GWR No. 36 was a prototype

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 ...

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 ...

constructed at Swindon Works for 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 ...

in 1896, the first 4-6-0 ever built for the GWR and one of the first in Britain. It was designed by William Dean and le Fleming comments that "the design is unusual and entirely Dean of the later period, including the only large boiler ever built entirely to his ideas."

Design

No. 36 had double frames for the coupled wheels and an outside-frame bogie with wooden-centred wheels; cylinders were 20" x 24". The long boiler and raised round-topped firebox create a harmonious impression, and the loco acquired the nickname "The Crocodile". Among its innovative features included the use of Serve tubes.

Use

Designed for heavy freights from to Swindon through the Severn Tunnel, it proved itself exceptionally capable, being able to haul trains that would otherwise be double-headed. It was probably due to Dean's declining state of health and Churchward's increasing influence that the loco did little work away from Swindon, remained a prototype, and was withdrawn by Churchward in 1905 with the low mileage of 171,428.

References

Sources

* * * 0036 4-6-0 locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1896 Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain Individual locomotives of Great Britain Unique locomotives {{UK-steam-loco-stub Freight locomotives