GWR 1600 Class


The Great Western Railway 1600 class is a class of 0-6-0 pannier tank steam locomotive.

History

The class was based on the 2021 class designed by Dean and built from 1897 onwards. The 2021 class was in its turn an enlargement of the 850 class designed by Armstrong in 1874.

Construction and operations

The 1600 class was a pure GWR design but all 70 were built by the Western Region of British Railways. When the last member of the class was built in 1955 the basic design was over 80 years old. BR gave the 1600 class the power classification 2F. Two locomotives were transferred to the Scottish Region in 1957 and 1958 to operate the Dornoch Light Railway. Service life was short, withdrawals started in 1959 and all were gone by 1966 with 1659 having the shortest service. Two were sold for further use to the National Coal Board: 1600 in 1959, and 1607 in 1965.

Preservation

No. 1638 was the only member of the class to have been preserved, and is currently operational on the Kent and East Sussex Railway after its latest overhaul was completed in 2016.