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GWR 7200 Class
7248 in 1962
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Charles Collett (Rebuilds) Order number Lot 266 (7200–7219) Lot 233 (7220–7239) Lot 318 (7240–7253) Rebuilder GWR Swindon Works Rebuild date July 1934–December 1939 Number rebuilt 54
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 2-8-2T  • UIC 1′D1′ h2t Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Leading 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) Length 44 ft 10 in (13.67 m) Width 8 ft 11 in (2.72 m) Height 12 ft 10+1⁄16 in (3.91 m) Loco weight 92 long tons 12 cwt (207,400 lb or 94.1 t) (103.7 short tons) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity Standard bunker: 6 long tons (6.1 t; 6.7 short tons) ‘Coal Scuttle’ 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: ​  • Grate area 20.56 sq ft (1.910 m) Boiler GWR Standard No. 4 Boiler pressure 200 lbf/in (1.38 MPa) Heating surface: ​  • Firebox 128.72 sq ft (11.958 m)  • Tubes and flues 1,349.64 sq ft (125.386 m) Superheater: ​  • Heating area 191.79 sq ft (17.818 m) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 19 in × 30 in (483 mm × 762 mm) Valve gear Stephenson Valve type Piston valves
Performance figures Tractive effort 33,170 lbf (147.5 kN)
Career Operators GWR » BR Class 7200 Power class GWR: E BR: 8F Number in class 30 Axle load class Red Withdrawn 1962 – 1965 Disposition Three under restoration, remainder scrapped

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, and the largest tank engines to run on the Great Western Railway.

Rebuild and operation

Originally, 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.

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. A photograph of the prototype was taken on 27 July 1934 outside Swindon Works ‘A Shop’. Nos. 5276–5294 were similarly rebuilt between August and November 1934, becoming 7201–7219, and Nos. 7220–7239 were rebuilt from 5255 to 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. This last batch of conversions had been authorised on Lot 318.

In 1937 the “scuttle” bunkers were fitted to the final fourteen of 42xx rebuilds (7240–53). This bunker modification consisted of a higher rivet line increasing the class's water capacity by an extra 200/300 gallons however reducing the coal capacity by 1 ton. These new bunkers were later fitted to a random handful of the class outside this batch including No. 7200, No. 7201, No. 7210 and No. 7239 during their heavy overhauls. No. 7200 is the only surviving loco of its class to have this unique feature.

The 54 rebuilt locos found work in most parts of the GWR system, where their 92 long tons 12 cwt (207,400 lb or 94.1 t) weight 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.

On 17 May 1941 No. 7238 ran into a bomb crater at Budbrook, near Hatton on the Banbury to Wolverhampton line.

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 Brothers scrapyard in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, and No. 7226 was scrapped there in 1965.

Preservation

Three locomotives survive, all recovered from Woodham Brothers, though none have yet been returned to operational condition. However, in November 2020, the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre announced that a major milestone was reached with No. 7200.

Both No. 7200 and No. 7202 have reached the final stages of overhaul.

Current Number	Year Built	Withdrawn	Location	Status	Photograph	Notes
No. 7200	1930 as No. 5275 (Rebuilt No. 7200 in 1934)	Jul 1963	Buckinghamshire Railway Centre	Under Restoration		Left Woodham Brothers, Barry Island in September 1981. Restoration is slow and ongoing but has made good progress in recent years.
No. 7202	1930 as No. 5277 (Rebuilt No. 7202 in 1934)	Jun 1964	Didcot Railway Centre	Under Restoration		Left Barry Island in April 1974.
No. 7229	1926 as No. 5264 (Rebuilt No. 7229 in 1935)	Aug 1964	East Lancashire Railway	Awaiting Restoration		Left Barry Island in October 1984.

Models

In 2012, Hornby released models of the 7200 class in both the original GWR green and BR black.

See also

• List of GWR standard classes with two outside cylinders

References

1. ^ 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.
2. "7202 - 2-8-2T". Didcot Railway Centre.
3. le Fleming (1962), pp. J45–J46.
4. Allcock et al. (1968), p. 38.
5. "GWR Churchward "42xx" Class 2-8-0T". BR Database.
6. Quainton Railway Society. "GWR 72XX Class 2-8-2T No. 7200". Buckinghamshire Railway Centre.
7. "GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton". WarwickshireRailways.com. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
8. Holden, Michael (17 November 2020). "Milestone reached in overhaul of steam locomotive 7200". Rail Advent. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
9. "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) . 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

• Great Western Archive – 7200 Class
• The 7200 Trust - Restoring 7200

• 2-8-2T locomotives
• Great Western Railway locomotives
• Railway locomotives introduced in 1934
• Freight locomotives
• Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain
• 1′D1′ h2t locomotives