WRRC Forum

In John Lewis’s Great Western Way, pub. HMRS, there is reference (p46) to the GWR lending pannier tanks to the B&MR, while I’m not surprised that this happened - they had lent a Metro tank in the nineteenth century and the B&M’s locos were very hard pressed at the best of time - does anyone know what locos, when and whether it was for any specific duties please?

Thank you Jim, I take this to be something different as it talks specifically of a loan and panniers not saddle tanks. There was also the acquisition of the one-off 4-4-0PT GWR 1490 / BMR 35 but that never found its way back to the GWR as it is reported that the loaned panniers did.

I've received clarification from John Lewis on this and the phrase 'pannier tanks lent to the B&MR' was intended to refer to the three saddle tanks that the GWR sold to the B&M and were taken back into GWR stock at the grouping and subsequently converted to pannier tanks.

He also usefully and kindly provided the info that the GWR did lend two saddle tanks to the B&MR (1661 April until October 1909 and 1680 April to 26 August 1909). I guess this was as a stopgap measure until the 36 Class 0-6-2T were delivered.