The GWR 322 Class tank engines comprised six

Great Western Railway 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 ...

outside-framed

steam locomotives A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

, originally built by Beyer, Peacock and Company as 322 class

tender engine A tender or coal-car (US only) is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing its fuel (wood, coal, oil or torrefied biomass) and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, ...

s, and subsequently rebuilt in 1878–85 as saddle tank locomotives by George Armstrong at

Wolverhampton Works Wolverhampton railway works was in the city of Wolverhampton in the county of Staffordshire, England. It was almost due north of the city centre, and is commemorated with a small display of level crossing gates and a plaque. Known as the Staffo ...

Numbering

They were numbered in sequence as 322–327, No. 323 having exchanged numbers with No. 359, No. 325 with No.337, and No. 327 with No. 366.

Rebuilding

From 1918 all apart from No. 324 became pannier tanks, when they were reboilered with

Belpaire firebox The Belpaire firebox is a type of firebox used on steam locomotives. It was invented by Alfred Belpaire of Belgium in 1864. Today it generally refers to the shape of the outer shell of the firebox which is approximately flat at the top and squa ...

es. No. 322 was the only one ever to have a fully enclosed cab.

Use

They were principally stationed in the Birmingham/Wolverhampton area, and at Stourbridge, and including their previous existence as tender engines all ran over a million miles up to their withdrawal between 1921 and 1932.

References

* {{GWR Locomotives 0322 0-6-0ST locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1878 Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain Scrapped locomotives Rebuilt locomotives Freight locomotives