Gwr County Driving Wheels.

I was down at the south devon railway today and saw these driving wheels and asked what they were for and was told they were for the county. looks like they are doing really well.

 

Impressive, aren't they? I know that there has been some controversy over the "sacrifice" of a modified hall and an 8F to build the new "County" but a visit to the County Webpage on the Great Western Society Didcot site certainly convinced me that this will be quite a locomotive and the group seems to be making excellent progress. It will make the GWR collection complete as regards the development of the Churchward 2 cylinder 4-6-0 from the Saint onwards.

 

To be fair.. the Hall's Boiler will become a Grange, and some 8F parts will become a Patriot.. so the net loss is nil and the net gain is 3 missing types.
Cant wait to see a real county.

 

I know a chap at my local in Haverfordwest who used to work alongside these things at Neyland shed. He was a fireman with the Western Region, but I can't remember whether he told me he'd actually fired them or not. He moved to Old Oak for a spell and then back to Whitland shed from where he used to fire the Cardigan branch trains. He's also related some interesting stories about the engineman's hostel at Old Oak.

 

On the contrary. We end up with yet another GW 4-6-0 and a Fowler Flop.