GWR Pannier 7714

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7714 at Bewdley

7714 in service

7714 is a GWRGreat Western Railway CollettCharles Benjamin Collett, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1922-1941 5700 class 0-6-0PT ‘pannier tank’, one of two examples on the SVRSevern Valley Railway (the other being 5764). This was the largest class of engine designed and built by the Great Western Railway; more than 860 were built between 1929 and 1950 (so many were built that they quickly exceeded the original numbering range of 5700-5799). Pannier tanks could be found at work all over the former GWRGreat Western Railway system and although designed primarily for shunting duties, they were regularly used on local freight and passenger workings. The class was rated 4FThe British Railways system of classifying steam locomotives by power using a number from 0, least powerful, to 9, most powerful, followed by either F for freight, P for Passenger or MT for Mixed Traffic. by British Railways.

7714 was built for the GWRGreat Western Railway by Kerr Stuart & Co. of Stoke, Works No 4449 of 1930. It entered service at Tyseley the same year, and worked until withdrawn by BRBritish Rail or British Railways in 1959, having run an estimated 520,259 miles in service.

7714 was sold to the National Coal Board for use at their Penallta Colliery near Rhymney in South Wales. Initially used daily, the long wheelbase proved unsuitable for the tight curves in the track there so it mostly acted as a spare engine.

7714 in preservation

7714 came to the SVRSevern Valley Railway in 1973 following a successful bid by the SVRASevern Valley Railway Association – Kidderminster Branch. A lengthy restoration followed; the locomotive was not first steamed until 1992.

7714 last saw service in August 2009. Following a period on display in The Engine House, an overhaul is now under way at Bridgnorth.

The locomotive is owned by the SVR Pannier Tank Fund who also own GWR Pannier 5764.

See also

Steam Locomotives