The 'Castle' class 4-6-0 locomotives designed by Charles Collett and built at Swindon Works were the principal passenger locomotives of the Great Western Railway. The 4-cylinder locomotives were built in batches between 1923 and 1950, the later examples being constructed after nationalisation by British Railways. In total 171 engines of the class were built and they were originally to be seen at work all over the Great Western Railway network, and later working on the Western Region of British Railways. The highly successful class could be described as a GWR work in progress, because further development took place over almost all of the locomotives working lives. In addition to inspiring other locomotive designers the 'Castle' class engines were proved to be capable of outstanding performances, and when introduced were rightly described as being 'Britain's most powerful passenger locomotives'. Some of the 'Castles' survived in service for over 40 years, and individually clocked up just a little short of 2 million miles in traffic. In this book, Keith Langston provides a definitive chronological history of the iconic class together with archive photographic records of each GWR 'Castle' locomotive. Many of the 300 plus images are published for the first time. In addition background information on the origin of the names the engines carried, including details of the many name changes which took place, are also included. The extra anecdotal information adds a fascinating glimpse of social history. Collett CASTLE Class is a lavishly illustrated factual reference book which will delight steam railway enthusiasts in general and in particular those with a love of all things Great Western!

A fascinating illustrated insight into this iconic Hall Class of locomotuves used by the Great Western Railway.

An in-depth look at the British railway company’s celebrated class of steam locomotives, with more than three hundred photos. Built by Collett in 1927 after pressure to restore the Great Western Railway’s pre-eminence in motive power and cope with increasing postwar traffic to Devon and Cornwall holiday resorts, the thirty Kings were the final development of the Churchward Stars and the 1923 Castles and remained on top-link main line duty until their final replacement by the ‘Western’ class 52 diesel hydraulics in 1962. This book includes an insight into the thinking of some of Collett’s senior staff at the end of the 1930s and the eventual transformation in the latter years with redraughting and double chimneys. As well as describing their design and construction, the book comprehensively covers their operation and performance, backed up by many recorded logs on all main GW/WR routes over which they were permitted. The author had close experience of the class when working at Old Oak Common between 1957 and 1962, and includes a chapter of his experiences with them, including many footplate trips (as a management trainee, he was greeted with glee by firemen who would hand him the shovel). The book also includes over 300 photographs, one hundred of them in color.

The Great Western Castles were one of the most successful locomotive designs of the twentieth century in terms of both performance and efficiency. Designed by Charles Collett in 1923, based on the 1907 Churchward ‘Star’ class, 155 were constructed almost continuously, apart from the war years, between 1923 and 1950, in addition to fifteen rebuilt ‘Stars’ and one rebuilt from the Great Bear pacific. Many were modernised with increased superheat and double-chimneys in the late 1950s and the class continued to be the mainstay of all Western Region express passenger services to the West Country, South Wales, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and the West Midlands until replaced by the WR diesel hydraulic fleet in the early 1960s. This book covers their design in a chapter written by Bob Meanley, who masterminded the restoration at Tyseley Works of the Castles Earl of Mount Edgcumbe and Clun Castle, and their history, operation and performance from the high speed of the 1930s through to their rejuvenation in the 1950s, leaving experience of their last years and preservation to another volume. David Maidment had close experience of the class when working at Old Oak Common between 1957 and 1962 and includes his personal experiences there and on the road from his first encounter with one as a six-year old boy. The book includes 350 photographs, some 40 in color, and 23 detailed Swindon technical drawings.

The author’s second volume about the Great Western’s classic express locomotives covers their final six years in British Railways service. In 1960 the Castles, many now modernized with double chimneys and 4-row superheaters, were still in charge of most of the Western Region’s expresses, but by the summer of 1963 their regular express work was limited to the London – Worcester route. Their declining numbers in the last couple of years covered special summer and relief trains, parcels and freight work, deputizing for failed or unavailable diesels and a flurry of excursions and railtours where their prowess could still be demonstrated. The author worked and lived alongside them in these years and the book includes much of his own personal experience on the footplate, on their trains and on shed. The book recaps briefly their first 25 years and covers their history, operation and performance in their final years and is copiously illustrated including over 100 color photographs.

The first thought, when contemplating a new study of the Great Western Railway locomotive fleet, must surely be to ask what can there be left to say? But there is no single source which gives a general introduction to the Great Western locomotive fleet. There are monographs on individual classes, an excellent multi-volume detail study from the RCTS, and superb collections of photographs, but nothing that brings it all together. This work is intended to provide that general introduction.The volume begins with a series of short essays covering general trends in design development, whilst the main body of the volume covers individual classes. For each class there is a small table containing some principal dimensions and paragraphs of text, covering an introduction, renumbering, key changes in the development of the class and information on withdrawal.The volume concludes with appendices covering the development and types of standard boilers, the various numbering schemes used by the GWR, the arcane subject of locomotive diagrams and lot numbers, and a short reference on the many lines the GWR engulfed.The majority of illustrations are new profile drawings to a consistent format. Described as sketches, they are drawn to a consistent scale, but do not claim to be scale drawings. Much minor equipment has been omitted and the author has certainly not dared to include rivets! Although most are based around GWR weight diagrams, they are not simple traces of the original drawings. Detail has been added from other sources, components copied from different drawings and details have been checked against historical and modern photographs. One must also bear in mind that steam locomotives were not mass produced. Minor fittings frequently varied in position and changes were made over the locomotives' lifetimes. Nevertheless, this collection of drawings provides a uniquely consistent view of the GWR locomotive fleet.

Designed by Charles Collett, Churchward's successor as Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Great Western Railway, the 'Castle' class 4-6-0 locomotive represented a significant development of his predecessor's 'Star' class of four-cylinder 4-6-0s. When appointed, Collett was faced by the challenge of producing more powerful express locomotives, capable of hauling the heavy services then in service to the prewar timings, without adding significantly to the axle weight of the locomotives. With larger boilers and cylinder bores than the 'Stars', the 'Castles' were about 10% more powerful and, at the time that the first was completed in 1923, represented the most powerful passenger locomotive in service on Britain's railways. Between then and 1950, when production ceased, no fewer than 171 of the class had been constructed, of which 16 were rebuilds of older locomotives. Although overshadowed by the later 'King' class in terms of performance, the 'Castle' class remained at the forefront of GWR and BR(WR) main-line operation until the final demise of steam in the region in the 1960s. Of the locomotives built, eight survive in preservation. This book concentrates upon the final decade of the type's operation, from 1954 when the 'Castles' were in their golden years to the withdrawal of the final members of the class from the Western Region in 1965, and include some illustrious names such as Caerphilly Castle and Pendennis Castle. Following an informative introduction outlining the development of the class, the book is illustrated with 'Castles' year by year throughout the region, showing wide variations in the class and its operations. The book contains approximately 200 mono and 30 colour photographs, most of which are previously unpublished and drawn from the archives of the Great Western Society at Didcot, and accompanied by extended detailed captions.