GWR Star Class
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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, ...
(GWR) Star Class of
broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...
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, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...
s were used for passenger train work. Designed by
Robert Stephenson Robert Stephenson , (honoris causa, Hon. causa) (16 October 1803 – 12 October 1859) was an English civil engineer and designer of locomotives. The only son of George Stephenson, the "Father of Railways", he built on the achievements of hi ...
, the class was introduced into service between November 1838 and November 1841, and withdrawn between April 1864 and September 1871. A total of twelve Star Class locomotives were manufactured. Notably, they were given the romantic or colloquial (rather than scientific) names of astronomical bodies. By the time the last had been delivered, GWR engineer
Daniel Gooch Sir Daniel Gooch, 1st Baronet (24 August 1816 – 15 October 1889) was an English railway locomotive and transatlantic cable engineer. He was the first Locomotive Superintendent, Superintendent of Locomotive Engines on the Great Western Ra ...
had designed and taken delivery of several of his larger Firefly Class.


''North Star'' and ''Morning Star''

These two were built in 1836 by Robert Stephenson & Co. for the New Orleans Railway, which had a gauge of . That railway experienced financial difficulties, and was unable to accept them; Stephensons sold the locomotives to the GWR, altering the gauge to before delivery, and in the case of ''North Star'', also fitting driving wheels in place of the original wheels. * ''North Star'' (1837–1871) :''North Star'' arrived at Maidenhead Bridge station by barge on 28 November 1837; on 31 May 1838 it worked the inaugural train for the company's directors. In 1854 it was rebuilt with cylinders and the
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 ...
lengthened by . It was withdrawn in 1871 but kept 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 ...
along with ''
Lord of the Isles Lord of the Isles or King of the Isles ( or ; ) is a title of nobility in the Baronage of Scotland with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It began with Somerled in the 12th century and thereafter the title was ...
'' until 1906, when both were dismantled. However, many parts were later recovered to build a replica. :'The north star' is one of two common alternative names for
Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris (Latinisation of names, Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an ...
(its other being 'the
pole star A pole star is a visible star that is approximately aligned with the axis of rotation of an astronomical body; that is, a star whose apparent position is close to one of the celestial poles. On Earth, a pole star would lie directly overhead when ...
'). It is the only visible polar star in either hemisphere, and has long been used for navigation due to its constant fixed and unmoving appearance due north in the night sky. The commercial park north of Swindon Station is called North Star after the engine and includes streets named North Star Avenue and Polaris Way. * ''Morning Star'' (1839–1869) :This, the second Star Class, was not delivered until 14 months after the ''North Star''. It had smaller wheels, as had been intended when it was constructed for the New Orleans Railway; the wheelbase was . :Named after 'the morning star', the common periodic name for the planet
Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...
(at times the brightest object in the night sky) when seen in the eastern sky just before sunrise, its motion then appearing to "lead" the sun for many mornings.


