The 1361 Class were small 0-6-0

0-6-0

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels...

ST steam locomotive

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

s built by the Great Western Railway

Great Western Railway

The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...

 at their Swindon railway works, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, mainly for shunting in docks

Dock shunter

A Dock shunter, or "Dock tank", is a locomotive used for shunting wagons in the vicinity of docks. It is usually of 0-4-0 or 0-6-0 wheel arrangement and has a short wheelbase and large buffers...

 and other sidings where track curvature was too tight for large locomotives.

History

The 1361 Class were designed by Harold Holcroft

Harold Holcroft

Harold Holcroft was a British railway and mechanical engineer who worked for the Great Western Railway , the South Eastern and Chatham Railway and the Southern Railway...

, the Great Western Railway's Chief Draughtsman, by adapting the 1392 Class, originally built in 1874 for the Cornwall Minerals Railway

Cornwall Minerals Railway

The Cornwall Minerals Railway operated a network of railway lines in Cornwall, United Kingdom. Based at St Blazey, its network stretched from Fowey to Newquay and lasted as an independent company from 1874 to 1896, after which it became a part of the Great Western Railway.-Authorisation:The...

, to conform to George Jackson Churchward

George Jackson Churchward

George Jackson Churchward CBE was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Great Western Railway in the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1922.-Early career:...

's standardisation policy (Churchward was the Chief Mechanical Engineer). As such they combined unusual and outdated elements, such as saddle tanks and Allan valve gear, with current Great Western details such the cab. By 1910 the railway was busy converting all its old saddle tank locomotives to carry pannier tanks. The 11 in 0 in (3.35 m) wheelbase allowed them to negotiate 2 chains (40 m) radius curves, a feature necessary for their intended duties in docks and on lightly laid branch lines.

The five locomotives were built at Swindon in 1910 and were set to work alongside the ex-Cornwall Minerals Railway locomotives. Their usual home was Plymouth Millbay

Plymouth Millbay railway station

Plymouth Millbay railway station was the original railway terminus in Plymouth, Devon, England. It was used for passenger trains from 1849 to 1941.- History :...

, Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, (later Laira shed

Laira TMD

Laira TMD is a railway Traction Maintenance Depot situated in Plymouth, Devon, England. The depot is operated by First Great Western and is mainly concerned with the overhaul and daily servicing of their fleet of High Speed Trains and also the DMUs used on local services...

) from where they worked in Millbay Docks and on the Sutton Harbour branch. Until 1928 some of the locomotives could also be found at St Blazey engine shed

St Blazey engine shed

St Blazey Engine Shed is located in Par, Cornwall, United Kingdom. The depot operator is DB Schenker. It is named after the adjacent village of St Blazey and has the depot code is BZ.-History:...

, Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

, where they worked on ex-Cornwall Minerals Railway branches, and also at Moorswater

Moorswater railway station

Moorswater railway station was the centre of operations for the Liskeard and Caradon Railway and the Liskeard and Looe Railway. The two railways made an end on junction here...

 for working the Looe branch.

In 1920 one locomotive was transferred to Newton Abbot

Newton Abbot railway station

Newton Abbot railway station serves the town of Newton Abbot in Devon, England. It is from London on the Exeter to Plymouth line via the Reading to Taunton line, at the junction for the branch to . For many years it was also the junction for Moretonhampstead and the site of a large locomotive...

, Devon, for shunting the railway workshops there, a duty that was to continue until 1952. Other allocations were Taunton

Taunton railway station

Taunton railway station is a junction station on the route from London to Penzance, from London Paddington station. It is situated in Taunton, Somerset, England and is operated by First Great Western...

 (1953–1961) for working at Bridgwater

Bridgwater railway station

Bridgwater railway station serves Bridgwater in Somerset, England. It is on the Bristol to Taunton Line and is operated by First Great Western. Originally built to the designs of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the station is now a Grade II* listed building.-History:...

, Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

, (again, mainly in the town's docks), and Swindon (1956–1961). One was tried briefly on the Weymouth Harbour Tramway

Weymouth Harbour Tramway

The Weymouth Harbour Tramway is a goods and passenger railway constructed almost entirely on the streets of Weymouth, England...

 in 1949, and another went to St Philips Marsh

St Philips Marsh

St Philip's Marsh is an industrial inner suburb of Bristol, England. It is bounded by River Avon and Harbour feeder canal making it an almost island area, unlike the other two areas surrounded by water, it was historically part of Gloucestershire...

, Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

 in 1962.

The same basic design was used for the six 1366 Class

GWR 1366 Class

The Great Western Railway 1366 Class was a class of 0-6-0 pannier tank steam locomotive built in 1934.-History and development:The 1366 class was one of only two pannier tank designs built by the GWR that utilised outside cylinders, although various existing engines inherited by the GWR had...

 locomotives built in 1934, but this time they were fitted with pannier tanks. When the 1361s were withdrawn their remaining duties were given to D2000

British Rail Class 03

The British Rail Class 03 locomotive is, together with Class 04, one of BR's most successful smaller 0-6-0 diesel-mechanical shunters. The class, numbering 230 examples, was built by British Railways' Swindon and Doncaster works in 1957-1962 and numbered D2000-D2199 and D2370-D2399...

 diesel shunters.

Locomotives

Number	Built	Withdrawn	Notes
1361	1910	1961
1362	1910	1961
1363	1910	1962	Preserved at Didcot Railway Centre Didcot Railway Centre Didcot Railway Centre, located in the town of Didcot in the English county of Oxfordshire, is based around the site of a comprehensive "engine shed" which became redundant after the nationalisation of the UK railways, due to the gradual changeover from steam to diesel motive power.-Description:The...
1364	1910	1961
1365	1910	1962