The company of Andrew Barclay Sons & Co. was known for manufacturing very robust small shunting and narrow-gauge tank locomotives. These engines mostly went to industrial plants, but also to some larger companies. An example of this was the “Alexandra” built in 1901 for the Alexandra (Newport and South Wales) Docks and Railway. It was a six-coupled, standard-gauge shunter and bore the works number 911 from Barclay. It was also described by the Locomotive Magazine as being extremely stable and had a copper firebox, the material of which being manufactured to the quality standards in the production of artillery shells.

Starting in 1882, this Joint Railway operated three tank locomotives with a 2-4-0T wheel arrangement for use in front of passenger trains. These were a standard Beyer, Peacock & Co. design with five and a half foot diameter driving wheels. Number 6 is recorded as later being sold to the Wight Central Railway. In 1884, a slightly larger machine from the same manufacturer followed, bearing the number 8.