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The Great Western Railway (GWR) 7200 Class is a class of 2-8-2T steam locomotive. They were the only 2-8-2Ts built and used by a British railway, [1] and the largest tank engines to run on the Great Western Railway. [1]
Originally, the 4200 class and 5205 class 2-8-0T were introduced for short-haul Welsh coal traffic, but the Stock Market Crash of 1929 saw coal traffic dramatically fall. Built specifically for the short runs of heavy trains in the South Wales Coalfield, Charles Collett took the agreed decision to rebuild some of them with an extended coal carrying capacity and thus greater range and usefulness by adding 4 feet (1.22 m) to the frames, requiring the addition of a trailing wheel set, making them 2-8-2T. [2]
With the work carried out at Swindon Works, the first to be converted was 5275 (lot 266), which returned to traffic numbered 7200 in August 1934. An official photograph of the prototype was taken on 27 July 1934 at the usual site outside 'A Shop' for engine pictures. Nos. 5276–5294 were similarly rebuilt between August and November 1934, becoming 7201–7219, and Nos. 7220–7239 were rebuilt from 5255–5274 between August 1935 and February 1936; with both batches, the rebuilding was not in numerical order, but the new numbers were in the same sequence as the old. Nos. 7240–7253, rebuilt August 1937–December 1939, were selected at random from locomotives numbered in the 4200 series. [3] This last batch of conversions had been authorised on Lot 318. [4]
| Class | Original | Rebuilt | Rebuild date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5205 | 5275 | 7200 | August 1934 |
| 5276 | 7201 | August–November 1934 | |
| 5277 | 7202 | ||
| 5278 | 7203 | ||
| 5279 | 7204 | ||
| 5280 | 7205 | ||
| 5281 | 7206 | ||
| 5282 | 7207 | ||
| 5283 | 7208 | ||
| 5284 | 7209 | ||
| 5285 | 7210 | ||
| 5286 | 7211 | ||
| 5287 | 7212 | ||
| 5288 | 7213 | ||
| 5289 | 7214 | ||
| 5290 | 7215 | ||
| 5291 | 7216 | ||
| 5292 | 7217 | ||
| 5293 | 7218 | ||
| 5294 | 7219 | ||
| 5255 | 7220 | August 1935–February 1936 | |
| 5256 | 7221 | ||
| 5257 | 7222 | ||
| 5258 | 7223 | ||
| 5259 | 7224 | ||
| 5260 | 7225 | ||
| 5261 | 7226 | ||
| 5262 | 7227 | ||
| 5263 | 7228 | ||
| 5264 | 7229 | ||
| 5265 | 7230 | ||
| 5266 | 7231 | ||
| 5267 | 7232 | ||
| 5268 | 7233 | ||
| 5269 | 7234 | ||
| 5270 | 7235 | ||
| 5271 | 7236 | ||
| 5272 | 7237 | ||
| 5273 | 7238 | ||
| 5274 | 7239 | ||
| 4200 [5] | 4239 | 7240 | August 1937–December 1939 |
| 4220 | 7241 | ||
| 4202 | 7242 | ||
| 4204 | 7243 | ||
| 4216 | 7244 | ||
| 4205 | 7245 | ||
| 4234 | 7246 | ||
| 4244 | 7247 | ||
| 4249 | 7248 | ||
| 4209 | 7249 | ||
| 4219 | 7250 | ||
| 4240 | 7251 | ||
| 4210 | 7252 | ||
| 4245 | 7253 |
The final batch of the class were later fitted with newly developed 'Coal Scuttle' bunkers. These bunkers consisted of a higher rivet line increasing the water capacity up to a total of 2,700 gallons allowing the locos to travel longer distances. The bunker was also designed to facilitate the movement of the coal towards the hatch in the cab, however ‘scuttle bunkers’ would only carry 5 tonnes of coal instead of 6. No. 7200 is the only surviving loco of the class to carry one of these unique bunkers.
The 54 rebuilt locos found work in most parts of the GWR system, where their great weight 92 long tons 12 cwt (207,400 lb or 94.1 t) was allowed, although the rebuilt chassis length did get them banned from certain goods yards. Many found work in the home counties, deployed on iron ore and stone trains from Banbury. [6]
On 17 May 1941 No. 7238 ran into a bomb crater. [7]
The first member of the class to be withdrawn was number 7241 in November 1962, whilst the last four engines in traffic served until June 1965. Four of the class were bought by Woodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, and No. 7226 was scrapped there in 1965. [1]
Three locomotives survive, all recovered from Woodham Brothers, though none have yet been returned to operational condition. However, in November of 2020, the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre announced that a major milestone was reached with No. 7200. [8]
| Current Number | Year Built | Withdrawn | Location | Status | Photograph | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7200 | Jul 1926 | Jul 1963 | Buckinghamshire Railway Centre | Under Restoration |  | Left Woodham Brothers, Barry Island in September 1981. 7200 is unique in that it is the only surviving locomotive of the class fitted with the 'coal scuttle' bunker which enabled it to have a greater water carrying capacity than the rest of the class with 'converted' bunkers. On 12 December 2006, the restored rolling chassis of 7200 left the former iron foundry (J Shop) which made the loco the last Great Western locomotive to receive attention at the historic Swindon Works.[ citation needed ] Restoration is slow and ongoing but has made good progress in recent years. |
| 7202 | Aug 1926 | Jun 1964 | Didcot Railway Centre | Under Restoration |  | Left Barry Island in April 1974. |
| 7229 | Mar 1926 | Aug 1964 | East Lancashire Railway | Under Restoration |  | Left Barry Island in October 1984. |
In 2012, Hornby released models of the 7200 class in both the original GWR green and BR black. [9]
The first Locomotives of the Great Western Railway (GWR) were specified by Isambard Kingdom Brunel but Daniel Gooch was soon appointed as the railway's Locomotive Superintendent. He designed several different 7 ft 1⁄4 in broad gauge types for the growing railway, such as the Firefly and later Iron Duke Class 2-2-2s. In 1864 Gooch was succeeded by Joseph Armstrong who brought his standard gauge experience to the workshops at Swindon. To replace some of the earlier locomotives, he put broad gauge wheels on his standard gauge locomotives and from this time on all locomotives were given numbers, including the broad gauge ones that had previously carried just names.
