The glory of the Great Western
THE Great Western Railway has always been one of the most popular subjects for modellers, and there can be few GWR locomotive types that have never been offered for sale in miniaturised form – and the detail is just getting better and better.
The reason for this popularity is strikingly obvious when you consider the GWR’s post broad-gauge history from the late 19th century onwards.
After succeeding William Dean as locomotive, carriage and wagon superintendent at the age of 45 in 1902, George Jackson Churchward (1857-1933) studied locomotive designs from both America and France before constructing a series of modern, fast and efficient prototypes using two and four-cylinder designs. These laid the foundations for all GWR locomotives that followed – even including the very last four-cylinder ‘Castles’ to be built at Swindon under British Railways in 1950!
Churchward embarked upon a vast programme of standardisation, using common parts for a whole series of new designs, which gave GWR locomotives a handsome, corporate look. Among the longest-lasting of them were the 4300 Class 2-6-0s, 3150 and 4500 Class prairie tanks and 2800 Class 2-8-0s.
While his 2900 Class
