Hibernia (locomotive)

Hibernia was a steam locomotive designed by Richard Roberts and built in 1834 by Sharp, Roberts and Company of Manchester, the earlier name of the firm that became Sharp, Stewart and Company, for the Dublin and Kingstown Railway. It was the first of three engines ordered from that firm, the others being Britannia and Manchester, while three more were ordered from the Vauxhall foundry of George Forrester and Company at Liverpool. Its vertical cylinders drove through bell cranks. On 9 October 1834 Hibernia hauled eight carriages on the first train to run the whole length of the line carrying members of the public, and on 1 November 1834 Charles Blacker Vignoles claimed a maximum speed of 60 miles per hour over a quarter mile. The design was judged not a great success, because the vertical cylinders pounded the axles, springs and track, and Hibernia was withdrawn after blowing up at Kingstown in 1842.