Kings of the Railway - GWR 6000 Class

Greetings all! :D

Looking to a locomotive that's a little closer to home for my southern roots, we review the history of the iconic Great Western Railway 6000 Class, which are more famously known as the Kings, the primary express passenger locomotives working out of London Paddington, which, in considerations of the many weight restrictions of the Great Western mainline, were tailored to the trunk sections of this railway, and proved to be among the most superb performing steam locomotives of their era, even giving more famous streamliners from rival companies a run for their money.

The views and opinions expressed in this video are my personal appraisal and are not the views and opinions of any of these individuals or bodies who have kindly supplied me with footage and images.

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Thanks again, everyone, and enjoy! :D

References:
- Wikipedia (and its respective references)

[duncancurtis]

In 1962 two Kings were heading for a scrapyard west of Newport. By a fluke they survived but took years to restore to life. Both Eddies live on today.

[morganrees]

Came back from Cornwall summer of '58 on the Riviera - pulled by a Warship class diesel - which failed near Plymouth. After a bit, a King was coupled up - that driver didn't half make a point - we absolutely flew the rest of the way, ended up not very late into Paddington - I remember passengers were making a point of congratulating the driver and fireman. A happy day in a sad time for me.

[LMS]

Finally someone talks about the gwr king class locomotives in a documentary

[cliffordwoolston]

I remember train spotting at Pewsey, Wilts, being the nearest GWR station to Amesbury, Wilts. I can still here my mate screaming, "it's a king, it's a king".

I still need 6003, 6005 and 6011 - 14

[justandy]

King Edward II's restoration has certainly been a testy one. Early on in its restoration they had to completely remake the rear driving wheel set. A very complicated, difficult and lengthy process!
Whilst at Barry scrapyard, it was derailed whilst being moved. But instead of re-railing it. They took the cutters torch to the wheel and carried on!
1 persons actions that day, probably to only save a few hours, cost its restoration team ALOT of money, Time and resources.
I believe the reminants of the wheel that was cut up is on display at Didcot Railway Center.

[johndavey]

Excellent ! I remember we used to watch the magnificent King and Castle classes at Newtom Abbot from the bridge on the Torquay Road near Brunell Road . I was 10 years old and unknowingly was watching their final year on the mainline . Thankyou

[Hattonbank]

I remember standing on Solihull station with my two younger brothers in the early 1960's trainspotting, and waiting to see a King hauled Paddington - Wolverhampton express fly through the station, when coming round the curve into the station was a strange sight. Something unfamiliar at the front of the train, no steam, but this strange machine. It was the first time that I saw a Western in place of a King. Life was never the same again.

It must have been 2018 at the SVR before I saw a King again, best part of 60 years later.

[adamc]

Excellent video Mr. MacVeigh, thank you. Collett, as a proper Swindon man, was noted for being rather unhappy with all the non-standard features of the 6000s, particularly not being able to use the 6'8.5" diameter wheels which were standard to the Stars and Castles. But Sir Felix Pole was a man who got his way and to be honest, I think the detriment to the GWRs capital expenditure bill was of benefit to anyone who appreciates steam engines! Nock claims they were the culmination of those designs going back to the early twentieth century "beyond which no further advance was to be discerned." Thank you again.

[雪者]

I wanna say thanks for these videos. It's because of stuff like this that I'm now into British locomotives.

[curly]

Wonderful to hear that evocative Great Western whistle at the end of your video.

[NickRatnieks]

Rare little known fact- Richard Maunsell's surname was pronounced Mansell. Loco 6014 Henry VII never lost the last aspect of its streamlining as the wedge-shaped cab was never removed and remained until the loco was scrapped in 1963. The Kings were all withdrawn as Stanley Raymond the general manager of the Western Region decreed that none would be retained to cover for failures of the new Western diesels as this would be given by the Warship class and although a number of King class engines (not units) had received heavy general overhauls and roller bearings had been ordered for them, they were unceremoniously junked. In the aftermath, the Westerns broke down- as did the Warships supposedly providing backup and often, premier expresses like the Intercity had to be hauled by rundown Hall class locos. Such is the vanity of management as common sense would have seen the Kings that had been overhauled being kept until the Westerns had settled in and the extra expense of training the drivers on the Westerns and the Warships would have been unnecessary- as they all knew how to drive the Kings but that's PR stunts for you Murphy's Law coming in remind folk of bedrock reality. As a kid, I was very upset when the Kings just vanished seemingly, overnight.

[gquayle]

6023 & 6024 both ended up at Barry scrapyard. Almost by accident. As they were sold, then retained to load test some bridge's, before being sold again to Woodham bros, Barry.

[thebrummierailenthusiasts]

I saw 6023 during its 2018 seven valley railway visit and that loco is the first king to see

[MadBiker-vjqj]

The streamlining experiment was intriguing, I'd love to see a model made of it, now there's a little project for someone with a 3D printer.

[adrianrosenlund-hudson]

for my money, God's Wonderful Railway produced some of the finest looking locomotives

[TheHylianBatman]

What beautiful locomotives. They're very typical, to me; when I think of locomotives, I think of something that looks like these.

[stuartpeacock]

Whilst at school at the age of 10 or 11 a Summer Holiday treat from my parents was the City of Plymouth Holiday Express that was in effect a week of mystery trips by rail on now defunct branch lines throughout the South West. They were hauled by the very cream of the last steam locomotives including the Great Western 6000 class. On one occasion King George the 5th herself stood at the head of the train emitting steam and smoke 💨 as a living breathing mechanical creature.
Sad times as even as a child I knew steam had little time to run before being replaced by the Warship and Western class diesels

[procyonlotor]

I hope your channel really blows up, your videos are brilliantly done. Thanks for all the hard work that goes into them, it's genuinely appreciated!

[eddieking]

Thank you for another great video featuring my favourite class of GWR kettle. I always look forward to your railway content. 👍

[drstevenrey]

We have to note that so many many train enthusiasts watch these processes a lot better end a lot more complex than the railway companies ever can or will. Those people are mostly 'managers' without any deep knowledge on engineering or railways in general. All they look at is the spread sheet with the numbers of profit or loss.