GWR 2251 Class Collett Goods 0-6-0

The GWR 2251 Class, sometimes called the Collett Goods, was a fleet of 120 0-6-0 light goods steam locomotives designed by Charles Collett for the Great Western Railway. Built at Swindon Works between 1930 and 1948 (the last few delivered after nationalisation in 1948), they were intended as a direct replacement for the older Dean Goods on Western Region branch and pick-up freight work. Five examples have survived into preservation, making the class one of the better-represented GWR goods types in the heritage railway era.

Collett succeeded George Jackson Churchward as locomotive engineer of the GWR in 1922 and inherited a fleet of older 0-6-0 goods engines, particularly the Dean Goods Class of 1883 onwards, which had been the GWR's standard light goods engine for nearly fifty years and was nearing the end of its working life. The 2251 was Collett's answer: a small modernised 0-6-0 goods engine with a tapered Belpaire boiler, two inside cylinders, and a 5 ft 2 in driving wheel. The design was deliberately conservative, intended as a replacement for the Dean Goods rather than a step-change in capability. It used the Standard No. 10 boiler and shared most of its parts with the contemporary Collett 5700 pannier tank, simplifying construction and maintenance.

The 2251 spent its working life on Western Region light goods and branch services across the Hereford-Brecon-Neath line, the Cambrian Coast, the rural West Country branches, and the Welsh Border country. They handled pick-up freight, milk, parcels, and stopping passenger trains where the older Dean Goods had been struggling. Production continued through the Second World War and into the early BR period, with the last engines built in 1948 representing some of the very last new-build steam locomotives delivered to the GWR.

The class was largely withdrawn between 1958 and 1965, as branch lines closed under the Beeching plan and diesel locomotives took over the heavier freight work. The last 2251 in regular service was 2229, withdrawn in 1965 from Croes Newydd in North Wales. Five examples have survived in preservation: 3205 (saved straight from BR service in 1965 by the Severn Valley Railway, currently undergoing overhaul), and four others rescued from Barry scrapyard in the 1970s and 1980s including 2245, 3215, and 2299. The class's small size, light axle load, and simple inside-cylinder arrangement made it popular for preservation, and surviving 2251s have appeared on lines from the South Devon Railway to the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway.

Design and development

Charles Collett succeeded George Jackson Churchward as locomotive engineer of the GWR in 1922 and inherited a fleet of older 0-6-0 goods engines, particularly the Dean Goods Class of 1883 onwards, which were nearing the end of their working lives. The Dean Goods had been the GWR's standard light goods engine for nearly fifty years and was due for replacement.

The 2251 was Collett's answer: a small modernised 0-6-0 goods engine with a tapered Belpaire boiler, two inside cylinders, and a 5 ft 2 in driving wheel. The design was deliberately conservative, intended as a replacement for the Dean Goods rather than a step-change in capability. It used the Standard No. 10 boiler and shared most of its parts with the contemporary Collett 5700 pannier tank, simplifying construction and maintenance.

120 engines were built at Swindon Works between 1930 and 1948, with the last few delivered into the early BR period. The class continued in production after Collett retired in 1941, with Hawksworth carrying through the building programme. The 2251 was effectively the GWR's last new-build small-wheeled goods engine and one of the last classes of its type to be built anywhere in Britain.

Service and withdrawals

The 2251 class spent its working life on Western Region light goods and branch services. They were a familiar sight on the Hereford-Brecon-Neath line, the Cambrian Coast, the rural West Country branches, and the Welsh Border country. They handled pick-up freight, milk, parcels, and stopping passenger trains where the older Dean Goods had been struggling.

The class was largely withdrawn between 1958 and 1965, as branch lines closed under the Beeching plan and as diesel locomotives took over the heavier freight work. The last 2251 in regular service was 2229, withdrawn in 1965 from Croes Newydd. Several engines escaped to the early heritage railway scene, and the class is well-represented in preservation today.

Identification features

A modernised Collett-pattern goods 0-6-0 with a tapered Belpaire boiler, a tall stovepipe chimney, polished safety-valve casing, and the Collett-style cab. The inside cylinders are hidden between the frames and the engine has a clean, functional profile from the side. Many engines retained GWR-style livery and lettering until well into the BR period.

