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The Great Western Railway Sir Watkin Class were 0-6-0T broad gauge steam locomotives 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 This class was introduced into service between December 1865 and the last was withdrawn at the end of the GWR broad gauge in May 1892.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.
[edit] Locomotives
- This locomotive was named after Captain Bulkeley, a long-standing director of the railway. It was sold to the South Devon Railway 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 Class 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.
- This locomotive was given its name to commemorate John Fowler, the company's consulting engineer. It was sold to the South Devon Railway 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.
- This locomotive was named after J. W. Miles, a long-standing director of the railway company.
- This locomotive was named after Charles Saunders, the long-serving company secretary of the Great Western Railway. It was sold to the South Devon Railway 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.
- This locomotive was named after Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, MP, the owner of Wynnstay near Ruabon and a director of the Great Western Railway.
- This locomotive was named after Charles Whetham, a director of the railway company.
[edit] References
- The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway, Part 2: Broad Gauge. The Railway Correspondence and Travel Society. ISBN 0-906867-90-8.
- Waters, Laurence (1999). The Great Western Broad Gauge. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0711026343.
