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| Great Western Railway | |
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 Coat-of-arms of the Great Western Railway, incorporating the shields of the cities of London (left) and Bristol (right) |
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| 1835 | Act of Incorporation |
| 1838 | First train ran |
| 1892 | Broad gauge abandoned |
| 1903 | Start of road motor services |
| 1904 | City of Truro sets speed record |
| 1948 | Nationalised |
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| 1854 | Shrewsbury and Birmingham Ry Shrewsbury and Chester Railway |
| 1862 | South Wales Railway |
| 1863 | West Midlands Railway |
| 1876 | Bristol and Exeter Railway South Devon Railway |
| 1889 | Cornwall Railway |
| 1922 | Rhymney Railway Taff Vale Railway Cambrian Railway |
| 1923 | Midland & S W Junction Rwy |
| See full list of constituents of the Great Western Railway | |
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| 1948 | Western Region of British Railways |
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| Headquarters | Paddington station, London |
| Workshops | Swindon |
| Wolverhampton | |
| Major stations | Bristol Temple Meads Cardiff General London Paddington Reading General |
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| 1841 | 171 miles (275 km) |
| 1863 | 1,106 miles (1,780 km) |
| 1876 | 2,023 miles (3,256 km) |
| 1899 | 2,504 miles (4,030 km) |
| 1921 | 2,900 miles (4,700 km) |
| 1924 | 3,797 miles (6,111 km) |
| Mileage shown as at end of year stated. Source[1][2][3] | |
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company and a notable example of civil engineering, linking London with the West Country, South West England and South Wales. It was founded in 1833, kept its identity through the 1923 grouping, and became the Western Region of British Railways at nationalisation in 1948.
Known admiringly to some as "God's Wonderful Railway"[4], jocularly to others as the "Great Way Round" (some of its earliest routes were not the most direct).[5] It gained great fame as the "Holiday Line", taking huge numbers of people to resorts in the southwest.
The company's best-known livery was quite distinctive: locomotives were middle chrome green (similar to Brunswick green), above Indian red (later, plain black) frames; the carriages were two-tone "chocolate and cream".
In 1999, in recognition of the railway's historical importance, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport added parts of the GWR to UNESCO's tentative World Heritage Sites list.[6] The nomination is being supported by English Heritage.[7]
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The Great Western Railway originated from the desire of Bristol merchants to maintain the position of their port as the second port in the country and the chief one for American trade. The increase in the size of ships and the gradual silting of the River Avon made Liverpool an increasingly attractive port, and with its rail connection with London developing in the 1830s it threatened Bristol's status. The answer for Bristol was, with the co-operation of London interests, to build a line of their own, a railway built to unprecedented standards of excellence to outperform the other lines being constructed to the north-west.
The company was founded at a public meeting in Bristol in 1833,[1] and was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1835. Isambard Kingdom Brunel was appointed as engineer at the age of 27, and made two controversial decisions: to use a broad gauge of seven feet (actually 7 ft 0¼ in or 2,140 mm) for the track, to allow large wheels, providing smoother running at high speeds; and to take a route which passed north of the Marlborough Downs, an area with no significant towns, though it did offer potential connections to Oxford and Gloucester and then to follow the Thames Valley into London. He surveyed the entire length of the route between London and Bristol himself.
G. T. Clark played an important role as an engineer on the project, reputedly taking the management of two divisions of the route including bridges over the River Thames at Upper Basildon and Moulsford, and Paddington Station.[8] Involvement in major earth-moving works seems to have fed Clark's interest in geology and archaeology and he, anonymously, authored two guidebooks on the railway, one illustrated with lithographs by John Cooke Bourne,[9] in addition to a critique of Brunel's methods and the broad gauge.[10]
The initial group of locomotives ordered by Brunel to his own specifications proved unsatisfactory, apart from the North Star locomotive, and 20-year-old Daniel Gooch (later Sir) was appointed as Superintendent of Locomotives. Brunel and Gooch chose to locate their locomotive works at the village of Swindon, at the point where the gradual ascent from London turned into the steeper descent to the Avon valley at Bath.
The first stretch of line, from London Paddington to Taplow near Maidenhead, opened in 1838. The full line to Bristol Temple Meads opened on completion of Box Tunnel in 1841.
From then onwards, by amalgamations and new construction, the railway took shape.
The GWR commissioned the world's first commercial telegraph line. This ran for 13 miles (21 km) from Paddington station to West Drayton and came into operation on 9 April 1839.
In 1846 the Great Western Railway took over the running of the Kennet and Avon Canal.
The Bristol and Exeter Railway reached Exeter by 1844, and the Bristol and Gloucester Railway brought the broad gauge to Gloucester in the same year. Gloucester was already served by the standard-gauge Birmingham and Gloucester Railway (opened throughout in 1841), resulting in a break of gauge, and the need for all passengers and goods travelling through Gloucester to change trains.
