GWR 2800 Class

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GWR 2800 Class
2857 at Kidderminster (36030816474).jpg
GWR 2800 class 2857 in 2017
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Designer George Jackson Churchward
BuilderGWR Swindon Works
Order numberLots 139, 153, 155, 160, 181, 186, 190, 210
Build date1905–1919
Total produced84
Specifications
Configuration:
   Whyte 2-8-0
Gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Leading dia. 3 ft 2 in (0.965 m)
Driver dia.4 ft 7+12 in (1.410 m)
Minimum curve 7 chains (460 ft; 140 m) normal,
6 chains (400 ft; 120 m) slow
Length63 ft 2+14 in (19.26 m)
Width8 ft 11 in (2.718 m)
Height12 ft 11+14 in (3.943 m)
Axle load 17 long tons 5 cwt (38,600 lb or 17.5 t)
(17.5 t; 19.3 short tons) full
Adhesive weight 67 long tons 10 cwt (151,200 lb or 68.6 t)
(68.6 t; 75.6 short tons) full
Loco weight75 long tons 10 cwt (169,100 lb or 76.7 t)
(76.7 t; 84.6 short tons) full
Fuel type Coal
Water cap.3,500 imp gal (16,000 L; 4,200 US gal)
Firebox:
  Grate area27.07 sq ft (2.515 m2)
BoilerGWR Standard No. 1
Boiler pressure225 lbf/in2 (1.55 MPa)
Heating surface:
  Firebox154.78 sq ft (14.380 m2)
  Tubes1,686.60 sq ft (156.690 m2)
Superheater:
  Type4-element or 6-element
  Heating area4-element: 191.8 sq ft (17.82 m2),
6-element: 253.38 sq ft (23.540 m2)
Cylinders Two, outside
Cylinder size 18+12 in × 30 in (470 mm × 762 mm)
Performance figures
Tractive effort 35,380 lbf (157.4 kN)
Career
Operators GWR  » BR
Power classGWR: E
BR: 8F
Numbers2800–2883
Axle load classGWR: Blue
Withdrawn1958–1965
DispositionFive preserved, Two parts donor, remainder scrapped

The Great Western Railway (GWR) 2800 Class is a class of steam locomotive designed in 1903 by George Jackson Churchward. Members of the class have a 2-8-0 wheel arrangement and were produced from 1905 to 1919 for heavy freight work, but members of the class were known to pull passenger trains when necessary. Six locomotives of this class have been preserved. The class was iterated upon by Charles Collett to create the 2884 class, constructed later in 1938.

Contents

Production

The class was designed by George Jackson Churchward for heavy freight work. They were the first 2-8-0 locomotive class in Great Britain. [1]

Prototype

The prototype, originally numbered 97 but later renumbered 2800, appeared in 1903. Construction of the production series commenced in 1905 and continued until 1919. [1] No. 97 was originally outshopped in lined black livery and undertook two years of trials before the type went into production. Initial results suggested that only the front end needed further development and where the boiler of No. 97 was parallel for the first four segments, the production series had the familiar taper boiler. [2] Initially the boiler pressure of the 2-8-0 was set at 200 lbf/in2 (1.4 MPa) with 18-inch (457 mm) diameter cylinders. Tractive effort started out at 29,775 lbf (132.45 kN) but was increased substantially in the production engines by enlarging the cylinder diameter to 18+12 in (470 mm) and raising the steam pressure to 225 lbf/in2 (1.55 MPa). The 8+12 in (216 mm) piston valves were enlarged to 10 in (254 mm).[ citation needed ]

Construction

The most visible difference between No. 97 (the prototype locomotive) and the first of the 1905 production batch was the higher pitch of the boiler (8 ft 2 in or 2.49 m opposed to 7 ft 8+12 in or 2.35 m). At first the prototype was given a 4,000-imperial-gallon (18,000 L; 4,800 US gal) tender but almost without exception the 2800s were harnessed to the 3,500-imperial-gallon (16,000 L; 4,200 US gal) variety throughout their working lives. Superheating was incorporated into the class from 1909 with No. 2808 the first to be retro-fitted. Other modifications centred on improving the weight distribution, altering smokebox lengths and fitting larger diameter chimneys.[ citation needed ]

