GWR 2600 Class
Class of British steam locomotives (1900-1949)
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 2600 or Aberdare class was a class of 2-6-0 steam locomotive built between 1900 and 1907. They were a freight and light mineral development of the 3300 Bulldog and 4100 Badminton classes, both 4-4-0 locomotives. Therefore, the design was adapted and became a 2-6-0 type; the resulting locomotives were used for hauling coal trains between Aberdare and Swindon.
01Numbering
The class began in 1900 with a prototype, No. 33, renumbered 2600 in 1912. The rest were numbered 2601-2680 and were built between 1901 and 1907.
| Year | Quantity | Lots No. | Serial Nos. | Locomotive Nos. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 01 | 128 | 1886 | 33 | renumbered 2600 in 1912 |
| 1901 | 20 | 131 | 1908-1927 | 2621-2640 | |
| 1901-02 | 20 | 133 | 1929-1948 | 2641-2680 | |
| 1902 | 20 | 135 | 1949-1968 | 2661-2680 | |
| 1903 | 10 | 123 | 1796-1805 | 2611-2620 | Lot and serial numbers out of sequence |
| 1906 | 1 | 156 | 2125 | 2601 | |
| 1906 | 9 | 166 | , | 2602-2610 | Renewal of 2602 Kruger class locomotives |
02British Railways
British Railways (BR) inherited nos. 2612/20/3/43/51/5/6/62/5/7/9/80 in 1948. By 31 August 1948, only four were left: nos. 2620, 2651, 2655, 2667.
03Withdrawal
They were withdrawn from 1934 onwards. Five Aberdares (2640, 2648, 2649, 2652 & 2657) withdrawn in early 1939 were not cut up but stored as Second World War reserves. These five reentered service by January 1940. Their withdrawal began again in 1944 until the last member, number 2667, was withdrawn in October 1949. No examples were preserved.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “GWR 2600 Class”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- 2-6-0 GWR Aberdare Official Photo.jpg by Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain
- Swindon Station, with an ancient 'Aberdare' class 2-6-0 passing geograph-2522990-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg by Ben Brooksbank, CC BY-SA 2.0
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