Strange Locomotives GWR 111 - The Great Bear

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The Great Bear, number 111, was a locomotive of the Great Western Railway. It was the first 4-6-2 (Pacific) locomotive used on a railway in Great Britain, and the only one of that type ever built by the GWR.

George Jackson Churchward who was Chief Mechanical Engineer for GWR at the time was responsible for it’s design and building
Interestingly, there are a myriad of differing views as to why Churchward and the GWR would want to build a pacific locomotive in 1908 when in actual fact the current and indeed the future locomotive practice for the railway was centred on a 4-6-0 wheel arrangement. It has been suggested that this was more of a publicity stunt for the railway and the Great Bear was proposed as it would be the largest locomotive in Britain at the time.
However, O. S. Nock - well known for a large number of technical works on locomotive performance - was adamant that the design "was entirely due to Churchward, and not to outside influences that pressed the project upon him". Nock further stated that the locomotive was "primarily an exercise in boiler design", with Churchward even being forward-looking to a time when his Star Class locomotives could no longer cope with the increasing loads being asked of railway operators.


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