Pannier tanks were synonymous with the Great Western Railway and their last evolution broke with many cherished traditions. EVAN GREEN-HUGHES charts the history of the distinctive and powerful ‘15XX’ class.
At the end of the Second World War, all Britain’s railways found themselves chronically short of motive power, and this was particularly the case at the Great Western Railway where there was a pressing demand for small locomotives for shunting, local goods and branch line work. The Chief Mechanical Engineer, Frederick Hawksworth, developed the ‘94XX’ 0-6-0PTs which broke with tradition by having a distinctive taper boiler. Ten were built before nationalisation and a further 200 afterwards.
However, while the boiler was different, the ‘94XXs‘ retained the inside motion of previous designs which made maintenance, in a post-war Britain beset with labour shortages, difficult and almost impossible without the use of a pit. They were also heavier than previous designs, which reduced their usefulness and meant that they could not be used for many traditional pannier tank duties.
Above: Synonymous with Western Region stock movements between Old Oak Common and London Paddington station, Hawksworth ‘15XX’ 0-6-0PT 1504 leads an em…
