Power type Steam Order number Lots 381, 389, 417 Total produced 70 | Designer Frederick Hawksworth Build date 1949–1955 | |
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Builder British Railways, Swindon Works | ||
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 1600 class is a class of 0-6-0 pannier tank steam locomotive.
Contents
History
The class was based on the 2021 class designed by Dean and built from 1897 onwards. The 2021 class was in its turn an enlargement of the 850 class designed by Armstrong in 1874.
Construction and operations
The 1600 class was a pure GWR design but all 70 were built by the Western Region of British Railways. When the last member of the class was built in 1955 (1669) the basic design was over 80 years old. BR gave the 1600 class the power classification 2F. Service life was short, withdrawals started in 1959 and all were gone by 1966 with 1659 having the shortest service (built 1955, withdrawn 1960). Two were sold for further use to the National Coal Board: 1600 in 1959 (scrapped 1963), and 1607 in 1965 (scrapped 1970).
Preservation
No. 1638, the only member of the class to have been preserved, is on the Kent and East Sussex Railway.