GWR steam rail motors

The GWR steam rail motors were self-propelled passenger carriages operated by the Great Western Railway in England and Wales from 1903 to 1935, each incorporating a small steam locomotive within the body of the carriage. They were introduced to give cheaper and more frequent local services against the threat of urban tramways, after a borrowed London and South Western Railway railmotor was tried on the Golden Valley Line in Gloucestershire. George Jackson Churchward designed the GWR version, and the first two units entered service between Chalford and Gloucester on 12 October 1903. A further 44 were built in 1904 and 1905, and by the time production ended in 1908 the fleet numbered 99 carriage units with 112 interchangeable power units. The first was withdrawn in 1914, and the last in 1935.