GWR 3232 Class

GWR 3232 Class
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer William Dean Builder GWR Build date 1892-3 Total produced 20
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 2-4-0 Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Driver dia. 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) Fuel type Coal Cylinders two inside Cylinder size 17.5 in × 24 in (444 mm × 610 mm)

The 3232 Class, 20 2-4-0 locomotives designed by William Dean and built at Swindon Works for the Great Western Railway in 1892-3, were the GWR's last completely new 2-4-0 design. Their number series was 3232-3251.

Design

They resembled Dean's own 2201 Class and thus also Armstrong's 806 Class, though they had larger cylinders and a shorter wheelbase. All received Belpaire boilers in the course of the normal varied reboilerings.

Use

At the start of their careers these engines replaced their sister 2201s on Swindon-Weymouth trains, on South Wales expresses, and on fast North-to-West trains. Others were in the London and Reading areas, where others also moved when 4-4-0s displaced them from express working. A few went later to Machynlleth and Oswestry, where the last survivor was withdrawn in 1930.

Sources

• Tabor, F.J. (February 1956). White, D.E. (ed.). The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway, part four: Six-wheeled Tender Engines. Kenilworth: RCTS. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)