Sir Daniel Gooch, 1st Baronet

Born	24 August 1816
Died	15 October 1889
Nationality	English
Employer	Tredegar Iron Works (apprentice); Robert Stephenson and Company; Vulcan Foundry; Great Western Railway (Locomotive Superintendent 1837–1864; Chairman 1865–1889); Telegraph Construction & Maintenance Company (Chairman)

Sir Daniel Gooch (1816–1889) was a British locomotive engineer and railway chairman who at the age of twenty-one became the first Locomotive Superintendent of the Great Western Railway, serving Isambard Kingdom Brunel's broad-gauge empire from 1837 to 1864, founding Swindon Works, designing the Iron Duke express singles that were arguably the fastest locomotives in the world for a decade, and later returning to the GWR as Chairman for nearly a quarter of a century while also superintending the laying of the first successful transatlantic telegraph cable.

Born at Bedlington, Northumberland on 24 August 1816, the son of a moulder at Bedlington Iron Works, Gooch served apprenticeships at Tredegar Iron Works, at Robert Stephenson and Company in Newcastle, and at the Vulcan Foundry before Brunel appointed him to manage GWR locomotive matters in August 1837 at the extraordinary age of twenty-one. His first task was to bring order to the chaotic collection of experimental broad-gauge locomotives that Brunel's various contractors had supplied, standardising on the Star and Firefly 2-2-2 classes as the GWR's working fleet.

Gooch chose the green-field site at Swindon for the new central locomotive works in 1841 — on the flat plateau midway between London and Bristol, with good rail access and adequate water supply — and the works built its first locomotive, the broad-gauge Great Western, in 1846. The Iron Duke class 4-2-2 singles that followed, with 8 ft driving wheels and a long wheelbase boiler, were among the most powerful and fastest express engines of their era, working the GWR's 'Flying Dutchman' and broad-gauge expresses at average speeds of over 50 mph. Gooch resigned from the GWR locomotive post in 1864 to take up the chairmanship of the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company, which successfully laid the first permanent transatlantic telegraph cable from Brunel's Great Eastern in 1866 — a feat for which he was created a baronet. He returned to the GWR as Chairman in 1865, presiding over the Severn Tunnel's opening in 1886 and the final conversion of the broad gauge in May 1892 — an event he did not quite live to see, dying at Windsor on 15 October 1889.

Biography

Sir Daniel Gooch (1816–1889) was a British locomotive engineer and railwayman who, at the age of 21, became the first Locomotive Superintendent of the Great Western Railway, serving Isambard Kingdom Brunel's broad-gauge empire from 1837 to 1864. He founded Swindon Works in 1842, designed the celebrated Iron Duke and Rover express singles for the broad gauge, and later served as Chairman of the GWR for nearly a quarter of a century.

Gooch was born at Bedlington, Northumberland on 24 August 1816, the son of a moulder at Bedlington Iron Works. He served apprenticeships at Tredegar Iron Works in Monmouthshire, at Robert Stephenson and Company in Newcastle, and at the Vulcan Foundry, before being appointed by Brunel to take charge of GWR locomotive matters in August 1837.

His early years were spent rationalising Brunel's eccentric initial fleet and establishing the Star and Firefly classes as standards. Gooch chose the green-field site at Swindon for the new central works in 1841, its 25 sq mile flat plateau midway between Bristol and Paddington met his needs for a level erecting shop and good rail access. The works built its first locomotive, Great Western, in 1846. The Iron Duke 4-2-2s that followed were arguably the fastest locomotives in the world for several years; their direct successor Rover worked the Flying Dutchman expresses to Bristol at average speeds of 53 mph.

Gooch resigned from the GWR in 1864 to take up the chairmanship of the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company, which laid the first successful transatlantic telegraph cable from the Great Eastern (Brunel's vast iron steamship) in July 1866, work for which he was created a baronet later that year. In 1865 he returned to the GWR as Chairman, an office he held until his death; in this capacity he carried through the Severn Tunnel (opened 1886) and oversaw the difficult conversion of the broad gauge.

He served as Conservative Member of Parliament for Cricklade from 1865 until 1885 and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1871. He died at Clewer Park, Windsor, on 15 October 1889 and was buried in Clewer churchyard. The Iron Duke class survived in broad-gauge service until the gauge's abolition in May 1892.