This was the beginning of the "gauge war", and resulted in the appointment by Parliament of a Gauge Commission, which duly reported in favour of standard gauge.
The undaunted GWR pressed ahead into the West Midlands, in hard-fought competition with the London and North Western Railway. Birmingham was reached in 1852, at Snow Hill (although the GWR had initially considered building to Rugby instead of Birmingham), Wolverhampton Low Level (the furthest-north broad-gauge station) and Birkenhead (on standard-gauge track) in 1854. The Bristol and Gloucester had been bought by the Midland Railway in 1846 and converted to standard gauge in 1854, bringing mixed gauge track (with three rails, so that both broad and standard gauge trains could run on it) to Bristol. By the 1860s the gauge war was lost; with the merger of the standard-gauge West Midlands Railway into the GWR in 1861 mixed gauge came to Paddington, and by 1869 there was no broad-gauge track north of Oxford.
Meanwhile, further developments were made in the GWR's heartland: the South Devon Railway (which for a time experimented with the “atmospheric” system of propulsion) was opened in 1849, extending the broad gauge to Plymouth, and the Cornwall Railway took it over the Royal Albert Bridge and into Cornwall, reaching Penzance by 1867. The South Wales Railway, terminating at Neyland, opened in 1850 and was connected to the GWR via Brunel's ungainly Wye bridge in 1852. The route from Wales to London via Gloucester was a roundabout one, so work on the Severn Tunnel began in 1873, but unexpected underwater springs slowed the work down and prevented its opening until 1886.
Through this period the conversion to standard gauge continued, with mixed-gauge track reaching Exeter in 1876. By this time most conversions were bypassing mixed gauge and going directly from broad to standard. The final stretch of broad gauge was converted to standard in a single weekend in May 1892.[11]
Freed from what was by then the burden of the broad gauge, the 1890s also saw improvements in service of the generally conservative GWR – restaurant cars, much improved conditions for third class passengers, steam heating of trains, and accelerated express services. This was largely at the initiative of T. I. Allen, the Superintendent of the Line, and one of a group of talented senior managers who led the railway into the Edwardian era: Viscount Emlyn (Earl Cawdor), Chairman from 1895 to 1905; Sir Joseph Wilkinson, general manager from 1896 to 1903, and his successor, the former chief engineer Sir James Inglis; and George Jackson Churchward, William Dean's successor as Chief mechanical engineer from 1902 to 1922.[2]
With its shares in demand from the later 1890s it was possible for the company to raise substantial sums from new issues to support the building of new lines and upgrading of old ones to shorten its previously circuitous routes.[12] The principal lines were
Related works included those at Fishguard Harbour in South Wales in an attempt to attract transatlantic liner traffic and the substantial rebuilding of Birmingham Snow Hill station.
At the outbreak of World War I the GWR, along with the other major railways, was taken into government control. After the war the government considered permanent nationalisation, but preferred a compulsory amalgamation of the railways into four large groups. The GWR alone preserved its identity through the grouping, which took effect on 1 January 1923.
The new Great Western Railway comprised the following constituent companies:
Total route length of the GWR was 3,800 miles (6,100 km)
The company now owned:citation needed
Much of the inherited infrastructure had come into being for handling the South Wales coal traffic. Though this appeared to be a great coup for the GWR, the coal traffic declined significantly as the use of coal as a naval fuel declined, and within a decade the GWR was itself the largest single user of Welsh coal.
In 1930 one more company was absorbed, narrow gauge Corris Railway.
The 1930s brought hard times but the company remained in relatively good financial health despite the Depression.
World War II brought a further period of direct government control, and by its end a Labour government was in power and planning to nationalise the railways. The war-damaged GWR became part of British Railways on 1 January 1948. One of the last Directors of the GWR, Harold Macmillan, was instrumental in the defeat of the Labour Government by the Conservatives, led then by Winston Churchill, in the 1951 General Election and later himself became Prime Minister in 1957.
The traditions of the GWR are kept alive by many heritage railways including at Didcot Railway Centre, the South Devon Railway, the Severn Valley Railway, the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway, the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway, the Dean Forest Railway, Telford Steam Railway, West Somerset Railway and at Tyseley Locomotive Works. The STEAM museum, Swindon, is dedicated to the history and life of the GWR.
On privatisation of the railways in the early 1990s, the "Great Western" name was revived for the train operating company providing passenger services to the West. Services are now run under the franchise name First Great Western.
