The Great Western Railway (GWR) 1500 Class is a class of 0-6-0

pannier tank A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender. Most tank engines also have bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a tender-tank locom ...

steam locomotive. Despite being a GWR Hawksworth design, all ten (nos 1500–1509) were completed under the administration of the

Western Region of British Railways The Western Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right on completion of the "Organising for Quality" initiative on 6 April 1992. The Region consisted principally of ex-Great We ...

in 1949, just after Nationalisation.

Overview

Coming from a railway company with a well-developed standardisation policy, the 15xx was a strange design finale. Unlike almost all their forebears, they had outside cylinders,

Walschaerts valve gear The Walschaerts valve gear is a type of valve gear used to regulate the flow of steam to the pistons in steam locomotives, invented by Belgian railway engineer Egide Walschaerts in 1844. The gear is sometimes named without the final "s", since it ...

, and a very short

wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...

of to go round curves of . Above

footplate A footplate provides the structure on which a locomotive driver and fireman stand in the cab to operate a British or continental European steam locomotive. It comprises a large metal plate that rests on top of the locomotive frame, usually it is ...

level they were very similar to the 9400 class, and shared the same Standard no.10 boiler. The major difference was below the (very small)

, where they resembled the

USATC S100 Class The United States Army Transportation Corps (USATC) S100 Class is a 0-6-0 steam locomotive that was designed for switching (shunting) duties in Europe and North Africa during World War II. After the war, they were used on railways in Austria, ...

that the GWR and other railways had used during the Second World War. Although a sound design, the class had limited usefulness as they were route-restricted by their high weight and were unsuitable for fast running because of their short wheelbase. Largely confined to empty stock workings at

London Paddington station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great W ...

, their lives were short; for example 1509 lasted barely ten years in BR service. Four of the class, 1506 to 1509, were based in Wales, Newport Pill, Ebbw Junction & Cardiff Canton, 1508 was withdrawn from that last shed. Like the

1600 __NOTOC__ In the Gregorian calendar, it was the last century leap year until the year 2000. Events January–June * January 1 – Scotland adopts January 1 as New Year's Day instead of March 25. * January ** Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of T ...

and 9400 classes, their construction now appears to have been of doubtful value. The onset of

dieselisation Dieselisation (US: dieselization) is the process of equipping vehicles with a diesel engine or diesel engines. It can involve replacing an internal combustion engine powered by petrol (gasoline) fuel with an engine powered by diesel fuel, as o ...

and the decline in traffic on the railway network consigned the 1500s to scrap long before they were life-expired. However 1501 has enjoyed regular use at 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 ...

in preservation for far longer than its life in BR ownership.

Preservation

1501 was one of the first of the class to be withdrawn in 1961, but was sold along with 1502 and 1509 to the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...

for use at Coventry Colliery. The three locos were sent to Andrew Barclay Sons & Co., in Kilmarnock, Scotland for overhaul before delivery to the NCB. All three locomotives were purchased in 1970 by the

. Locomotives 1502 and 1509 were used as sources of spares for the restoration of 1501. The remains of 1502 and 1509 were cut up and scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge in October 1970. In 2006 No. 1501's boiler certificate expired and it was withdrawn from traffic. The locomotive was overhauled and steamed again in August 2012 and is now in revenue earning service. It has been repainted in British Railways lined black colour scheme with the early BR emblem on its tanks, a livery not normally used on shunting locomotives but carried by classmates 1501 and 1503 while at Old Oak Common.Severn Valley Railway News Issue 179, Autumn 2012, Pages 8-9

References

* *

External links

1500 Class at the Great Western Archive
(+ details, shed allocations, etc.) {{Authority control 0-6-0PT locomotives

1500 Year 1500 ( MD) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The year 1500 was not a leap year in the Proleptic Gregorian calendar. The year was seen as being especially important by many Christians in Europe, who thought i ...

Railway locomotives introduced in 1949 Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain Shunting locomotives

Overview

Preservation

See also

References

External links