Locomotives designed

GWR 69 Class — Joseph Armstrong's 1871 GWR standard-gauge 0-6-0 goods class, built at Swindon — a contemporary of the LNWR DX as the GWR's standard heavy-freight engine.
GWR 79 Class — Joseph Armstrong's 1859 GWR standard-gauge 0-6-0 goods class, built at Wolverhampton works.
GWR Bogie Class — Brunel and Gooch's 1846–47 broad-gauge 4-2-2 design with leading 4-wheel bogie, intended for fast passenger work but in practice unsuccessful — the long rigid wheelbase and over-loaded driving axle led to mechanical problems and the small class was rebuilt to other layouts within a few years.
GWR Firefly Class — Daniel Gooch's first design as GWR Locomotive Superintendent — a 62-strong fleet of 2-2-2 broad-gauge express engines built between 1840 and 1842 by seven different contractors to a single set of Gooch drawings, the first true "standard" locomotive class. The Fireflies established the GWR's reputation for fast running on Brunel's broad gauge: prototype Firefly hauled the GWR's record-setting Paddington–Exeter run on 1 May 1844 (194 miles in 4½ hours).
GWR Hercules Class — Gooch's 1842 broad-gauge 0-6-0 goods class for the GWR — the railway's first purpose-built freight engines, built to handle the growing coal and merchandise traffic on the rapidly expanding broad-gauge system.
GWR Iron Duke Class — Daniel Gooch's broad-gauge express 4-2-2 single-driver class for the Great Western Railway, introduced 1846 with prototype Great Western. Twenty-nine engines were built at Swindon and by Rothwell of Bolton between 1846 and 1855 with eight-foot driving wheels, working the principal Paddington–Bristol expresses at average speeds of 53 mph, exceptional for the period. The original class was succeeded by the closely-related Rover Class of the 1870s, and all broad-gauge engines were withdrawn in May 1892 with the abolition of the broad gauge. None survives.
GWR Leo Class — Gooch's 1841 broad-gauge 2-4-0 goods class, an enlargement of the earlier Premier-pattern 2-2-2 with two coupled axles for greater adhesion on growing freight loads. 18 were built between 1841 and 1842 by various contractors and worked GWR broad-gauge goods until rebuilding in the 1860s.
GWR Mercury Class — Daniel Gooch's 1839–41 2-2-2 broad-gauge passenger class, an enlarged version of the Firefly design with 7 ft driving wheels and a longer wheelbase. 22 were built by various contractors and worked GWR express services through the 1840s and 1850s.
GWR Premier Class — Gooch's 1840 broad-gauge 2-2-2 of which only one example was completed at Swindon — the first locomotive to be built at the GWR's new works at Swindon when it opened in 1846. (Six engines had been ordered but only Premier itself was constructed at Swindon, the others being completed at Vulcan Foundry.)
GWR Pyracmon Class — Gooch's 1847 broad-gauge 0-6-0 goods class for the GWR, an improved version of the earlier Hercules design with larger boiler and improved frames. 8 were built and worked broad-gauge freight until 1892.
GWR Rover Class — Gooch's 1871–1888 broad-gauge 4-2-2 express class, built at Swindon — the rebuilt successors of the Iron Duke class singles, the GWR's flagship broad-gauge express engines that worked Paddington–Bristol expresses to the very end of the broad gauge in May 1892. 24 were built; the prototype Iron Duke (later Rover) had been the first.
GWR Sir Daniel Class — Joseph Armstrong's 1866 GWR standard-gauge 2-2-2 class, named after the senior contractor Sir Daniel Gooch (then GWR Chairman). 30 were built at Swindon between 1866 and 1869 and worked GWR standard-gauge expresses; rebuilt as 0-6-0s by Dean in the 1890s and lasted until the early 1900s.
GWR Star Class (broad gauge) — Robert Stephenson & Co.'s 1833–41 2-2-2 broad-gauge passenger class supplied to the Great Western Railway, the GWR's first reliable express engines and the foundation of Daniel Gooch's broad-gauge locomotive policy. Twelve were built; the prototype, also named North Star, hauled the GWR's first scheduled trains in May 1838 and survived in working order until 1871.
GWR Sun Class — Daniel Gooch's 1840 broad-gauge 2-2-2 passenger class for the GWR, a slightly smaller-wheeled (6 ft) version of the Firefly class for use on secondary main-line passenger duties. 21 were built between 1840 and 1842 by various contractors.
GWR Waverley Class — Gooch's 1854 broad-gauge 4-4-0 design for the GWR, built for the South Wales main line — only 6 were built and the class was relatively short-lived as the layout was found unsuited to the GWR's running requirements. Distinct from the later 4-4-0 Waverley (the same name was reused).
South Devon Railway Comet Class — Atmospheric and steam locomotives built for the South Devon Railway in the 1840s — Brunel's atmospheric system used air pressure rather than locomotive haulage, but conventional steam engines including the Comet 4-4-0 were also built when the atmospheric system failed.