UNESCO are considering a proposal to list the Great Western Main line as a World Heritage Site. The proposal comprises seven individual sites:[6]
The original Great Western Main Line linked London Paddington station with Temple Meads station in Bristol by way of Reading, Didcot, Swindon, Chippenham and Bath. This line was extended westwards through Exeter and Plymouth to reach Penzance, the most westerly railway station in England.
A line from Swindon ran through Gloucester to Cardiff, Swansea to west Wales. This route was later shortened by the opening of the Severn Tunnel. Another route ran northwards from Didcot to Oxford from where two different routes continued to Wolverhampton, one through Birmingham and the other through Worcester. Beyond Wolverhampton the line continued via Shrewsbury to Crewe, Chester and Birkenhead. Operating agreements with other companies also saw GWR trains run to Manchester.
South of the main line were routes from Didcot to Southampton via Newbury, and from Chippenham to Weymouth via Westbury.
There was a network of cross-country routes linking these lines and there were also many smaller branches to places such as Windsor, Basingstoke, Hereford and Salisbury. The Railways Act 1921 added many smaller companies within this area, notably the Cambrian Railways network in mid Wales and several railways in the Cardiff area.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel envisaged the GWR extending from London to New York and built the SS Great Western to carry the railway's passengers across the Atlantic ocean. Traffic soon switched to Liverpool but Great Western ships linked the United Kingdom with Ireland, the Channel Islands and France. The company owned a number of docks such as Fowey, Plymouth Millbay, Weymouth, and Cardiff.
The railway's headquarters were established at Paddington station. Its locomotives and rolling stock were built and maintained at Swindon railway works but a number of other workshops were acquired as it amalgamated with other railways, notably Stafford Road works at Wolverhampton, but also others at locations such as Newton Abbot and Caerphilly. Workshops for signalling equipment were located adjacent to Reading railway station and. In later years, a concrete works was established at Taunton where items ranging from track components to bridges were cast.
The Great Western Main Line was designed to be much more straight and level than was usual at the time, and so a number of important structures feature along its length. Working westwards from Paddington, the line crosses the valley of the River Brent on Wharncliffe Viaduct and the River Thames on Maidenhead Railway Bridge. It then runs through Sonning Cutting before reaching Reading. It also crosses the Thames two more times, on Gatehampton and Moulsford bridges. Between Chippenham and Bath it then passes through Box Tunnel, the longest railway tunnel driven by that time. Several years later the railway opened the even longer Severn Tunnel to carry a new line between England and Wales beneath the River Severn.
In the early years the GWR was managed by two committees, one in Bristol and one in London. They combined as a single Board of Directors which met in offices at Paddington.[1]
The Board was led by a chairman and supported by a secretary and other "officers". The first Goods Managers were appointed in 1850. From 1867 this position was filled by James Grierson until 1863 when he became the first General Manager. The first Locomotive Superintendent was Daniel Gooch, although from 1915 the title was changed to Chief Mechanical Engineer. In 1864 the post of Superintendent of the Line was created to oversee the running of the trains.[13]
Early trains offered passengers a choice of first- or second-class carriages. In 1840 passengers were also able to be conveyed by the slow goods trains in what became third-class. The 1844 Railway Regulation Act forced the GWR to provide at least one train each day with third-class accommodation at not more than one penny per mile and a speed of at least 12 mph (19 km/h). By 1882, third-class carriages were attached to all trains except for the fastest expresses. Another parliamentary order meant that trains started to include smoking carriages from 1868.[14]
Special "excursion" cheap-day tickets were first issued in May 1849 and season tickets in 1851. Until 1869 most revenue came from second-class passengers but the volume of third-class passengers grew to the extent that second-class facilities were withdrawn in 1912. The Cheap Trains Act 1883 resulted in the provision of workmen's trains at special low fares at certain times of the day.[3]
Many express services were given names. At first these were just used by railwaymen but later appeared in timetables, on headboards carried on the locomotive, and on roofboards above the windows of the carriages. The late-morning Flying Dutchman express between London and Exeter was named after the winning horse of the Derby and St Ledger races in 1849. Although withdrawn at the end of 1867, the name was revived in 1869 – following a request from the Bristol and Exeter Railway – and the train ran through to Plymouth. An afternoon express was instigated on the same route in June 1879 and became known as The Zulu. A third West Country express was introduced in 1890, running to and from Penzance as The Cornishman. A new service, the Cornish Riviera Express ran non-stop between London and Plymouth from 1 July 1904, although it ran only in the summer during 1904 and 1905 before becoming a permanent feature of the timetable in 1906.
The Cheltenham Spa Express received its name in 1923. It was the first train in the world to be scheduled at over 70 mph when, in September 1932, it was speeded-up to cover the 77.25 miles (124.3 km) miles between London and Cheltenham in just 65 minutes. The train was nicknamed the "Cheltenham Flyer" and featured in one of the GWR's Books for boys of all ages.
