(NOTE: THIS IS NOT A PROPOSED DESIGN FROM THE GWR, THIS IS A MADE UP DESIGN)
The Great Western Railway's 8900 'General' Class was designed for heavy goods work by Frederick Hawksworth in 1941 at Swindon Works to run on various of the GWR Lines. The class was mostly used by the British Military during World War II to haul supplies and railway guns for the soldiers.
During the 1920s, 1930s, and early 1940s, the Great Western Railway had lack of steam locomotives dedicated to heavy goods work. Although George Churchward had introduced the GWR 4700 Class, they weren't powerful enough to handle the heaviest goods trains, and only 9 of the 4700's had been built. Charles Collett had also designed the GWR 4900 'Hall' Class, but they also proved to have lack of strength as they were mixed traffic locomotives, and with the second World War, the British Military required steam locomotives to help them. Frederick Hawksworth was inspired by Stanier's LMS 8F Class and Gresley's LNER P1 Class, so he based the 8900 Class design on Charles Collett's GWR 4900 'Hall' Class, extending the firebox to also add another pair of driving wheels, increasing the tractive power to 40,927lb, and using a Churchward 3,000 Gallons tender. They were all built at Swindon Works from 1941 to 1942 and they could reach speeds up to 90 Miles per Hour (144 km/h).
The first three members No. 8900 'Sir William Abraham', No. 8901 'Sir Ronald Adam', and No. 8902 'Princess Victoria' were built in June of 1941 and were first tested on heavy coal trains from the Ruabon Coal Company to London Paddington, and they performed well during the testings. However the 8900's required large amounts of coal and water, which would later become a problem. The first 10 of the 8900's were painted in GWR Black, while the remainder were painted in GWR Green. More of the 8900 Class were built, totalling 22 members by October of 1942 and were all numbered 8900-8921. The class were, despite the need of large amounts of coal and water, a fairly successful design. The 8900 Class also earned the name 'General', as most of the 8900's were named after various British Army generals of the second World War, with the rest being named after princesses and duchesses of Britain.
After the second World War, all the 8900's were fitted with the Frederick Hawksworth 4,000 Gallons tenders from 1946 to 1947, solving the 3,000 Gallons tenders problem, and had enough coal and water for the 8900's to use while traveling. After Nationalization in 1948, all the 8900's were repainted to BR Lined Black, while keeping their GWR Numbers. In 1949, No. 8912 'Francis Festing' was rebuilt into a 8950 Class, which was a design Frederick Hawksworth drew but was proposed until British Railways decided to built it. Francis Festing became the first of the 8950's and was renumbered 8950. In 1961, No. 8907 'Princess Beatrice' rear ended a goods train at Swindon, and thus starting the withdrawals of the 8900 Class. No. 8921 'The Little Princess' was withdrawn in December of 1967, being the last of the 8900 Class to be withdrawn from service.
Out of the 22, only 7 examples survived into preservation; No. 8901 'Sir Ronald Adam', No. 8902 'Princess Victoria, and No. 8907 'Princess Beatrice' were preserved by the West Somerset Railway in 1978. No. 8921 'The Little Princess' was preserved by the Mid-Hants Railway before being preserved by David Smith for the West Coast Railways in 2008. No. 8910 'Jock Campbell' was preserved by the National Collection in 1970 and was Main Line Certified in 2018. And lastly, No. 8912 'Francis Festing' and No. 8920 'Duchess of Devonshire' were preserved by the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway in 1969.
The 8900 'General' Class fleet is listed below:
8900: Sir William Abraham
8901: Sir Ronald Adam
8902: Princess Victoria
8903: Robert Allen
8904: Sir Charles Walter
8905: Princess Marina
8906: Sir Allan Adair
8907: Princess Beatrice
8908: Princess Bertha
8909: Charles Bullen-Smith
8910: Jock Campbell
8911: Ernest Down
8912: Francis Festing
8913: Sir Richard Gale
8914: Sir Harold Franklyn
8915: Sir Colin Gubbis
8916: Sir Robert Haining
8917: Princess Helena
8918: Princess Caroline
8919: Princess Diana
8920: Duchess of Devonshire
8921: The Little Princess
Photo of 8902 Princess Victoria in Works Grey at Swindon Works, 1938. (Photo by James_Appreciates#3811 On Discord.)
Photo of 8950 Francis Festing as rebuilt to a 8950 Class, 1949. (Photo by James_Appreciates#3811 On Discord.)
