I TWO PATHS IN PRESERVA
When Swindon Works turned out GWR 2-6-2Ts No. 5521 in 1927 (to lot 249), and 5538 in 1928 (to lot 251) they shared the A shop with the first batch of the mighty flagship King class 4-6-0s under construction as lot 251.
However, whereas the latter were designed to be shown off by the GWR's superb publicity department as the country's most powerful locomotives, comfortably handling the heaviest trains like the 'Cornish Riviera', the little 'small prairies', with a tractive effort just over half that of the Kings, spent their lives on the branch lines for which they were designed.
More than 90 years later the A shop is long gone, although it outlivedsurvives, which after a wonderful second career on the main line now enjoys a deserved rest in Swindon's STEAM museum.
