

Locomotives|

* Talyllyn
* Dolgoch
* Sir Haydn
* Edward Thomas
* Douglas
* Tom Rolt

Locations|

* Tywyn Wharf
* Pendre
* Rhydyronen
* Brynglas
* Dolgoch quarry
* Dolgoch
* Abergynolwyn
* Nant Gwernol
* Bryn Eglwys quarry

People|

* Wilbert Awdry
* David Curwen
* Henry Haydn Jones
* William McConnel
* Tom Rolt
* Sonia Rolt
* James Swinton Spooner
* Patrick Whitehouse

Miscellaneous|

* Corris Railway Grand Tour
* Narrow Gauge Railway Museum
* Great Little Trains of Wales
* Race the Train
* Railway with a Heart of Gold
* Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales

*[WT]: Well tank
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