Updated: 16 Dec 2018
More on Neilson locomotives
Locomotives with two, three and four cylinders have been commonplace. Six is unusual, but by no means unique; see the SNCF 160-A-1 Reheat Locomotive. Steam-motor locomotives tend to have a lot of small cylinders; for example the French high-pressure 232.P.1 had no less than eighteen. The record is probably held by the 1934 Bugatti proposal for a 2000HP locomotive with two 4-axle bogies, with each axle driven by an eight-cylinder single-acting steam motor, totalling an impressive 64 cylinders. This project was never built but one of the engines was, and duly tested.
At the other end of the scale, one-cylinder locomotives have been extremely rare, for excellent reasons. A machine with one cylinder on one side would be horribly unbalanced, and there would be the problem of the loco stopping on a dead centre. (ie with the crank at either the three o'clock or nine o'clock position, so that the piston thrust gave no rotational effect)
TREVITHICK'S COALBROOKDALE LOCOMOTIVE: 1802
The great engineer Richard Trevithick's first locomotive had only one cylinder. It was built for him by the Coalbrookdale company, but little is known about it, not least whether or not it actually ran. The only known information is the drawing shown here, preserved at the Science Museum in London. The single horizontal cylinder was enclosed in a return-flue boiler. The axles were mounted directly on the boiler, with no chassis or frame; in view of the extra stresses this would place on a boiler already carrying a very high pressure for the period, this seems to be a bit less than brilliant design.
 | Left: Trevithick's Coalbrookdale locomotive: 1802 |
The giant flywheel was probably designed to smooth out the power impulses from the single cylinder, and possibly also to help carry the locomotive over the dead-centres. If it did get stuck on one of them, no doubt hauling on the flywheel would have got things moving. Note the use of the big central gear to couple the wheels instead of connecting rods, and the unflanged wheels, which run outside the rail flanges.
TREVITHICK'S PEN-Y-DARREN LOCOMOTIVE: 1804
Trevithick's second locomotive was the world's first steam engine acknowledged to run successfully on rails, and it too had only a single horizontal cylinder, embedded inside the boiler. In 1802 Trevithick had built one of his high pressure steam engines to drive a hammer at the Pen-y-Darren Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil. With the help of Samuel Homfray, owner of the Pen-y-darren Ironworks, it was mounted on wheels and turned into a locomotive. In February 1804, the locomotive hauled ten tons of iron, seventy passengers and five wagons from the ironworks at Pen-y-darren to the Merthyr-Cardiff Canal. During the nine mile journey the Penydarren locomotive reached speeds of up to five miles an hour. Trevithick's locomotive employed the very important principle of venting the exhaust steam up the chimney, producing a draught which improved combustion and increased the steam-raising capability of the boiler.
 | Left: Replica of Trevithick's Pen-y-darren locomotive: 1804 |
Note the pipe running along the top of the boiler, conveying exhaust steam from the cylinder to the blast-pipe in the chimney.
Trevithick's Pen-y-darren locomotive only made three journeys. Each time the seven-ton steam engine proved too heavy and broke the cast iron rails, and the project was abandoned. The engine was put up on blocks and reverted to its original of driving hammers.
Looking at the internet, it seems very common for people to put up illustrations of the Coalbrookdale locomotive and label it" Pen-y-darren locomotive". The vital difference is that the Pen-y-darren locomotive had its chimney and firebox at the opposite end from the cylinder and extended slide-bars.
