Drawings of GWR Locomotives

4 Coupled Tanks

The variations in the 19th Century classes create a positive minefield for modellers: a locomotive could go into the works for a heavy overhaul and come out looking as if it were of a different class. The 517s and Metros listed here are particularly notorious for endless variety. Whilst bunker and cab shapes are the most common variations even things like the axle box design varied over the years. Working from a photograph of an individual locomotive is highly recommended.

The drawings are in roughly chronological order.
If you can look at these drawings and gain a greater understanding of how these locomotives evolved over the years then I will have achieved my aims with these sketches, but if you use them for anything beyond the simplest "plastic bashing" representational modelling then I have done you a disfavour by creating them.
The drawings are arranged so they can be opened in individual tabs of a tabbed browser and flicked between to look at the changes. Whilst they are to a consistent scale, I deliberately haven't shown the scale because of the various caveats noted above.

455 Sketch (Small Metro) Lot 18. 1869. Armstrong 2-4-0T
517 Sketch Lot D. 1868. Armstrong 0-4-2T
455 Sketch (Large Metro) Diagram C. Approx 1905. Armstrong 2-4-0T
517 Sketch Diagram E. Approx 1920. Armstrong 0-4-2T
517 Sketch Diagram L. Approx 1924. Armstrong 0-4-2T
455 Sketch (Large Metro) Diagram H. Approx 1924. Armstrong 2-4-0T
455 Sketch (Small Metro) Diagram K. Approx 1924. Armstrong 2-4-0T
455 Sketch (Small Metro) Diagram K. Approx 1924.
Enclosed Cab
Armstrong 2-4-0T
4800 Sketch (later 1400/14xx) Diagram M. Approx 1932. Collett 0-4-2T

Return to the GWR Information Index Page.

The original articles on these pages are mainly contractions from my book, "An Introduction to Great Western Locomotive Development", a study of Great Western Railway locomotive classes, which is published by Pen and Sword Books. You may order it from here.

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© Jim Champ, last edit 4 Dec 2019

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