The 2361 Class was a class of

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s 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, ...

. There were twenty 2361s, numbered 2361-2380 and built at

Swindon Railway 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 ...

at Lot 67 in 1885/6. They were part of an unusual standardisation scheme whereby William Dean (engineer), William Dean designed four double-framed classes with similar boilers but different wheel arrangements, the others being the GWR 1661 Class, 1661, GWR 3201 Class, 3201 and GWR 3501 class, 3501 classes.

Design

The 2361 Class is sometimes described, erroneously, as the "outside-framed version of the GWR 2301 Class, Dean Goods". While there is a superficial resemblance above the running plate, with the 2361s having diameter wheels and numbered in the same sequence, they are ultimately a separate class. They have a longer Cylinder (locomotive), cylinder Stroke (engine), stroke (with a greater tractive effort), larger boiler, and longer wheelbase.

Use

The 2361s were originally allocated to the Worcester Division, and then worked in the London area. Some subsequently worked in the Wolverhampton Division, and at miscellaneous sheds such as Neath, Llanelly, Bristol and Oswestry.

Withdrawal

Most were withdrawn in the 1930s, and all had gone by the end of 1946.

References

* * {{GWR Locomotives Great Western Railway locomotives, 2361 0-6-0 locomotives C n2 locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1885 Standard-gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain Scrapped locomotives Freight locomotives