The 84 2800s were the GWR's principal long haul freight engines throughout the 1920s and 1930s. The only serious problem met with in traffic was with the sealing of the internal steam pipes and beginning in 1934 most of the class had them replaced with outside pipes. This change, along with a side-window cab, were the only notable changes made for the later construction, when a further 83 locomotives were built in just 3 years from 1938, as the 2884 class. [2]

Table of orders and numbers [3]
YearQuantityLot No.Works No.Locomotive numbersNotes
19031139199197Renumbered 2800 in 1912
1905101532096–21052801–2810
1905101552115–21242811–2820
1907101602158–21672821–2830
191151812390–23942831–2835
1912101862436–24452836–2845
1913101902486–24952846–2855
1918–19282102762–27892856–2883

Operation

2818 at Newport High Street in 1963 Newport High Street station geograph-2516537-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg
2818 at Newport High Street in 1963

The 2800 class was particularly used for hauling heavy trains of coal from the South Wales coalfields to the large conurbations served by the GWR, and large numbers of the class were allocated to sheds in South Wales. However, the class was the primary heavy freight locomotive on the GWR, and therefore saw use across the railway network. Due to the variety of freight flows, it was found that individual locomotives could spend extended periods away from their home shed, and a container was added to the left hand valence which carried details of boiler washout dates to ensure that this necessary activity was carried out in a timely manner. [2] There was no differentiation in duties between the original 2800 class of 1905 and the modified 2884 design of the 1930s.

Oil firing

The 2800 class, as constructed, burnt coal as its means of creating and maintaining the fire necessary to heat the water in its boiler. Between 1945 and 1947, coal shortages caused GWR to experiment with oil fired locomotives, as such, 12 of the 2800 class were converted. They were renumbered to the 4800 series, which necessitated re-numbering the entire 4800 class autotanks into the 1400 series. The experiment, encouraged by the Government, was abandoned in 1948 once the extra maintenance costs, and the cost of burning oil instead of coal were realised. [4]

Accidents and incidents

Withdrawal

Table of withdrawals [7]
YearQuantity in
service at
start of year
Quantity
withdrawn
Locomotive numbers
19588462800/1-2/14/20/27.
195978352803-4/8/10-12/15-17/23-26/28-30/32-33/38/40/43/48/63-64/68-70/78/80.
196049492805-6/9/13/21/31/35/37/44/46-47/50/77/81.
196135502819.
196234562834/49/53/55/60/83.
196328742807/18/41-42/45/51-52/54/57-58/61/65-67/71-72/74/82
196410832822/36/39/56/59/62/73/75/79.
19651842876.

Preservation

Six 2800 Class locomotives survive, these being 2807, 2818, 2857, 2859, 2873, 2874, along with nine 2884 class locomotives. One additional survivor was used to provide parts for other projects. Only two members of the class have so far operated in preservation, these being 2807 and 2857. One of the class, No. 2857, briefly operated on the main line in 1985.[ citation needed ]

NumberYear BuiltWithdrawnLocationStatusInside Steam PipesLiveryOwnerImageNotes
2807 Aug 1905Mar 1963 Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Operational, Boiler Ticket Expires: 2033NoGWR Unlined Green, Shirtbutton LogoCotswold Steam Preservation Ltd GWR 2807 Toddington (1).jpg Salvaged from Woodham Brothers in 1981 it was restored to running order at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway.[ citation needed ] It is the oldest survivor of its class in preservation.
2818Dec 1905Oct 1963 Museum of the Great Western Railway Static DisplayYesGWR Unlined Green, Great Western LetteringMuseum of the Great Western Railway GWR 2800 Class No. 2818 at the Swindon Railway Museum - August 2018.jpg Preserved straight from service. Previously part of the National Collection, ownership was transferred to Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon in 2017 and the locomotive moved there in 2018. [8] [9]

Retains inside steam pipes and straight frames.

