North Star
North Star was an 0-2-2 locomotive built by Robert Stephenson & Co. in 1837 for the Great Western Railway, originally constructed for the New Orleans Railway in the United States but diverted to the GWR when that order fell through. North Star was the first locomotive to haul a passenger train on Brunel's broad-gauge Great Western Railway — on the opening section between Paddington and Taplow in June 1838 — making it one of the most historically significant locomotives in British railway history and the progenitor of the entire GWR broad-gauge express tradition that Gooch would develop over the following two decades.
North Star was a 2-2-2 in its original American configuration but was converted to an 0-2-2 for broad-gauge working, the unusual wheel arrangement reflecting the transition between early locomotive types. The locomotive used the 7 ft 0¼ in broad gauge specified by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the GWR, the track width that Brunel believed would enable faster and smoother running than the standard gauge adopted by Stephenson and the northern railways. North Star demonstrated that broad-gauge express running was indeed notably smooth and fast — it reached speeds of over 40 mph on early trials — and gave the GWR's broad-gauge experiment an impressive start that justified Brunel's bold gauge choice, at least in the short term.
The original North Star was withdrawn in 1871 and broken up, but a full-size working replica was constructed by the GWR in 1923 for the Stockton and Darlington Centenary celebrations and subsequent display. This replica is preserved at STEAM — Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon, and represents the founding moment of the GWR's famous broad-gauge express tradition.
Design and development
Following the success of Rocket at the Rainhill Trials in October 1829, the Liverpool & Manchester Railway placed orders with Robert Stephenson & Co. for a fleet of locomotives capable of working the line on its planned 1830 opening. North Star was one of this first generation of L&MR engines, broadly to the Rocket pattern but progressively refined as construction continued through the early months of 1830.
The 0-2-2 layout — single pair of driving wheels at the front, single pair of carrying wheels at the rear — provided a relatively light but fast locomotive suited to the L&MR's mixed passenger and freight workings.
Service and withdrawals
North Star entered service on the Liverpool & Manchester Railway in 1830 and worked passenger and light freight trains in the railway's early years. Like its sisters, it was rapidly superseded by the more sophisticated Planet-class engines from late 1830 onwards, and was withdrawn during the 1830s. The locomotive has not been preserved.
Identification features
0-2-2 layout with a single pair of driving wheels at the front, twin inclined cylinders at the rear of the boiler, and a tall front-mounted chimney; broadly similar to Rocket but with various Stephenson refinements.
Numbers and names
Named locomotives (outside the listed ranges)
- 0 — North Star
Original broken up 1871; full-size replica built 1923, preserved at STEAM Swindon.
Notable locomotives
- North Star (1830, not preserved)
Allocations and regions
Paddington for GWR broad-gauge main-line express working.
