Originally the 4200 class and 5205 class2-8-0T were introduced for short-haul Welsh coal traffic, but the Stock Market Crash of 1929 saw coal traffic dramatically fall. Built specifically for the short runs of heavy trains in the South Wales Coalfield, Charles Collett took the agreed decision to rebuild some of them with an extended coal carrying capacity and thus greater range and usefulness by adding 4 feet (1.22 m) to the frames, requiring the addition of a trailing wheel set, making them 2-8-2T.[2]
With the work carried out at Swindon Works, the first to be converted was 5275 (lot 266), which returned to traffic numbered 7200 in August 1934. An official photograph of the prototype was taken on 27 July 1934 at the usual site outside 'A Shop' for engine pictures. Nos. 5276–5294 were similarly rebuilt between August and November 1934, becoming 7201–7219, and nos. 7220–7239 were rebuilt from 5255–5274 between August 1935 and February 1936; with both batches, the rebuilding was not in numerical order, but the new numbers were in the same sequence as the old. Nos. 7240–7253, rebuilt August 1937–December 1939, were selected at random from locomotives numbered in the 4200 series.[3] This last batch of conversions had been authorised on Lot 318.[4]
The final batch of the class were later fitted with newly developed 'Coal Scuttle' bunkers. These bunkers consisted of a higher rivet line increasing the water capacity up to a total of 2,700 gallons allowing the locos to travel longer distances. The bunker was also designed to facilitate the movement of the coal towards the hatch in the cab, however ‘scuttle bunkers’ would only carry 5 tonnes of coal instead of 6. No. 7200 is the only surviving loco of the class to carry one of these unique bunkers.
The 54 rebuilt locos found work in most parts of the GWR system, where their great weight 92 long tons 12 cwt (207,400 lb or 94.1 t) was allowed, although the rebuilt chassis length did get them banned from certain goods yards. Many found work in the home counties, deployed on iron ore and stone trains from Banbury.[6]
On 17 May 1941 No. 7238 ran into a bomb crater.[7]
Withdrawal
The first member of the class to be withdrawn was number 7241 in November 1962, whilst the last four engines in traffic served until June 1965. Four of the class were bought by Woodham Brothersscrapyard in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, and No. 7226 was scrapped there in 1965.[1]
No. 7221, a converted 5205
Preservation
Three locomotives survive, all recovered from Woodham Brothers, though none have yet been returned to operational condition. However, in November of 2020, the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre announced that a major milestone was reached with No. 7200.[8]
Left Woodham Brothers, Barry Island in September 1981. 7200 is unique in that it is the only surviving locomotive of the class fitted with the 'coal scuttle' bunker which enabled it to have a greater water carrying capacity than the rest of the class with 'converted' bunkers. On 12 December 2006, the restored rolling chassis of 7200 left the former iron foundry (J Shop) which made the loco the last Great Western locomotive to receive attention at the historic Swindon Works.[citation needed] Restoration is slow and ongoing but has made good progress in recent years.
^ abcWhitehurst, Brian (1973). Great Western Engines, Names, Numbers, Types and Classes (1940 to Preservation). Oxford, UK: Oxford Publishing Company. pp. 65–66, 103. ISBN978-0-9028-8821-0. OCLC 815661.
^"GWR Churchward "42xx" Class 2-8-0T". BR Database.
^Quainton Railway Society. "GWR 72XX Class 2-8-2T No. 7200". Buckinghamshire Railway Centre.
^"GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton". WarwickshireRailways.com. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
^Holden, Michael. "Milestone reached in overhaul of steam locomotive 7200". Rail Advent. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
^. National Model Rail. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
Allcock, N. J.; Davies, F. K.; le Fleming, H. M.; Maskelyne, J. N.; Reed, P. J. T.; Tabor, F. J. (1968) [1951]. White, D. E. (ed.). The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway, part one: Preliminary Survey. Kenilworth: RCTS.
le Fleming, H.M. (February 1962). White, D.E. (ed.). The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway, part nine: Standard Two-Cylinder Classes. RCTS. pp. J45–J46.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to GWR 7200 Class.
