No. 7200 2-8-2T
Built by the Great Western Railway, originally as 2-8-0T No. 5275 for use in South Wales
hauling heavy coal trains, the loco became redundant in this traffic as coal usage became less,
and was put into storage at Swindon. The original building cost
was £4,380 which included £933 for the boiler.
She re-entered the Factory on the 23rd July 1934
for alteration to 2-8-2T arrangement, and was renumbered 7200. The modifications cost £200.
After completion and running in, 7200 left Swindon for the Welsh Neath division and was
shedded at Llanelli until 1940, when she returned to the Swindon pool for light repairs and
again in 1942 for a intermediate repair. For some reason in 1943, 7200 ended up at Tyseley
for repairs, leaving soon afterwards to return to her home ground. In 1944 after completing
226,294 miles she was shopped at Caerphilly, where she received her second boiler C2606 and
then returned to Llanelli and Landore for a short while.
In 1947 7200 then moved on to new pastures, the Newton Abbot Division. Regularly carrying
out banking duties from Aller Junction and for a short while being used on the heavy china
clay traffic out of St Blazy, she was even known to have worked holiday trains from Paignton
to Newton Abbot. Returning to the Swindon pool in 1952 for a heavy general overhaul 7200
received her third boiler C3174 after 408,686 miles. On completion of the overhaul 7200
returned to her old stomping grounds of Llanelli, Ebbw Junction, Landore, completing only a
further 75,281 miles before returning to Caerphilly in 1956 for her third heavy general
and her fourth boiler C5218 (which she still carries to the present day).
From there 7200 moved on to DanyGraig, Llanelli and Landore, clocking up another 70,000
miles with general freight and iron ore duties, before returning from Duffryn Yard in 1960
for her last heavy intermediate repair at Caerphilly. During the last two years of service
7200 managed to clock up a further 50,000 miles including a trip to Stafford Road Wolverhampton
for her final light casual in February 1962.
A year later 7200 was condemned on the 2nd July 1963 aged 33 years and with a total of
605,523 miles. On the 9th October 1963 7200 was sold to Woodham Brothers at Barry Wales,
where she stood in a siding for eighteen years, before moving to the Buckinghamshire Railway
Centre where she is being restored by the 7200 Trust members to her former glory. One wonders
what might have been if Churchward had chosen the 2-8-2T design in 1910 instead of the 42xx
2-8-0T?
