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 ...

Sir Watkin Class were

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

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 ...

s. They were designed for working goods trains through to the underground

Metropolitan Railway The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex su ...

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 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. This class was introduced into service between December 1865 and the last was withdrawn at the end of the GWR broad gauge in May 1892. They were all named after directors and senior officers of the railway. Three locomotives (''Bulkeley'', ''Fowler'' and ''Saunders'') were sold to the South Devon Railway in June 1872, but returned to the GWR when that railway was absorbed in 1876, when they were given numbers 2157–2159.

Locomotives

* ''Bulkeley'' (1865 - 1872) :This locomotive was named after Captain Bulkeley, a long-standing director of the railway. It was sold to the South Devon Railway in June 1872 where it was rebuilt with a saddle tank, but returned to the GWR when the SDR was absorbed in 1876. In the meantime, the same name had been given to a

GWR Iron Duke Class The Great Western Railway Iron Duke Class 4-2-2 was a class of broad gauge steam locomotives for express passenger train work. History The prototype locomotive, ''Great Western'', was built as a 2-2-2 locomotive in April 1846, but was soon co ...

locomotive, so the railway now had two locomotives with the same name. In common with other ex-SDR locomotives it was given a number (2157) in addition to its name. * ''Fowler'' (1866 - 1887) :This locomotive was given its name to commemorate John Fowler, the company's consulting engineer. It was sold to the South Devon Railway in June 1872 where it was rebuilt with a saddle tank, but returned to the GWR when the SDR was absorbed in 1876. It was then carried number 2158 in addition to its name. * ''Miles'' (1866 - 1888) :This locomotive was named after J. W. Miles, a long-standing director of the railway company. * ''Saunders'' (1866 - 1892) :This locomotive was named after Charles Saunders, the long-serving company secretary of the Great Western Railway. It was sold to the South Devon Railway in June 1872 where it was rebuilt with a saddle tank, but returned to the GWR when the SDR was absorbed in 1876, when it was given number 2159 in addition to its name. * ''Sir Watkin'' (1866 - 1892) :This locomotive was named after Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, MP, the owner of Wynnstay near

Ruabon Ruabon ( cy, Rhiwabon ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The name comes from ''Rhiw Fabon'', ''rhiw'' being the Welsh word for "slope" or "hillside" and ''Fabon'' being a mutation from St Mabon, the original churc ...

and a director of the Great Western Railway. It has been suggested that this locomotive may have been renamed ''Wynn'' in 1869. The name ''Sir Watkin'' was given to a standard-gauge , no. 471 of the ''Sir Daniel'' class, which had been built in 1869. * ''Whetham'' (1866 - 1889) :This locomotive was named after Charles Whetham, a director of the railway company. Sir Charles Whetham was Lord Mayor of London 1878.

Notes

References

* * * {{GWR Locomotives Sir Watkin 0-6-0T locomotives Broad gauge (7 feet) railway locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1866 Scrapped locomotives South Devon Railway locomotives Freight locomotives