GWR 5101 Class


The GWR 5101 Class or 'Large Prairie' was a class of 2-6-2T steam locomotives of the Great Western Railway.

History

The 5101 Class were medium-sized tank engines used for suburban and local passenger services all over the Great Western Railway system. The class was an updated version, by Collett, of Churchward's 1903 3100/5100 Class.
The original 40 members of the 3100 class were renumbered 5100 and 5111 to 5149 in 1927. The first batches of 5101s filled in the numbers 5101 to 5110 and extended the class from 5150 to 5189. They were little changed from the Churchward locomotives as they then were, but had an increased axle loading of ; the maximum permitted for the ‘Blue’ route availability. Bunkers were of the standard Collett design with greater coal capacity. The 5100 number series was exhausted in 1934, and further new locomotives were numbered from 4100. The last 20 were built after nationalisation.
NumberDateLot NoNotes
5101-101929257
5150-591929257
5160-741930259
5175-891931257
5190-991934284
4100-091935292
4110-191936292
4120-211937313
4122-291938313
4130-391939323
4140-491946335
4150-591947361
4160-691948369
4170-791949369

As both freight and passenger traffic on branch lines declined post-World War II with increasing volumes of private motor cars, and replacement on urban services by diesel-powered rail cars, the bulk of the class found itself allocated to various mainline support duties, mainly banking and piloting, often on the South Devon Banks on the Exeter to Plymouth Line, or around the Severn Tunnel on the South Wales Main Line.
A number of the class - 4110, 4115, 4121, 4144, 4150, 4156 and 4160 - ended their operational lives allocated to the major locomotive shed at, undertaking piloting and banking duties through both the Severn Tunnel and the associated goods yard. Assistance was needed by all heavy trains through the Severn Tunnel, which entailed: of 1-in-90 down to the middle of the tunnel; then a further at 1-in-100 up to ; a short level then more at 1-in-100 to. However, the pilot locomotive usually came off at Pilning. Several of this group were sold for scrap to Woodham Brothers and consequently have survived into preservation.

Accidents and incidents

The below list shows when all of the original 5101's and later 4100's were withdrawn from service.
YearQuantity in
service at
start of year		Number withdrawnQuantity
withdrawn		Locomotive numbers
1956140115159.
1957139565107/09/56–57/61.
195813410164138–39, 5105/08/60/62/65/68/71–72.
19591244205170/86/89/96.
196012016364162/64/70, 5102–04/06/10/50/55/63/69/78–79/85/97.
196110411474117/23, 5158/66/74–77/94–95/98.
19629322694102/06/12/16/18/26/29/45–46/52/63, 5151/67/73/80–83/87–88/90/93.
19637114834114/19/27/34/40–42/49, 5101/52/54/64/92/99.
196457281114101/03–05/08–09/20/22/24/28/30–33/35–37/43/53/59/66–67/71/73–74, 5153/84/91.
196529291404100/07/10–11/13/15/21/25/44/47–48/50–51/54–58/60–61/65/68–69/72/75–79.

Preservation

Ten of the class avoiding scrapping in the 1960s. As of 2017, five have run in preservation, one is under active restoration, two are essentially in scrapyard condition and two have acted as donor locomotives for other projects:
NumberBuiltWithdrawnService LifeOwnerCurrent LocationStatusNotesImage
5164Nov 1930Apr 196332 Years, 5 months5164 Preservation GroupBarrow Hill Engine ShedBoiler certificate expired 5 January 2014Normally located at the Severn Valley Railway, currently on display at Barrow Hill MPD for at least 12 months.
5193Oct 1934Jun 196227 Years, 8 monthsWest Somerset Railway plcWest Somerset RailwayOperational Originally built in 1934, withdrawn in 1962 and recovered from Woodham Brothers scrapyard in 1979. Rebuilt by the West Somerset Railway into a 2-6-0 resembling a small boilered version of the GWR 4300 Class, which has been numbered 9351. Returned to service in 2019 following an overhaul.
5199Nov 1934Mar 196328 Years, 3 monthsLlangollen RailwayLlangollen RailwayOperationalOverhaul completed 23 November 2014
4110Oct 1936Jun 196528 Years, 8 monthsDartmouth Steam RailwayEast Somerset railwayUnder restorationSold in May 2015 by GWR Preservation Group Limited of Southall Railway Centre to WSR plc. Moved to Minehead 16 June 2015. Sold in January 2019 to the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway. On 10 January it was moved to the East Somerset railway for restoration to begin. There it will run for three years.
4115Oct 1936Jun 196528 Years, 8 monthsGreat Western SocietyDidcot Railway CentreDonor locomotiveBuilt October 1936, withdrawn from service in June 1965. One of the "Barry Ten", she was sold to the Great Western Society, Didcot in 2010, to act as a donor locomotive for the creation of two new locomotives:
  • GWR 4700 Class 2-8-0 No. 4709, to which it will donate: front end extension frames and cylinder sub-assembly; six of the eight 5 ft 8in driving wheels required; frame stays; footplate supports; brake hangers; vacuum brake cylinder and reservoir; weighshaft and bearings
  • GWR 2221 Class County Tank 4-4-2T, to which it will donate its boiler.
4121Dec 1937Jun 196527 Years, 6 monthsTyseley Locomotive WorksUnrestored, partially strippedStored at Tyseley in a partially stripped down state
4141Aug 1946Mar 196316 Years, 7 monthsEpping Ongar RailwayAwaiting completion of repairsReturned to steam in 2012 after an overhaul, but currently out of service awaiting boiler repairs.
4144Sept 1946Jun 196518 Years, 8 monthsGreat Western SocietyDidcot Railway CentreOperationalReturned to steam in 2015 after an overhaul. On loan to the Kent & East Sussex Railway for the 2020 season.
4150Jun 1947Jun 196517 Years, 11 months4150 fundSevern Valley RailwayRestoration in progress
4160Sept 1948Jun 196516 Years, 8 months4160 LtdLlangollen RailwayUnder OverhaulOverhauled in 2007, operated on the West Somerset Railway. Sent to the Llangollen Railway in January 2016 for overhaul

Models

manufacture a model of the Large Prairie in N scale.
Hornby have manufactured a model of the class in 00 gauge in both Great Western and British railway liveries.
Heljan are planning on producing a model of the large prairie in O gauge in 2017