GWR 9400 Class
Encyclopedia
The Great Western Railway
(GWR) 9400 Class is a class of 0-6-0
pannier tank steam locomotive, used for shunting and banking
duties.
The first ten 9400s were the last steam engines built by the GWR. After nationalisation
in 1948, another 200 were built by private contractors for British Railways (BR). Most had very short working lives as the duties for which they were designed disappeared through changes in working practices or were taken over by diesel locomotive
s. Two locomotives survived into preservation, one as part of the National Collection.
The 9400 class was the final development in a long lineage of tank locomotives that can be directly traced to the 645 Class
of 1872. Over the decades details altered, the most significant being the adoption of Belpaire firebox
es necessitating pannier tanks.
The 9400 resembled a pannier tank version of the 2251 class
, but was in fact a taper-boiler
ed development of the 8750 subgroup of the 5700 class
. The advantage was a useful increase in boiler power, but there was a significant weight penalty that restricted route availability. The 10 GWR-built locomotives had superheater
s but the remainder did not.
The first ten 9400s were built by the Great Western and were the last steam engines built by the company. After the nationalisation of Britain's railways
in 1948, private contractors built another 200 for British Railways.
The 9400s were numbered 9400–9499, 8400–8499 and 3400–3409. BR gave them the power classification 4F.
. A familiar sight at the buffer stop
s at departure side in 1964–1965 was a filthy 9400 class locomotive devoid of number plates simmering at the head of a rake of British Railways Mark 1
coaches.
Numbers 8400 to 8406 served as bank engine
s on the Lickey Incline
after its transferral to the Western Region.
In retrospect they were a wasteful investment, many having very short lives of less than 10 years as their intended work dried up and diesels
took over their remaining duties. 8447 holds the unenviable record of the shortest life of any GWR loco in BR times, beginning in August 1954 and ending four years and nine months later in May 1959.
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
(GWR) 9400 Class is a class of 0-6-0
0-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels...
pannier tank steam locomotive, used for shunting and banking
Bank engine
A bank engine or helper engine or pusher engine is a railway locomotive that temporarily assists a train that requires additional power or traction to climb a grade...
duties.
The first ten 9400s were the last steam engines built by the GWR. After nationalisation
Transport Act 1947
The Transport Act 1947 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Under it the railways, long-distance road haulage and various other types of transport were acquired by the state and handed over to a new British Transport Commission for operation...
in 1948, another 200 were built by private contractors for British Railways (BR). Most had very short working lives as the duties for which they were designed disappeared through changes in working practices or were taken over by diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
s. Two locomotives survived into preservation, one as part of the National Collection.
Design
GWR 645 Class
The GWR 645 Class was a class of 0-6-0 saddle tank locomotives designed by George Armstrong and built at the Wolverhampton railway works of the Great Western Railway . Thirty-six were constructed between 1872-3, of which three were built for the South Wales Mineral Railway , two for the Carmarthen...
of 1872. Over the decades details altered, the most significant being the adoption of Belpaire firebox
Belpaire firebox
The Belpaire firebox is a type of firebox used on steam locomotives. It was invented by Alfred Belpaire of Belgium. It has a greater surface area at the top of the firebox, improving heat transfer and steam production...
es necessitating pannier tanks.
The 9400 resembled a pannier tank version of the 2251 class
GWR 2251 Class
The Great Western Railway 2251 Class was a class of 0-6-0 steam tender locomotive designed for medium-powered freight. They were introduced in 1930 as a replacement for the earlier Dean Goods 0-6-0s and built up to 1948.- Overview :...
, but was in fact a taper-boiler
Fire-tube boiler
A fire-tube boiler is a type of boiler in which hot gases from a fire pass through one or more tubes running through a sealed container of water...
ed development of the 8750 subgroup of the 5700 class
GWR 5700 Class
The Great Western Railway 5700 Class is a class of 0-6-0 pannier tank steam locomotive, built between 1929 and 1950. 863 were built, making them the second most-produced British class of steam locomotive.- Overview :...
. The advantage was a useful increase in boiler power, but there was a significant weight penalty that restricted route availability. The 10 GWR-built locomotives had superheater
Superheater
A superheater is a device used to convert saturated steam or wet steam into dry steam used for power generation or processes. There are three types of superheaters namely: radiant, convection, and separately fired...
s but the remainder did not.
