GWR 7200 Class

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 m2) Boiler GWR Standard No. 4 Boiler pressure 200 lbf/in2 (1.38 MPa) Heating surface: ​  • Firebox 128.72 sq ft (11.958 m2)  • Tubes and flues 1,349.64 sq ft (125.386 m2) Superheater: ​  • Heating area 191.79 sq ft (17.818 m2) 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Career Operators GWR » BR Class 7200 Power class GWR: E BR: 8F Number in class 30 Axle load class Red Withdrawn 1962–1965 Disposition Three under restoration, remainder scrapped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,^[1] and the largest tank engines to run on the Great Western Railway.^[1]

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 chose to rebuild some of them with extended coal bunkers (and thus greater range and usefulness) by adding 4 feet (1.22 m) to the frames, requiring a trailing axle making them 2-8-2T.^[2]

Rebuilt 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. The 5205s had flat running boards to set them apart from the 5275s. Nos. 7240–7253, rebuilt August 1937–December 1939, were selected at random from locomotives numbered in the 4200 series, them all gaining 5275-styled running boards and cylinders (19”).^[3] This last batch of conversions had been authorised on Lot 318.^[4]

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.^[6] Many would find work in South Wales on coal traffic after WWII, especially when British Railways was formed, with 2884 and Standard 9F class engines taking over for them.

On 17 May 1941 No. 7238 ran into a bomb crater at Budbrook, near Hatton on the Banbury to Wolverhampton line.^[7]

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.^[1]

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.^[8]

Both No. 7200 and No. 7202 have reached the final stages of overhaul.^{[citation needed]}

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 ongoing but has made significant progress in recent years.[timeframe?]
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	Under Restoration		Left Barry Island in October 1984.

In 2012, Hornby released models of the 7200 class in both the original GWR green and BR black.^[9]

• List of GWR standard classes with two outside cylinders

• 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. ISBN 0-901115-37-1. OCLC 655827210.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to GWR 7200 Class.

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