2857May 1918Apr 1963 Severn Valley Railway Stored Awaiting OverhaulNoGWR Unlined Green, GWR Lettering The 2857 Society Steam Locomotive 2857 (8090249000).jpg See below.
2859May 1918Dec 1964Private Site, Congleton Under Restoration[ as of? ]NoN/APrivate Owner 2859 Llangollen.jpg Moved to Congleton from the Llangollen Railway for restoration in November 2017 following its sale to a private owner. [10]
2873Nov 1918Dec 1964 Dartmouth Steam Railway DismantledYesN/ADartmouth Steam Railway Worcester Rainbow Hill geograph-2926164-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg Currently stored (frames only) at Churston.[ as of? ] To be used as strategic Spares for other Great Western locomotives based on the Dartmouth Steam Railway. At one point in time, the boiler from No. 2873 was intended to be used in a Star Class locomotive, but those plans never materialized. [11]
2874Nov 1918May 1963 Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Under Restoration[ as of? ]YesN/A The 2874 Trust 2874 at Toddington Yard during the 2014 Cotswold Festival of Steam.JPG Under Restoration from scrapyard condition.

2857

2857 working on the Severn Valley Railway. GWR No. 2857 at Arley Railway Station - geograph.org.uk - 5883578.jpg
2857 working on the Severn Valley Railway.

Purchased from Woodham Brothers in May 1974 by the 2857 Society for £5,775, 2857 was later moved by rail to the Severn Valley Railway in August 1975 and steamed for the first time in September 1979 after overhaul.[ citation needed ] As of 2018, the engine is the second oldest of the class to run in preservation, becoming 100 years old in May 2018.

In 1985, during the 150th anniversary celebrations of the Great Western Railway, it took a selection of the Severn Valley Railway's goods wagons to Newport for a Railfreight spectacular event.[ citation needed ] The outward route took the engine via Worcester & Hereford with the return route being via Severn Tunnel Junction, Chepstow & Gloucester. The locomotive appeared in the 2020 film Enola Holmes . [12] [13] [14]

2861

2861, built in 1918, was one of the "Barry Ten". It was broken up for parts at the Llangollen Railway in 2014, and the frames were scrapped. The cylinder and saddle block, along with several other components, are being used in the construction of a new GWR 4700 Class, No. 4709. [15] 2861's boiler was also planned to be used to recreate a Star Class replica. [16]

Models

Hornby Railways manufacture a model of the 28xx in OO gauge.[ citation needed ] Dapol have announced their own OO model, including a website-exclusive model of the preserved 2874. Dapol will make financial contributions to the 2874 Trust based on the sales of the exclusive model. [17]

See also

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Green-Hughes, Evan (October 2010). "The GWR '28XX'". Hornby Magazine. No. 40. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. pp. 70–73. ISSN   1753-2469. OCLC   226087101.
  2. 1 2 3 Beck 1992, pp. 28–29.
  3. Allcock et al. (1968), pp. 29–32.
  4. Griffiths 1987, p. 47.
  5. Anderson, E. P. (26 February 1932). "Great Western Railway" (PDF). Board of Trade via Railways Archive.
  6. Hall, Stanley (1990). The Railway Detectives. London: Ian Allan. p. 101. ISBN   0-7110-1929-0.
  7. Whitehurst (1973), pp. 27–28.
  8. National Railway Museum (11 August 2017). "National Railway Museum transfers 2818 to STEAM" (Press release).
  9. STEAM Museum [@steam_museum] (20 August 2018). "STEAM will be closed to visitors Tues 21 August to accommodate exciting GWR loco moves as No. 2818 moves to STEAM Museum from @Railwaymuseum" (Tweet) via Twitter.[ better source needed ]
  10. Wilcock, David (3 November 2017). "It nearly ended up on Ebay, but after 12 years a buyer is found for Llangollen 2-8-0". Steam Railway. No. 473. Peterborough: Bauer Media. pp. 8–9.
  11. "Churchward '28XX' 2-8-0 No. 2873". Steam Railway. 1 February 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2025 via www.pressreader.com.
  12. Holden, Michael (30 September 2020). "Steam locomotive 2857 and the Severn Valley Railway stars in new Netflix film – Enola Holmes". Rail Advent. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  13. Kinghorn, Barry (2 October 2020). "Enola Holmes was partly filmed at SVR". Worcester News. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  14. Farrington, Dayna (1 October 2020). "Severn Valley Railway stars in Netflix film Enola Holmes". Express & Star . Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  15. "Archive News of the 47XX Rebuild". Great Western Society 47XX Project. Didcot Railway Centre. January 2012. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015.
  16. "Breathing new life into Thornbury Castle — 4709 – The Ultimate British 2–8–0". Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
  17. "New OO Gauge 28xx / 2884 2-8-0 Locomotive Announced".

References