GWR 6000 Class

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The Great Western Railway 6000 Class or King is a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotive designed for express passenger work. They were the largest locomotives the GWR built. They were named for kings of England, beginning with the reigning monarch, King George V, and going back through history (but with the final pair of engines later renamed for George V's sons, who succeeded him).

Overview

This class was designed under the direction of Charles B Collett, partly as a response to the Great Western Railway's publicity department, in order to regain the 'most powerful steam locomotive in Britain' Title, which had been taken from Collett's Castle Class in 1926 by the Southern Railway's Lord Nelson Class. The Engines, as originally designed, delivered 39,700 lbf tractive effort, with 16" bore x 28" stroke cylinders and 250 psi boiler. At a request from Sir Felix Pole, the Great Western's General Manager, to get the tractive effort up to above 40,000 lbf (a major goalpost), the cylinders were enlarged to 16.25" bore, bringing the figure up to 40,300 lbf, this increase was removed on all members of the class at their first major overhaul.

The first, 6000 King George V, appeared in 1927 and was sent on a tour of North America, for the Centenary celebrations of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), where its sleek appearance and smooth performance impressed all who witnessed it, the application of pressurised oil lubrication showed its advantages over the largely grease lubricated American Locomotives, and was even incorporated into a later design for the B&O in 1928. 6000 King George V was presented with a brass bell to mark the occaison.

These were engines to be reckoned with, powering the Western Region's crack expresses, like the Cornish Riviera Limited, up until the end of regular steam hauled express services on the Western Region; they could easily outperform the diesel-hydraulics that replaced them.

An interesting fact is that although the railway claimed that the class was built in response to longer and heavier trains, It was several years after the introduction of the class before the platforms at the company's major stations were lengthened to accommodate these trains. The class was restricted to the London-Taunton-Plymouth and London-Birmingham-Wolverhampton main lines, and even then, only after bridge strengthening had taken place, due to the engines' large boilers giving them an axle weight of a massive 22.5 tons.

William Stanier based his LMS Princess Royal Class design on the King Class but with an enlarged boiler and firebox necessitating a 4-6-2 wheel arrangement.

They were all withdrawn by 1962, replaced by the less powerful but more available diesel-hydraulics.

Loco Specification

Specification - GWR 6000 King Class

Cylinders	(4) 16¼ x 28 inches	Driving wheel diameter	6 feet 6 inches
Bogie wheel diameter	3 feet 0 inches	Tractive Effort	40,300 pounds
Boiler type	Number 12	Boiler maximum dia.	6 feet 0 inches
Boiler minimum dia.	5 feet 6¼ inches	Fire tubes, no. and dia.	171 x 2¼ inches
Flue tubes, no. and dia.	16 x 5 7/8 inches	Superheater tubes, no. and dia.	96 x 1 inch
Boiler pressure	250 lbs/square inch.	Boiler length	16 feet 0 inches
Area of firegrate	34.3 square feet	Heating surfaces, tubes	2,008 square feet
Heating surfaces, firebox	194 square feet	Heating surfaces, superheater	313 square feet
Length	68 ft 2 in	Total Weight	135 tons 14 cwt
Water Capacity	4000 gallons	Coal Capacity	6 tons
G.W. Power Class	Special	Route Availability	Double Red
BR Power Classification	8-P