Other named trains included The Bristolian, running between London and Bristol from 1935, and the Torbay Express, which ran between London and Kingswear. See also Named trains: UK.
Many of these fast expresses detached slip coaches as they passed through stations and junctions without stopping. The first of these was detached from the Flying Dutchman at Bridgwater in 1869.[2] The first sleeping cars were operated between Paddington and Plymouth in 1877. On 1 October 1892 the first corridor train ran from Paddington to Birkenhead and the following year saw the first trains heated by steam that was passed through the train in a pipe from the locomotive. May 1896 saw the introduction of first-class restaurant cars and the service was extended to all classes in 1903. Sleeping cars for third-class passengers were available from 1928.[14]
Self-propelled "steam railmotors" were first used on 12 October 1903 between Stonehouse and Chalford railway stations; within five years 100 had been constructed. They had special steps that could be used at "halts" with lower platforms.[2] The railmotors proved so successful on many routes that they had to be supplemented by trailer cars with driving controls, the first of which entered service at the end of 1904. From the following year a number of small locomotives were fitted so that they could work with these trailers, the combined sets becoming known as "autotrains" and eventually replacing the steam rail motors.[15] Diesel railcars were introduced in 1934. Some of these cars were fully streamlined, some had buffet counters for long-distance services, and others were purely for parcels services.[16]
| Year | Passengers carried | Train mileage | Receipts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 2,491,712 | 1,425,573 | £630,515 |
| 1875 | 36,024,592 | 9,435,876 | £2,528,305 |
| 1900 | 80,944,483 | 23,279,499 | £5,207,513 |
| 1924 | 140,241,113 | 37,997,377 | £13,917,942 |
| 1934 | 110,813,041 | 40,685,597 | £10,569,140 |
Passenger numbers exclude season ticket journeys.[3]
Passenger traffic was the main source of revenue for the GWR when it first opened but goods were also carried in separate trains. It was not until the coal and industrial districts of Wales and the Midlands were reached that goods traffic became significant. In 1856 the Ruabon Coal Company signed an agreement with the GWR to transport coal to London at special rates which nonetheless was worth to the railway at least £40,000 each year.[3]
As locomotives increased in size so did the length of goods trains from 40 to as many as 100 four-wheeled wagons, although the gradient of the line often limited this. The vacuum brake, by then standard equipment on passenger trains, was fitted to a number of ordinary goods wagons by 1904 and a number of vacuum 'fitted' trains were scheduled to run at speeds in excess of 40 mph (64 km/h).[2] While typical goods wagons could carry 8, 10 or (later) 12 tons, the load placed into a wagon could be as little as 1 ton. The many smaller consignments were sent to a local transhipment centre where they were re-sorted into larger loads for the main segment of their journey. There were more than 550 'station truck' workings running on timetabled goods trains carrying small consignments to and from specified stations, and 200 'pick up' trucks that collected small loads from groups of stations.[17]
| Year | Tonnage | Train mileage | Receipts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 350,000 | 330,817 | £202,978 |
| 1875 | 16,388,198 | 11,206,462 | £3,140,093 |
| 1900 | 37,500,510 | 23,135,685 | £5,736,921 |
| 1924 | 81,723,133 | 25,372,106 | £17,571,537 |
| 1934 | 64,619,892 | 22,707,235 | £14,500,385 |
Tonnage for 1850 is approximate.[3]
Powers were granted by Parliament for the GWR to operate ships in 1871. [18] The following year the company took over the ships of Ford & Jackson on the route between Neyland in Wales and Waterford in Ireland. The Welsh terminal was relocated to Fishguard Harbour when the line to Fishguard was opened in 1906. Services were also operated between Weymouth Quay and the Channel Islands from 1889, taking over the routes of the Weymouth & Channel Islands Steam Packet Company. Smaller vessels were also used as tenders at Plymouth Great Western Docks and, until the Severn Tunnel opened, on the River Severn crossing of the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway. [19]
The railway owned the docks at Plymouth, which was used by Trans-Atlantic passenger ships, and also at Fowey in Cornwall where the main export was china clay. Following the Railways Act 1921 most of the large coal-exporting docks in South Wales came into the GWR's ownership, such as those at Cardiff, Barry, and Swansea. This made the company the largest docks operator in the world.[18] A number of canals became the property of the railway when they were purchased to remove competition or objectors to proposed new lines. Most of these continued to be operated; in 1929 they took £16,278 of receipts (freight trains earned over £17 million).[20]
The GWR initially leased out the refreshment rooms and hotels that were built at many stations, however the Bristol and Exeter Railway was operating its own when it amalgamated in 1876 and the GWR extended this practice. It opened the Tregenna Castle, its first "country house" hotel at St Ives, Cornwall in 1877[2] and added to this the Fishguard Bay Hotel in 1910 and the Manor House at Moretonhampstead, Devon to which it added a golf course in 1930.[18]
The first railway-operated bus services were started by the GWR between Helston railway station and The Lizard on 17 August 1903. Known by the company as road motors, these chocolate-and-cream buses operated throughout the company's territory on railway feeder services and excursions until they were transferred to local bus companies (in most of which the GWR held a share) in the 1930s.[21]
In association with Imperial Airways the GWR inaugurated the first railway air service between Cardiff, Torquay and Plymouth. This grew to be part of the Railway Air Services.[18]
The GWR's first locomotives were specified by Isambard Kingdom Brunel but did not prove too successful. In order to meet his demands some novel ideas were tried such as the Haigh Foundry's geared locomotives and TE Harrison's Hurricane and Thunderer which had the engine and boiler on separate chassis.
