6686, GWR 5600 Class

Notable history

Completed by Armstrong Whitworth of Newcastle in 1928, one of the 5600 class 0-6-2 tanks Collett designed for the South Wales valleys, where the gradients and short heavy coal trains demanded something with more adhesion than a pannier.

It spent almost all its British Railways career at Duffryn Yard, Port Talbot. It is at the Barry Tourist Railway, partly dismantled and essentially in scrapyard condition.

Additional notes

Location and status last confirmed Barry Tourist Railway, August 2026. Subject to verification.

No owner or livery is recorded here; the source consulted gives the location and status but not those details.

Other survivors of this class

5619Telford Steam Railway — A working-order 5600 0-6-2T at the Telford Steam Railway.
5637East Somerset Railway — A preserved 5600 0-6-2T at the East Somerset Railway.
5643Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway — A preserved 5600 0-6-2T at the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway.
5668Tyseley Locomotive Works (Vintage Trains) — A preserved 5600 0-6-2T at Tyseley Locomotive Works.
6619North Yorkshire Moors Railway — An Armstrong Whitworth-built 5600 0-6-2T preserved at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
6634 — An Armstrong Whitworth-built 5600 0-6-2T, preserved.
6695South Devon Railway (heritage) — An Armstrong Whitworth-built 5600 0-6-2T preserved at the South Devon Railway. (Note: shares its number with a separate preserved GWR 5700 pannier.)
6697Severn Valley Railway — The very last GWR 5600 Class in BR service, withdrawn from Newport in November 1966. Built by Armstrong Whitworth at Newcastle in 1928 as part of the second batch of the Welsh-valleys 0-6-2T, the engine spent its working life on South Wales coal traffic.

Running number (BR/operator)	6686
Locomotive class	GWR 5600 Class
Power type	Steam
Current location	Barry Tourist Railway
Operating status	Under restoration
Year built	1928