Word.ws English Dictionary

tender-first

tender-first adjective: of a steam locomotive with a tender (a tender locomotive), when it is operating in reverse, with the tender leading.

Adjective

tender-first (not comparable)

  1. (adverbial, also) Of a steam locomotive with a tender (a tender locomotive), when it is operating in reverse, with the tender leading.
    • In spite of their small size and low weight, many technical developments which have proved themselves in main-line service have been incorporated, and a novelty in the 2-6-0-type is a tender cab to improve the conditions of tender-first running.1947 March and April, “L.M.S.R. Locomotive Developments”, in Railway Magazine, page 66
    • For the first time known in over 10 years, a Stanier Pacific travelled the Windermere branch on June 23, when 46255 (12A) was seen at Aikrigg on an early afternoon local; it had to return tender-first as the Windermere turntable could not accommodate it.1962 August, “Motive Power Miscellany: London Midland Region: Central Lines”, in Modern Railways, page 136

Questions about tender-first

What does tender-first mean?
Tender-first means of a steam locomotive with a tender (a tender locomotive), when it is operating in reverse, with the tender leading.
What part of speech is tender-first?
Tender-first is an adjective.

Words near tender-first in the dictionary

  1. tender offers
  2. tender porcelain
  3. tender porcelains
  4. tender years doctrine
  5. tender years doctrines
  6. tender-first
  7. tender-handed
  8. tender-handedly
  9. tender-hearted
  10. tender-heartedly
  11. tender-heartedness

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: tender-first (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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