The
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 ...
(GWR) 4500 Class or Small Prairie is a class of
2-6-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels, six coupled driving wheels and two trailing wheels. This arrangement is commonly called a Prairie.
Overview
The major ...
T
steam locomotive
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 ...
s.
History
They were designed as small mixed traffic locomotives, mainly used on branch lines. The design was based on the earlier
4400 Class, but with larger driving wheels and altered wheel spacing. This gave them extra speed — capable of in service. A total of 75 were built; 55 were built in four batches between 1906 and 1915 and a fifth batch of 20 locos was built in 1924, during
Collett's tenure at
Swindon
Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...
. The first two batches were originally numbered 2161–2190 but were renumbered 4500–4529 during 1912. The first batch (2161–2180) is significant in that it was the last batch of locos built at
Stafford Road Works, Wolverhampton. Of this batch 2168 (as 4507) was the last Wolverhampton-built loco to remain in service with BR, not being withdrawn until 1963. The final two batches built were nos. 4530–4554 in 1913-15 and nos. 4555–4574 in 1924.
The
4575 Class was a later development with larger side tanks.
Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway and Port Talbot Railway
The
Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway
The Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway was a Welsh railway company formed to connect the upper end of the Rhondda Fawr with Swansea, with the chief objective of transporting coal and other minerals to Swansea docks. It was incorporated in 1882, but ...
(R&SBR) had been worked by the GWR since 1 July 1906, although it was not absorbed until 1 January 1922. In April 1907, the GWR sent three new locomotives of the first batch, nos. 2165–7, to the R&SBR; these were given R&SBR numbers 31–33. The
Port Talbot Railway
The Port Talbot Railway and Docks Company (PTR&D) was formed in 1894 to secure the means of bringing minerals, chiefly coal, to the harbour in South Wales. It took over the docks at Port Talbot that had been operated by the Port Talbot Company. ...
(PTR) was absorbed by the GWR on 1 January 1908, but its locomotive fleet remained separate until 1 January 1922. In March 1909, R&SBR nos. 31 and 32 were transferred to the PTR, regaining their GWR numbers 2165 and 2166. These two were returned to the GWR in 1912, being renumbered 4504 and 4505 in December that year. No. 33 was not returned until January 1914, when it was renumbered 4506.
Preservation
Three of the class still exist, two of them survivors from
Woodham Brothers
Woodham Brothers Ltd is a trading business, based mainly around activities and premises located within Barry Docks, in Barry, Wales, Barry, South Wales. It is noted globally for its 1960s activity as a scrapyard (hence its colloquial name of Bar ...
scrapyard
A wrecking yard (Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian English), scrapyard (Irish, British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and ...
in
Barry, Vale of Glamorgan
Barry ( cy, Y Barri; ) is a town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, on the north coast of the Bristol Channel approximately south-southwest of Cardiff. Barry is a seaside resort, with attractions including several beaches and the resurrected Bar ...
,
South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
. All of them have run in preservation.
4555
4555 was bought in working order from British Railways by
Patrick Whitehouse
Patrick Bruce Whitehouse OBE (25 February 1922 – 17 July 1993) was one of the pioneers of railway preservation, when he helped save the Talyllyn Railway in 1951. He also led the restoration to working order of several of Britain's steam locom ...
and fellow
Talyllyn Railway
The Talyllyn Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Talyllyn) is a narrow gauge preserved railway in Wales running for from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1865Drummond 2015, page 17 ...
member Pat Garland, so has never had to be restored. Originally working on the
Dart Valley Railway, she later moved to the
Dartmouth Steam Railway
The Dartmouth Steam Railway, formerly known as the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway, is a heritage railway on the former Great Western Railway branch line between and in Devon, England. Much of the railway's business is from summer touri ...
. She returned to steam in 2020 after having been under a major overhaul since 2014. Currently on a 3-year loan to the East Somerset Railway from March 2020.
4561
This locomotive left Woodham Brothers in September 1975. It is currently undergoing an extensive overhaul on the
West Somerset Railway
The West Somerset Railway (WSR) is a heritage railway line in Somerset, England. The freehold of the line and stations is owned by Somerset County Council; the railway is leased to and operated by West Somerset Railway plc (WSR plc); which is ...
, having been out of service since 1998.
4566
![4566 at Kidderminster](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/4566_at_Kidderminster.jpg)
Currently stored out of service on the
Severn Valley Railway
The Severn Valley Railway is a heritage railway in Shropshire and Worcestershire, England. The heritage line runs along the Severn Valley from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster, following the course of the River Severn for much of its route, and c ...
awaiting an overhaul, this locomotive left Woodham Brothers in August 1970. It returned to service in late 2006 following an overhaul and after several years painted in Great Western green, was repainted into BR unlined black with the early crest for the first time in preservation. It was withdrawn from service in January 2017 following the expiry of her boiler certificate.
It is on display inside the Engine House at Highley until its turn to overhaul comes again.
See also
*
GWR 4400 Class
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 4400 Class was a class of 2-6-2T side tank steam locomotive.
History
They were introduced in 1904 for work on small branch lines. The 4500 class was a later development with larger driving wheels. The 4400s ...
*
GWR 4575 Class
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 4575 Class is a class of 2-6-2T British steam locomotives.
History
They were designed as small mixed traffic branch locomotives, mainly used on branch lines. They were a development of Churchward's 4500 Clas ...
*
List of GWR standard classes with two outside cylinders
George Jackson Churchward created for the Great Western Railway a family of standard classes of locomotive, based on a limited set of shared dimensions and components, and his principles were followed by his successors. Most of these locomotives ...
References
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External links
4400 / 4500 tank classes
{{GWR Locomotives
4500
2-6-2T locomotives
Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain
Railway locomotives introduced in 1906
Mixed traffic locomotives