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The Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway (DW&WR) Ariel Class[a] refers to seven 2-2-2WT well tank locomotives built by Neilson and Company and introduced in 1865.[3]
In 1864 S. W. Haughton retired as locomotive superintendent of the DW&WR indicating the stress of maintenance of the 30 engines of the DW&WR as a factor, the workload being much greater than in 1849 when he had begun that role for the Dublin and Kingstown Railway (D&KR).[b] His replacement, William Meikle, who himself was to retire with ill-heath within the year faced a pressing need to replace the ageing locomotives in use on the Westland RowtoKingstown and Bray services.[c][5]
Meikle had six tenders for the supply of between six and eight locomotives with Grendon of Drogheda quoting the highest at £2,000 per unit. Neilson and Company won with the cheapest quote of £1,564 and initially supplied six locomotives in 1965. A seventh added at a later date seems to be related to Banshee being exhibited at the 1865 Dublin International Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures.[1][6][d]
The engines were given the name of "supernatural personages": Ariel; Elfin; Kate Kearney;[e] Kelpie; Oberon; Titania; and Banshee.[1]
The locomotives used coal as fuel,[7] as opposed to the earliest D&KR engines which burned coke. They had straight weatherboards and were noted for a generous proportion of brass and copper-topped chimneys. Known to be painted green in the 1870s they were later painted is what was described as "ugly red" and modified with the fitting of cabs and stove-pipe chimneys.[8]
Murray notes the low power design was little better than the prior Burgoyne class.[1]
| External image | |
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| DW&WR Ariel Class | |
 Neilson Locomotive Banshee, the one which appeared in the 1865 Dublin exhibition, in photographic livery Retrieved 18 October 2019 |
They were designed for the Westland RowtoBray coastal commuter route where they operated almost for the majority of their lifetime. Unusually for DW&WR locomotives they bore names rather than numbers though this was consistent practice with the previous practice on the D&KR section for which they were designed.[9]
Ariel was noted as the first to operate over the Dublin Loop Line to Amiens Street and last to be withdrawn.[8][7]
In an incident at Bray Banshee suffered a burst boiler killing both the fireman and driver.[8] The locomotive was repaired and was sold to Fisher and Le Fanu. Oberton and Elfin went to Murphy's Brewery possibly at Bantry and Baltimore respectively.[7]
Murray suggests with their relatively short life and low power they were not a satisfactory investment perhaps evidenced by the fact none were rebuilt and Shepherds almost notes they were likely not successful.[1][3]
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| Belfast and County Down Railway (1846–1948) |
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| Belfast and Northern Counties Railway (1860–1903) |
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| Northern Counties Committee (1903–1949) |
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| Great Northern Railway (1876–1958) |
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| Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway (1875–1957) |
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| Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway (1849–1924) |
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| Dublin and Kingstown Railway (1834–1856) |
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| Dublin and South Eastern Railway (1854–1925) |
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| Great Southern and Western Railway (1845–1924) |
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| Midland Great Western Railway (1847–1924) |
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| Great Southern Railways (1925–1944) |
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| Córas Iompair Éireann (1945–1962) |
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| Tralee and Dingle Light Railway (1891–1953) |
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| Industrial engines |
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