GWR 6000 Class

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

6000 King-class

Power type	Steam
Designer	Charles Collett
Build date	1927-1930
Configuration	4-6-0
Gauge	Standard gauge
Leading wheel size	3ft
Driver size	6 ft 6 in
Length	68 ft 2 in
Locomotive weight	135 tons 14 cwt
Fuel type	Coal
Fuel capacity	6 tons
Water capacity	4000 gallons
Boiler	6ft-5ft 6½in x 16 ft
Boiler pressure	250 lbf/in²
Heating surface: Tubes	2,008 ft²
Heating surface: Firebox	194 ft²
Superheater area	313 ft²
Cylinders	Four
Cylinder size	16¼ x 28 in
Class	6000 King-class
Number in class	29
Number	6000-6029
Official name	King-class
Locale	Great Western Railway/Western Region

6022 King Edward III outside Swindon shed, 1954.

The Great Western Railway 6000 Class or King is a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotive designed for express passenger work. They were the largest locomotives the GWR built. They were named after kings of England, beginning with the reigning monarch, King George V, and going back through history (but with the final pair of engines later renamed for George V's eldest sons, who succeeded him).

[edit] Overview

This class was designed under the direction of C. B. Collett, partly as a response to the Great Western Railway's publicity department, in order to regain the 'most powerful express passenger steam locomotive in Britain' title, which had been taken from Collett's Castle Class in 1926 by the Southern Railway Lord Nelson Class. The engines, as originally designed, delivered 39,700 lbf (177,000 N) tractive effort, with 16" bore x 28" stroke cylinders and 250 psi boiler. At a request from Sir Felix Pole, the Great Western's General Manager, to get the tractive effort up to above 40,000 lbf (a major goalpost), the cylinders were enlarged to 16.25" bore, bringing the figure up to 40,300 lbf (179,000 N). This increase was removed on all members of the class at their first major overhaul. The distinctive design of the leading bogie (with outside bearings on the fore wheel and inside bearings on the rear wheel) was to allow these larger cylinders.

The first, 6000 King George V, appeared in 1927 and was sent on a tour of North America, for the Centenary celebrations of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), where its sleek appearance and smooth performance impressed all who witnessed it, the application of pressurised oil lubrication showed its advantages over the largely grease lubricated American Locomotives, and was even incorporated into a later design for the B&O in 1928. 6000 King George V was presented with a brass bell to mark the occasion. An original naming scheme planned for the Kings was to name them after cathedrals, but when the trip was planned, an unmistakably British icon was needed. During planning and construction, the engine was dubbed the 'Super-Castle'.

They were engines to be reckoned with, powering the Western Region's crack expresses like the Cornish Riviera Limited up until the end of regular steam hauled express services on the WR.

An interesting fact is that although the railway claimed that the class was built in response to longer and heavier trains, it was several years after the introduction of the class before the platforms at the company's major stations were lengthened to accommodate these trains. The class was restricted to the London-Taunton-Plymouth and London-Birmingham-Wolverhampton main lines, and even then, only after bridge strengthening had taken place, due to the engines' large boilers giving them an axle weight of a massive 22.5 tons.

William Stanier based his LMS Princess Royal Class design on the King Class but with an enlarged boiler and firebox necessitating a 4-6-2 wheel arrangement.

They were all withdrawn by 1962, replaced by the less powerful but more available diesel-hydraulics.

[edit] Loco specification

[edit] List of King Class locomotives

[edit] Preservation

Three, 6000 King George V, 6023 King Edward II and 6024 King Edward I have been preserved.

[edit] Gallery

AutoCAD drawing of a Great Western King Locomotive

6026 King John outside Swindon shed 1954.

6029 King Edward VIII at Bristol Bath Road, 1959.

King George V at Swindon

[edit] Audio files

6024King Edward I

Climbing Goodrington Bank with a mainline special; note the 4-beats-per-revolution of its four cylinders

Problems listening to the file? See media help.

6024 King Edward I

Climbing Lickey Bank with help from a Class 37.

Problems listening to the file? See media help.

[edit] External links

• Great Western Society pages on King Class
• King Edward II
• 6024 Preservation Society Ltd

v • d • e Preserved GWR King Class locomotives 6000 King George V • 6023 King Edward II • 6024 King Edward I Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Preserved GWR King Class locomotives