GWR 517 Class

The class was far from uniform and encompassed three different wheelbases, saddle and side tanks, and various boilers to name just a few variations. Driving wheels were {{convert|5|ft|0|in|m|3|abbr=on}} (later {{convert|5|ft|2|in|m|3|abbr=on|disp=or}} due to thicker tyres), cylinders {{convert|15|x|24|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}, (later {{convert|16|x|24|in|mm|0|abbr=on|disp=or}}) and boiler pressure {{convert|150|psi|MPa|2|abbr=on}} (later {{convert|165|psi|MPa|2|abbr=on|disp=or}}).

When new, the first sixty were numbered 1040–87 (Lots D to G inclusive) and 1100–11 (Lot H); they were renumbered 517–576 in July 1870.{{sfnp|Tabor|1959|pp=F9, F19}}

File:GWR 1473 Fair Rosamund.jpg

The earlier ones were rebuilt from saddle tanks while the later ones were built as side tanks from the beginning. The 3571 Class were very closely related, its prototype being a minor rebuild of 517 class No. 1477 in 1895. Then ten new locos followed in the next two years. Returning to the 517 class, various bunker and cab combinations also evolved, and after their last rebuilding, the locos with enclosed cabs and large bunkers were effectively the progenitors of Collett's 4800 class. In 1898, No. 1473 was named Fair Rosamund, to work a royal train on the Blenheim and Woodstock branch line. The locomotive was then regularly used for the Woodstock branch in subsequent years.

The independence of the Armstrong brothers is symbolised by the fact that Joseph at Swindon preferred the 2-4-0T wheel arrangement (the 455 Class "Metro" Tanks) over 0-4-2T while George built none of the former at Wolverhampton.

In the 19th century, the 517s were principally Northern Division engines, and when new worked the Birmingham and Wolverhampton suburban traffic. Under Churchward the situation changed: about half of the class was fitted for autotrain working, and these engines were regularly maintained and moved around the system where needed; while the other, unconverted engines were demoted and became little more than shunters. Nevertheless as late as the 1920s the class was found in almost all parts of the GWR system. Most of the class ran between a million and a million and a half miles ({{convert|1500000|mi|km|disp=output only}}), No. 1163 holding the record at 1,652,661. None of the 517s were preserved, the last survivor No. 848 being scrapped in 1945 at the age of 70.{{sfnb|Tabor|1959|p=F9-F20}}

When autotrains were introduced on the GWR, a trial was made of enclosing the engine in coachwork to resemble the coaches. Nos 533 and 833 of this class were so equipped in 1906, as were two 2021 class 0-6-0Ts. The experiment was unpopular with engine crews, and the bodywork was removed in 1911.{{cite web |last1=Darkin |first1=Peter |title=BRANCH LINES October 2019 |url=https://www.svrlive.com/bloct19 |website=svrlive |language=en |access-date=15 June 2022}}{{cite book |last1=Norris |first1=John |title=Edwardian enterprise : a review of Great Western Railway development in the first decade of this century |date=1987 |publisher=Wild Swan |location=Didcot |isbn=0906867398 |page=127}}

• On 15 April 1923, locomotive No. 215 was hauling Autocoach No. 70 when it was in a head-on collision with a goods train, hauled by GWR 4000 Class 4-6-0 No. 4048 Princess Victoria, at Curry Rivel, Somerset due to a signalman's error. Nine people were injured.{{sfnb|Vaughan|1989|pp=29-32}}

{{reflist|colwidth=20em}}

{{Commons category|GWR 517 Class}}

• {{Casserley-LocoGrouping4|pages=20–21}}
• {{Cite book|last=Champ|first=Jim |title=An Introduction to Great Western Locomotive Development |year=2018|publisher=Pen & Sword Transport |isbn=978-1-4738-7784-9|location=Barnsley |oclc=1029234106 |ol=26953051M}}
• {{cite book |last=Holcroft |first=Harold |author-link=Harold Holcroft |title=An Outline of Great Western Locomotive Practice 1837-1947 |year=1971 |orig-year=1957 |publisher=Ian Allan |location=Shepperton |isbn=0-7110-0228-2 }}
• {{cite book |last=Tabor |first=F.J. |title=The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway, part six: Four-coupled Tank Engines |year=1959 |publisher=RCTS }}
• {{cite book |last=Vaughan |first=Adrian |title=Obstruction Danger |year=1989 |publisher=Patrick Stephens Limited |location=Wellingborough |isbn=1-85260-055-1 }}
• {{Whitehurst GW Engines from 1940|pages=16, 17, 102, 125}}

{{GWR Locomotives}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwr 0517 class}}

0517

Category:0-4-2T locomotives

Category:Railway locomotives introduced in 1868

Category:Standard-gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain

Category:Scrapped locomotives

Category:Passenger locomotives