GWR ‘388’ 0-6-0

Before the war: The Great Western Railway may have sent some new 2-6-0s for war service (see right) but at the other end of the spectrum was the ‘388’ 0-6-0. This class was introduced by Joseph Armstrong in 1866 and 310 were built up to 1876. They were designed as ‘convertibles’, which could be changed from 4ft 8½in gauge to 7ft¼in broad gauge. Withdrawals from service had started in 1904.

Call-up: Records of what ‘Armstrong Goods’ were sent are sketchy. It is known that 22 were dispatched, including Nos. 39, 447/51, 508, 794/96, 878, 1091, 1100/98.

Theatre of operations: All 22 were sent to Salonika, although eight were lost en route. The 14 that made it were numbered 25-39 in the local ROD series.

Demobilisation: Ottoman Railways used eight ‘388s’ after the end of the war and one became the property of Turkish State Railways (TCDD) in 1927, but its fate is uncertain. Six were shipped back to Britain in 1921 with the return of a batch of ‘Dean Goods’, but they were scrapped almost immediately. The last ‘388’ 0-6-0s were withdrawn in 1930.

Survivors: None.

MIKE MORANT COLLECTION Armstrong ‘Standard Goods’ 0-6-0 No. 406 at Swindon in 1914. This was not one of the 22 sent to Salonika, none of which ever worked in Britain again.