Where does the coal go in this contraption?

 The sign of things to come in the form of a GWR Railcar - Photo courtesy of Martin Creese 

 

Whilst not technically steam department related, I thought it was rather pertinent to share the following news regarding some further visiting traction. Thus, without further ado, I am very pleased to announce that GWR Railcar No. W22 will be visiting the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway from April until the end of May. On a more important note, does anyone know where you store the coal in this contraption, or how to fire it? Answers on a postcard, please.

During its stay, the railcar will appear in service on a number of selected dates, which will be announced shortly. One confirmed engagement is our Vintage Weekend over the 11th & 12th April, when the railcar will operate shuttle trips between Toddington and Hayles Abbey Halt. Please note that travel on the railcar will require a supplementary fare, and seats must be reserved in advance through our website once bookings open.

It'll be interesting to have another railcar at the railway, joining our resident Class 121 No. W55003.

 

Class 121 No. W55003 stabled in Toddington Yard - 10th March 2026 - I have no idea where the coal goes in this one either!

GWR Railcar No. W22 has not visited the line since its days in service with the Great Western Railway, making the forthcoming visit a particularly notable occasion. Its appearance will provide a rare chance to witness the railcar working once again along a route it served in regular traffic, offering a glimpse of how travel once looked in GWR days. Our sincere thanks go to Great Western Preservations Ltd for making this visit possible and for allowing us to host such an important piece of Great Western heritage. The gala visitors for this year are getting more eclectic by the week.

 

 

GWR diesel railcar No.22 (BR No.W22W), at Bridgnorth, Severn Valley Railway, 06/70 - Photo © Hugh Llewelyn

 

Time for a bit of history on the GWR Railcars and No. 22.

Between 1933 and 1942, the Great Western Railway constructed a fleet of 38 railcars. The earliest examples quickly proved popular with passengers, encouraging the company to refine the design in subsequent batches. Later vehicles were equipped with standard buffers and drawgear, enabling them to haul an additional coach during busy periods. Outside peak times, they could also be pressed into service on light goods work, particularly on branch lines, where it was not uncommon to see them handling one or two vans as part of a local pick-up goods.

The final quartet of GWR railcars differed slightly from their predecessors. Built as single-ended vehicles, they were intended to work in pairs coupled back-to-back, or alternatively as a three-car formation with a conventional coach inserted between them. In many ways, this concept foreshadowed the diesel multiple units that are now a familiar sight on Britain’s main lines.

Great Western Diesel Railcar W22 on the East Somerset Railway - 30742 Charters - Video © Preserved Railway - Making its first visit away from the Didcot Railway Centre this century, Great Western Railway diesel railcar W22 is captured on a 30742 Charters events on Saturday 7th March 2026 on the East Somerset Railway. The railcar was paired with a Fruit D van for at Cranmore station at the start of the day, before working down solo for lineside shots from Mendip Vale.

Railcar No. 22 emerged from the works in 1940. Passenger accommodation comprises two open saloons providing seating for 48, while driving cabs are provided at both ends. Power is supplied by a pair of AEC 9.6-litre direct-injection six-cylinder engines driving through a Wilson epicyclic gearbox. The engines were closely related to those fitted to buses operated by London Transport for many years. Externally, the vehicle has undergone extensive re-panelling over the years, and it last received a complete repaint during 1992–93.

GWR diesel railcar No.22 (BR No.W22W), one of the 1940 Swindon built units, in GWR livery in the Broad/Standard Gauge Transfer Shed at the Didcot Railway Centre, 26/05/14 - Photo © Hugh Llewelyn

No. 22 entered traffic from Newport shed on 18th September 1940. During its working life, the railcar was allocated to several depots, including Reading. In later years, it was frequently used in the Worcester area and became a familiar sight on the Severn Valley line. Withdrawal came in 1962, after which the vehicle was stored at Swindon. In 1967, it was purchased for preservation by the Midland Group of the Great Western Society. After an initial period of operation on the Severn Valley Railway, the railcar moved to Didcot in 1978.

