GWR Sir Watkin Class
Encyclopedia
The Great Western Railway
Sir Watkin Class were 0-6-0
T broad gauge
steam locomotive
s with side tanks. They were designed for working goods trains through to the underground Metropolitan Railway
in London
. This class was introduced into service between December 1865 and the last was withdrawn at the end of the GWR broad gauge in May 1892. They were all named after directors and senior officers of the railway.
Three locomotives (Bulkeley, Fowler and Saunders) were sold to the South Devon Railway
in June 1872, but returned to the GWR when that railway was absorbed in 1876, when they were given numbers 2157-2159.
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...
Sir Watkin Class were 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...
T broad gauge
Broad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
steam locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s with side tanks. They were designed for working goods trains through to the underground Metropolitan Railway
Metropolitan railway
Metropolitan Railway can refer to:* Metropolitan line, part of the London Underground* Metropolitan Railway, the first underground railway to be built in London...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. This class was introduced into service between December 1865 and the last was withdrawn at the end of the GWR broad gauge in May 1892. They were all named after directors and senior officers of the railway.
Three locomotives (Bulkeley, Fowler and Saunders) were sold to the South Devon Railway
South Devon Railway Company
The South Devon Railway Company built and operated the railway from Exeter to Plymouth and Torquay in Devon, England. It was a broad gauge railway built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel-Chronology:* 1844 South Devon Railway Act passed by parliament...
in June 1872, but returned to the GWR when that railway was absorbed in 1876, when they were given numbers 2157-2159.
Locomotives
- Bulkeley (1865 - 1872)
- This locomotive was named after Captain Bulkeley, a long-standing director of the railway. It was sold to the South Devon RailwaySouth Devon Railway CompanyThe South Devon Railway Company built and operated the railway from Exeter to Plymouth and Torquay in Devon, England. It was a broad gauge railway built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel-Chronology:* 1844 South Devon Railway Act passed by parliament...
in June 1872 where it was rebuilt with a saddle tank, but returned to the GWR when the SDR was absorbed in 1876. In the meantime, the same name had been given to a GWR Iron Duke ClassGWR Iron Duke ClassThe Great Western Railway Iron Duke Class 4-2-2 was a class of broad gauge steam locomotives for express passenger train work.-History:The prototype locomotive, Great Western, was built as a 2-2-2 locomotive in April 1846, but was soon converted to a 4-2-2 arrangement...
locomotive, so the railway now had two locomotives with the same name. In common with other ex-SDR locomotives it was given a number (2157) in addition to its name.
- Fowler (1866 - 1887)
- This locomotive was given its name to commemorate John FowlerJohn Fowler (engineer)Sir John Fowler, 1st Baronet KCMG LLD was an English civil engineer specialising in the construction of railways and railway infrastructure. In the 1850s and 1860s, he was engineer for the world's first underground railway, London's Metropolitan Railway, built by the "cut-and-cover" method under...
, the company's consulting engineer. It was sold to the South Devon RailwaySouth Devon Railway CompanyThe South Devon Railway Company built and operated the railway from Exeter to Plymouth and Torquay in Devon, England. It was a broad gauge railway built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel-Chronology:* 1844 South Devon Railway Act passed by parliament...
in June 1872 where it was rebuilt with a saddle tank, but returned to the GWR when the SDR was absorbed in 1876. It was then carried number 2158 in addition to its name.
- Miles (1866 - 1888)
- This locomotive was named after J. W. Miles, a long-standing director of the railway company.
- Saunders (1866 - 1892)
- This locomotive was named after Charles Saunders, the long-serving company secretary of the Great Western Railway. It was sold to the South Devon RailwaySouth Devon Railway CompanyThe South Devon Railway Company built and operated the railway from Exeter to Plymouth and Torquay in Devon, England. It was a broad gauge railway built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel-Chronology:* 1844 South Devon Railway Act passed by parliament...
in June 1872 where it was rebuilt with a saddle tank, but returned to the GWR when the SDR was absorbed in 1876, when it was given number 2159 in addition to its name.
- Sir Watkin (1866 - 1892)
- This locomotive was named after Sir Watkin Williams-WynnSir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 6th BaronetSir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 6th Baronet was a Welsh Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1841 to 1885....
, MP, the owner of Wynnstay near RuabonRuabonRuabon is a village and community in the county borough of Wrexham in Wales.More than 80% of the population of 2,400 were born in Wales with 13.6% speaking Welsh....
and a director of the Great Western Railway. It has been suggested that this locomotive may have been renamed Wynn in 1869. The name Sir Watkin was given to a standard-gauge 2-2-2, no. 471 of the Sir Daniel classGWR 378 ClassThe GWR 378 Class was a class of 30 standard-gauge 2-2-2 steam locomotives on the Great Western Railway in Britain. They were introduced in 1866, and the class remained intact until 1898...
, which had been built in 1869.
- Whetham (1866 - 1889)
- This locomotive was named after Charles Whetham, a director of the railway company. Sir Charles Whetham was Lord Mayor of London 1878.