The first ten 9400s were built by the Great Western and were the last steam engines built by the company. After the nationalisation of Britain's railways
Transport Act 1947
The Transport Act 1947 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Under it the railways, long-distance road haulage and various other types of transport were acquired by the state and handed over to a new British Transport Commission for operation...
in 1948, private contractors built another 200 for British Railways.
The 9400s were numbered 9400–9499, 8400–8499 and 3400–3409. BR gave them the power classification 4F.
Duties
The 9400 class were used on Paddington empty stock work right up to the end of steam on the Western Region of British RailwaysWestern Region of British Railways
The Western Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s and was wound up at the end of 1992...
. A familiar sight at the buffer stop
Buffer stop
A buffer stop or bumper is a device to prevent railway vehicles from going past the end of a physical section of track.The design of the buffer stop is dependent in part upon the kind of couplings that the railway uses, since the coupling gear is the first part of the vehicle that the buffer stop...
s at departure side in 1964–1965 was a filthy 9400 class locomotive devoid of number plates simmering at the head of a rake of British Railways Mark 1
British Railways Mark 1
British Railways Mark 1 was the family designation for the first standardised designs of railway carriages built by British Railways. Following nationalisation in 1948, BR had continued to build carriages to the designs of the "Big Four" companies , and the Mark 1 was intended to be the...
coaches.
Numbers 8400 to 8406 served as bank engine
Bank engine
A bank engine or helper engine or pusher engine is a railway locomotive that temporarily assists a train that requires additional power or traction to climb a grade...
s on the Lickey Incline
Lickey Incline
The Lickey Incline is the steepest sustained main-line railway incline in Great Britain and is situated south of Birmingham, in England. The climb is a gradient of 1-in-37.7 for a continuous distance of two miles ....
after its transferral to the Western Region.
In retrospect they were a wasteful investment, many having very short lives of less than 10 years as their intended work dried up and diesels
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
took over their remaining duties. 8447 holds the unenviable record of the shortest life of any GWR loco in BR times, beginning in August 1954 and ending four years and nine months later in May 1959.
Build details
- 9400–9409 — Great Western, Swindon — 1947
- 9410–9459 — Robert Stephenson and HawthornsRobert Stephenson and HawthornsRobert Stephenson and Hawthorns Ltd was a locomotive builder with works in North East England.-History:The company was formed in September 1937 when Robert Stephenson and Company, which was based in Darlington took over the locomotive building department of Hawthorn Leslie and Company, based in...
— 1950 - 9460–9489 — Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns — 1950–1953
- 8400–8449 — W. G. Bagnall — 1949–1954
- 8450–8479 — Yorkshire Engine CompanyYorkshire Engine CompanyThe Yorkshire Engine Company was a small independent locomotive manufacturer in Sheffield, England. The Company was formed in 1865 and continued to produce locomotives and carry out general engineering work until 1965...
— 1949–1952 - 8480–8499 — Hudswell ClarkeHudswell ClarkeHudswell, Clarke and Company Limited was an engineering and locomotive building company in Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-History:...
(subcontracted to Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns) — 1952 - 9490–9499 — Hunslet Engine CompanyHunslet Engine CompanyThe Hunslet Engine Company is a British locomotive-building company founded in 1864 at Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England by John Towlerton Leather, a civil engineering contractor, who appointed James Campbell as his Works Manager.In 1871, James Campbell bought the company for...
(subcontracted to Yorkshire Engine Company) — 1954–1955 - 3400–3409 — Hunslet Engine Company (subcontracted to Yorkshire Engine Company) — 1955–1956
Preservation
Two have been preserved:- 9400 at Swindon Steam Railway MuseumSwindon Steam Railway MuseumSTEAM – Museum of the Great Western Railway, also known as Swindon Steam Railway Museum, is located at the site of the old railway works in Swindon, England – Wiltshire's 'railway town'...
- 9466 at based at the Buckinghamshire Railway CentreBuckinghamshire Railway CentreBuckinghamshire Railway Centre is a railway museum operated by the Quainton Railway Society Ltd. at Quainton Road railway station, in the far depths of "Metro-land", about 5 miles west of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. The site is divided into two halves which are joined by two foot-bridges, one of...
but does visit other railways from time to time. The locomotive is operational and mainline certificated.
See also
- GWR 0-6-0PT – list of classes of GWR 0-6-0 pannier tank, including table of preserved locomotives