The GWR 439 Class, nicknamed the Bicycle Class because of its unusual appearance, was a series of six mixed-traffic engines designed by
Joseph Armstrong for the
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
, and built at
Swindon Works
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.
History
In 1835, Parliament approved the construction of the Great ...
in 1868. The "Bicycles" worked at Northern Division sheds, running between Wolverhampton and Chester.
Design
Numbered in the series 439–444, the running plate of these inside-framed locomotives was raised, without splashers, above each of the large ()
driving wheel
On a steam locomotive, a driving wheel is a powered wheel which is driven by the locomotive's pistons (or turbine, in the case of a steam turbine locomotive). On a conventional, non-articulated locomotive, the driving wheels are all coupled t ...
s, rather giving the impression of bicycle wheels and mudguards.
Rebuilding
Most of the class was renewed at
Wolverhampton railway 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 Staff ...
under
George Armstrong in 1885 and 1886; the renewals were more conventional in appearance, with large splashers, but the class's nickname stuck. At first the renewals also ran on the same routes as their predecessors, though later some were transferred further south.
References
Sources
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{{GWR Locomotives
0439
Standard-gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain
2-4-0 locomotives
1B n2 locomotives
Railway locomotives introduced in 1868