Charles Benjamin Collett

Born	10 September 1871
Died	5 April 1952
Nationality	English
Employer	Maudslay Sons & Field, Lambeth (apprentice); Great Western Railway, Swindon (Drawing Office 1893; Assistant Manager of the Locomotive Works 1900; Manager 1912; Principal Assistant CME 1919; Chief Mechanical Engineer 1922–1941)

Charles Benjamin Collett (1871–1952) was a British locomotive engineer who served as Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Great Western Railway from January 1922 to July 1941, during which time he developed Churchward's standardised locomotive range into the most distinctive and highly-regarded steam locomotive fleet in Britain, producing the Castle, King, Hall, Grange, Manor, and 57XX pannier tank classes that defined the GWR's final two decades.

Born at Highbury, London on 10 September 1871, Collett was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and the City and Guilds Engineering College before serving his apprenticeship at Maudslay Sons & Field in Lambeth. He joined the GWR drawing office at Swindon in 1893 and rose steadily through the works hierarchy, becoming Assistant Manager of the Locomotive Works in 1900 and Works Manager in 1912. He was appointed Principal Assistant to Churchward in 1919 and succeeded him as CME on 1 January 1922.

Collett's first and most celebrated major design was the four-cylinder Castle class 4-6-0 of 1923, a development of Churchward's Star with a larger boiler, redesigned cylinders, and improved cab. When No. 4079 Pendennis Castle visited the LNER for comparative trials in 1925 and convincingly outperformed Gresley's A1 Pacifics on the Great Northern main line, the result forced Gresley to adopt long-travel valves — a direct transfer of GWR expertise that transformed LNER express locomotive performance. The King class of 1927, with 8 ft 6 in coupled wheels and 400 psi boiler pressure, was BR's most powerful 4-6-0 and the GWR's prestige express locomotive until the end of steam.

For mixed-traffic working Collett produced the Hall class (1928), the Grange (1936), and the Manor (1938), all successful adaptations of the GWR standard chassis to different power and weight requirements. The 57XX pannier tank, of which 863 were built between 1929 and 1950, became the GWR's universal shunting and branch engine. Collett retired on 1 July 1941 and was succeeded by Frederick Hawksworth. He died at Wimbledon on 5 April 1952, his Castle and King designs outlasting him in front-line express service by over a decade.

Biography

Charles Benjamin Collett (1871–1952) was a British locomotive engineer who served as Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Great Western Railway from January 1922 to July 1941. He inherited the standardised range of Churchward and developed it into the most distinctive house style of any British railway, producing the Castle, King, Hall, Grange, Manor and 14XX classes that defined the GWR's last two decades.

Collett was born at Highbury, London on 10 September 1871, the son of a journalist, and educated at Merchant Taylors' School and the City and Guilds Engineering College. He served his apprenticeship at Maudslay Sons & Field in Lambeth and joined the GWR drawing office at Swindon in 1893. He rose to Assistant Manager of the Locomotive Works in 1900 and Manager in 1912, becoming Principal Assistant to Churchward in 1919. He succeeded Churchward as CME on 1 January 1922.

His first major design was the four-cylinder Castle Class 4-6-0 of 1923, an enlargement of Churchward's Star with redesigned cylinders, larger boiler and a bigger cab. No. 4079 'Pendennis Castle' was loaned for the 1925 LNER exchange trials and out-performed the LNER's three-cylinder A1 Pacifics over the Doncaster road. The eight-foot wheel diameter King Class of 1927 was the GWR's heaviest and most powerful express type and remained the railway's flagship until the end of steam.

For mixed-traffic and lighter routes Collett produced the Hall Class (1928, an enlarged Saint with smaller wheels), the Grange Class (1936), the Manor Class (1938) and the prolific 5700 Class 0-6-0 pannier tank, of which 863 were eventually built, the largest GWR class. The auto-train 14XX 0-4-2T of 1932 became a familiar sight on branch lines.