Great Western Archive – 7200 Class
The 7200 Trust - Restoring 7200
March 04, 2023
7200, class, great, western, railway, 7200, class, class, steam, locomotive, they, were, only, built, used, british, railway, largest, tank, engines, great, western, railway, 7248, converted, 42xx, class, 4249, rebuilt, with, 5205, front, 7248, seen, here, fit. The Great Western Railway GWR 7200 Class is a class of 2 8 2T steam locomotive They were the only 2 8 2Ts built and used by a British railway 1 and the largest tank engines to run on the Great Western Railway 1 GWR 7200 Class7248 is a converted 42xx class No 4249 rebuilt with a 5205 front end 7248 is seen here fitted with the Coal Scuttle Bunker Type and originPower typeSteamDesignerCharles Collett rebuild Order numberLot 318 7240 7254 RebuilderGWR Swindon WorksRebuild dateJuly 1934 December 1939Number rebuilt54SpecificationsConfiguration Whyte2 8 2T UIC1 D1 h2tGauge4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm standard gaugeLeading dia 3 ft 2 in 0 965 m Driver dia 4 ft 7 1 2 in 1 410 m Trailing dia 3 ft 8 in 1 12 m Length44 ft 10 in 13 67 m Width8 ft 11 in 2 72 m Height12 ft 10 1 16 in 3 91 m Loco weight92 long tons 12 cwt 207 400 lb or 94 1 t 103 7 short tons Fuel typeCoalFuel capacityStandard bunker 6 long tons 6 1 t 6 7 short tons Coal scittle bunker 5 long tons 5 6 short tons 5 1 t Water cap Standard bunker 2 400 imp gal 11 000 l 2 900 US gal Coal scuttle bunker 2 700 imp gal 12 000 l 3 200 US gal Firebox Firegrate area20 56 sq ft 1 910 m2 BoilerGWR Standard No 4Boiler pressure200 lbf in2 1 38 MPa Heating surface Tubes and flues1 349 64 sq ft 125 386 m2 Firebox128 72 sq ft 11 958 m2 Superheater Heating area191 79 sq ft 17 818 m2 CylindersTwo outsideCylinder size19 in 30 in 483 mm 762 mm Valve gearStephensonValve typePiston valvesPerformance figuresTractive effort33 170 lbf 147 5 kN CareerOperatorsGWR BRClass7200Power classGWR EBR 8FNumber in class30Axle load classRedWithdrawn1962 1965DispositionThree under restoration remainder scrapped Contents 1 Rebuild and operation 2 Withdrawal 3 Preservation 4 Models 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksRebuild and operation EditOriginally the 4200 class and 5205 class 2 8 0T were introduced for short haul Welsh coal traffic but the Stock Market Crash of 1929 saw coal traffic dramatically fall Built specifically for the short runs of heavy trains in the South Wales Coalfield Charles Collett took the agreed decision to rebuild some of them with an extended coal carrying capacity and thus greater range and usefulness by adding 4 feet 1 22 m to the frames requiring the addition of a trailing wheel set making them 2 8 2T 2 With the work carried out at Swindon Works the first to be converted was 5275 lot 266 which returned to traffic numbered 7200 in August 1934 An official photograph of the prototype was taken on 27 July 1934 at the usual site outside A Shop for engine pictures Nos 5276 5294 were similarly rebuilt between August and November 1934 becoming 7201 7219 and nos 7220 7239 were rebuilt from 5255 5274 between August 1935 and February 1936 with both batches the rebuilding was not in numerical order but the new numbers were in the same sequence as the old Nos 7240 7253 rebuilt August 1937 December 1939 were selected at random from locomotives numbered in the 4200 series 3 This last batch of conversions had been authorised on Lot 318 4 Class Original Rebuilt Rebuild date5205 5275 7200 August 19345276 7201 August November 19345277 72025278 72035279 72045280 72055281 72065282 72075283 72085284 72095285 72105286 72115287 72125288 72135289 72145290 72155291 72165292 72175293 72185294 72195255 7220 August 1935 February 19365256 72215257 72225258 72235259 72245260 72255261 72265262 72275263 72285264 72295265 72305266 72315267 72325268 72335269 72345270 72355271 72365272 72375273 72385274 72394200 5 4239 7240 August 1937 December 19394220 72414202 72424204 72434216 72444205 72454234 72464244 72474249 