Today, No. 22 is one of just three surviving GWR railcars, and currently the only example in working order. Railcar No. 4 (one of the early streamlined machines popularly dubbed the “Flying Bananas”) is preserved as a static exhibit at STEAM – Museum of the Great Western Railway. Another survivor, No. 20, from the same batch as No. 22, is undergoing restoration at the Kent and East Sussex Railway.

 

 

GWR diesel railcar No.22 in GWR livery at the Didcot Railway Centre, 26/05/14 - Photo © Hugh Llewelyn

 

A more detailed history of No. 22 can be found on the SVR Wiki website here.

3850 rounds the curve approaching Southam Lane Road bridge - 14th March 2026 - Photo courtesy of Andrew Stratford

For those of you who use Facebook, here are a number of GWSR related groups which are worth following:

DMLL - Dinmore Manor Locomotive Ltd

CSPL - Cotswold Steam Preservation Limited (CSPL) 

2874 - The 2874 Trust

35006 - 35006 Group

76077 - Standard Locomotive 76077

CWR - Cotswold Wagon Restorations

CFOS - GWSR Cotswold Festival of Steam Gala Page

THL - The Honeybourne Line - a GWR mainline in the making

 

A very important weekend in May for your diaries, with further news and announcements due soon. *

 

 

The GWSR recently launched a new website and the various department blogs can all be found here. 

 

Anyway, that's all I have for today. More gala announcements will be chuffing along in due course. Hopefully, ones that are powered by more traditional methods... the black stuff!

Alex (the sooty one!).

 

No. 22 Railcar history based on information from Didcot Railway Centre and the SVR Wiki website. 

* Please Note: All locomotives are subject to availability and changes may be made at short notice. 

 

All published photographs and videos are my own unless otherwise stated/credited.

 

Caledonian Railway stalwart set to return to The Cotswolds

Caledonian Railway 0-4-4T Class 439 No. 419 (LMS 15189 & BR 55189) - Photo courtesy of Jonathan Gourlay 

 

Following the news that 34070 and 229 will be joining us for this year's Cotswold Festival of Steam, it's time to reveal the third guest for our May steam extravaganza. Those of you who attended the railway's 'Northern Soul' themed event back in 2019 will be rather familiar with this particular locomotive. It is, of course, none other than Caledonian Railway 0-4-4T Class 439 No. 419. The popular engine makes the journey south courtesy of our friends at Bo’ness and the SRPS. This time, however, the Bo'ness-based tank will be visiting us in a different guise, wearing LMS Crimson livery and carrying its LMS number 15189. I can't quite believe that it's been seven years already, where has all the time gone?

 

 

LMS 15199 at Fort George in 1935/1936 - Photo © Charlie Verrall - https://www.flickr.com/photos/31514768@N05/ 

 

Time for a bit of history on the Caledonian Railway 439 Class. 

 

Among the many elegant tank locomotives that worked Scotland’s railways during the golden age of steam, few were as familiar or as long-lived as the Caledonian Railway 439 Class. Designed at the dawn of the twentieth century for suburban and branch line passenger duties, these compact yet capable engines became a defining feature of the Caledonian Railway system. Their story spans more than sixty years, carrying them from Edwardian Glasgow through the era of the London, Midland & Scottish railway and into the final years of steam under British Railways.

 

By the closing years of the nineteenth century, the Caledonian Railway was experiencing steadily increasing suburban traffic, particularly around Glasgow. Growing commuter flows required locomotives capable of rapid acceleration, frequent stops and dependable running in either direction. Tank locomotives provided the obvious solution, removing the need for turning at terminus stations and allowing for quick and efficient operation in confined urban environments.

A trip behind Caledonian Railway steam engine 55189 (née 419) at the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway - Video © Robert Keddie

Earlier Caledonian tank engines had already explored this role. Designs such as the 19 Class and 92 Class introduced the 0-4-4T wheel arrangement to the company’s suburban services. These locomotives proved especially well suited to work on the Low Level lines beneath Glasgow, where condensing apparatus was fitted to reduce steam emissions in tunnels. Nevertheless, the Caledonian’s locomotive department sought a more refined and standardised design capable of becoming the railway’s principal suburban passenger engine.