Collett retired on 1 July 1941, having stayed in post past his 65th birthday at the Board's request to oversee wartime work, and was succeeded by Frederick Hawksworth. He lived in retirement at Wimbledon and died on 5 April 1952. The Castle and King designs lasted in front-line GWR/Western Region service until 1962 and 1963 respectively.

Locomotives designed

GWR 1366 Class — Frederick Hawksworth's small pannier tank for the Great Western Railway, designed in 1934 as a replacement for the older 1361 saddle tank for dock and short branch shunting where the older 5700 panniers were too long. Six were built at Swindon Works in 1934, and the class is most associated with the Wadebridge depot in Cornwall, where they replaced the Beattie well tanks on the Wenford Bridge china clay branch in 1962. One survives in preservation as 1369 at the South Devon Railway.
GWR 1400 Class — Charles Collett's small auto-fitted 0-4-2T tank engine for short-haul branch and auto-train work, designed specifically to work GWR auto-coaches with through-control of the locomotive's regulator from the driving end of the auto-coach. Seventy-five engines were built at Swindon Works between 1932 and 1936. The 1400 was the GWR's standard auto-train tank engine for thirty years. Four are preserved.
GWR 2251 Class (Collett Goods) — Charles Collett's 0-6-0 inside-cylinder goods locomotive for the Great Western Railway, designed in 1930 to replace the older Dean Goods on light branch and pick-up freight work. 120 were built at Swindon Works between 1930 and 1948, the last being one of the very last new-build steam locomotives delivered to the GWR before nationalisation. Five have survived in preservation.
GWR 3200 Class (Dukedog) — A hybrid GWR 4-4-0 created in 1936 by Charles Collett by combining the boilers of the Bulldog Class with the frames of the Earl Class (a partial rebuild of the older Duke Class). 29 were built between 1936 and 1939 at Swindon Works, mainly for use on the Cambrian section of the Great Western Railway where their light axle load and short wheelbase suited the constraints of the line. One has survived in preservation as 9017 Earl of Berkeley at the Bluebell Railway.
GWR 4073 Castle Class — Charles Collett's four-cylinder express 4-6-0 of 1923, the GWR's principal heavy express engine for thirty years and one of the most successful British steam classes. The Castle was Collett's development of Churchward's earlier Star Class, a slightly larger boiler at 225 psi, increased cylinder size, and an enlarged cab. One hundred and seventy-one engines were built or rebuilt at Swindon Works between 1923 and 1950 (the totals comprising 155 new builds plus 16 conversions from Star Class engines, including the famous No. 4000 "North Star" and No. 4082 "Windsor Castle"). The Castles were the GWR's express engine of choice on the West of England, Bristol, and Birmingham main lines through to the late 1950s. Eight are preserved.
GWR 4575 Class — Charles Collett's 1927 development of the GWR 4400 Small Prairie, a 2-6-2T branch-line tank engine with 4 ft 7½ in driving wheels (larger than the 4400's 4 ft 1½ in) for higher-speed branch working. One hundred engines were built at Swindon Works between 1927 and 1929 (Nos 4575–4599 and 5500–5574), with the distinctive curved-top side tanks that gave the class its visually distinct appearance. The class was the GWR standard branch-line tank engine on light routes for thirty years. Eleven are preserved.
GWR 4800/1400 Class — Collett's 1932 GWR 4800 (later 1400) class 0-4-2T "Auto-tank" — small auto-train tank engines, direct successors of GWR 517 class. 75 built. Featured in the 1953 Ealing comedy *The Titfield Thunderbolt* (1450 played the engine "Sceptre"). Four preserved: 1442, 1450, 1466, 1471.
GWR 4900 Hall Class — Charles Collett's go-anywhere mixed-traffic 4-6-0 for the Great Western Railway. Two hundred and fifty-nine were built at Swindon between 1928 and 1943, derived from the earlier Saint Class but with smaller six-foot driving wheels suited to both passenger and freight work. The Halls ranged across the entire GWR system, set the pattern for the LMS Black Five and the BR Standard 5MT, and eleven survive in preservation.
