GWR 850 Class

GWR 850 Class

No. 2007 (withdrawn 12/49) awaiting scrapping at Swindon 1950

Type and origin Power type Steam Designer George Armstrong Builder GWR Wolverhampton works Build date 1874-1895 Total produced 170

Specifications Configuration 0-6-0ST Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Driver dia. 4 ft 0 in (1.219 m) Wheelbase 13 ft 8 in (4.17 m) Fuel type Coal Cylinders two Cylinder size 15 in × 24 in (381 mm × 610 mm)

Career Operators GWR

Class 850 of the Great Western Railway was an extensive class of small 0-6-0 saddle tank locomotives designed by George Armstrong and built at the Wolverhampton Works of the Great Western Railway between 1874 and 1895. Aptly described as the GWR equivalent of the LBS&CR "Terrier" Class of William Stroudley, their wide availability and lively performance gave them long lives, and eventually they were replaced from 1949 by what were in essence very similar locomotives, the short-lived 1600 Class of Frederick Hawksworth, which in the headlong abandonment of steam outlived them by a mere seven years or so.

The 850 Class originally consisted of 50 locomotives comprising 48 new and two rebuilds. The rebuilds, Nos. 93 and 94, were supplied in 1875 and 1877 as renewals of the original Gooch locomotives of 1860. Later, as locomotives were rebuilt, the 120 locomotives of the 1901 class were incorporated into the 850 class to make a total of 170 locomotives. It has been claimed that nos. 1216-1227 were part of the 1901 class but this seems unlikely because they were built before the 1901 class was introduced.

The original 36 locomotives had their domes on the firebox, while the domes of the rest were on the middle of the boiler. The two classes became more uniform on rebuilding. All had full-length saddle-tanks; the wheels were 4 ft 0 in (1.219 m) diameter, the wheelbase was 13 ft 8 in (4.17 m), and cylinders 15 in × 24 in (381 mm × 610 mm). They had inside frames. Pannier tanks were fitted from 1910, as rebuilding with Belpaire boilers took place, and from 1924 larger coal bunkers were fitted to many of the class. Seventeen locomotives retained their saddle tanks to the end. These were Nos. 855, 864, 873, 990, 991, 1216, 1904, 1913, 1925, 1932, 1933, 1939, 1944, 1963, 1981, 1984, & 2007.