GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Knowle & Dorridge Station: gwrkd1634

GWR Dean Goods 0-6-0 No 2579 is seen on a local up passenger service to Leamington circa 1911. Built at Swindon works in January 1899 No 2579 was to remain in service until December 1953 when it was withdrawn from 81F Oxford shed to be scrapped shortly afterwards. Between 1883 and 1899 260 of this class of goods locomotives were built to William Dean's design. Officially classified as the 2301 class, the design broke with previous GWR tradition in only having inside frames. During the period they were being built changes occurred to the boiler design . The first twenty engines were originally domeless although all were in due course provided with domed boilers. These locomotives were numbered 2301 to 2360 and 2381 to 2580. (The locomotives built with the missing running numbers, 2361 to 2380, (the 2361 class) were visually similar except they had outside frames). Fifty-four locomotives passed into British Railways ownership in 1948, mostly being used on Welsh branch lines due to their light axle loads. They were progressively replaced by new British Railways Standard Class 2 2-6-0 locomotives. The last surviving member of the class was No 2538 which was withdrawn in May 1957.

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