More conventional locomotives were soon ordered by Daniel Gooch when he was appointed as the railway's Locomotive Superintendent.[22] Following on from the Star Class that he ordered from Robert Stephenson and Company, he designed a series of standardised and successful locomotive types starting with the Firefly and Sun classes of passenger locomotives, and the Leo and Hercules classes for goods trains. By 1846 Swindon Works had been established was able to build its own locomotives. The most familiar from this period are the Iron Duke Class 2-2-2s with their 8 feet (2.44 m) driving wheels, a type that operated express trains right up to the end of the broad gauge in 1892. [23] Gooch further developed the broad gauge locomotives, producing the first bogie tank design for the steep and curving South Devon lines in 1849, and condensing locomotives for the Metropolitan Railway in 1862. He produced over 100 Ariadne class goods locomotives to a standardised design at a time when most classes ran to only ten or twenty locomotives, and components he designed were often interchanable between different classes.[22]
In 1864 Gooch was succeeded by Joseph Armstrong who brought his standard gauge experience gained in the Northern Division to bear on the larger broad gauge locomotives. He designed the Hawthorn class of 2-4-0 and, in 1870, started the renewal of the Iron Dukes with more powerful boilers. The conversion of many broad gauge lines to standard gauge meant that this was a period of consolidation but in 1876 the amalgamation of the Bristol and Exeter and South Devon Railway locomotives saw 180 locomotives added to the GWR's fleet. To replace some of these earlier locomotives, Armstrong put broad gauge wheels on his standard gauge 1076 Class and from this time on GWR locomotives were given numbers rather than the names that had been carried by broad gauge locomotives up till then.[23]
Joseph Armstrong's early death in 1877 meant that the final phase of broad gauge motive power was the responsibility of William Dean. He continued the Iron Duke renewal programme and added more convertibles, including some of Armstrong's 388 class goods locomotives. He also developed some elegant express locomotives such as the 3031 Class singles.[23] Following the abandonment of the broad gauge on May 20, 1892 the majority of the remaining 195 broad gauge locomotives were taken to "the dump" at Swindon. Most of the convertible locomotives were altered to run on the standard gauge over the following 18 months while the remainder were cut up.[22]
With the acquisition of the northern standard gauge lines in 1854 came 56 locomotives, a second workshop at Wolverhampton, and Joseph Armstrong. Wolverhampton was responsible for maintaining standard gauge locomotives for many years, although Daniel Gooch did design some new locomotives that were built at Swindon and carried to Wolverhampton on special trucks. The first, the 57 class were 0-6-0 goods locomotives built in 1855. At the same time some 69 class passenger locomotives were built by Beyer, Peacock and Company in Manchester so were able to be transported on their own wheels. By the time that Armstrong replaced Gooch at Swindon in 1864 many more locomotives had been acquired with the Birkenhead and West Midlands Railways.[1]
Armstrong developed the 2-2-2 as his preferred express locomotive, producing 30 of the Sir Daniel class from 1866 and 21 of the Queen class from 1873. Smaller 2-4-0s, such as the 439 class of 1868, worked slower passenger trains while 0-6-0s continued to operate, such as the 388 class freight trains. Tank locomotives were constructed to operate lighter trains and branch lines, the most familiar of which were the 1076 "Buffalo" class 0-6-0STs (later 0-6-0PT), and the lighter 517 class 0-4-2T and 455 "Metro" class 2-4-0Ts. The 517s were originally Northern Division locomotives while the Metros were used around London, but this distinction was blurred in later years. [24]
William Dean had worked under Armstrong on and off for 22 years before becoming his successor and he perpetuated his locomotive policy for some time. He later produced standardised 0-6-0 and 2-6-0 goods locomotives (the 2301 and 2600 "Aberdare" classes), and 0-6-0STs of various sizes (the 850 or 1901, 2021 and 2721 classes). For express trains he initially developed the 2-2-2 type, culminating with the elegant 3031 class. He later moved on to the 4-4-0 type, producing the Badminton and Atbara classes with 80 inches (2.03 m) wheels, and the Duke and Bulldog classes with 68 inches (1.73 m) wheels. For branch line and suburban trains he built 31 3600 class 2-4-2T locomotives.[2][24]
