The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838 with the initial route completed between London and Bristol in 1841. It was engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who chose a broad gauge of 7 ft —later slightly widened to 7 ft 1⁄4 in —but, from 1854, a series of amalgamations saw it also operate 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in standard-gauge trains; the last broad-gauge services were operated in 1892.
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 (GWR) Bogie Class4-4-0ST were broad gauge steam locomotives for passenger train work. The first two locomotives of this class were introduced into service in August/September 1849, with the remainder following between June 1854 and March 1855. All but one were withdrawn between October 1871 and 1873, with the final locomotive being withdrawn in December 1880.
The Great Western Railway Sir Watkin Class were 0-6-0T broad gauge steam locomotives. They were designed for working goods trains through to the underground Metropolitan Railway in London. This class was introduced into service between December 1865 and the last was withdrawn at the end of the GWR broad gauge in May 1892. They were all named after directors and senior officers of the railway.
The Great Western Railway Swindon Class were broad gauge 0-6-0 locomotives built for goods train work. This class entered service between November 1865 and March 1866, and were withdrawn between June 1887 and the end of the GWR broad gauge in May 1892.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 was absorbed. The locomotives were then renumbered 2077-2090; their names were not restored.
Newton Abbot railway station serves the market town of Newton Abbot in Devon, England. It is 214 miles 5 chains (345 km) from London Paddington. The station today is managed by Great Western Railway, who provide train services along with CrossCountry.
The 1361 Class were small 0-6-0ST steam locomotives built by the Great Western Railway at their Swindon Works, England, mainly for shunting in docks and other sidings where track curvature was too tight for large locomotives.
Swindon Works was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1843 in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It served as the principal west England maintenance centre until closed in 1986.
South Devon Railway locomotives were broad gauge locomotives that operated over the South Devon Railway, Cornwall Railway, and West Cornwall Railway in England. They were, at times, operated by contractors on behalf of the railways.
The South Devon Railway 0-4-0 locomotives were small 0-4-0 broad gauge locomotives operated on the South Devon Railway, Cornwall Railway, mainly on the dockside lines around Plymouth.
The Comet class were 12 4-4-0ST broad gauge locomotives operated on the South Devon Railway and associated railways. They were designed for passenger trains on this steep and sharply curved line but were also used on goods trains when required.
The Eagle class were sixteen 4-4-0ST broad gauge locomotives operated on the South Devon Railway (SDR), Cornwall Railway (CR) and associated adjacent railways. They were designed for passenger trains on this steep and sharply curved line but were also used on goods trains when required.
The Gorgon class were six 4-4-0ST broad gauge locomotives operated on the South Devon Railway, Cornwall Railway and West Cornwall Railway. They were designed for passenger trains on this steep and sharply curved line but were also used on goods trains when required.
The two Remus class locomotives were 0-6-0ST broad gauge locomotives operated by the South Devon Railway, England. They were ordered for working goods trains on the West Cornwall Railway but were also used on passenger trains.
Taurus was an 0-6-0ST broad gauge locomotive operated by the South Devon Railway.
The South Devon Railway 2-4-0 locomotives were small 2-4-0T broad gauge locomotives operated on the South Devon Railway, mainly on its branch lines such as that to Ashburton.
The eight Dido class locomotives were 0-6-0ST broad gauge locomotives operated on the South Devon Railway and Cornwall Railway and associated other adjacent railways. They were designed for goods trains but were also used on passenger trains when required.
The ten Buffalo class locomotives were 0-6-0ST broad gauge locomotives operated on the South Devon Railway, Cornwall Railway and West Cornwall Railway. They were designed for goods trains but were also used on passenger trains when required.
The Torbay and Brixham Railway was a 7 ft broad gauge railway in England which linked the Dartmouth and Torbay Railway at Churston railway station, Devon with the important fishing port of Brixham. It was a little over two miles long. Never more than a local branch line, it closed in 1963.
The Flying Dutchman was a named passenger train service from London Paddington to Exeter St Davids. It ran from 1849 until 1892, originally over the Great Western Railway (GWR) and then the Bristol and Exeter Railway. As the GWR expanded, the destination of the train changed to Plymouth and briefly to Penzance.