The Great Western Railway's 8900 'General' Class was designed for heavy goods work by Frederick Hawksworth in 1941 at Swindon Works to run on various of the GWR Lines. The class was mostly used by the British Military during World War II to haul supplies and railway guns for the soldiers.
During the 1920s, 1930s, and early 1940s, the Great Western Railway had lack of steam locomotives dedicated to heavy goods work. Although George Churchward had introduced the GWR 4700 Class, they weren't powerful enough to handle the heaviest goods trains, and only 9 of the 4700's had been built. Charles Collett had also designed the GWR 4900 'Hall' Class, but they also proved to have lack of strength as they were mixed traffic locomotives, and with the second World War, the British Military required steam locomotives to help them. Frederick Hawksworth was inspired by Stanier's LMS 8F Class and Gresley's LNER P1 Class, so he based the 8900 Class design on Charles Collett's GWR 4900 'Hall' Class, extending the firebox to also add another pair of driving wheels, increasing the tractive power to 40,927lb, and using a Churchward 3,000 Gallons tender. They were all built at Swindon Works from 1941 to 1942 and they could reach speeds up to 90 Miles per Hour (144 km/h).
The first three members No. 8900 'Sir William Abraham', No. 8901 'Sir Ronald Adam', and No. 8902 'Princess Victoria' were built in June of 1941 and were first tested on heavy coal trains from the Ruabon Coal Company to London Paddington, and they performed well during the testings. However the 8900's required large amounts of coal and water, which would later become a problem. The first 10 of the 8900's were painted in GWR Black, while the remainder were painted in GWR Green. More of the 8900 Class were built, totalling 22 members by October of 1942 and were all numbered 8900-8921. The class were, despite the need of large amounts of coal and water, a fairly successful design. The 8900 Class also earned the name 'General', as most of the 8900's were named after various British Army generals of the second World War, with the rest being named after princesses and duchesses of Britain.
After the second World War, all the 8900's were fitted with the Frederick Hawksworth 4,000 Gallons tenders from 1946 to 1947, solving the 3,000 Gallons tenders problem, and had enough coal and water for the 8900's to use while traveling. After Nationalization in 1948, all the 8900's were repainted to BR Lined Black, while keeping their GWR Numbers. In 1949, No. 8912 'Francis Festing' was rebuilt into a 8950 Class, which was a design Frederick Hawksworth drew but was proposed until British Railways decided to built it. Francis Festing became the first of the 8950's and was renumbered 8950. In 1961, No. 8907 'Princess Beatrice' rear ended a goods train at Swindon, and thus starting the withdrawals of the 8900 Class. No. 8921 'The Little Princess' was withdrawn in December of 1967, being the last of the 8900 Class to be withdrawn from service.
Out of the 22, only 7 examples survived into preservation; No. 8901 'Sir Ronald Adam', No. 8902 'Princess Victoria, and No. 8907 'Princess Beatrice' were preserved by the West Somerset Railway in 1978. No. 8921 'The Little Princess' was preserved by the Mid-Hants Railway before being preserved by David Smith for the West Coast Railways in 2008. No. 8910 'Jock Campbell' was preserved by the National Collection in 1970 and was Main Line Certified in 2018. And lastly, No. 8912 'Francis Festing' and No. 8920 'Duchess of Devonshire' were preserved by the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway in 1969.
The 8900 'General' Class fleet is listed below:
8900: Sir William Abraham
8901: Sir Ronald Adam
8902: Princess Victoria
8903: Robert Allen
8904: Sir Charles Walter
8905: Princess Marina
8906: Sir Allan Adair
8907: Princess Beatrice
8908: Princess Bertha
8909: Charles Bullen-Smith
8910: Jock Campbell
8911: Ernest Down
8912: Francis Festing
8913: Sir Richard Gale
8914: Sir Harold Franklyn
8915: Sir Colin Gubbis
8916: Sir Robert Haining
8917: Princess Helena
8918: Princess Caroline
8919: Princess Diana
8920: Duchess of Devonshire
8921: The Little Princess
Photo of 8902 Princess Victoria in Works Grey at Swindon Works, 1938. (Photo by James_Appreciates#3811 On Discord.)
Photo of 8950 Francis Festing as rebuilt to a 8950 Class, 1949. (Photo by James_Appreciates#3811 On Discord.)
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