GWR 5101 Class (Large Prairie) — Charles Collett's 2-6-2 large prairie tank for the Great Western Railway, built between 1929 and 1949 as a development of Churchward's earlier 3100 and 5100 designs. Used principally on outer-suburban and branch passenger work in the Birmingham, Cardiff, and London suburbs, the class became one of the most numerous GWR tank engines and survived in service until the very end of Western Region steam in 1965. Around 140 were built and ten have survived in preservation.
GWR 5205 Class — Collett's 1923 GWR 5205 class 2-8-0T — Collett's modernised version of the 4200 class with detail improvements. 60 built. Several preserved.
GWR 5600 Class — Charles Collett's 0-6-2T tank engine designed specifically for the South Wales coal traffic, the GWR's standard heavy short-haul tank engine for the Welsh valleys. Two hundred engines were built between 1924 and 1928 at Swindon Works and by Armstrong Whitworth of Newcastle. The class was a Collett response to the absorbed Welsh railway companies' tank-engine fleets at the 1923 Grouping, particularly the Rhymney Railway and Taff Vale Railway 0-6-2 designs that the GWR found inadequate. Nine are preserved.
GWR 5700 Class — Charles Collett's standard GWR pannier tank, the second-most-numerous British steam class ever built. Eight hundred and sixty-three engines were built between 1929 and 1950, principally at Swindon Works but with substantial contracted production by Armstrong Whitworth, Beyer Peacock, the North British Locomotive Company, W. G. Bagnall, Kerr Stuart, and the Yorkshire Engine Company. The 5700 Class worked virtually every kind of GWR shunting, branch-line, and short-haul duty for over forty years, becoming the iconic GWR small tank engine. Sixteen are preserved, the largest preserved population of any British tank engine class.
GWR 6000 King Class — Charles Collett's heaviest express 4-6-0, the GWR's top-link express engine for thirty years and the most powerful 4-6-0 ever built in Britain. Thirty engines were built at Swindon Works between 1927 and 1936. The King was developed from the Castle Class with a larger 5 ft 11 in maximum diameter boiler at 250 psi, larger cylinders, and a heavier chassis, pushing the GWR's two-cylinder-loading-gauge envelope to its absolute limit. The Kings were restricted to the GWR's heaviest main lines (Paddington to Plymouth, Birmingham, and the South Wales main line) by their 22.5-ton axle load. Three are preserved.
GWR 6100 Large Prairie Class — Collett's 1931 GWR 6100 class 2-6-2T "Large Prairie" — Collett's standard suburban tank for Paddington–Reading services. 70 built. 6106 is preserved at Didcot.
GWR 6800 Grange Class — Charles Collett's lighter mixed-traffic 4-6-0 for the Great Western Railway, designed in 1936 to work cross-country and secondary main-line routes barred to the heavier Hall Class. Eighty engines were built at Swindon between 1936 and 1939, using parts recovered from withdrawn 4300 Moguls. None of the original Grange Class survived to preservation, but a new-build engine, No. 6880 Betton Grange, was completed at Llangollen in 2024 to recreate the class.
GWR 7200 Class — A heavy 2-8-2 tank engine for the GWR, designed in 1934 by Charles Collett by rebuilding the older 4200 Class 2-8-0 tank as a longer-coupled 2-8-2 with a larger bunker and more water capacity for South Wales coal traffic. 54 were built between 1934 and 1939, and three have survived in preservation.
GWR 7800 Manor Class — Charles Collett's lighter mixed-traffic 4-6-0, designed for the lighter cross-country routes inaccessible to the heavier Hall Class. Twenty engines were built at Swindon Works in 1938–1939, plus a further ten in 1950 under Frederick Hawksworth, total class 30. The Manors used reconditioned GWR 4300 Mogul motion and frames combined with a smaller GWR Standard No. 14 boiler, giving them a distinctive lighter outline. The class worked principally on Cambrian Line and lighter cross-country services. Nine are preserved.