THE NEILSON SINGLE-CYLINDER LOCOMOTIVE
This locomotive design was built by Neilson and Company (a name we have noted before in these pages) in 1857, It was a an 0-4-0 saddle tank with a single cylinder (10" x 16") mounted under the firebox and footplate, driving a horizontal equalising beam that moved in the slots seen at the rear. A patent was granted in 1856.
 | Left: The Nielson one-Cylinder Locomotive |
A number of these locomotives were built for shunting in the collieries and ironworks of Scotland. Presumably the power required for this was modest, and the use of a single cylinder simplified the mechanical arrangements and reduced costs. However the results cannot have been very satisfactory, as the idea failed to catch on.
 | Left: The Neilson one-Cylinder Locomotive |
Two of these engines are said to have operated at the Mouzell haematite mines at Dalton-in-Furness These mines were operated in the 1890's by the Millom & Askham Hematite Iron Co Ltd and were partly served by a railway of nominal 3ft 3�in gauge dating from about 1850. There were six locomotives by Neilson, and at least two of them were of the single cylinder type.
 | Left: The Neilson one-Cylinder Locomotive |
According to the National railway Museum, there is a publication called "Neilson's single cylinder locomotives" by George Alliez, Librarian of the Stephenson Locomotive Society. (published by the Industrial Locomotive Society, undated) This consists of 5 pages and 1 plate. Regrettably there does not seem to be a copy available on the internet. Can anyone help?
IMPROVISED CHINESE SINGLE-CYLINDER LOCOMOTIVE
 | Left: Improvised one-cylinder locomotive: 1881 |
It allegedly combined the boiler of a steam crane with a frame of old iron and discarded wheels, though no sign of its crane heritage can be seen. It looks much more like a converted traction engine. It made its first test run on 9th June 1881. Presumably the problems of starting on a dead centre (and it looks like it's on one now) were solved by hauling on the flywheel. Later it was rebuilt into a working three axle tank locomotive.
It is believed to be the first steam locomotive constructed in China. Wikipedia refers to an early 2' 6" gauge 0-4-0T engine on the Shanghai-Wusong railway, which given the uncertainties of transliteration could be confused with Tangshan-Xugezhuang, but they are not the same. The Kaiping Tramway eventually evolved into China�s first major railway line. See Wikipedia for more on general Chinese railway history.
 | Left: "Rocket of China" as rebuilt |
LEWIN/GUINESS SINGLE-CYLINDER LOCOMOTIVES
 | Left: The two Lewin one-cylinder locomotives: 1877 |
Intriguingly what appears to be a spoked flywheel mounted on a third locomotive is visible immediately behind MALT's brake handle, raising the possibility that Lewin's built other one-cylinder locomotives. HOPS on the left has its lighting-up chimney ready for use, while that on MALT is hinged forwards. The purpose was to give more draught when lighting the fire, as no steam would be avaialble for a blower.
This description is taken from The Engineer for 31 August 1877:
"We illustrate above a pair of small geared locomotives, designed and built at the works of Mr. Stephen Lewin, Poole, Dorset, for Messrs. Guinness and Co., Dublin. The engines are in every respect similar except in name; the pair being shown in order to give both elevations. Each engine has but one cylinder, 6�in. in diameter, and with a stroke of 8in. The motion of the engine is conveyed by steel gearing to the travelling wheels, which are also of cast steel. When running at 280 revolutions per minute the speed of the travelling wheels is six miles per hour. A wrought iron clutch gear is arranged on each engine, so that they can be used for driving other machinery on the premises. The piston, valve rods, and all pins are of steel. The engine is carried on a strong bed-plate, fixed to wrought iron brackets rivetted to the boiler, and suitable provision is made to allow of the expansion of the boiler.
The regulator and other gear are all on the outside, and very easy of access. The boiler is made of Lowmoor and B.B. Staffordshire plate and with double rivetted longitudinal seams. The ordinary working pressure of steam is 140lb. per square inch. At the front end of the engine two buffers are fixed in the ordinary way, but the back or footplate end is made semicircular, and is provided with a radial drawbar, to enable the engine to pass with the wagons round the very sharp curves which are frequently met with on the brewery premises; the sharpest of these is 12ft. radius; the gauge is 22in. There are also several inclines on the line, the steepest being 1 in 30, and up this a load of 16 tons is frequently taken, the engines being capable of pulling a load of about 40 tons on the level.
