BODMIN & WENFORD RAILWAY
Ex GWR Pannier
Tank Locomotive 0 6435
FACT FILE—No 6435
Built—Great Western Railway, April 1937
Designer—C. B. Collett
Purpose—light passenger work, ‘auto fitted’
Weight—45tons 12cwt
Driving wheel diameter—4ft 7½in
Boiler pressure—165lb sq in
Water capacity—1,100 gallons
Coal capacity—3 tons 4 cwt
Tractive Effort—14,780 lb
GWR Power Class—A
Route Availability—Yellow
Withdrawn—British Railways, October 1964
No 6435 was one of a class of forty locomotives built by the GWR at Swindon Works between 1932 and 1937, primarily for branch line work. All were fitted with the necessary equipment to work an auto train—one that can be driven from the engine in the normal manner, or by remote control from the front of the leading coach when the train is being propelled by the engine.
The engine spent the majority of its life with the GWR—and, later, British Railways—working in South Wales, though prior to being withdrawn it was based at Yeovil. Some members of the class also worked from Plymouth Laira shed and regularly worked trains into Cornwall.
By the time it was withdrawn, No 6435 had run over 570,000 miles in service. Together with two other members of the class—Nos 6412 & 6430—the engine was purchased for preservation by the Dart Valley Railway, initially to operate on the Buckfastleigh-Totnes branch in Devon. It was later transferred to the Paignton-Kingswear line.
No 6435 was purchased from the
DVLR by the Bodmin & Wenford Railway Trust in July 2008. It made its passenger
debut on the BWR two months later.
In due course, No 6435 will be paired with trailer 232 to recreate the days of
auto trains in Cornwall.