This 5” gauge District Railway condensing locomotive was built by David Sutcliffe and shown by Paul Hatfield at the 2018 Bristol show. It is a model of one of the Beyer Peacock locos from the early days of the London Underground. Alongside was shown the Metropolitan Line coaches by Guy Harding. The District Line was originally a spin off from the Metropolitan to create an ‘inner circle’ connecting the main London termini.

The 4-4-0 tank loco no 27 was one of the second batch built in 1876. Eventually 54 were built and still in service in 1905 when the line was electrified, but by 1907 all but six of the steam locomotives had been sold. By 1925 two locomotives remained for departmental use.

The 4-4-0 tank locomotives had 16 inches x 20 inches cylinders, 5 feet 01⁄2 inch  diameter driving wheels and weighed 42 ton 3 cwt. Boiler pressure was 120 psi , the front wheels were on a Bissel truck and the bunker was  40 cu ft capacity. As they were used on an underground railway, the locomotives did not need cabs to protect crew from the weather.

To reduce smoke underground, the Metropolitan first used coke but after 1869 this was changed to ‘smokeless’ Welsh coal.