Ones that got away: The 'Granges'

摘要

June 1902 was a significant month in the history of the Great Western Railway. For it was then that George Jackson Churchward officially succeeded William Dean as locomotive, carriage & wagon superintendent at Swindon. Churchward was a protagonist of loco standardisation and it was under his influence that six standard loco designs had been drawn up in 1901. One of those was a mixed-traffic 4-6-0 with 5ft 8in driving wheels, and a detailed drawing of such a loco was issued in 1905; but, while other Churchward standard designs proliferated, the proposal for a mixed-traffic 4-6-0 was sidelined. Until, that is, 1924, when Church-ward's successor, Charles B. Collett, put 6ft Oin driving wheels on a 'Saint' and No. 4900 Saint Martin became the prototype for 330 'Halls' and 'Modified Halls'. The prospect of a 5ft 8in 4-6-0, however, receded into the 1930s, when it was decided to scrap 300 of Churchward's 43XX Moguls and incorporate certain of their components in a new class of 5ft 8in 4-6-Os which, for accountancy purposes, would be 'renewals' rather than new engines.