GWR 4200 Class

The GWR 4200 Class is a class of 2-8-0 tank steam locomotives. In 1906 George Jackson Churchward adapted his 2800 Class freight design to create the first 2-8-0 tank engine in the United Kingdom, to move heavy coal trains through the steep, curving South Wales Valleys. The prototype, number 4201, left Swindon Works in 1910 and production followed in 1912; 105 were built by 1923. The large boilers left room only for narrow side tanks, and the engines were nicknamed Water Carts for their heavy water consumption. A version with larger cylinders became the 5205 Class, and some were later extended to 2-8-2 tanks. The first withdrawal was number 4224 in February 1959, and five survivors, all rescued from the Barry scrapyard, have been preserved.