GWR 517 Class

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Template other The 517 Class were small 0-4-2T tank engines designed by George Armstrong for local passenger work on the Great Western Railway.Template:Sfnb They were built at Wolverhampton Works and were outshopped between 1868 and 1885. They were built in thirteen lots commencing with 517–528 and ending with 1477–1488 in 1884–1885.

Dimensions

The class was far from uniform and encompassed three different wheelbases, saddle and side tanks, and various boilers to name just a few variations. Driving wheels were (later due to thicker tyres), cylinders , (later ) and boiler pressure (later ).

Summary table

Table of GWR 517 class ordersTemplate:Sfnp

Year	Lot	Quantity	GWR No.	Wheelbase	Trailing axleboxes	Tanks
1868	D	6	517–522		Inside	Saddle
1868	D	6	523–528
1868–69	E	12	529–540
1869	F	12	541–552
1869	G	12	553–564
1869–70	H	6	565–570
1870	H	6	571–576			Side
1873–74	R	12	826–837
1874–75	S	12	838–849
1875–76	W	12	1154–1165
1876	Z	12	202–205, 215–222
1877	I	12	1421–1432
1877–78	C2	12	1433–1444
1883	M2	12	1465–1476
1884–85	P2	6	1477–1482
1885	P2	6	1483–1488		Outside

When new, the first sixty were numbered 1040–87 (Lots D to G inclusive) and 1100–11 (Lot H); they were renumbered 517–576 in July 1870.Template:Sfnp

History

File:GWR 1473 Fair Rosamund.jpg

1473 Fair Rosamund

The earlier ones were rebuilt from saddle tanks while the later ones were built as side tanks from the beginning. The 3571 Class were very closely related, its prototype being a minor rebuild of 517 class No. 1477 in 1895. Then ten new locos followed in the next two years. Returning to the 517 class, various bunker and cab combinations also evolved, and after their last rebuilding, the locos with enclosed cabs and large bunkers were effectively the progenitors of Collett's 4800 class. In 1898, No. 1473 was named Fair Rosamund, to work a royal train on the Blenheim and Woodstock branch line. The locomotive was then regularly used for the Woodstock branch in subsequent years.

The Armstrong brothers

The independence of the Armstrong brothers is symbolised by the fact that Joseph at Swindon preferred the 2-4-0T wheel arrangement (the 455 Class "Metro" Tanks) over 0-4-2T while George built none of the former at Wolverhampton.

Use

In the 19th century, the 517s were principally Northern Division engines, and when new worked the Birmingham and Wolverhampton suburban traffic. Under Churchward the situation changed: about half of the class was fitted for autotrain working, and these engines were regularly maintained and moved around the system where needed; while the other, unconverted engines were demoted and became little more than shunters. Nevertheless as late as the 1920s the class was found in almost all parts of the GWR system. Most of the class ran between a million and a million and a half miles (), No. 1163 holding the record at 1,652,661. None of the 517s were preserved, the last survivor No. 848 being scrapped in 1945 at the age of 70.Template:Sfnb

Coachwork

When autotrains were introduced on the GWR, a trial was made of enclosing the engine in coachwork to resemble the coaches. Nos 533 and 833 of this class were so equipped in 1906, as were two 2021 class 0-6-0Ts. The experiment was unpopular with engine crews, and the bodywork was removed in 1911.

Accidents and incidents

• On 15 April 1923, locomotive No. 215 was hauling Autocoach No. 70 when it was in a head-on collision with a goods train, hauled by GWR 4000 Class 4-6-0 No. 4048 Princess Victoria, at Curry Rivel, Somerset due to a signalman's error. Nine people were injured.Template:Sfnb

References

• Template:Casserley-LocoGrouping4
• Template:Whitehurst GW Engines from 1940