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) 4700 Class was a class of nine
2-8-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. ...
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, designed by
George Jackson Churchward
George Jackson Churchward (31 January 1857 – 19 December 1933) was an English railway engineer, and was chief mechanical engineer of the Great Western Railway (GWR) in the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1922.
Early life
Churchward was born at ...
. They were introduced in
1919
Events
January
* January 1
** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia.
** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...
for heavy
mixed-traffic work. Although primarily designed for fast freight, the class also sometimes hauled
passenger train
A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...
s, notably heavy holiday expresses in the summer months. They were called "Night Owls" because they were primarily designed to haul goods during the night and that they could be seen simmering in the daylight, awaiting their nocturnal duties.
Background
At the end of the First World War, the running department of the GWR identified the need for a larger version of the successful
GWR 4300 Class
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.
Background
In 1906 Churchward fitted a more powerful Standard No. ...
2-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. ...
incorporating the Swindon No. 1 boiler. They envisaged a smaller version of the successful
Saint class 4-6-0
A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the abse ...
with driving wheels - the intermediate of Churchward's three standard wheel sizes, for express goods trains. However, Churchward preferred a
2-8-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. ...
design for this purpose.
Prototype
The prototype of the new class was built at
Swindon railway works
Swindon railway 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.
History
In 1835 Parliament approved the construction of th ...
in May 1919 (Lot 214) and was the last design by Churchward. It was numbered 4700. According to the
RCTS
The Railway Correspondence and Travel Society (RCTS) is a national society founded in Cheltenham, England in 1928 to bring together those interested in rail transport and locomotives.
Since 1929 the Society has published a regular journal ''The ...
monograph, the design was not successful as built because the No. 1 boiler proved to be inadequate for such a large engine. In May 1921 it was therefore rebuilt with a newly designed and larger Swindon No. 7 boiler. However, according to Cook it was built with a Standard No. 1 boiler as the intended design of a larger boiler, the Standard No. 7, was not yet ready.
Production Series
Eight further locomotives with the larger No. 7 boilers and detail differences were ordered by Churchward in 1921 (Lot 221), but these only appeared after his retirement. These were numbered 4701 to 4708. Although they were mechanically successful locomotives, their large size severely restricted their
route availability and so no more examples were built. Churchward's successor
Charles Collett
Charles Benjamin Collett (10 September 1871 – 5 April 1952) was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Great Western Railway from 1922 to 1941. He designed (amongst others) the GWR's Castle and King Class express passenger locomotives.
Education ...
later rebuilt a Saint Class with wheels to form the
Hall Class which was a far more versatile mixed traffic locomotive. Later, Collett would produce the
Grange Class which was exactly as the traffic department had originally envisaged: a
4-6-0
A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the abse ...
with Standard No. 1 boiler and 5 ft 8 in driving wheels.
The class were originally fitted with tenders but during 1933/4 these were replaced by tenders.
Use
The class were primarily used on fast overnight freight services on the London, Exeter and Plymouth, London-Bristol and London, Birmingham and Wolverhampton routes. In later years they were often used on heavy relief passenger services to the West of England during the summer months.
Accidents and incidents
On 12 November 1958, locomotive No. 4707 was hauling a freight train when it overran signals and was derailed at Highworth Junction,
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 ...
,
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
. A newspaper train collided with the wreckage.
Withdrawal
Withdrawal of the class began in June 1962 with No. 4702, while the last were removed from service in May 1964. As a result of their limited usefulness, the mileages achieved by the class were not exceptional, with No. 4705 recording the greatest at .
Preservation
No members of the class were preserved. However, the
Great Western Society
Didcot Railway Centre is a railway museum and preservation engineering site in Didcot, Oxfordshire, England. The site was formerly a Great Western Railway engine shed and locomotive stabling point.
Background
The founders and commercial backe ...
''4709 Group'' made the decision to create the next locomotive in the sequence, GWR 4709. Supported via a GWS sub-group; the plan was to build it using a mixture of new parts and others recycled from former Barry scrapyard locomotives:
*
GWR 5101 class
The GWR 5101 Class or 'Large Prairie' is a class of 2-6-2T steam locomotives of the Great Western Railway.
History
The 5101 Class were medium-sized tank engines used for suburban and local passenger services all over the Great Western Railw ...
2-6-2T 4115 - six of the eight driving wheels and the frame extension.
*
GWR 2800 class
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 2800 Class is a class of Churchward-designed 2-8-0 steam locomotive.
History
The class was designed by George Jackson Churchward for heavy freight work. They were the first 2-8-0 locomotive class in Great ...
2-8-0 2861 - the cylinder block.
*
GWR 5205 class
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 5205 Class is a class of 2-8-0T steam locomotives.
History 5205 Class
They were designed for short-haul coal trips from coal mines to ports in South Wales. They were based on the 4200 Class which had been int ...
2-8-0T 5227 - the axleboxes, horns and other various components.
*
GWR 4073 Class
The 4073 or Castle Class are 4-6-0 steam locomotives of the Great Western Railway, built between 1923 and 1950. They were designed by the railway's Chief Mechanical Engineer, Charles Collett, for working the company's express passenger trains. ...
4-6-0 7027 ''
Thornbury Castle
Thornbury Castle is a Tudor castle in the place of Thornbury, in Gloucestershire, England, situated next to the parish church of St Mary, founded in the Norman era. Construction was begun in 1511 as a further residence for Edward Stafford, 3rd ...
'' - the boiler.
The plates for the new frames were cut and machined in 2012.
In order to fit within the more restrictive modern
loading gauge
A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and ke ...
, so that it could operate on the main line, the project has changed the plan to use the 2800 cylinder, and has instead had new cylinders designed and cast.
See also
*
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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*
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( (as of 27 April 2006))
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External links
4709 Restoration projectGreat Western Society 47XX Project
{{GWR Locomotives
4700
2-8-0 locomotives
Railway locomotives introduced in 1919
Scrapped locomotives
Freight locomotives
Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain
Mixed traffic locomotives