GWR 655 Class

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GWR 655 Class
Old GWR 0-6-0PT of 655 class dumped outside Swindon Works, 1947 (geograph 4567852).jpg
2701 outside Swindon Works, 1947
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Designer George Armstrong
Builder Wolverhampton, GWR [1]
Order numberLots: A3, B3, E3 [1]
Serial numberWorks Nos: 563–74, 575–94, 605–24 [1]
Build date1892 (1892)–97 [1]
Total produced52 [1]
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 •  Whyte 0-6-0 ST [1]
Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Driver dia.4 ft 6 in (1.372 m) [2]
Wheelbase 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) + 8 ft 4 in (2.54 m), total 15 ft 6 in (4.72 m) [2]
Frame type
  • Type: Inside
  • Length: 26 ft 6 in (8.08 m) [3]
Axle load
  • (1741) 13 long tons 18 cwt (31,100 lb or 14.1 t)
    14.1 t; 15.6 short tons full [2]
  • (2701) 14 long tons 6 cwt (32,000 lb or 14.5 t)
    14.5 t; 16.0 short tons full [2]
Loco weight
  • (1741) 41 long tons 4 cwt (92,300 lb or 41.9 t)
    41.9 t; 46.1 short tons full [2]
  • (2701) 42 long tons 5 cwt (94,600 lb or 42.9 t)
    42.9 t; 47.3 short tons full [2]
Fuel type Coal
Water cap.1,000 imp gal (4,500 L; 1,200 US gal) [2]
Firebox:​
 • Grate area15.16 sq ft (1.408 m2) [2]
Boiler
  • Barrel: 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m)
  • Outside diameter: 4 ft 2 in (1.270 m)
  • Pitch: 6 ft 4+3⁄4 in (1.949 m) [2]
Boiler pressure140 lbf/in2 (0.97 MPa) [2]
Heating surface:​
 • Firebox103 sq ft (9.6 m2) [2]
 • Tubes1,125 sq ft (104.5 m2) [2]
 • Total surface1,228 sq ft (114.1 m2) [2]
Cylinders Two, inside
Cylinder size
Loco brake Steam [a]
Performance figures
Tractive effort 15,285 lbf (67.99 kN) [2]
Career
OperatorsGWR
Class GWR 655
Numbers655, 767, 1741–50, 1771–90, 2701–20 [1]
LocalePrimarily GWR Northern division [5]
Withdrawn1928 (1928)–50 [6]

Class 655 of the Great Western Railway was a class of 52 0-6-0 ST locomotives designed by George Armstrong and built at the GWR's Wolverhampton Works.

Contents

Design and construction

They were built in three lots between 1892 and 1897:

They were in effect a continuation of the 645 Class, with longer frames though using the same 4 ft 6 in (1,370 mm) wheels and 15 ft 6 in (4.72 m) wheelbase, and they were the last of the larger type of tank engine to be built at Wolverhampton. Pannier tanks were later fitted to all of them, apart from No. 1772, between 1912 and 1930.

Use

They were nearly all Northern Division engines until the 1920s, though later Weymouth had as many as five. Withdrawal started in 1928, but 21 continued into British Railways ownership. Nos. 1782 and 2719 survived until November 1950. [7]

Notes

  1. ↑ Steam brakes with cast iron blocks became standard in the 1870s. [4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 le Fleming 1958, p. E40.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 le Fleming 1958, p. E41.
  3. ↑ le Fleming 1958, p. E5.
  4. ↑ le Fleming 1958, p. E11.
  5. ↑ le Fleming 1958, p. E42.
  6. ↑ le Fleming 1958, pp. E42–E50.
  7. ↑ le Fleming 1958, pp. E33–E35.

Sources

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