The

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 mill ...

(GWR) 5400 Class was a class of

0-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. This was the most common wheel arrangement ...

pannier tank A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender. Most tank engines also have bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a tender-tank locomoti ...

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, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...

. They were similar in appearance to many other GWR tank engines but smaller than the ubiquitous

GWR 5700 Class The GWR 5700 Class, or 57xx class, is a class of 0-6-0 pannier tank steam locomotive, built by the Great Western Railway (GWR) and British Railways (BR) between 1929 and 1950. With 863 built, they were the most prolific class of the GWR, and o ...

. The nominally Collett-designed 5400 Class had

driving wheel On a steam locomotive, a driving wheel is a powered wheel which is driven by the locomotive's pistons (or turbine, in the case of a steam turbine locomotive). On a conventional, non-articulated locomotive, the driving wheels are all coupled to ...

s for greater top speed with autocoaches, and were all fitted with the required remote control gear for working the push-pull autotrains. They had a modern cab and a larger bunker. They were frequently seen on inner suburban routes from

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

History

The 5400 class was related to the 2021 class saddle tank, designed by

William Dean William, Will, Bill or Billy Dean may refer to: Arts and entertainment * William Dean Howells (1837–1920), American novelist and playwright * Bill Dean (1921–2000), British actor * Billy Dean (born 1962), American country music singer ** '' ...

and built 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 Staffo ...

. This was a light compact design with wheels, itself derived from the smaller Armstrong

GWR 850 Class The GWR Class 850 was an extensive class of small locomotives designed by George Armstrong and built at the Wolverhampton railway works of the Great Western Railway between 1874 and 1895. Aptly described as the GWR equivalent of the LB&SCR "T ...

dating from 1874. The class pioneer was not a new engine at all, rather it was a 1930 rebuild of 2021 tank 2080. It merely had substitute larger wheels and splashers and a larger bunker, whereas the new locos built from 1931 onwards had the rounded-edge cab as well. This cab style was to be fitted to all subsequent GWR pannier tank designs including the later derivations of the 5700 Class. Despite its success, the prototype had a short life as number 5400, lasting only two years before scrapping. It was replaced with an all-new engine with the same number. 25 locomotives were built and they were numbered 5400–5424.

Withdrawal and mileages

Withdrawal from service with BR started in 1957 and was completed in 1963. The last ones in service were No. 5410, No. 5416, and No. 5420. le Fleming noted that the mileages of those withdrawn between February 1957 and February 1958 were "from 671,000 to 775,000".

GWR 6400 and 7400 classes

The

GWR 6400 Class The Great Western Railway (GWR) 6400 Class is a class of 0-6-0 pannier tank steam locomotive introduced by Charles Collett in 1932. All 40 examples were 'auto-fitted' – equipped with the remote-control equipment needed for working autotrai ...

and 7400 Class that followed were closely related, fundamentally differing only in wheel size – – and, in the case of the 74xx, a higher boiler pressure of . This produced two general purpose classes with wide route availability. The 6400 was auto-fitted but more suitable for hilly routes than the 5400. The 7400 was not auto-fitted.

References

Sources

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External links