Later locomotives

''North Star'' and ''Morning Star'' having proved successful (in contrast to those from other makers delivered between 1837 and 1840), Gooch ordered ten more from Stephensons to basically the same design as the first two; they were built in 1839–41, although there were variations in design. * ''Bright Star'' (1841–1864) :A 'bright
star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...
' is one clearly visible in the night sky, and generally denotes one of a few that appear to shine more than most. * ''Dog Star'' (1839–1869) :After withdrawal, ''Dog Star'' was used as a stationary boiler at
Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...
. Named after 'the dog star', the common name for
Sirius Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word (Latin script: ), meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated  Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbr ...
, brightest star in the night sky and found in the constellation ''
Canis Major Canis Major is a constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere. In the second century, it was included in Ptolemy's 48 constellations, and is counted among the 88 modern constellations. Its name is Latin for "greater dog" in contrast to C ...
'' (Lat: 'greater dog', from whence Sirius' common name). * ''Evening Star'' (1839–1871) :Named after 'the evening star', the common periodic name for the planet
Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...
(at times the brightest object in the night sky) when seen in the western sky just before sunset, its motion then appearing to "follow" the sun for many evenings. * ''Lode Star'' (1841–1870) :A ' lodestar' denotes any easily found star that is used to aid navigation (for example
Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris (Latinisation of names, Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an ...
). Now an archaic term, in
Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...
it meant 'course star' or 'lead star'. * ''Polar Star'' (1840–1870) :This locomotive was built with cylinders. It was rebuilt as a . Its name is assisted with navigation: a '' polar star'' is one that appears fixed and unmoving over the Earth's North or South Pole and is thus used for a guide. The only one visible is
Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris (Latinisation of names, Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an ...
(aka. the Pole Star or North Star). * ''Red Star'' (1840–1865) :This locomotive was rebuilt as a 4-2-2T tank locomotive. Its name has no particular association with any specific star, although prominent red stars visible from the northern hemisphere include
Aldebaran Aldebaran () is a star in the zodiac constellation of Taurus. It has the Bayer designation α Tauri, which is Latinized to Alpha Tauri and abbreviated Alpha Tau or α Tau. Aldebaran varies in brightness from an apparent vis ...
,
Arcturus , - bgcolor="#FFFAFA" , Note (category: variability): , , H and K emission vary. Arcturus is a red giant star in the Northern celestial hemisphere, northern constellation of Boötes, and the brightest star in the constellation. It ha ...
,
Antares Antares is the brightest star in the constellation of Scorpius. It has the Bayer designation α Scorpii, which is Latinisation of names, Latinised to Alpha Scorpii. Often referred to as "the heart of the scorpion", Antares is flanked by ...
and
Betelgeuse Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star in the constellation of Orion (constellation), Orion. It is usually the List of brightest stars, tenth-brightest star in the night sky and, after Rigel, the second brightest in its constellation. It i ...
. * ''Rising Star'' (1840–1871) :This locomotive had a wheelbase; at some time it was rebuilt as a 4-2-2T tank locomotive. On 7 September 1841 it ran over an earthslip near
Chippenham Chippenham is a market town in north-west Wiltshire, England. It lies north-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, west of London and is near the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon, ...
, but the rest of the train (including ''
Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...
'', coupled behind) was derailed. The locomotive's name reflected the company's status: a 'rising star' is the term for any star appearing to climb the sky (rather than moving low across the horizon), and is often used metaphorically to mean someone "new" whose reputation is increasing rapidly. * ''Royal Star'' (1841–1871) :This locomotive was built with cylinders and a wheelbase. The four Persian ' royal stars' are Aldebaran, Regulus, Antares and Fomalhaut, said to guard the four quarters of the annual night sky. * ''Shooting Star'' (1841–1871) :This locomotive was rebuilt as a 4-2-2T tank locomotive. A 'shooting star' is the descriptive term for a
meteor A meteor, known colloquially as a shooting star, is a glowing streak of a small body (usually meteoroid) going through Earth's atmosphere, after being heated to incandescence by collisions with air molecules in the upper atmosphere, creating a ...
. * ''Western Star'' (1841–1866) :This locomotive was built with cylinders and a wheelbase. After withdrawal it was used as a stationary boiler at
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
. Its name reflected the GWR's westerly direction: 'the western star' has no particular association with any specific star (although
Antares Antares is the brightest star in the constellation of Scorpius. It has the Bayer designation α Scorpii, which is Latinisation of names, Latinised to Alpha Scorpii. Often referred to as "the heart of the scorpion", Antares is flanked by ...
was the quarter guardian of the western gate in Persian 'royal star' mythology).


Replica

A non-working replica of ''North Star'' was constructed for the 1923 Cavalcade, and is now housed at
Swindon Steam Railway Museum STEAM – Museum of the Great Western Railway, also known as Swindon Steam Railway Museum, is housed in part of the former railway works in Swindon, England – Wiltshire's 'railway town'. The museum opened in 2000. The site The museum is ...
. It made use of some of the parts of the original ''North Star'', scrapped as recently as 1906, but is not capable of being steamed. Although it was featured in the railway's centenary film in 1935, it was pushed by another locomotive.


References

* * * * {{GWR Locomotives
Star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...
2-2-2 locomotives 4-2-2 locomotives Broad gauge (7 feet) railway locomotives Early steam locomotives Steam locomotives of Great Britain Robert Stephenson and Company locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1837 Passenger locomotives