Current and Proposed New-Builds

https://www.railwaymagazine.co.uk/f...get-2020-return-to-traffic-for-svr-favourite/

 

Anyway, on new builds, wasn't there some suggestion of a GWR 3800 County 4-4-0 at some point?

 

I believe its on the GWS radar for somewhen the future, and they have some of the major components in mind. I must admit I'm not altogether enthusiastic about the idea, but it would do well enough around the centre I guess. I don't suppose it will get started until whatever the potential volunteers are working on now is complete. Must admit I'd rather see a Dean single come first.

 

I thought I saw that stated somewhere too, but an interweb trawl has thrown up zilch beyond a few posts on here and a suggestion listed as a 'fantasy' build on a site apparently called 'Error 503', though with those large drivers not exactly best suited to 25mph ploddings about, I tend to think other adjectives might be more appropriate.

Leaving aside the obvious question (Why?), I could just about understand a 'County Tank' project being marginally more useful for heritage operations, but there surely have to be at least a dozen extinct GW classes (just standard gauge ones!) worthy of recreation ahead of either flavour. Why not a 'Dean Goods' (as the sole survivor seems highly unlikely to steam again) or an 'Aberdare' (Who you callin' ugly?!) or perhaps a 'Metro' tank (little loco ... big gap in the story). GW afficionados will doubtless have their own candidates.

 

Might be OK on a heritage line as it wouldn't be able to run fast enough for the bad riding to be an issue. Network Rail probably wouldn't be massively keen

 

That thought occured to me too!

The biggest gaps in the GW story have to be the pre-Churchward kit. Other than "City of Truro" and the Dean Goods, there isn't much (do any Armstrong locos survive?). It's the downside of having someone as good as GJC at the helm for so long, I guess!

I don't know how much Dean era carriage stock is kicking around awaiting restoration, but the same point I've previously made about 19th century loco recreations applies...... without at least some period appropriate stock, what story are we trying to tell?

Lovely looking locos for sure. Not best suited to 25mph operation and unlikely to be too useful on steeply graded lines, but certainly an iconic GW design. A 3031 would look all sorts of wrong with even Collett stock (never mind MKI's!), so a suitable rake of carriages would need to be restored .... or built .... to accompany it.

 

Agree on the GWR. Very little from the pre Churchward era, do we include the Dukedog?

A 2-4-0 Metro tank would be nice (sorry!) Also one or two just reached BR

 

IMHO there should be a "sniff" test applied to further GWR new build thinking that goes along the lines of this:

Can the word "ubiquitous" be used in front of it?

Dean goods - tick!
Metro tank - tick!
County - big fat cross!


Whilst I do really like the looks of the Counties (and tank), thankfully we do already have a beautiful GWR 4-4-0 or two preserved

 

The GWS has a reasonable collection of Dean era stock in various states of preservation and restoration. Hopefully in the timescale that it will take to recreate a Dean Single more of it will be returned to usable order. Potentially there's enough for a very reasonable train on the demonstration line.

 

An "Iron Duke" it is then ........ What?!

 

What about one of the 3521 class 4-4-0s? They started off as 0-4-2 tanks, but were unstable so they were then rebuilt with a very short wheelbase bogie, to become 0-4-4 tanks, but it didn't make any difference and two were involved in an accident where they derailed, so they were then turned back to front and became 4-4-0 tender engines

 

I'd like to see a few more very Northern and very Southern locos recreated before we see another GWR loco.

We've no actual SER engines extant (save the rebuilt O1, which looks and is amazing in its SECR livery).

I'd also love to see a Furness Railway engine. One of their lovely tank engines to accompany the existing (and unique I think?) no.20.

 

Theres also nothing from the LCDR either. No Cambrian, apart from the two narrow gauge engines on the Welshpool and Llanfair, the GSWR is poorly represented, nothing from the Hull & Barnsley, or the M & GN either.

 

Yes, they did. They were sold to the Cambrian to replace the two locos written off in the Abermule accident in 1921. They were allocated numbers by the Cambrian, but it was so close to the grouping that they were never renumbered and came back to the GWR, unchanged.

 

That was the Doulebois incident wasn't it? Is that the class which started out as a broad gauge design?

 

Yes, it was, two of them derailed and went down an embankment. Dean, apparently, designed one or two total duds, he also did a 4-2-4 tank which derailed as soon as it came to a turnout on its test steaming

 

in fact I don't think they were turned back to front as often stated. I think the frames were altered and a bogie added at the front in lieu of the one behind, keeping the engine part of the loco the same. Hopefully someone will confirm that,