GWR 1600 Class

GWR 1600 class
1621 operational at Stourbridge shed in December 1958
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Frederick Hawksworth Builder British Railways, Swindon Works Order number Lots 381, 389, 417 Build date 1949–1955 Total produced 70
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 0-6-0PT  • UIC C nt Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Driver dia. 4 ft 1+1⁄2 in (1.257 m) Minimum curve 4 chains (264 ft; 80 m) normal, 3.5 chains (231 ft; 70 m) slow Wheelbase 14 ft 8 in (4.47 m) Length 30 ft 2+1⁄2 in (9.21 m) over buffers Width 8 ft 7 in (2.616 m) Height 11 ft 5+5⁄8 in (3.496 m) Axle load 13 long tons 18 cwt (31,100 lb or 14.1 t) (14.1 t; 15.6 short tons) full Loco weight 41 long tons 12 cwt (93,200 lb or 42.3 t) (42.3 t; 46.6 short tons) full Fuel type Coal Water cap. 875 imp gal (3,980 L; 1,051 US gal) Firebox: ​  • Grate area 14.9 sq ft (1.38 m2) Boiler pressure 165 lbf/in2 (1.14 MPa) Heating surface: ​  • Firebox 79.5 sq ft (7.39 m2)  • Tubes 877.2 sq ft (81.49 m2) Superheater None Cylinders Two, inside Cylinder size 16.5 in × 24 in (419 mm × 610 mm) Valve gear Stephenson Valve type Slide valves
Performance figures Tractive effort 18,515 lbf (82.36 kN)
Career Operators British Railways Power class GWR: A BR: 2F Numbers 1600–1669 Axle load class GWR: unclassed Withdrawn 1959–1965 Disposition one preserved, remainder scrapped

The Great Western Railway (GWR) 1600 class is a class of 0-6-0 pannier tank steam locomotive.

History

The class was based on the 2021 class designed by Dean and built from 1897 onwards. The 2021 class was in its turn an enlargement of the 850 class designed by Armstrong in 1874.

Construction and operations

The 1600 class was a pure GWR design but all 70 were built by the Western Region of British Railways. When the last member of the class was built in 1955 (1669) the basic design was over 80 years old. BR gave the 1600 class the power classification 2F. Service life was short, withdrawals started in 1959 and all were gone by 1966 with 1659 having the shortest service (built 1955, withdrawn 1960). Two were sold for further use to the National Coal Board: 1600 in 1959 (scrapped 1963), and 1607 in 1965 (scrapped 1970).

Preservation

GWR 1600 No. 1638 at Bodiam on the Kent & East Sussex Railway

No. 1638 was the only member of the class to have been preserved, and is currently operational on the Kent and East Sussex Railway after its latest overhaul was completed in 2016.

See also

• GWR 0-6-0PT – list of classes of GWR 0-6-0 pannier tank, including table of preserved locomotives

References

• Whitehurst, Brian (1973). Great Western Engines, Names, Numbers, Types and Classes (1940 to Preservation). Oxford, UK: Oxford Publishing Company. pp. 18–19, 81, 101, 153. ISBN 978-0-9028-8821-0. OCLC 815661.

External links

• 1600 tank class