LNWR Cauliflower
Design and development
Webb's standard inside-cylinder 0-6-0 succeeded Ramsbottom's DX class as the LNWR's standard goods engine. With 18 in × 24 in cylinders (giving the unofficial class name) and 5 ft 1 in coupled wheels, the Cauliflower was a simple, robust design built in numbers second only to the DX. The LNWR coat-of-arms on the leading splasher featured prominent vegetation around the shield, and railwaymen — with characteristic irreverence — nicknamed the engines after the vegetable.
Service and withdrawals
Cauliflowers worked LNWR/LMS goods traffic across the system from 1880 until the 1940s. The class was progressively withdrawn through the 1930s and 1940s as more modern 0-6-0s came into service. The last was withdrawn from BR service in 1955, after 75 years' service. None were preserved — a notable absence given how characteristic of late-Victorian goods practice they were.
Identification features
Inside-cylinder 0-6-0 with 5 ft 1 in coupled wheels, parallel boiler with Ramsbottom safety valves on the firebox, brass dome on the front ring of the boiler. The LNWR coat-of-arms transfer on the leading splasher gave the class its name.
Notable locomotives
- Various — none preserved