We’re heading back to the West Country for an exciting new branch line loco. The GWR 45xx ‘Small Prairie’ 2-6-2T!
The Great Western Railway introduced the 44xx in 1904; these 2-6-2 outside cylinder tank engines were better known as the Small Prairie. Although they were very efficient locomotives, they had a limited top speed due to their small wheels. For the Small Prairie concept to be practical in other locations, a revision to the original design was required.
George Churchward, who was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the GWR at the time and designer of the 44xx, went back to the drawing board. Following his adapted design, Wolverhampton Works built a 4’ 7 ½” wheeled version in 1906. This initial prototype was numbered 2161. The larger wheels enabled speeds of up to 60mph to be reached.
A further 19 locomotives were then constructed at Wolverhampton. This would be the last class of loco to be built there as the GWR decided to move all new loco builds to Swindon. In late 1912, the GWR renumbered many of its fleet so that classmates were of consecutive numbers. Numbers 2161 to 2190 were reclassified and given numbers 4500 to 4529. As a class, they became the 45xx. Ever the pioneering engineer, Churchward made an eclectic mix of tweaks to the 45xx throughout their lifetime to improve reliability, performance and range. This included superheated boilers, front-end support struts, outside steam pipes, and running boards modified from straight to curved front ends. Swindon continued building batches of 45xx locos from 1913 to 1915. The final batch was given superheaters when they were built.
Churchward retired in 1921. His successor, Charles Collett, clearly liked the 45xx design, as he went on to build another batch of them in 1924, bringing the total up to 75 class members. This final batch was built with all the mod cons, including larger bunkers, full-length running boards with curved front ends, outside steam pipes and superheated boilers with top feeds from new. They also gained cab side shutters and had their cab front porthole windows removed a few years later. From 1924 onwards, the bunkers of the earlier batches of 45xx locomotives were modified to bring the coal carrying capacity up to 3 tons 14 hundredweight, matching their newly-built counterparts. This involved moving the bufferbeam back with an ‘extension block’, which was visible from the side. The loco became slightly longer as a result.
The class survived through the grouping years and right through to the days of British Railways. Scrapping began in the early years of BR, with the first examples being condemned in 1950. Throughout the 1950s and 60s they were gradually withdrawn in batches, with the last persisting until 1964. Several 45xx locomotives from the Collett era are preserved, but sadly, no Churchward-built locomotives survived.
Arguably, No. 4555 is the most famous preserved 45xx. This locomotive was the first of the Collett batch and operated until 1963. The engine was bought directly from BR by Pat Whitehouse and Pat Garland for a total of £750, which included a van full of spares and a spare boiler. BR overhauled the loco, and she was repainted back into GWR livery. Despite being privately-owned, she went back to work for BR for a period. This involved working some goods trains and, at one time, due to a failed diesel, provided assistance to the Pines Express.
The 45xx has always been well represented across the country’s preserved railways. We have included several preserved versions in the range, including No.4555 as it would have been seen from 1965 to 1968, when it was preserved but still running on BR metals.
Our range includes Nos. 2171, 2173 and 4505 which are all fitted with the original-length running board, a first for the 45xx tanks in RTR. These represent the locomotives from circa 1909 onwards, after the bunkers were extended upwards but before they were enlarged backwards.
For modellers who prefer etched brass number plates, we will include a painted plate appropriate to the relevant version in the detail bag.
Improving further upon the design of the 44xx, the 45xx will be fitted with a MoPower stay-alive capacitor. You can look forward to a smooth-running mechanism, a factory-installed speaker, NEM coupler pockets, sprung buffers, a Next18 decoder socket, and firebox flicker with a dynamic fire draw effect.
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