Ex-GWR 'King' 4-6-0 6000 outside Swindon Works, 1953

Introduction

The photograph on this page of Ex-GWR 'King' 4-6-0 6000 outside Swindon Works, 1953 by Ben Brooksbank as part of the Geograph project.

The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.

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Ex-GWR 'King' 4-6-0 6000 outside Swindon Works, 1953

Image: © Ben Brooksbank Taken: 22 Feb 1953

Not a good photograph, but is at least the doyen of Collett's celebrated class: No. 6000 'King George V' was built in 6/27 and withdrawn in 12/62. It went to the USA in 9-10/27, led a procession of locomotives in the 'Fair of the Iron Horse' celebrating the Centenary of Baltimore & Ohio Railway, when it was presented with its inscribed locomotive bell. It carried the bell continuously thereafter - but the Westinghouse brake equipment fitted for its American Tour was not. After withdrawal, No. 6000 was kept in main-line running order at Bulmer's Railway Centre at Hereford and in 1971 worked the first main-line Steam Rail Tour after their reintroduction on BR: subsequently it has been preserved at the Swindon 'Steam' Railway Museum and at the National Railway Museum at York.

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0

Image Location

coordinates on a map icon
Latitude
51.557866
Longitude
-1.80176