 

The answer arrived in 1900 with a new locomotive designed by John F. McIntosh, the Caledonian Railway’s Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME). His creation would become known as the 439 Class. McIntosh’s design followed the well-proven 0-4-4T configuration: four coupled driving wheels providing traction, combined with a trailing bogie to give stability at passenger speeds. Large 5' 9" driving wheels allowed respectable speed for suburban duties, while the inside cylinders produced smooth and economical power. The locomotives were fitted with Westinghouse air brakes, a standard feature on the Caledonian system that enabled trains to be controlled quickly and safely during intensive stop-start operation.

BR 2P 0-4-0T loco No. 55202, (Pickersgill Caledonian '439' or 'Standard Passenger' class) at Craigleith Station on a train for Princes Street Station, 25 August, 1955. (G M Staddon/Douglas Yuill collection) - Photo © Kenneth G. Williamson - https://www.flickr.com/photos/127340508@N05/

 

In appearance, the engines were quintessentially Caledonian: compact and purposeful machines with neat proportions and a characteristic stovepipe chimney. Finished in the railway’s handsome blue livery with polished brass fittings, they were among the most attractive tank engines of their time.

Construction of the class began in 1900 at the Caledonian’s famous St Rollox Works in Springburn, Glasgow. Over the following quarter of a century, a total of 92 locomotives would be built. The earliest examples were constructed entirely under the Caledonian Railway. Later batches, however, appeared after the sweeping railway reorganisation of 1923, when the Caledonian became part of the newly formed London, Midland and Scottish railway.

Ex Caledonian Railway 439 class number 419 at the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway - 1986 - Photo © Mikey Lawlor - https://www.flickr.com/photos/191731185@N06/ 

 

Although the LMS inherited many locomotive designs from its constituent companies, the 439 Class proved sufficiently useful to justify continued production. Their reliability and versatility made them indispensable for Scottish branch line and suburban work.Once in service, the 439 Class quickly became one of the most widely distributed locomotive types on the Caledonian network. For decades, the sight of a Caledonian blue 0-4-4T departing with a short passenger train was a familiar one throughout the west of Scotland.

The success of McIntosh’s locomotive naturally led to further refinement. After McIntosh’s retirement, his successor, William Pickersgill, introduced modifications to later batches of the class. These were largely incremental changes (detail improvements to construction and mechanical components), but they ensured that the locomotives remained effective in service. Pickersgill later produced a related design, the 431 Class, which incorporated larger cylinders and slightly increased tractive effort. Although visually similar to the 439s, these engines were intended for somewhat heavier duties.

CR 439 Class 4-4-0T No. 419 at Perth - Photo © Harry Currell - https://www.flickr.com/photos/189172654@N02/

The Railway Grouping of 1923 brought the Caledonian Railway into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. Despite inheriting a vast and varied locomotive fleet, the LMS retained the 439 Class for Scottish passenger services, where their capabilities remained perfectly suited. When Britain’s railways were nationalised in 1948, the surviving members of the class passed into the ownership of British Railways. They were renumbered into the 55159–55236 series and continued to work local services, branch lines and secondary duties across Scotland. By this stage, the locomotives were already approaching half a century in age, yet their robust construction allowed them to remain useful well into the modernisation era.

By the late 1950s, however, the writing was on the wall for small steam locomotives. Diesel multiple units and modern diesel locomotives gradually displaced the elderly tank engines from their traditional roles. Withdrawals began steadily, and by 1962, the last examples of the class had disappeared from British Railways service. Their working lives had spanned more than sixty years, an impressive achievement for locomotives originally designed for Edwardian suburban traffic.

 

 

McIntosh Class 439 2P BR 55235 at Corkerhill MPD circa 1950s - Photo © Paul Kearley - https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulkearley/

 

Caledonian Railway No. 419 (15189 / 55189) Locomotive History.

