Great Western 2-8-0 Locomotives in Great_Britain

Class 28xx - superheated (Locobase 3477)

Data from "2-8-0 Mixed Traffic Locomotive, Great Western Railway", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXV [25], whole no 322 (14 June 1919), p. 85; and in Wikipedia at [], last accessed 13 June 2020.

As successful as the original, saturated-boiler first-in-the-British-Isles Consolidation was -- see Locobase 10384 -- Churchward soon recognized that superheating the steam would add even more power. Superheat was added beginning in 1909 and top feed followed in 1912.

The dimensions remained essentially the same, except for the effect of the tradeoff of firetubes in favor of superheater flues. Wikipedia reports that over the long production run, superheaters came in two varieties: four-element and six-element. The data in this entry show the higher superheater area available from the six-element setup. A four-element superheater comprised 191.8 sq ft (17.82 sq m).

The success of the design is indicated by Collett's decision in 1938 to add to the stud already in service (2884 - 2899, 3800 - 3866, also known as the 2884 class). Somewhat surprisingly, the 1948 British Railway trials to determine which of the grouped engines should be brought into the national system saw the 28xx class turn in the lowest coal consumption per mile of the four 2-8-0s tested (the others were the Stanier 8F, the LNER's O1 designed by Thompson, and the Riddles War Department 2-8-0).

Retirements began in 1958 with the last 2800 leaving in 1965. 2807 (since preserved) had at her retirement in 1963 had compiled 1,472,687 miles in service. (note from [])

See Tim Overton's page on the Great Western.

See also [] (Information by John Daniel, 2000) for details on this class, including all names.

Adhesion and total weights secured by Roger Hennessey following a November 2003 request from Locobase (His response: "I 'know a man who knows' - or if he does not, he will know someone who will. He is part of the network at the Swindon Steam Museum, the largest single complex of GWR steam expertise going." and the answer arrived soon afterward.)

Class 42xx (Locobase 3583)

Data from [] (Information by John Daniel, 2000) for details on this class, including all names. See also "Railway Notes - Great Western Ry", The Locomotive, Volume XVII, No. 222 (15 February 1911), p.

This large class of tank engines was built with 18 1/2" cylinders until 5205, which debuted the 19" cylinder in 1923. (This size was already in use in the Class 4700 2-8-0 tender engines.) Like most Great Western engines, the class had a Belpaire firebox.

Richard Drew of [] comments:

"When No. 4201 was turned out of Swindon in 1911, it showed how the basic Churchward standardisation programme could be adapted to produce a locomotive designed for a specific purpose - short haul work in South Wales to take heavy coal trains to the ports and to return the empties back to the collieries. It would be unusual for the run in either direction to exceed 25 miles, so what was called for was, essentially, a tank version of the 28XX heavy freight engine, introduced in 1903."

54 of the class were converted to 2-8-2Ts with a trailing wheel extension that increased bunker size to 6 tons of coal and 2,500 gallons of water.

Some of these tanks saw out steam in Britain, being retired in 1965.

Class 47xx (Locobase 2348)

Data from "Locomotives in 1921", Engineer, Volume 133, No 1 (6 January 1922), pp. 10-12, 14; Ahrons (1927); and "GWR 4700 Class" in Wikipedia at [], last accessed 13 June 2020. See also "Engine No. 4700, Great Western Ry", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXVII [27], No 330 (15 October 1921), pp. 293-294; and "Churchward's final masterpiece" on the 4709 website at [], last accessed 10 August 2021..

Tall-drivered mixed-traffic Consolidation by GJ Churchward with outside cylinders and a relatively long stroke. Like most Great Western engines, these had Belpaire fireboxes. Two different superheaters--a four-element or six-element--were used. Both encompassed quite small heating surface areas. The larger of the two is shown here in Locobase; the smaller four-element assembly (14 elements altogether) yielded only 211.2 sq ft (19.62 sq m).

Churchward's valedictory project proved a very successful design. They benefited from the use of his No 7 boiler ran for decades, so often after dark when the road was clearer that they earned the nickname "Night Owls.", their relatively tall drivers permitting their use as heavy passenger haulers. John Daniel ([]) observes:"If the 'King' class were the ultimate design in express passenger locomotives, then the '4700' class could be considered as the most powerful of heavy freight engine designs although the class eventually became known as a mixed freight class due to the power available from its massive boiler".

"For their day", argues the 4709 Project website, "these locomotives were truly enormous and excelled at the task they were built for - fast, vacuum-fitted freight work." Yet,By the late 1950s, 4709 adds, " the 47s were frequently called upon to haul heavy holiday expresses on summer Saturdays when the railway was working at full capacity - a job they handled with considerable ease."

Unlike virtually any other 2-8-0 of any size, BR recognized this "enhanced role" and turned out the 47s in "fully-lined express passenger green livery from about 1957 onwards."

The last engine was retired in 1964.

Class 97 (Locobase 10384)

Data from "Great Western Railway Locomotives," The Locomotive Magazine, Volume IX [9] (3 October 1903), 209.

Part of G J Churchward's standard design series of 1901 and the first Consolidations built for the railroad. This design used a tapered boiler similar to that in the Saints Ten-Wheeler, the Standard Number 1 accompanied by a Belpaire firebox. The appearance of brute strength was enhanced by the short cab and square firebox shoulders.

In a discussion of another paper in 1906, Churchward related his reason for adopting the coned boiler: "He pointed out that there was an advantage in reducing the volume of the front end of the boiler, as then, when the water surged forward, less water was taken from the fire box end, and there was less chance of the crown sheet being uncovered by the surging of the water." "Pertinent Paragraphs: Does 'Handsome Is as Handsome Does' apply to Locomotive Outlines?", The Railway Magazine, (May 1906), p 432

The specifications are for the prototype, which was renumbered 2800 in 1906. The next batch saw the adoption of the 225-psi boiler, which was pitched 8 3/4" higher.

Soon after its introduction, 2807 was used on 26 Feb 1906 to pull the heaviest freight train ever handled by a production locomotive during the steam era in Britain -- 107 cars totalling 2,012 tons. Superheat was added beginning in 1909; see Locobase 3477.