GWR 5600 Class

The GWR 5600 Class is a class of 0-6-2 tank steam locomotives designed by Charles Collett for the Great Western Railway and built between 1924 and 1928. After the 1923 grouping Swindon had inherited a large and varied stock of locomotives from Welsh railway companies, and the 5600s were built to replace them with a standard type suited to the same South Wales coal traffic, where short distances, steep gradients and sharp curves favoured high adhesive weight and good braking. Two hundred were built. They passed into British Railways ownership in 1948 and were withdrawn rapidly between 1962 and 1965 as diesel traction spread. Nine of the class have been preserved.