The 119 Class of the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

consisted of a series of 11 locomotives. They were numbered 119-21 and 123-30 and had originally been built in 1861 at

Swindon Works Swindon Works was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1843 in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It served as the principal west England maintenance centre until closed in 1986. History In 1835, Parliament approved the construction of the Great ...

as tender engines to a design of

Daniel Gooch Sir Daniel Gooch, 1st Baronet (24 August 1816 – 15 October 1889) was an English railway locomotive and transatlantic cable engineer. He was the first Locomotive Superintendent, Superintendent of Locomotive Engines on the Great Western Ra ...

, part of the 79 Class. Their rebuilding as tank engines was the result of being renewed at

Wolverhampton railway works Wolverhampton railway works was in the city of Wolverhampton in the county of Staffordshire, England. It was almost due north of the city centre, and is commemorated with a small display of level crossing gates and a plaque. Known as the Staff ...

under the tenure of George Armstrong between 1878 and 1883.

Variations

Three were turned out with condensing gear. All continued as tank engines until their withdrawal except for No. 122, which remained a tender engine.

Use

The 119 Class started work in the Northern Division but most of them migrated south, and most of their subsequent rebuildings were done at Swindon. Eventually most were moved to South Wales.

Rebuilding

From 1913 they became pannier tanks with Belpaire boilers fitted to them, as were nearly all other GWR saddle tanks. Most were scrapped by 1928, with No. 120 remaining at Oswestry until 1933.

References

* {{GWR Locomotives 0119 0-6-0ST locomotives C n2t locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1861 Standard-gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain Scrapped locomotives Rebuilt locomotives Freight locomotives