George Jackson Churchward started his railway career in the South Devon Railway locomotive workshops at Newton Abbot. After that company became a part of the GWR in 1876 he was sent to Swindon and worked under Armstrong and Dean.[25] After his appointment as Locomotive Superintendent in 1902 he developed a series of standard locomotive types with flat-topped Belpaire fireboxes, tapered boilers, long smokeboxes, boiler top-feeds, long-lap long-travel valve gear, and many standardised parts such as wheels, cylinders and connecting rods. [26]
For express passenger trains he quickly turned out the City class of [[4-4-0]s, the first taking to the rails in 1903. The following year one of these, 3717 City of Truro, was the first locomotive in the world to exceed 100 mph (160 km/h).[27] A larger 4-4-0 was produced in 1904 in the form of the County class, but further increases in size demanded more wheels.[26]
Experiments had already been made for a 4-6-0 design while Dean was still in charge, and these continued under Churchward. One locomotive was converted to a 4-4-2 for direct trials against French designs that he tried in 1903. These experiments moved the GWR towards using four cylinders, and there was even a 4-6-2 tried, 111 The Great Bear which was the first locomotive of this type in the United Kingdom. Production 4-6-0s appeared in 1902 as the two-cylinder Saint class, and were followed in 1906 by the four-cylinder Star class. A freight version of the Saint, the 2-8-0 2800 class was introduced in 1903. For lighter trains a series of 2-6-0s were turned out in 1911, the 4300 class, which were to become the most numerous GWR tender locomotives. In 1919 this design was enlarged to become the 4700 class 2-8-0s.[26]
Churchward's standardisation aims meant that a number of tank locomotives were produced that were based on these tender locomotives. The 2221 class of 1905 were a 4-4-2T version of the County class, indeed they were known as the 'County Tanks'. These were then developed into a 2-6-2T design, being produced as the 3100 class in 1903 and the 3150 class three years later. Smaller 2-6-2Ts, the 4400 class were introduced in 1904 and were succeeded by the slightly larger 4500 class in 1906. Two very different freight tank locomotive types appeared in 1910. The 4200 class was a tank version of the 2800 class, but a demand for small locomotives for working on dock and branch lines was met by modernising the old Cornwall Minerals Railway 0-6-0ST design while using as many of Churchward's standard parts as possible, which resulted in the 1361 class. [28]
Other innovations during Churchward's office included the introduction of self-propelled Steam Rail Motors for suburban and light branch line passenger trains.[29] From 1915 his post was renamed that of the 'Chief Mechanical Engineer'.[13] He also remodelled Swindon Works, building the 1.4 acres (0.57 ha) boiler-erecting shops and the first static locomotive-testing plant in the United Kingdom.
Charles Collett became the Chief Mechanical Engineer in 1921. Almost straight away he had to take on all the locomotives of myriad types from the railways absorbed in 1922 and 1923. Many of these were 'Swindonised', that is they were rebuilt using standard GWR parts. He also set about designing many new types to replace the older examples. Many of the most familiar GWR tank locomotive classes were designed during this period: the 1400 class for small branch lines and auto trains; the 4575 class (a development of the 4500 class with larger tanks) and the large 6100 class 2-6-2Ts; the massive 7200 class of rebuilt 4200 class 2-8-2Ts; and the iconic pannier tanks of the 5700 class, the first of which appeared in 1929.
Collett further developed the 4-6-0 type as the ideal GWR express locomotive, extending the Stars into Castles in 1923, and then producing the largest of them all, the four-cylinder King class, in 1927. He also produced slightly smaller types for mixed traffic (either passenger and goods) duties, the Hall class in 1928, the Grange class in 1934, and the Manor class in 1934. All these continued to carry appropriate names. For lighter goods services he produced his own standard 0-6-0, the 2251 class.
It was under Collett's control that diesel power was first appeared on the GWR. He introduced the first streamlined rail cars in 1934 and by 1942 38 had been built, although the latter ones had more angular styling. Some were configured for long distance express services with buffet counters, others for branch line or parcels work, and some were designed as two-car sets.