To suit Messrs. Guinness and Co.'s requirements the foot-plate has been arranged to be easily taken down, so that the engine could be placed in their hoist and lifted to another level. The total width of the engine does not exceed 4ft. over all, and the height, from top of rail to top of chimney, 6ft. and the length with foot-plate removed 8ft. The water is carried in tanks fixed between the frame plates, and the coals in a bunker bolted to the side, as shown in the illustrations."
 | Left: The two Lewin one-cylinder locomotives: 1877 |
Regrettably Lewin's went bankrupt in 1879.
AVELING & PORTER SINGLE-CYLINDER LOCOMOTIVES
The firm of Aveling & Porter are best known as manufacturers of traction engines and steam rollers. In fact, the company became the largest manufacturers of steam rollers in the world. Nevertheless, they also built locomotives, based very much on traction engine technology. Truly thinking outside the firebox.
 | Left: Charles Beadle, coal merchant. 1834- 1926 |
The first "official" Aveling & Porter tramway locomotives were supplied to the Naval Dockyard at Chatham, Kent. The first was No.129, which arrived in February 1865. Five more tramway locomotives were supplied to Chatham Dockyard between 1865 and 1874, thus:
| These locomotives were used for general haulage in the very considerable amount of building work that took place in this period. The unique advantage of these locomotives over conventional railway designs was that when not required for haulage they could stand still with the engine running (by disengaging a clutch) and power could be taken off to drive machinery like stone crushers and grinding mills.In 1866 another Aveling & Porter tramway locomotive was reported as under construction for the Portsmouth dockyard. |
 | Left: Aveling & Porter locomotive in the journal Engineering for 3rd August 1866 |
 | Left: Aveling & Porter one-cylinder locomotive, No 807: 1872 |
 | Left: Aveling & Porter one-cylinder locomotive, No 807: 1872 |
The A&P locomotives had a top speed on the level of 8 miles per hour, (13 km/h) but in service an average of only 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h). One was timed taking 41 minutes to travel roughly 2 miles (3 km) from Quainton Road to Wotton hauling 42 tons. They were noisy and were nicknamed "Old Chainey" by local folk. They were not noted for their reliability, and when pulling a heavy load their front wheels would lift off the track. In 1876 they were supplemented by conventional locomotives bought from the locomotive firm of W. G. Bagnall; presumably these were of an acceptable weight. One of the locomotives (No 807) was sold to the Nether Heyford Brickworks in Northamptonshire, in 1895. It worked there until it was withdrawn from use in 1940; not a bad record for an unconventional design.
 | Left: One of the Aveling & Porter one-cylinder locomotives: date unknown |
 | Left: Aveling & Porter one-cylinder locomotive, No 807: 1936 |
 | Left: Aveling & Porter one-cylinder locomotive, No 807: today |
 | Left: Aveling & Porter one-cylinder locomotive, No 807: today |
Aveling & Porter made a number of steam locomotives, the customers including Chatham, Devonport, and Portsmouth Naval Dockyards. A complete list can be found at lukebridges.co.uk. Sirapite (No 1658) was built in 1906, and can be seen in action on YouTube.
 | Left: Aveling & Porter compound locomotive, No 4399 |
FERGUS: THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE
 | Left: Aveling & Porter locomotive No 9449 "The Blue Circle" |
THE SEDDONVILLE LOCOMOTIVE
Above: Improvised locomotive in New Zealand |
AUSTRALIAN SINGLE-CYLINDER LOCOMOTIVES
I received this message from Martin Hartley:
"There was an example of a one-cylinder locomotive in the 1850's here in Australia. If you get to read a copy of Locomotives of Australia by Leon Oberg you'll see it. Off the top of my head I believe it ran on the Hobson's Bay line, and was constructed from bits of construction wagon, pile driver engine and a locally made boiler. On the first day it ran into the classic problem of single-cylinder engines and managed to find dead-centre. It had to be pushed along by hand a little before it could move under its own steam. This was back in 1854, so it was a good early example of ingenuity."
