Listing

0-4-0 Steam locomotive on the Metropolitan's Brill Branch

A delightful photograph taken of an Aveling & Porter 0-4-0 steam loco hauling a mixed cargo on the Metropolitan Railway's Brill Branch, a six mile line completed in 1872. The engine's crew appear to be engaged in a spot of impromptu maintenance. Originally a company that produced agricultural plant, Aveling & Porter moved into the railway field in 1864. Essentially, their locomotives consisted of the mechanical parts of a traction engine fitted with railway wheels. Although inexpensive to run, these machines were very slow in comparison with most other locos, and so were employed for duties where speed was of little importance.