GWR 4700 Class

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GWR 4700 Class
Power type Steam
Designer Churchward
Builder GWR
Build date 1919-1921
Total production 9
Configuration 2-8-0
Gauge 4' 8½"
Driver size 5' 8"
Locomotive weight 82 tons 0 cwt
Fuel type coal
Boiler pressure 225 psi
Cylinders two outside
Cylinder size 19" x 30"
Tractive effort 30,460 lbf
Class 7F

The Great Western Railway (GWR) 4700 Class was a class of nine 2-8-0 steam locomotives, numbered 4700 through 4708. They were the final locomotives designed by George Jackson Churchward and were introduced in 19191921 for fast goods work. Although built for freight, the class sometimes hauled passenger trains, notably heavy holiday expresses in the summer.

[edit] History

The 4700 Class was intended for a quite different role than the 2800 Class. The 2800s were small-wheeled mineral haulers with 4 ft 7½ in driving wheels. The 4700s used the 5 ft 8 in driving wheels and the cylinders from the 4300 Class Mogul (2-6-0, and were intended for express goods trains.

The prototype, No.4700, was constructed in 1919. It was built with a standard No.1 boiler, the same used in the 2800 Class, but testing proved it inadequate. A new, larger design, the No.7, was introduced in 1921 for the remaining eight of the class.

Withdrawals began in June 1962 with No.4702, while the last were removed from service in May 1964. No.4705
recorded the greatest distance travelled, at 1,656,564 miles.

[edit] Preservation

None survived into preservation.

[edit] References