GWR Swindon Class

Swindon
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Joseph Armstrong Builder Great Western Railway
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 0-6-0 Gauge 7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm) Driver dia. 5 ft 0 in (1.524 m) Wheelbase 15 ft 6 in (4.724 m) Cylinder size 17 in × 24 in (432 mm × 610 mm) dia × stroke
Career Operators Great Western Railway Class Swindon

The Great Western Railway Swindon Class were broad gauge 0-6-0 locomotives built for goods train work. This class entered service between November 1865 and March 1866, and were withdrawn between June 1887 and the end of the GWR broad gauge in May 1892. The entire class was sold to the Bristol and Exeter Railway between July 1872 and September 1874 and were numbered 96-109, but returned to the GWR when that railway was absorbed. The locomotives were then renumbered 2077-2090; their names were not restored.

Locomotives

Great Western Railway

• Bath (1866–1874)

Bath is a Georgian city 11+1⁄2 miles (18.5 km) east of Bristol which was reached by the Great Western Railway on 31 August 1840.

• Birmingham (1866–1873)

This locomotive was named after the Midlands city, Birmingham, which was served by broad gauge trains from 1 October 1851..

• Bristol (1865–1873)

This locomotive was named after the western terminus of the railway, Bristol.

• Chester (1866–1873)

Chester never saw broad gauge trains but was served by the Great Western Railway from 1 September 1854 when it absorbed the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway.

• Gloucester (1866–1873)

Gloucester was reached over the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway from Swindon on 12 March 1845.

• Hereford (1866–1872)

Hereford is an English city near the Welsh border, reached on 2 June 1855 by the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway.

• London (1865–1873)

This locomotive was named after the city from where the railway started, London.

• Newport (1866–1874)

Newport is on the South Wales Railway which opened on 18 June 1850.

• Oxford (1866–1874)

Oxford, home to many universities, was served by a branch line from Didcot Junction from 12 June 1844..

• Reading (1866–1874)

This locomotive was named after Reading, a large town 35+3⁄4 miles (57.5 km) from London.

• Shrewsbury (1866–1872)

Shrewsbury never saw broad gauge trains but was served by the Great Western Railway from 1 September 1854 when it absorbed the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway.

• Swindon (1865–1874)

This locomotive was named after the town mid-way along the Great Western Railway, Swindon, where the company built its workshops.

• Windsor (1866–1873)

Windsor is the seat of the Royal Family near London and was served by a branch line from Slough that opened on 8 October 1849.

• Wolverhampton (1866–1874)

Wolverhampton is in the Midlands and home to the Great Western's Northern Division workshops. It was served by broad gauge trains from 14 November 1854.

Bristol and Exeter Railway

• 96 (GWR 2077) (1872–1887)

Formerly Shrewsbury

• 97 (GWR 2078) (1872–1888)

Formerly Hereford

• 98 (GWR 2079) (1873–1887)

Formerly Chester

• 99 (GWR 2080) (1873–1889)

Formerly Windsor

• 100 (GWR 2081) (1873–1888)

Formerly London

• 101 (GWR 2082) (1873–1888)

Formerly Bristol

• 102 (GWR 2083) (1873–1891)

Formerly Gloucester

• 103 (GWR 2084) (1873–1889)

Formerly Birmingham

• 104 (GWR 2085) (1874–1889)

Formerly Wolverhampton

• 105 (GWR 2086) (1874–1888)

Formerly Bath

• 106 (GWR 2087) (1874–1889)

Formerly Newport

• 107 (GWR 2088) (1874–1892)

Formerly Reading

• 108 (GWR 2089) (1874–1889)

Formerly Oxford

• 109 (GWR 2090) (1874–1888)

Formerly Swindon

References

• Reed, P. J. T. (February 1953). White, D. E. (ed.). The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway, Part 2: Broad Gauge. Kenilworth: RCTS. pp. B28–B29. ISBN 0-901115-32-0.
• Sheppard, Geof (2008). Broad Gauge Locomotives. Southampton: Noodle Books. ISBN 978-1-906419-09-7.
• Waters, Laurence (1999). The Great Western Broad Gauge. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-2634-3 – via Archive.org.