Numbers and names

2200–2299
  1. 2200
  2. 2201
  3. 2202
  4. 2203
  5. 2204
  6. 2205
  7. 2206
  8. 2207
  9. 2208
  10. 2209
  11. 2210
  12. 2211
  13. 2212
  14. 2213
  15. 2214
  16. 2215
  17. 2216
  18. 2217
  19. 2218
  20. 2219
  21. 2220
  22. 2221
  23. 2222
  24. 2223
  25. 2224
  26. 2225
  27. 2226
  28. 2227
  29. 2228
  30. 2229
  31. 2230
  32. 2231
  33. 2232
  34. 2233
  35. 2234
  36. 2235
  37. 2236
  38. 2237
  39. 2238
  40. 2239
  41. 2240
  42. 2241
  43. 2242
  44. 2243
  45. 2244
  46. 2245
  47. 2246
  48. 2247
  49. 2248
  50. 2249
  51. 2250
  52. 2251
  53. 2252
  54. 2253
  55. 2254
  56. 2255
  57. 2256
  58. 2257
  59. 2258
  60. 2259
  61. 2260
  62. 2261
  63. 2262
  64. 2263
  65. 2264
  66. 2265
  67. 2266
  68. 2267
  69. 2268
  70. 2269
  71. 2270
  72. 2271
  73. 2272
  74. 2273
  75. 2274
  76. 2275
  77. 2276
  78. 2277
  79. 2278
  80. 2279
  81. 2280
  82. 2281
  83. 2282
  84. 2283
  85. 2284
  86. 2285
  87. 2286
  88. 2287
  89. 2288
  90. 2289
  91. 2290
  92. 2291
  93. 2292
  94. 2293
  95. 2294
  96. 2295
  97. 2296
  98. 2297
  99. 2298
  100. 2299
3200–3219
  1. 3200
  2. 3201
  3. 3202
  4. 3203
  5. 3204
  6. 3205
  7. 3206
  8. 3207
  9. 3208
  10. 3209
  11. 3210
  12. 3211
  13. 3212
  14. 3213
  15. 3214
  16. 3215
  17. 3216
  18. 3217
  19. 3218
  20. 3219

GWR 2200 to 2299, plus a smaller second batch 3200 to 3219, totalling 120. The first batch (2200 to 2299) was built between 1930 and 1948; the second batch (3200 to 3219) followed in 1948. The class continued to be built into the early BR period and the very last engines, 3217 and beyond, were delivered after nationalisation in 1948 in BR-period livery.

Notable locomotives

Five 2251s have survived in preservation, more than for many other goods classes. 3205 entered service in 1946 from Swindon and worked the Western Region throughout its career. Saved by the Severn Valley Railway directly from BR service in 1965, it was one of the first complete steam locomotives preserved by a heritage railway and has worked at the Severn Valley and the South Devon Railway in heritage service. It is currently undergoing overhaul.

2245, 3217 Earl of Berkeley (a misattribution), 2299, and others survived through the Barry effect, with most preserved by various heritage groups in the 1970s and 1980s. The class's small size, light axle load, and simple inside-cylinder arrangement made it popular for preservation and several have steamed at heritage railways across the West Country and Welsh Marches.

Allocations and regions

The 2251 class was allocated across the GWR and (later) Western Region of British Railways. Major sheds included Banbury, Oxford, Worcester, Reading, Westbury, Bristol Bath Road, Cardiff Canton, Swansea Landore, Tyseley, Wolverhampton Stafford Road, and (in the late period) Croes Newydd in North Wales. They worked light goods, pick-up freight, branch passenger, and stopping passenger services across the Western Region. They were a particularly common sight on the Cambrian, the Hereford-Brecon-Neath line, and the rural West Country branches in their last decade.

Livery history

The class was outshopped from new in plain GWR-style green with the GWR roundel on the tender. Wartime engines (1939 to 1945) appeared in plain unlined green or wartime black. British Railways from 1948 painted the class in plain mixed-traffic black with the early lion-and-wheel emblem; from 1956 the late ferret-and-dartboard crest was applied at general overhauls. Preserved examples have appeared in both GWR-style green and BR-period plain black liveries during their preservation careers.