DWWR 52

Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway numbers 52 to 54 were a class of three 4-4-2T locomotives designed by William Wakefield for boat trains between Kingstown Pier and Kingsbridge, now Dublin Heuston. At one point they carried the names Duke of Connaught, Duke of Abercorn and Duke of Leinster. Introduced in 1893, they were larger than other types of the time, and were generally well balanced and successful, although a reverse lever could become awkward and even unsafe when worn. Unlike the later Dublin and South Eastern Railway 4-4-2Ts they had no apparent problems on gradients. In 1925 they passed to Great Southern Railways as numbers 458, 460 and 459, class 458 / C3. The last in service, number 460, was withdrawn in 1960, the others having been withdrawn in the preceding decade, and a 1948 report assessed them as quite good heavy passenger engines despite certain inherent troubles.