REVIEW OF THE MONTH
Four-Coupled Tank Locomotive Classes
Built by ths Great Western Railway
David Maidment
Pen & Sword Books, 47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire S70 2AS. Tel: 01226 734222. Web: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk Email: enquiries@pen-and-sword.co.uk Description: Hardback, 260 x 248mm, 200pp. ISBN: 9781399022569. Price £30.00
Four-coupled tank engines had a far more lasting role on the GWR far more than the other ‘Big Four’ companies because they quite simply performed their job well. This was clearly demonstrated in the 1930s when CME Charles Collett recognised that there was no need to waste design office time coming up with a branch line 0-4-2T when the ancient ‘517s’ became worn out. He simply updated the design with a better cab, and what became the ‘14XX’ class did good service until the diesels came along.
The author admits that he was daunted at first by the magnitude of the subject, and the products of pre-1923 companies such as those in South Wales will be covered in a second volume. This has allowed him to concentrate on Swindon-designed engines, some of
