7808 ''Cookham Manor'' is a

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 ...

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 ...

. It was built in 1938 at

Swindon Works Swindon railway 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 ...

, withdrawn from service in December 1965 and purchased directly from British Railways for preservation by John Mynors, a member of the

Great Western Society Didcot Railway Centre is a railway museum and preservation engineering site in Didcot, Oxfordshire, England. The site was formerly a Great Western Railway engine shed and locomotive stabling point. Background The founders and commercial backer ...

, in 1965–66. 'Cookham Manor' was the only 'Manor' Class locomotive to have been bought directly from BR. Initially it was stored at

Ashchurch Ashchurch is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ashchurch Rural, in the Tewkesbury district, in the county of Gloucestershire, England, east of the town of Tewkesbury, southwest of Evesham, north of Cheltenham, north-no ...

, until moving to

Didcot Didcot ( ) is a railway town and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire and the historic county of Berkshire. Didcot is south of Oxford, east of Wantage and north west of Reading. The town is noted for its railway heritage ...

in August 1970. It was said to be considered highly by the crews that operated it, and unusually for the class, the locomotive was fitted with a larger

water tender A water tender is a type of firefighting apparatus that specialises in the transport of water from a water source to a fire scene.Didcot Railway Centre Didcot Railway Centre is a railway museum and preservation engineering site in Didcot, Oxfordshire, England. The site was formerly a Great Western Railway engine shed and locomotive stabling point. Background The founders and commercial backer ...

. The locomotive cost £3,986 excluding the tender when built in 1938, and had travelled by 28 December 1963.

Allocations

The allocations of 'Cookham Manor' during its service for the GWR and British Railways.

References

External links

Cookham Manor homepage

7808 7808 Railway locomotives introduced in 1938 Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain {{UK-steam-loco-stub