The earliest working history of No. 419 is not recorded in detail. By the time of the First World War, however, the locomotive was allocated to Polmadie depot, where it worked suburban services from Glasgow Central. Interestingly, this was a role it would return to many years later in 1952. During the Caledonian Railway era (before 1923), the engine was transferred south to Lockerbie. Its duties there were varied: it handled light passenger trains on the branch line to Dumfries and also assisted heavy trains climbing from Beattock to Beattock Summit by banking them up the steep gradient.

Following the creation of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923, the locomotive was renumbered 15189, and its Caledonian blue livery was replaced by LMS black. Ardrossan became its home depot, and it was later transferred to Edinburgh Dalry Road. During this period, the LMS fitted it with a new boiler and vacuum braking equipment to complement the Westinghouse air brakes.

419 carrying out shunting demonstrations at Winchcombe - 25th May 2019

When Britain’s railways were nationalised in 1948 under British Railways, the locomotive became 55189 and received “British Railways” lettering on its tank sides, emerging from works in this form on 6th July 1949. Closures of several suburban lines around Edinburgh, including the Barnton branch in 1951, led to 55189 being transferred back to Polmadie. Between 1952 and 1959, it worked primarily on empty coaching stock movements between Glasgow Central and the carriage sidings at Larkfield. It also occasionally operated services around the Cathcart Circle and made trips into the industrial districts of Lanarkshire.

During these years, the locomotive acquired a rather ungainly stovepipe chimney. This was later replaced by the Scottish Railway Preservation Society (SRPS), which fitted a more authentic Caledonian chimney recovered from a sister locomotive that was destined for scrap. No. 419’s operational career concluded with routine pilot duties at Carstairs depot, where it remained based until its withdrawal from service in December 1962. Its retirement came alongside that of around 200 other steam locomotives in Scotland (possibly the largest single withdrawal of steam engines in the region).

419 departs Toddington for Winchcombe - 25th May 2019

As the final surviving example of a Caledonian Railway 0-4-4T locomotive, 55189 attracted strong interest from the newly formed Scottish Railway Preservation Society. Although the purchase price of £750 seems modest today, raising the funds proved challenging. Ultimately, the locomotive was saved thanks to a substantial contribution from Worcestershire farmer W. E. C. Watkinson, enabling the engine to be secured for preservation in March 1964.

Mr Watkinson’s support was vital to the locomotive’s survival and remains one of his most notable contributions to the SRPS, following his death in late 1981. He also donated a further £500 to allow the engine to be cosmetically restored to its original Caledonian blue livery. This work was carried out during the summer of 1964 at the former Cowlairs Works in Glasgow, once a major centre of the Caledonian Railway’s rival, the North British Railway.

In April 1965, the locomotive became the first resident of the society’s new shed at Falkirk. Over the following years, SRPS volunteers restored it to full operational condition, and it steamed publicly for the first time in preservation during the autumn of 1971. Since then, No. 419 has represented the SRPS at open days, commemorations, and railway events across Britain, including the cavalcade celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway's opening.

419 carrying out shunting demonstrations at Winchcombe - 25th May 2019

During the winter of 1981–82, the locomotive underwent major work, including re-tubing the boiler and fitting new side tanks. Various mechanical components were also overhauled, including the Westinghouse braking system. In April 1982, the locomotive was transported by road from the SRPS depot at Falkirk to the Bluebell Railway in Sussex to take part in the line’s centenary celebrations. It later returned to Bo’ness in March 1983.

The locomotive was withdrawn from service towards the end of the 2009 running season when its boiler certificate expired. Before being taken out of traffic, it appeared in British Railways black as No. 55189 for a series of photographic charters. The subsequent overhaul involved dismantling the engine and sending the boiler to Ian Riley, where extensive repairs were undertaken. These included replacing all crown stays, the foundation ring and large sections of the outer firebox. Progress was delayed when a newly manufactured set of driving-wheel axleboxes was stolen. Despite this, the locomotive was found to be mechanically sound.