Frederick Hawksworth only became the Chief Mechanical Engineer in 1941 and the Second World War meant that his new designs were few. He updated Collett's 'Hall' class to produce the GWR 6959 Class, known as 'Modified Halls', and produced the last GWR 2-cylinder 4-6-0s, the 'County' class 4-6-0, which ended a tradition that had begun with the 'Saints' 42 years before. Their boilers were based on those of the LMS Stanier Class 8F 2-8-0, a number of which had been built at Swindon during the War. Other designs included three designs of 0-6-0PT: the taper boilered 9400 class; the 1500 class with outside Walschaerts valve gear and no running plate designed for pilot work around large stations; and the very light 1600 Class.
Early GWR carriages, in common with other railways at the time, were based on stagecoach practice and built on rigid six-wheel (or sometimes four-wheel) underframes, although the broad gauge allowed wider bodies with more people seated in each compartment. Three classes were provided, although third class carriages were not conveyed in every train and, for the first few years, were little more than open trucks with rudimentary seats. Some rigid eight-wheeled carriages were produced but vacuum brakes and bogies made an appearance before the end of the broad gauge in 1892.[1]
The first train in the United Kingdom with corridor connections between all carriages entered service on 7 March 1890 on the Padidngton to Birkenhead route, and further corridor trains were introduced on all the main routes over the next few years. In 1900 a new Milford Boat Train set introduced electric lights and the communication cord was moved inside the train; until now a passenger needing to stop the train in an emergency had to lean out of the window and pull a chord above the door. At this time carriages generally had a clerestory roof but elliptical roofs were fitted to the GWR steam rail motors in 1903 and became standard for all carriages. The first were the "Dreadnought" stock built from 1904 in lengths of up to 70 feet (21 m). The "Concertina" stock appeared in 1906, so named as the doors were recessed into the body side rather than flush with the outer panels. The following year saw the introduction of shorter "Toplight" stock of around 57 feet (17 m), the toplights being small "lights" or windows above the main windows. Coaches panelled in steel rather than wood first appeared in 1912.[30]
The next significant change came in 1922 when bow-ended stock was introduced in both 57 ft and 70 ft lengths. Hitherto coaches had featured flat ends but bow ends were easier to fit with Buckeye couplings that were then finding favour with passenger trains in the United Kingdom. These coaches were generally more plain than earlier vehicles as they had flush sides without beaded panels. Some articulated sets were built in 1925. From 1929 coaches had windows flush with the body panels, the first such sets being for the Cornish Riviera Express but general coaches followed the following year, including the infamous "B Sets", two-coach trains mainly used on branch lines.[30]
In 1931 some "Super Saloons" were built, also known as "Ocean Saloons" as they were used on the Plymouth to London Ocean Mail trains. These were fitted out to very high specification for the Trans-Atlantic passengers. 1935 saw the introduction of excursion stock with open saloons instead of compartments, and the "Centenary" stock for the Cornish Riviera Limited service. During World War 2 some "Special Saloons" were built for the use of VIPs and for the Royal Train. A distinctive new profile appeared in 1944, when Hawksworth introduced coaches with domed roof-ends, although non-corridor coaches and auto trailers retained a more conventional roof. Fluorescent lights were tried in new coaches built in 1946.[30]
A few sleeping cars were operated on the broad gauge and these became familiar on overnight trains. Restaurant cars became practical following the introduction of corridor trains; the first cars in 1896 were for first class passengers but a second class buffet car appeared on the Milford Boat Train in 1900. Slip coaches were operated on many routes that could be uncoupled from the rear of a moving train and serve intermediate stations that the train did not call at.[30]
The livery of early carriages was a dark chocolate brown but from 1864 the upper panels were painted white which became a pale cream after being varnished and exposed to the weather. This colour eventually became a richer cream. From 1908 carriages were painted chocolate brown all over but this changed to a red lake colour in 1912. A two-colour livery reappeared in 1922, now with a richer cream on the upper panels and chocolate brown below.[31]
In the early years of the GWR, its wagons were painted brown, [32] but this changed to red before the end of the broad gauge. The familiar dark grey livery was only introduced about 1904.[33]
Most early wagons were four-wheeled, although a few six-wheeled vehicles were provided for special loads. The first bogie wagons appeared in 1873, again for heavy loads, but bogie coal wagons were built in 1904. The first large coal wagons had appeared in 1898. Rated at 20 tons they were twice the size of typical wagons of the period, but it was not until 1923 that the company invested heavily in coal wagons of this size and the infrastructure necessary for their unloading at their docks; these were known as "Felix Pole" wagons after the GWR's General Manager who promoted their use. Container wagons appeared in 1931 and special motor car vans in 1933. Indeed, special wagons were produced for many different traffics such as gunpowder, china clay, aeroplanes, milk, fruit and fish.[17]
All wagons for public traffic had a code name that was used in telegraphic messages. As this was usually painted onto the wagon it is common to see them referred to by these names, such as "mink" (a van), "mica" (refrigerated van), "crocodile" (boiler truck), and "toad" (brake van).[31]
The GWR had operated hotels at major stations and junctions since the early days, but in 1877 it opened its first "country house hotel", the Tregenna Castle in St Ives, Cornwall. It promoted itself at home and abroad as a holiday line through a series of posters, postcards, jigsaws, and books such as SPB Mais's Cornish Riviera. GWR road motor services carried tourists to popular destinations, and its ships offered cruises from places such as Plymouth. Redundant carriages were converted to camp coaches then placed at country or seaside stations and hired to holiday makers who arrived by train.
