58 Book of Locomotives 



were to discover that the six-coupler was 

 as useful for express duties as it had been 

 found for goods working. 



It is usual to allow the United States 

 first honours in bringing the six-coupled 

 wheels to express traffic, but it is doubtful, 

 so far as Britain was concerned, whether it 

 was not really the failure of the Webb 

 three-cylinder compounds that led to the 

 adoption of the wheel formula we are 

 considering. 



Had the :< double-singles ): kept their 

 reputation it is practically certain that the 

 two famous classes of six-coupled express 

 goods engines on the North-Western would 

 not have made theirs. Strangely enough, 

 the North-Western were one of the last 

 of the big systems definitely to allot their 

 best express work to the six-coupled 

 machines; on the other hand, Webb cer- 

 tainly had express work in view over the 

 heavy Shap summit, on the northern sec- 

 tion of the main line, when he produced 

 his last batch of 4-6-0 compounds, osten- 

 sibly, for express goods work. 