72484209 72494219 72504240 72514210 72524245 7253The final batch of the class were later fitted with newly developed Coal Scuttle bunkers These bunkers consisted of a higher rivet line increasing the water capacity up to a total of 2 700 gallons allowing the locos to travel longer distances The bunker was also designed to facilitate the movement of the coal towards the hatch in the cab however scuttle bunkers would only carry 5 tonnes of coal instead of 6 No 7200 is the only surviving loco of the class to carry one of these unique bunkers The 54 rebuilt locos found work in most parts of the GWR system where their great weight 92 long tons 12 cwt 207 400 lb or 94 1 t was allowed although the rebuilt chassis length did get them banned from certain goods yards Many found work in the home counties deployed on iron ore and stone trains from Banbury 6 On 17 May 1941 No 7238 ran into a bomb crater 7 Withdrawal EditThe first member of the class to be withdrawn was number 7241 in November 1962 whilst the last four engines in traffic served until June 1965 Four of the class were bought by Woodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry Vale of Glamorgan and No 7226 was scrapped there in 1965 1 No 7221 a converted 5205Preservation EditThree locomotives survive all recovered from Woodham Brothers though none have yet been returned to operational condition However in November of 2020 the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre announced that a major milestone was reached with No 7200 8 Current Number Year Built Withdrawn Location Status Photograph Notes7200 Jul 1926 Jul 1963 Buckinghamshire Railway Centre Under Restoration Left Woodham Brothers Barry Island in September 1981 7200 is unique in that it is the only surviving locomotive of the class fitted with the coal scuttle bunker which enabled it to have a greater water carrying capacity than the rest of the class with converted bunkers On 12 December 2006 the restored rolling chassis of 7200 left the former iron foundry J Shop which made the loco the last Great Western locomotive to receive attention at the historic Swindon Works citation needed Restoration is slow and ongoing but has made good progress in recent years 7202 Aug 1926 Jun 1964 Didcot Railway Centre Under Restoration Left Barry Island in April 1974 7229 Mar 1926 Aug 1964 East Lancashire Railway Under Restoration Left Barry Island in October 1984 Models EditIn 2012 Hornby released models of the 7200 class in both the original GWR green and BR black 9 7203 a converted 5275See also EditList of GWR standard classes with two outside cylindersReferences Edit a b c Whitehurst Brian 1973 Great Western Engines Names Numbers Types and Classes 1940 to Preservation Oxford UK Oxford Publishing Company pp 65 66 103 ISBN 978 0 9028 8821 0 OCLC 815661 7202 2 8 2T Didcot Railway Centre le Fleming 1962 pp J45 J46 Allcock et al 1968 p 38 GWR Churchward 42xx Class 2 8 0T BR Database Quainton Railway Society GWR 72XX Class 2 8 2T No 7200 Buckinghamshire Railway Centre GWR Route Banbury to Wolverhampton WarwickshireRailways com Retrieved 18 July 2020 Holden Michael Milestone reached in overhaul of steam locomotive 7200 Rail Advent Retrieved 17 November 2020 National Model Rail Database National Model Rail Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 13 September 2015 Allcock N J Davies F K le Fleming H M Maskelyne J N Reed P J T Tabor F J 1968 1951 White D E ed The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway part one Preliminary Survey Kenilworth RCTS le Fleming H M February 1962 White D E ed The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway part nine Standard Two Cylinder Classes RCTS pp J45 J46 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to GWR 7200 Class Great Western Archive 7200 Class The 7200 Trust Restoring 7200 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title GWR 7200 Class amp oldid 1134864966, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