The GWR attracted the attention of the media from an early date. John Cooke Bourne's History and Description of the Great Western Railway was published in 1846 and contained a series of detailed lithographs of the railway that give us a glimpse of what the line looked like in the days before photography.[9] J. M. W. Turner painted his Rain, Steam and Speed - The Great Western Railway after looking out of the window of his train on Maidenhead Railway Bridge.[34] In 1862 William Powell Frith painted "The Railway Station", a large crowd scene on the platform at Paddington. The station itself was painted for Powell by W Scott Morton, an architect and a train was specially provided for the painting, in front of which a variety of travellers and railway staff form an animated focal point.[35]
When writing the Railway Series of children's books, the Rev. W. Awdry was inspired by memories of listening to heavy freight trains on the GWR Main Line near his childhood home of Box, Wiltshire. "It was not hard to imagine train engine and banker talking to each other, and for me, steam engines developed personality." Two characters were directly inspired by GWR locomotives: Duck and Oliver. Duck's character, in particular, frequently revealed his pride in his GWR ancestry. In further acknowledgement of their GWR heritage, both Duck and Oliver were portrayed in full GWR livery, unlike the fictitious colours worn by other locomotive characters. The two engines were even given their own branch line to run, with pairs of autocoaches, which was nick-named The Little Western.
The GWR has featured in many television programmes, such as the BBC children's drama series "God's Wonderful Railway" in 1980.
Manic Street Preachers lead vocalist James Dean Bradfield's first solo album was named The Great Western, most likely being a reference to the trips he took to London from his home in South Wales.citation needed
The GWR was immortalised in Bob Godfrey's animated film "Great", which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film of 1975. It tells the story of Brunel's engineering accomplishments. The film features poignant shots of disused and neglected GWR engines to the background of a specially written song entitled 'GWR':
GWR, we've never been that far, Brunel has had his first success. When he drew up the plans, the company said yes, that's how they opened up the west, it's too spectacular, it's GWR!
Joseph Armstrong – he was appointed Locomotive Superintendent to the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway and the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railways at Wolverhampton in 1853.[36] When they amalgamated with the GWR the following year he was given the title of Northern Division Locomotive Superintendent (1854-1864), he then moved to Swindon as the chief Locomotive Superintendent (1864-1877).
Isambard Kingdom Brunel – Chief Engineer to the GWR (1835-1859) and many of the broad gauge lines that it amalgamated with, also the standard gauge Taff Vale Railway. He was responsible for chosing the route of the railway and designing many of today's iconic structures including Box Tunnel, Maidenhead Railway Bridge, and Paddington and Temple Meads stations. [37]
George Jackson Churchward – Locomotive Superintendent (1902-1915) and Chief Mechanical Engineer (1915-1921).[16]
Charles Collett – Chief Mechanical Engineer (1922-1941).[16]
William Dean – Locomotive Superintendent (1877-1902).[16]
Daniel Gooch – the GWR's first Locomotive Superintendent (1837-1864) and its Chairman (1865-1889), he was responsible for the railway's early locomotive successes, such as the Iron Duke Class, and for establishing Swindon railway works.[1]
James Grierson – Goods Manager (1857-1863), he then became the General Manager (1863-1887) from which position he saw the railway through a period of expansion and the early gauge conversions.[13]
Frederick Hawksworth – Chief Mechanical Engineer (1941-1947).[16]
Henry Lambert – the General Manager (1887-1887) responsible for managing the final gauge conversion in 1892.[13]
James Milne – General Manager (1929-1947) who saw the GWR through World War 2.[13]
Felix Pole – as General Manager (1921-1929) he oversaw the Grouping of the South Wales railways into the GWR following the Railways Act 1921, and promoted the use of 20 ton wagons to bring efficiencies to the railway's coal trade.[13]
CE Spagnoletti – the GWR's Telegraph Superintendent (1855-1892) patented the Disc Block Telegraph Instrument which was used to safely control the dispatch of trains. First used on the Metropolitan Railway in 1863 and the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway in 1864, it was later used on many other lines operated by the company.
