The 1661 Class was

William Dean William, Will, Bill or Billy Dean is the name of the following people: Arts and entertainment * Bill Dean (1921–2000), British actor * Billy Dean (born 1962), American country music singer Sports * William Dean (Hampshire cricketer) (c. 1882� ...

's second design of tank locomotive for England's

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, ...

. Like the 1813 Class which preceded them, there were 40 1661s, turned out of

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 ...

in two batches.

Construction

Design

Unlike the 1813s, the 1661s had larger wheels (), double frames with a longer wheelbase (), and saddle, not side tanks. Their frames had originally been ordered for the tender engines of the 2361 Class; however, more 2361s turned out not to be needed, after tank engines (of Joseph Armstrong's 1076 Class) had been found to be successful hauling the heavy coal trains from Aberdare. Like the 2361s, the 1661s carried long boilers ( barrel) when new, but shorter boilers were fitted on overhaul. As usual with GWR saddle tanks, pannier tanks were later fitted to most of them, between 1910 and 1926.

Accidents and incidents

*In 1904, locomotive No. 1674 was hauling an express passenger train with GWR 3300 Class

4-4-0 4-4-0, in the Whyte notation, denotes a steam locomotive with a wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles (usually in a leading bogie), four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels. First built in the ...

No. 3460 ''Montreal'' when it was derailed at

Loughor Loughor (; ) is a town in Swansea, Wales. Historic counties of Wales, Historically in Glamorgan, it lies on the estuary of the River Loughor (). The town has a community (Wales), community council under the name Llwchwr. The town is bordered by ...

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

due to excessive speed. Surging of water in the saddle tanks of No. 1674 was considered a contributory factor. Five people were killed and eighteen were injured. Following the accident, eight of the class were sold to South Wales railways in 1906, duly returning into GWR stock at the Grouping in 1922. *In 1907,

Alexandra (Newport and South Wales) Docks and Railway Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thu ...

No.28 (ex GWR 1683) was derailed by catch points at

Bassaleg Junction Bassaleg () is a village on the west side of Newport, Wales. It is in the Graig electoral ward and community. Bassaleg is located northwest of Newport city centre. It is bounded by the A467 road (A4072) to the east, the railway spur to Lower ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

, rolled down the embankment and landed in the local cricket field. The locomotive was repaired and spent 15 years on the A(N&SW)D&R.

Withdrawal

The last in service was No. 1685, which ran until 1934. Along with the 1076 class, they were initially used on long distance mineral traffic in the Southern Division of the GWR. To quote le Fleming, "they were always rather misfits", but "...their distinctive features were welcomed by enthusiasts if not by the Running Dept."

Notes

References

* * * {{GWR Locomotives

1661 Events January–March * January 6 – The Fifth Monarchists, led by Thomas Venner, unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London; George Monck's regiment defeats them. * January 29 – The Rokeby baronets, a Br ...

Steam locomotives of Great Britain 0-6-0ST locomotives C n2t locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1886 Standard-gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain Scrapped locomotives Passenger locomotives