List of King Class locomotives

Numbers	Name	Dates			Shed		Notes
		Built	Double Chimney	Withdrawn	First	Last
6000	King George V	June 1927	December 1956	December 1962	Old Oak Common	Old Oak Common	Shipped to America August 1927 to join in Baltimore & Ohio Centenary celebrations. Presented with bell and cabside medallions. 'Alfloc' water treatment fitted 1954. 1,910,424 miles recorded on withdrawal. Bought by Bulmer's Railway Centre, Hereford. Preserved, Swindon Steam Railway Museum
6001	King Edward VII	July 1927	February 1956	September 1962	Old Oak Common	Wolverhampton, Stafford Road	Scrapped at Cox & Danks, Oldbury
6002	King William IV	July 1927	March 1956	September 1962	Plymouth Laira	Wolverhampton, Stafford Road	'Alfloc' water treatment fitted 1954. Scrapped at Cox & Danks, Oldbury
6003	King George IV	July 1927	July 1958	June 1962	Old Oak Common	Cardiff Canton	Involved with incident at Midgham August 1927 when bogie derailed producing redesign of bogie springing on the whole of 'King' class. Scrapped by Swindon Works
6004	King George III	July 1927	July 1958	June 1962	Plymouth Laira	Old Oak Common	Scrapped by Swindon Works.
6005	King George II	July 1927	July 1956	November 1962	Old Oak Common	Old Oak Common	'Alfloc' water treatment fitted 1954. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
6006	King George I	February 1928	June 1956	February 1962	Plymouth Laira	Wolverhampton, Stafford Road	'Alfloc' water treatment fitted 1954. Scrapped by Swindon Works.
6007	King William III	March 1928, replaced March 1936	September 1956	September 1962	Old Oak Common	Wolverhampton, Stafford Road	Severely damaged in Shrivenham collision 15th January 1936 and condemned 5 March 1936. Replacement 6007 King William III built March 1936 using some parts of the original engine. 'Alfloc' water treatment fitted 1954. Scrapped at Cox & Danks, Oldbury
6008	King James II	March 1928	December 1958	June 1962	Plymouth Laira	Wolverhampton, Stafford Road	'Alfloc' water treatment fitted 1954. Scrapped by Swindon Works.
6009	King Charles II	March 1928	May 1956	September 1962	Old Oak Common	Old Oak Common	'Alfloc' water treatment fitted 1954. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
6010	King Charles I	April 1928	March 1956	June 1962	Plymouth Laira	Cardiff Canton	Scrapped by Swindon Works.
6011	King James I	April 1928	March 1956	December 1962	Old Oak Common	Old Oak Common	'Alfloc' water treatment fitted 1954. 1,718,295 miles recoreded on withdrawal. Scrapped by Swindon Works.
6012	King Edward VI	April 1928	February 1958	September 1962	Newton Abbot	Wolverhampton, Stafford Road	'Alfloc' water treatment fitted 1954. Scrapped at Cox & Danks, Oldbury
6013	King Henry VIII	May 1928	June 1956	June 1962	Old Oak Common	Wolverhampton, Stafford Road	'Alfloc' water treatment fitted 1954. Scrapped by Swindon Works
6014	King Henry VII	May 1928	September 1957	September 1962	Newton Abbot	Wolverhampton, Stafford Road	Fitted with streamlining from March 1935, but all removed by January 1943 except for 'v'-shaped cab. 'Alfloc' water treatment fitted 1954. 1,830,386 miles on withdrawal. Scrapped at Cox & Danks, Oldbury
6015	King Richard III	June 1928	September 1955	September 1962	Old Oak Common	Wolverhampton, Stafford Road	'Alfloc' water treatment fitted 1954. Scrapped at Cox & Danks, Oldbury.
6016	King Edward V	June 1928	January 1958	September 1962	Plymouth Laira	Wolverhampton, Stafford Road	'Alfloc' water treatment fitted 1954. Scrapped at Cox & Danks, Oldbury
6017	King Edward IV	June 1928	December 1955	July 1962	Old Oak Common	Wolverhampton, Stafford Road	'Alfloc' water treatment fitted 1954. Scrapped at Cox & Danks, Oldbury
6018	King Henry VI	June 1928	March 1958	December 1962	Plymouth Laira	Cardiff Canton	Re-instated to work last King journey under BR from Birmingham via Southall to Swindon. Scrapped by Swindon Works
6019	King Henry V	July 1928	April 1957	September 1962	Wolverhampton, Stafford Road	Wolverhampton, Stafford Road	Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
6020	King Henry IV	May 1930	February 1956	July 1962	Plymouth Laira	Wolverhampton, Stafford Road	'Alfloc' water treatment fitted 1954. Scrapped at Cox & Danks, Oldbury.
6021	King Richard II	June 1930	March 1957	September 1962	Old Oak Common	Old Oak Common	Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
6022	King Edward III	June 1930	May 1956	September 1962	Plymouth Laira	Wolverhampton, Stafford Road	'Alfloc' water treatment fitted 1954. Scrapped at Cox & Danks, Oldbury.
6023	King Edward II	June 1930	June 1957	June 1962	Newton Abbot	Old Oak Common	Acquired by Woodham's, Barry in December 1962. Sold to Brunel Trust, Bristol Temple Meads and left as the 159th departure from Barry December 1984. Preserved, Didcot Railway Centre
6024	King Edward I	June 1930	March 1957	June 1962	Plymouth Laira	Cardiff Canton	Acquired by Woodham's, Barry in December 1962. Sold to Quainton Road, Bucks and left as the 36th departure from Barry March 1973. Preserved, based Tyesley, Hereford or Paignton
6025	King Henry III	July 1930	March 1957	December 1962	Old Oak Common	Old Oak Common	Scrapped by Swindon Works.
6026	King John	July 1930	March 1958	September 1962	Old Oak Common	Old Oak Common	Scrapped by Swindon Works.
6027	King Richard I	July 1930	August 1956	September 1962	Old Oak Common	Wolverhampton, Stafford Road	Scrapped at Cox & Danks, Oldbury.
6028	King George VI	July 1930	January 1957	November 1962	Old Oak Common	Cardiff Canton	Originally built as King Henry II, renamed January 1937. 1,663,271 miles at withdrawal. Scrapped at Bird's, Newport. Involved in Norton Fitzwarren rail crash, 1940; severely damaged but repaired.
6029	King Edward VIII	August 1930	December 1957	Withdrawn July 1962	Old Oak Common	Old Oak Common	Originally built as King Stephen renamed May 1936. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport

Preservation

Three, 6000 King George V, 6023 King Edward II and 6024 King Edward I have been preserved.

External links

• [Great Western Society pages on King Class]

Preserved GWR King Class locomotives
6000 King George V   |  6023 King Edward II   |  6024 King Edward I
	Wikimedia Commons has media related to: [media]

Locomotives of the Great Western Railway
	Broad gauge locomotives
Gooch:	Ariadne - Banking - Bogie - Caesar - Caliph - Firefly - Iron Duke - Leo - Metropolitan - Premier - Prince - Pyracmon - Star - Sun - Victoria - Waverley
J. Armstrong:	Hawthorn - Iron Duke - Sir Watkin - Swindon
	Standard gauge locomotives
Dean:	Dean Goods - Aberdare - Dean Single - Duke - Bulldog - 3600 - Badminton
Churchward:	The Great Bear - 1361 - County Tank - 2800 - Saint - 3100 - City - County - Star - 4200 - 4300 - 4400 - 4500 - 4700
Collett:	1366 - 1400 - 2251 - 2884 - Earl - Castle - 4575 - Hall - 5101 - 5205 - 5400 - 5600 - 5700 - 5800 - King - 6100 - 6400 - Grange - 7200 - 7400 - Manor
Hawksworth:	County - 1500 - 1600 - Modified Hall - 9400

 

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