419 carrying out shunting demonstrations at Winchcombe - 25th May 2019

A new smokebox was constructed and fitted, while the fittings on the boiler backhead and several control valves were renewed. New gauge frames were also installed. The locomotive returned to service in October 2018, emerging in the attractive “Perth” shade of Caledonian blue. In 2019, it visited several heritage railways, including the GWSR for our Cotswold Festival of Steam (CFOS). During this period, the locomotive experienced problems with overheating big-end bearings. The issue was resolved by machining the crank journals true and fitting newly white-metalled brasses.

The engine has since returned to reliable service. In early 2023, it was repainted in British Railways black as No. 55189, and prior to the 2026 season, it was repainted in LMS crimson as No. 15189. It was officially launched to the public over the weekend of 14th & 15th February 2026, running with NCB No.1 'Lord Roberts'. An appeal is currently underway to fund the purchase of a replacement Westinghouse pump, together with a new fire grate and carrier bars. If you are interested in helping out, further details can be found here via the SRPS.

 

Caledonian Railway 0-4-4T Class 439 No. 419 (LMS 15189 & BR 55189) - Photo courtesy of Chris Paton 

 

Caledonian Railway 0-4-4T Class 439 No. 419 (LMS 15189 & BR 55189) - Photo courtesy of Jonathan Gourlay

 

Caledonian Railway 0-4-4T Class 439 No. 419 (LMS 15189 & BR 55189) - Photo courtesy of Jonathan Gourlay  

 

For those of you who use Facebook, here are a number of GWSR related groups which are worth following:

DMLL - Dinmore Manor Locomotive Ltd

CSPL - Cotswold Steam Preservation Limited (CSPL) 

2874 - The 2874 Trust

35006 - 35006 Group

76077 - Standard Locomotive 76077

CWR - Cotswold Wagon Restorations

CFOS - GWSR Cotswold Festival of Steam Gala Page

THL - The Honeybourne Line - a GWR mainline in the making

 

A very important weekend in May for your diaries, with further news and announcements due soon. *

 

 

The GWSR recently launched a new website and the various department blogs can all be found here. 

 

Anyway, that's all I have for today. More gala announcements will be chuffing along in due course. I'm off to keep an eye on the horses...

Alex (the sooty one!).

 

No. 419 locomotive history based on information from SRPS Steam.

 

* Please Note: All locomotives are subject to availability and changes may be made at short notice. 

 

All published photographs and videos are my own unless otherwise stated/credited.

 

Does anyone fancy a coffee?

Photo courtesy of Bill Parker

 

When we think of the halcyon days of steam locomotives, what probably comes to mind are 'The Big Four' and their 'Top Link' expresses. These were hauled by large, majestic engines. Classic examples include Gresley’s A4s, Stanier's Coronations, Bulleid's Merchant's, and Collett's Kings. These engines exuded style, sophistication, quality, and craftsmanship. In many ways, they embodied the romance of steam. For those fortunate enough to travel in first-class accommodation, it was a very opulent experience. Named services such as the GWR's 'Cornish Riviera Express' and the LMS's 'Coronation Scot' showcased the railway at its absolute best. Oh, if only there were such a thing as a time machine!

Many of the above engines made headlines in the press, and for good reason. Yet much of the mundane, day-to-day work happened behind the scenes. It was carried out in a far less glamorous fashion, by engines that most wouldn't give a second thought to. Large locomotives, by their very nature, are imposing machines with great heft and presence. However, I would argue that the much smaller and often overlooked prototypes are more interesting and intriguing, particularly those which would be considered diminutive. The railway, after all, is a patchwork quilt of all sorts.

You may be wondering why I posed the question about coffee in the title of this blog, but along with the opening photograph, it's a clue as to our next locomotive announcement for this year's Cotswold Festival of Steam (CFoS). Thus, without further ado, I shall hand my trusty keyboard over to Ian for a moment. Perfect timing, as the kettle has just finished boiling. Although I must confess that I am rather ambivalent about coffee. Don't worry folks, I'll get my coat!

