#0823
GWR River Class
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by Swindon Works· from 1895· class of 8 British 2-4-0 locomotives
1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. GWR River Class No. 70 Dart: Wikimedia Commons· Public domain
what is it?
The 69 Class designed by William Dean for the Great Western Railway consisted of eight 2-4-0 tender locomotives, constructed at Swindon Works between 1895 and 1897. Nominally they were renewals of eight 2-2-2 engines that carried the same numbers, these themselves having been renewals by George Armstrong at Wolverhampton of 2-2-2s designed by Daniel Gooch as long ago as 1855. In truth the Dean engines were in effect new engines, the only re-used parts being some recently fitted boilers of Swindon pattern.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 131 years ago, in 1895.
- Served for 23 years (1895–1918).
steam locomotive: Burns coal, wood or oil to boil water; the steam drives pistons that turn the wheels.
spec sheet
- built
- 1895–1897
- in service from
- 1895
- retired
- 1918
- status
- retired
- number built
- 8
- kind
- Steam
- traction
- steam
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- Swindon Works
- designer
- William Dean
- operators
- Great Western Railway
- top speed
- —
- power
- —
- wheel arrangement
- 2-4-0
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q5515051, Wikipedia: GWR River Class (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.