GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY
The existing GWR was such a dominant part of its enlarged constituency that a dramatic visual change in emphasis from what had preceded the Grouping was unlikely. The key original stations retained their light and dark stone colours, with constituents eventually following suit.
The biggest shift had already begun in 1922 by reverting to lined chocolate and cream for carriages, instead of the all-over browns and Crimson Lakes that had dominated since 1908.
In a bid to modernise coal runs from the coal fields of the Valleys, the GWR introduced a new all-steel, 20-ton open wagon.
On the locomotive front, 1923 was remarkable for the introduction of the ‘Cheltenham Spa Express’. The 75-minute schedule for the 77¾ miles between Swindon and Paddington called for an average pace of 61.8mph, making it the fastest start-to-stop express in the country.
The simultaneous introduction of the four-cylinder ‘Castle’ 4-6-0s under newly appointed chief mechanical engineer Charles Collett established a new express motive power benchmark that, to some, was never surpassed until dieselisation. Their introduction in the post-austerity age represented a return to ornate locomotive decoration: copper-capped chimneys and brass trimmings. These, and other front-line locomotives, were once again adorned with the 1878-era GWR Garter crest (displaying the shields of London and Bristol) situated between ‘GREAT’ and ‘WESTERN’ on the tender sides. In 1926 a tweak was made with the introduction of the newly simplified coat of arms.
Lesser locomotives, though elaborately turned out in the Edwardian period, never regained lining or crests.
Many of the inherited tank engines and small tender engines were ‘Swindonised’ by the GWR with the addition of new boilers, copper cap chimneys, brass safety valve bonnets, smokebox doors, tapered buffers and a multitude of cab and boiler fittings.