GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line

Henley in Arden: Original Station: gwrha1418

GWR 0-4-2T 517 class No 539 is seen buffered up to the stops on the track adjacent to the locomotive shed with its coal supply stacked behind the buffers circa 1899. The 517 class were small 0-4-2T tank engines designed by Joseph Armstrong for branch line work on the GWR. They were built at Wolverhampton works and were outshopped between 1868 and 1885. They were built in thirteen lots commencing with No 517 to No 528 and ending with No 1477 to No 1488 in 1884–1885. The class was far from uniform and encompassed three different wheelbases, saddle and side tanks, and various boilers to name just a few variations. The earlier ones were rebuilt from saddle tanks while the later ones were built as side tanks from the beginning. Then ten new locos followed in the next two years. The 517 class, various different bunker and cab combinations also evolved, and after their last rebuilding, the locos with enclosed cabs and large bunkers were effectively the progenitors of Collett's 48xx class. The GWR 3571 class were very closely related, the prototype being a minor rebuild of 517 class No 1477 in 1895.

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