 

 

The unique 'Coffee Pot' ex-Great Eastern Y5 0-4-0T Service Locomotive. This ex-GE curiosity, built in 1903 as No. 230 (LNER 7230, then 8081 and BR 68081) was a survivor of eight diminutive Y5 0-4-0T's used for work in awkward places. It became the shunter for the Carriage Works at Stratford and is seen here outside Stratford Old (Locomotive) Works - By Ben Brooksbank, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15178861

 

Fondly known as the ‘Coffee Pot’, or ‘Flat-Top’, thanks to its unusual flat-shaped water tank, it is Great Eastern Railway ‘209’ class 0-4-0ST no. 229.  A truly delightful locomotive, it has been meticulously returned to working order for the first time in nearly 70 years by owner Bill Parker and his team at the Flour Mill workshops in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. 

It will join already-announced Southern Railway ‘Battle of Britain’ class Pacific, 34070 Manston, which is in its as-built condition with a flat-topped boiler casing. Hence, these engines were also often called ‘flat-tops’. Further details regarding Manston can be found in a previous blog entry here.

 

“’Coffee Pot’ is the nickname of this quirky little machine, which was built by Neilson & Co in Glasgow in 1876, making it 150 yeas old this year,” says Tom Willson, chairman of the event organising committee.  “It was one of eight built and it’s believed that its very first duties were shunting at Liverpool Street station in London, as well as working the sharply-curved sidings of industrial yards in East London.”

Sitting in Liverpool Street on the 8th December 2025 for the Permanent Way Lodge's Masonic charity event marking Railway200 - Photo courtesy of Ian Crowder

No. 229 is a remarkable survivor. It worked for the Great Eastern Railway until 1917 when it was withdrawn and sold to the Admiralty for use at their Chepstow yard, which became Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd in 1925.  It’s believed that the last time no. 229 worked was in the late 1950s, when it was left in a siding, gradually rusting away until the 1980s. 

It was acquired by Bill Parker, who cosmetically restored it for display at the former Woolwich Old Station Museum.  It remained on display there until the museum closed in 2008.

The Stockton & Darlington Railway 200 events included the Titans of Steam Gala on both sides of the Railway Quarter site at North Road station. Newly overhauled Great Eastern Railway 'Coffee Pot' 0-4-0 shunting engine No. 229 was making its first public appearance in steam since being overhauled by its owner at the Flour Mill Workshop in the Forest of Dean (27/09/2025) - Video © BR7MT

“Bill Parker then overhauled the little locomotive at his Flour Mill works and it steamed for the first time in preservation in September 2025, when it famously took part in the Stockton & Darlington Railway 200th Anniversary celebrations at Hopetown, Co. Durham,” adds Tom Willson.  “It has since appeared only two or three times in public and we’re absolutely delighted that it will star at the Cotswold Festival of Steam.

“It will be pressed into working a short passenger train between Toddington and Winchcombe each day, before shunting wagons in and around the station.  I suspect that, despite the glamorous company of locomotives such as visiting ‘Battle of Britain’ Pacific Manston, the little Coffee Pot will steal the show!”

GER 229 at Hopetown for Railway 200 - Photo courtesy of Jack Boskett

By coincidence, the Coffee Pot Café at Winchcombe station is named after the original steam railmotor services that worked the first trains on the line from 1906.  These had a vertical type of boiler that looked a little like a coffee pot, and the name stuck until local train services ended in 1960.

 

The Flour Mill website can be found here. 

 

<------------->

 

Time for some general history on the Y5 Class, based on information from the LNER Encyclopedia. See here.

 

A total of eight of these diminutive but characterful shunting locomotives were built for the Great Eastern Railway by Neilson & Co. The first quartet emerged in 1874 and was intended primarily for shunting duties at the busy goods facilities at Canning Town and Devonshire Street. Though small in stature, they quickly proved useful for the tight, stop-start work required in congested dockside and urban yards.

In the mid-1890s, the class underwent significant rebuilding. Between 1894 and 1895, the locomotives were fitted with higher-pressure boilers and, for the first time, enclosed cabs to improve crew protection. The updated design was later adopted for additional locomotives constructed at the GER’s Stratford Works, where two further pairs were turned out in 1897 and 1903. Although originally associated with Devonshire Street and Canning Town, members of the class could also be found carrying out shunting work at Colchester, Lowestoft Harbour and the Stratford Carriage Works.

