GWR railcars

GWR railcars

Preserved AEC railcar No. 22

The interior of railcar 22
In service 1934–1962
Constructed 1934–1942
Number built 38 cars
Number preserved 3 cars
Operator Great Western Railway
British Rail (Western Region)
Specifications
Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

In 1933, the Great Western Railway introduced the first of what was to become a very successful series of railcars, which survived in regular use into the 1960s, when they were replaced with the new British Rail "first generation" type diesel multiple units.

Contents

Design

Bodywork

The original design featured 'air-smoothed' bodywork, which was very much the fashion at the time. The rounded lines of the first examples built led to their nickname: "flying banana". The preserved W4W is an example of the original, rounded body shape. Later examples, such as No. 22 (pictured), had much more angular (and practical) bodywork, yet the nickname persisted for these too.

Heating

An odd feature of these units was the fitting of steam heating to them, which had the power to heat the railcar and another two to three coaches.

Powertrain

An unusual feature was the external Cardan Shaft drive from the gearbox on the rear of a horizontally-mounted engine to road-vehicle style reduction boxes outboard of the two axles on one bogie. Later units had two such engine and drive combinations placed on opposite sides. Railcars 19-20 were fitted with a separate high-low ratio gearbox on the final drive side of the gearbox. This allowed a top speed of about 60-70 mph in high and about 40-45 in low. Railcar W20W retains this in preservation.

Gallery

Fleet list

Number Range Introduced Builder Engine Weight (tons) Seats Withdrawn Notes
1 1934 Park Royal 1 AEC of 130 hp 24 69 1955 Prototype railcar
2–4 1934 2 AEC of 130 hp 26.2 44 1954–1958 Buffet fitted
5–7 1935 Gloucester RCW 25.3 70 1957–59 Standard single car
8–9, 13–16 1936 29.5 70 1957–60 9 withdrawn in 1946 after fire
10–12 1936 29.9 63 1956–57 Lavatory fitted
17 1936 28.85 None 1959 Parcels car, capacity 10tons
18 1937 33.6 49 1957 Prototype, with buffers & draw gear for hauling vans
19–33 1940–41 GWR, Swindon 2 AEC of 105 hp 35.65 48 1960–62 33 rebuilt in 1954 to replace 37
34 1941 34.9 None 1960 Parcels car, capacity 10tons
35–38 1941–42 36.7 + 37.6 60 + 44 1957, 1962 Power twins with buffet and lavatory 35+36 and 37+38
37 withdrawn in 1949 after fire and replaced by 33

Preservation

Three of the GWR railcars have survived into preservation, as follows:

Vehicle No. Builder Year Built Location Comments
W4W Park Royal 1934 Swindon Steam Railway Museum -
W20W GWR Swindon 1940 Kent & East Sussex Railway -
W22W GWR Swindon 1940 Didcot Railway Centre -

See also

External links

Diesel multiple units of the United Kingdom
First generation units:
First Generation
Original TOPS:
First generation units
(pre-TOPS):
Second generation units:
Diesel-electric units:
Southern Railway designations:
Families