The ‘Pannier Tank’ is undoubtedly one of the most iconic tank locomotives to have operated in Great Britain, with the real locomotives being built by the Great Western Railway (GWR) over a period of more than fifty years and to evolving designs. The Class 57XX family was the most numerous of any Pannier built by the GWR, and now you too can enjoy OO Scale models of this Western stalwart thanks to the Bachmann Branchline range.

This model of No. 7752 forms part of our new Railway Celebrations range and depicts the locomotive that took part in the 150th Anniversary celebrations of the opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway. In 1975, to mark this milestone, an exhibition of locomotives, rolling stock and other relics took place at Shildon, County Durham. The event culminated with the 1975 Cavalcade, a procession of steam locomotives that travelled between Shildon and Heighington to showcase some of the finest engineering derived by Britain’s enterprising railway companies of yesteryear.

Preserved Great Western Railway (GWR) 57XX Class No. 7752 formed part of the Cavalcade, representing one of the most successful 0-6-0 tank engine types ever seen in Great Britain – the GWR Pannier Tank. The locomotive, built for the GWR in 1930, would go on to work for British Railways before being sold to London Transport in 1952. Operating until 1971, No. 7752 was then sold to 7029 Clun Castle Ltd. and was preserved for future generations to enjoy.

Humble yet unmistakable, the Branchline model carries all the hallmarks of the 57XX Pannier Tank and offers high performance to match. Employing a high fidelity bodyshell which is injection moulded complete with rivet and panel detailing, numerous components are then added separately to capture many aspects of the prototype in full relief, from the tank fillers to the safety valves, whistles and whistle guard. Metal handrails are then added, fitting into individual metal handrail knobs where appropriate, and the model also sports sprung metal buffers at each end along with fine metal took rests mounted to the rear of the bunker.

The chassis, powered by a substantial 3 pole motor, carries an 8 pin DCC decoder socket and is adorned with details like the springs, brake blocks, brake rigging and sand boxes – accompanied by separate wire sandpipes. NEM couplings pockets can be found at the front and rear, allowing the tension lock couplings supplied with the model to be easily removed and exchanged for an alternative system. The livery is applied to the usual high standard you would expect from a Bachmann model, with rich paintwork adorned with finely printed lining, lettering and numbering to produce a model that is fit for those modelling the GWR or the preservation scene.

MODEL FEATURES:

• Bachmann Branchline OO Scale
• Era 3
• Locomotive is Preserved
• Pristine GWR Green (GWR) livery
• Running No. 7752
• Water Fillet Caps with Screw Closure
• NEM Coupling Pockets
• Sprung Buffers
• Powerful 3 Pole Motor
• Equipped with a 8 Pin DCC Decoder Socket – Recommend Decoder item No. 36-566A
• Length 130mm (over couplings)
• Part of our Railway Celebrations range

CLASS 57XX HISTORY

The Class 57XX Pannier Tank was a family of similar tank engines that together made up the Great Western Railway’s (GWR) most prolific class of locomotive. The 57XX was first introduced in 1929 and construction continued for 21 years until the final examples were outshopped by British Railways. Such was the success of the design that it became the GWR’s standard shunting and general purpose tank engine, used for shunting, light goods traffic and even passenger workings on branch lines and suburban routes.

The first three hundred locomotives were built to the same design; 250 were classified as 57XXs and the remaining 50 were 67XX, these lacked the vacuum brakes, steam heating and automatic train control that was fitted to the 57XXs and so the 67XXs were suited to shunting duties and freight work only. From 1933 a new, larger cab was introduced which incorporated square windows instead of round, and provided more enclosed side sheets for better crew comfort. Locomotives built from 1933 with this new cab were designated Class 8750s. Ultimately, the Class 57XX family, including the sub-classes like the 67XXs and the 8750s, numbered 863 examples, the last of which was built in 1950.

Employed across the GWR network and then the Western Region following Nationalisation, all 863 locomotives passed into British Railways ownership before the first withdrawal in 1956. The type would remain in service for another decade, with withdrawals accelerating at the start of the 1960s before British Railways withdrew the final examples in 1966. Even then, some of these Pannier Tanks were still in use with London Transport (LT) and other private operators who had purchased them from BR; the LT Panniers surviving in traffic until 1971. Ultimately, sixteen Pannier Tanks from the 57XX family survive today in preservation, half of which are genuine 57XXs whilst the other half are Class 8750s.