The GWR 9400 Class is a class of 0-6-0 pannier tank steam locomotive, used for shunting and banking duties.
The first ten 9400s were the last steam engines built by the GWR. After nationalisation in 1948, another 200 were built by private contractors for British Railways (BR). Most had very short working lives as the duties for which they were designed disappeared through changes in working practices or were taken over by diesel locomotives. Two locomotives survived into preservation, one as part of the National Collection.
Design[]
The 9400 class was the final development in a long lineage of tank locomotives that can be directly traced to the 645 Class of 1872. Over the decades details altered, the most significant being the adoption of Belpaire fireboxes necessitating pannier tanks.
The 9400 resembled a pannier tank version of the 2251 class, and indeed shared the same boiler and cylinders as the 2251, but was in fact a taper-boilered development of the 8750 subgroup of the 5700 class. The advantage was a useful increase in boiler power, but there was a significant weight penalty that restricted route availability. The 10 GWR-built locomotives had superheatersbut the remainder did not.
The first ten 9400s were built by the Great Western and were the last steam engines built by the company. After the nationalisation of Britain's railways in 1948, private contractors built another 200 for British Railways.
The 9400s were numbered 9400–9499, 8400–8499 and 3400–3409. BR gave them the power classification 4F.
Build details[]
| Lot No. | Fleet Nos. | Manufacturer | Serial Nos. | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 365 | 9400–9409 | Swindon Works | — | 1947 | |
| 382 | 9410–9459 | Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns | 7547–7596 | 1950–1951 | |
| 383 | 9460–9489 | Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns | 7611–7640 | 1950–1953 | |
| 384 | 8400–8449 | W. G. Bagnall | 2910–2959 | 1949–1954 | |
| 385 | 8450–8479 | Yorkshire Engine Company | 2443–65/67–71/66/72 | 1949–1952 | |
| 386 | 8480–8499 | Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns | 7450–7469 | 1952 | under subcontract from Hudswell Clarke |
| 387 | 9490–9499 | Yorkshire Engine Company | 2544–2553 | 1954–1955 | under subcontract from Hunslet Engine Company |
| 387 | 3400–3409 | Yorkshire Engine Company | 2575–2584 | 1955–1956 | under subcontract from Hunslet Engine Company |
No. 3409 was the last locomotive built for British mainline use by private contractors. It was ordered by GWR in December 1947 and delivered by Yorkshire Engine Company in October 1956.
Operations[]
The 9400 class were used on Paddington empty stock work right up to the end of steam on the Western Region of British Railways. A familiar sight at the buffer stops at departure side in 1964–1965 was a filthy 9400 class locomotive devoid of number plates simmering at the head of a rake of Mark 1 coaches.
Numbers 8400 to 8406 served as bank engines on the Lickey Incline after its transferal to the Western Region.
In retrospect they were a wasteful investment, many having very short lives of less than 10 years as their intended work dried up and diesels quickly took over their remaining duties. 8447 holds the unenviable record of the shortest life of any GWR loco in BR times, beginning in August 1954 and ending four years and nine months later in May 1959.
Preservation[]
Two have been preserved:
| GWR/BR No. | TOPS No. | Built | Home base | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9400 | n/a | 1947 | Swindon Steam Railway Museum | Part of the National Railway Collection |  |
| 9466 | 98466 | 1948 | Buckinghamshire Railway Centre | Operational and mainline certified. |  |
Gallery[]