The Great Western Railway 3800 Class, also known as the County Class, were a class of 4-4-0 steam locomotives for express passenger train work introduced in 1904 in a batch of ten. Two more batches followed in 1906 and 1912 with minor differences. They were designed by George Jackson Churchward, who used standard components to produce a four-coupled version of his Saint Class 4-6-0s.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 4200 Class is a class of 2-8-0T steam locomotives.
The GWR 5101 Class or 'Large Prairie' is a class of 2-6-2T steam locomotives of the Great Western Railway.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 5205 Class is a class of 2-8-0T steam locomotives.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 4300 Class is a class of 2-6-0 (mogul) steam locomotives, designed by G.J. Churchward for mixed traffic duties. 342 were built from 1911–1932.
The GWR 5600 Class is a class of 0-6-2T steam locomotive built between 1924 and 1928. They were designed by Charles Collett for the Great Western Railway (GWR), and were introduced into traffic in 1924. After the 1923 grouping, Swindon inherited a large and variable collection of locomotives from historic Welsh railway companies, which did not fit into their standardisation programme. GWR boiler inspectors arrived en masse and either condemned the original locomotives or had them rebuilt. The systematic destruction of many examples of locomotives, most still in serviceable condition, followed, but various were worked alongside 5600 Class.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 2221 Class or County Tank was a class of 4-4-2T steam locomotive, effectively a tank engine version of the 3800 "County" Class 4-4-0 tender locomotives. The two classes had different boilers, standard no 4 for the tender locomotive, and the smaller standard no 2 for the tank. 2230 was fitted with the larger boiler when new, but this was unsuccessful and was quickly altered.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 4575 Class is a class of 2-6-2T British steam locomotives.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 4500 Class or Small Prairie is a class of 2-6-2T steam locomotives.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 2301 Class or Dean Goods Class is a class of British 0-6-0 steam locomotives.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 3150 Class was a class of 2-6-2T side tank steam locomotive.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) GWR 5100 Class was a class of 2-6-2T side tank steam locomotives. It was the first of a series of broadly similar classes used principally for suburban passenger services.
The Taff Vale Railway A class was a class of 0-6-2T steam tank locomotives designed by J. Cameron for mixed traffic work and introduced to the Taff Vale Railway (TVR) in 1914. The A class was an enlarged version of the TVR O4 class designed by Tom Hurry Riches in 1907. The A class was the last new class of locomotive to be introduced on the TVR, which had introduced its first 0-6-2Ts in 1885 ; and, with a total of 58 built, was numerically the largest class of tank locomotive on the TVR.
The GWR 455 Class, also called the "Metropolitan" or "Metro" Tanks, was a series of 140 2-4-0T locomotives built for the Great Western Railway, originally for their London suburban services, including running on the underground section of the Metropolitan Railway, the source of their nickname. Later on the class was seen on many other parts of the GWR system. Sixty "Metro" Tanks were built, from 1868 onwards, during the lifetime of their designer, Joseph Armstrong. His successor William Dean regarded the class so highly that he would add a further 80, the final 20 examples appearing as late as 1899. The "Metros" were all built at Swindon Works, in nine lots of ten or 20 engines each.
The Great Western Railway's 1813 Class was a series of 40 0-6-0T built at Swindon Works in two lots of 20 engines each. No. 1813 was sold to the Pembroke & Tenby Railway in May 1883 becoming No.7 Holmwood, retaining this name after being absorbed by the GWR. Nearly all of these engines spent their lives on the GWR's Southern Division.
The GWR 1854 Class was a class of 0-6-0T steam locomotives designed by William Dean and constructed at the Swindon Works of the Great Western Railway. The class used similar inside frames and chassis dimensions to the 1813 Class of 1882-4. In this they differed from the intervening 1661 Class, which had reverted to the double frames of the Armstrong era. Thus the 1854 Class belongs to the "mainstream" of GWR 0-6-0T classes that leads towards the larger GWR pannier tanks of the 20th century.
The GWR 101 Class consisted of a single experimental 0-4-0T side-tank steam locomotive. It was built at GWR Swindon Works under the direction of George Jackson Churchward in June 1902.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 3901 Class is a class of 2-6-2T steam locomotives rebuilt from class 2301 'Dean Goods' 0-6-0 tender locomotives.