Number 229, preserved at North Woolwich Old Station Museum in 2006 - By Voice of Clam - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=90561997

Changes in motive power gradually rendered the little engines obsolete. Between 1911 and 1917, four locomotives (comprising the pair built in 1897 and two of the original engines) were withdrawn and replaced by the more powerful Y4 class. The remaining four passed into the stock of the LNER following the 1923 Grouping. Three of these were subsequently withdrawn between 1926 and 1931, leaving just one survivor, No. 7230. This veteran continued to perform shunting duties at Stratford Carriage Works until 1948. By the 1930s, it had become something of a minor celebrity, being maintained in lined black livery and appearing at several railway exhibitions held across former GER territory.

The original Neilson-built locomotives were equipped with rather small coal bunkers, which were later enlarged by fitting three coal rails. The Stratford-built engines were constructed with taller bunkers but only two coal rails. Even so, coal capacity remained a persistent issue across the class, and crews frequently supplemented the supply by piling additional coal on the running plate and across the flat top of the saddle tank.

Photo © demu1037 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/demu1037/

In terms of appearance, locomotives Nos. 0228 and 7209 retained their GER grey livery throughout their time with the LNER, while Nos. 7230 and 7231 were repainted into LNER black. The long-serving No. 7230 (later renumbered 8081) passed briefly into British Railways ownership, but survived for only four months and was never allocated a BR number in the 60000 series.

 

Photo courtesy of Ian Crowder 

 

Raising steam in the dark - Photo courtesy of Ian Crowder 

 

<-------------> 

 

Now I think it's time for a trip down memory lane, and I thought you might be interested in the following photographs. It's amazing what you come across when writing a railway blog, and I was kindly shown these by one of our readers. They are dated from March 1988, and it's quite remarkable to see how far the GWSR steam department has progressed since then.

 

It's also rather surprising to see how many different engines have passed through the GWSR over the decades.  

35006 undergoing restoration - Photo courtesy of Peter C from Western Australia (via RMweb)

 

76077 - Photo courtesy of Peter C from Western Australia (via RMweb)
 

4936 'Kinlet Hall' - Photo courtesy of Peter C from Western Australia (via RMweb)

 

7821 'Ditcheat Manor' & 2807 - Photo courtesy of Peter C from Western Australia (via RMweb) 
 

5526 & rear section of 5199 - Photo courtesy of Peter C from Western Australia (via RMweb) 

 

4277 - Photo courtesy of Peter C from Western Australia (via RMweb)

 

5952 'Cogan Hall' - Photo courtesy of Peter C from Western Australia (via RMweb) 

 

<------------->

 

A scene reminiscent of the 1960s perhaps? - Traction being prepared for the weekend - 6th March 2026 - Photo courtesy of David Holmes

 

2807 out on a test run with 3850 following winter maintenance - 7th March 2026 - Photo courtesy of Roger Molesworth  

 

For those of you who use Facebook, here are a number of GWSR related groups which are worth following:

DMLL - Dinmore Manor Locomotive Ltd

CSPL - Cotswold Steam Preservation Limited (CSPL) 

2874 - The 2874 Trust

35006 - 35006 Group

76077 - Standard Locomotive 76077

CWR - Cotswold Wagon Restorations

CFOS - GWSR Cotswold Festival of Steam Gala Page

THL - The Honeybourne Line - a GWR mainline in the making

 

A very important weekend in May for your diaries, with further news and announcements due soon. *

 

 

The GWSR recently launched a new website and the various department blogs can all be found here. 

 

Anyway, that's all I have for today. More gala announcements will be chuffing along in due course. In the meantime, it's all hands on deck this weekend as we're 'Off to the races' next week. Here's hoping we have some decent weather!

Alex (the sooty one!).

 

Thanks to Ian Crowder for providing some additional information and narrative. 

 

* Please Note: All locomotives are subject to availability and changes may be made at short notice. 

 

All published photographs and videos are my own unless otherwise stated/credited.