GWR 2021 Class

GWR 2021 Class

No. 2080 at Berkeley Road station 1948
Type and origin
Power type Steam
Designer George Armstrong
Builder Wolverhampton, GWR[1]
Order number Lots: D3, F3, G3, H3, J3, K3, L3, M3[1]
Serial number Works Nos: 625–764[1]
Build date 1897 – 1905[1]
Total produced 140[1]
Specifications
Configuration 0-6-0ST[1]
Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Driver diameter 4 ft 1 1⁄2 in (1.257 m)[1]
Wheelbase 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) + 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m), total 14 ft 8 in (4.47 m)[1]
Length 30 ft 1 in (9.17 m) over buffers[2]
Width 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m)[2]
Height 11 ft 10 3⁄8 in (3.62 m)[2]
Frame
  • Type: Inside[3]
  • Length: 25 ft 8 in (7.82 m)
  • Width:7 ft 7 in (2.31 m)[2]
Axle load 13 long tons 12+3/4 cwt (29,200 lb or 13.3 t) full[1]
Locomotive weight 40 long tons 13+3/4 cwt (89,700 lb or 40.7 t) full[1]
Fuel type Coal
Water capacity 1,000 imp gal (4,500 l; 1,200 US gal)[1]
Boiler
  • Barrel: 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m)
  • Outside diameter: 3 ft 9 7⁄8 in (1.165 m) and 3 ft 9 in (1.14 m)
  • Pitch: 6 ft 0 3⁄4 in (1.848 m)[1]
Boiler pressure 150 lbf/in2 (1.03 MPa)[1]
Firegrate area 14.5 sq ft (1.35 m2)[1]
Heating surface:
– Tubes		 926.25 sq ft (86.051 m2)[1]
– Firebox 92.5 sq ft (8.59 m2)[1]
– Total 1,018.75 sq ft (94.645 m2)[1]
Cylinders Two, inside
Cylinder size
  • Diameter: 16 1⁄2 in (419 mm)
  • Stroke: 24 in (610 mm)[1]
Performance figures
Tractive effort 16,830 lbf (74.86 kN)[1]
Locomotive brake Steam[4]
Career
Operator(s) GWR
Class 2021
Number in class 140
Number(s) 2021–2160[1]
Withdrawn 1944–57[5]
Disposition All scrapped
GWR 2101 Class (differences from 2021 Class)
Specifications
Axle load 14 long tons 6 cwt (32,000 lb or 14.5 t) full[6]
Locomotive weight 41 long tons 0 cwt (91,800 lb or 41.7 t) full[6]
Boiler
  • Outside diameter: 3 ft 10 in (1.17 m) and 3 ft 9 in (1.14 m)[6]
Boiler pressure 165 lbf/in2 (1.14 MPa)[6]
Firegrate area 14.7 sq ft (1.37 m2)[6]
Heating surface:
– Tubes		 958.32 sq ft (89.031 m2)[6]
– Firebox 95.81 sq ft (8.901 m2)[6]
– Total 1,054.13 sq ft (97.932 m2)[6]
Performance figures
Tractive effort 18,515 lbf (82.36 kN)[6]
Career
Class 2101

The GWR 2021 Class was a class of 140 0-6-0 saddle tank steam locomotives. They were built at the Wolverhampton railway works of the Great Western Railway between 1897 and 1905. 1897 was the very year of George Armstrong's retirement, so it is uncertain if the design should be attributed to him or to his superior at Swindon, William Dean.

In fact the 2021s were simple enlargements of the Armstrong-designed 850 class of 1874. The changes were fundamentally confined to a longer wheelbase to permit fitting of a larger firebox.

The class was built in eight batches:

Rebuilding with Belpaire fireboxes commenced in the early years of the Churchward era. Unsuccessful attempts to form a saddle tank around the firebox directly led to the switch to pannier tanks. The rebuilding of the whole class took place over many years. In their final form, with or without fully enclosed cabs, 110 of them survived into British Railways ownership, the last of them being retired in 1956. They were superseded by the short-lived GWR 1600 Class, nominally a Hawksworth design, but in reality a straightforward update of the then 75-year-old design, with new boiler, bigger cab and bunker.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 le Fleming 1958, p. E50.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Whitehurst 1940, p. 152.
  3. ↑ le Fleming 1958, p. E5.
  4. ↑ le Fleming 1958, p. E11.
  5. ↑ Whitehurst 1940, pp. 21-23.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 le Fleming 1958, p. E51.

Sources

See also