Great Western Railway 43xx Class 2-6-0 Mogul is seen on the turntable at the GWR Society site at Didcot
Introduced to fill an urgent need for a general purpose type, the Great Western Railway 43xx Class 2-6-0 Moguls were an immediate success, and the fact that 342 were built (after 1932 with side-window cabs) is a measure of their usefulness. They served throughout the GWR system. From 1936 to 1939 one hundred were withdrawn and the wheels and other parts incorporated in new 'Grange' and 'Manor' engines. Withdrawal of life-expired class members started in 1948, but some remained almost until the end of steam. During the Great War, 5322 was one of twenty GWR 2-6-0s built in Swindon in 1917 and sent when new to France. This was in response to a call from the army in the summer of 1917 for the British railways to supply a further 160 locomotives to help with transporting supplies from the Channel ports to the front line. seen here was one of those. A serving officer with the ROD, C E R Sherrington, recalled an encounter with 5322 in France in 1918. The saying "Old Soldiers never die" was never truer than with this engine. Demobbed in 1919 at Chester, it was withdrawn from Pontypool Road depot in April 1964. Miraculously, as the sole surviving early 43xx sent to Woodham Bros of Barry that avoided the cutter's torch, this gem was spotted there, and by 1969, after considerable persuasion need to secure its release, it was acquired by a Society member, the first ex-Great Western locomotive to leave the scrapyard for preservation. The move to Didcot took place in 1973, she continued to be used on open days until around 1975 when she was stopped for various reasons. The owner at that time believed that items of historical value should not be restored, but maintained in the condition they are in. This meant that the engine stood as it was, static display only. Having passed into the ownership of the Society, the engine was returned to its 1919 appearance until she was finally ready to return to traffic in November 2008.
Size: 5252px × 3501px
Location: Didcot, Oxfordshire UK
Photo credit: © Niall Ferguson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 2-6-0, 43xx, 5322, class, great, mogul, railway, western
