GWR Swindon Class

Swindon
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerJoseph Armstrong
BuilderGreat Western Railway
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte0-6-0
Gauge7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm)
Driver dia.5 ft 0 in (1.524 m)
Wheelbase15 ft 6 in (4.724 m)
Cylinder size17 in × 24 in (432 mm × 610 mm) dia × stroke
Career
OperatorsGreat Western Railway
ClassSwindon

The Great Western Railway Swindon Class were 14 broad gauge 0-6-0 locomotives built for goods train work. The first entered service in 1866 and the last was withdrawn in 1892. They were sold to the Bristol and Exeter Railway in the 1870s but returned to the Great Western Railway in 1876 when the companies were amalgamated.

History

The locomotives entered service between November 1865 and March 1866, and were withdrawn between June 1887 and the end of the GWR broad gauge in May 1892. The entire class was sold to the Bristol and Exeter Railway between July 1872 and September 1874 and were numbered 96-109, but returned to the GWR when that railway and the B&ER amalgamated on 1 January 1876. The locomotives were then renumbered 2077-2090; their names were not restored. The first locomotives was withdrawn in 1887 but one remained in service until the end of the broad gauge in 1892.

Locomotives

List of locomotives
GWR NameInto serviceSold to B&ERB&ER number1876 GWR numberWithdrawnOrigin of name
BathJan 1866Mar 18741052086Jun 1888Bath is a Georgian city 11+1⁄2 miles (18.5 km) east of Bristol which was reached by the Great Western Railway on 31 August 1840.
BirminghamFeb 1866Aug 18731032084Jun 1889Birmingham, city in the Midlands, which was served by broad gauge trains from 1 October 1851.
BristolDec 1865Jul 18731012082Oct 1888Bristol, the western terminus of the railway.
ChesterMar 1866Apr 1873982079Apr 1887Chester never saw broad gauge trains but was served by the Great Western Railway from 1 September 1854 when it absorbed the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway.
GloucesterMar 1866Jul 18731022083Dec 1891Gloucester was reached over the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway from Swindon on 12 March 1845.
HerefordMar 1866Jul 1872972078Oct 1888Hereford is an English city near the Welsh border, reached on 2 June 1855 by the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway.
LondonDec 1865Jun 18731002081Oct 1888London, the city from where the railway started.
NewportMar 1866May 18741062087Jun 1889Newport is on the South Wales Railway which opened on 18 June 1850.
OxfordFeb 1866Jul 18741082089Dec 1889Oxford, home to many universities, was served by a branch line from Didcot Junction from 12 June 1844.
ReadingFeb 1866May 18741072088May 1892Reading, a large town 35+3⁄4 miles (57.5 km) from London.
ShrewsburyMar 1866Jul 1872962077Feb 1887Shrewsbury never saw broad gauge trains but was served by the Great Western Railway from 1 September 1854 when it absorbed the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway.>
SwindonNov 1865Sep 18741092090Nov 1888Swindon, the town two-thirds of the way along the Great Western Railway, where the company built its workshops.
WindsorJan 1866Apr 1873992080Jan 1889Windsor is the seat of the Royal Family near London and was served by a branch line from Slough that opened on 8 October 1849.
WolverhamptonFeb 1866Feb 18741042085Dec 1889Wolverhampton is in the Midlands and home to the Great Western's Northern Division workshops. It was served by broad gauge trains from 14 November 1854.

References

  1. ↑ Reed, P. J. T. (1953). The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway, Part 2: Broad Gauge. Railway Correspondence and Travel Society. pp. B28–B29. ISBN 0-901115-32-0
  2. ↑ Waters, Laurence (1999). The Great Western Broad Gauge. Ian Allan Publishing. p. 41. ISBN 0-7110-2634-3.
  3. 1 2 Sheppard, Geof (2008). Broad Gauge Locomotives. Southampton: Noodle Books. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-906419-09-7.

Notes

  1. ↑ Shrewsbury was taken out of service by March 1886 for rebuilding but was removed from the stock list in February 1877 without having returned to service.