BACHMANN 32-198 GWR 8750 TANK 3650 GWR GREEN (SHIRTBUTTON)

BACHMANN 32-198 GWR 8750 TANK 3650 GWR GREEN (SHIRTBUTTON)

The Class 8750 Pannier Tank is a derivative of the Great Western Railways 57XX design, the company's most prolific class of locomotive.  With a combined fleet totalling more than 800 examples, this family of Pannier Tanks was selected as the GWR's standard shunting and general purpose tank engine, used for shunting, light goods traffic and even passenger workings on branch lines and suburban routes.  The 8750s were distinguihed from other members of the 57XX family by their larger cabs with rectangular windows and grilles, as opposd to the round windows of the initial design. Sliding shutters and hinged doors were alos provied to give crew better protection from the elements.

More than half of the 863 strong 57XX family consisted of 8750s, the first of which was built in 1933 and the last by British Railways in the 1950s.  All of the 8750s were built at the GWR's Swindon Works and upon Nationalisation, BR assigned them the classification 4F.  Withdrawals commenced in 1957 and all had been taken out of BR service by 1966, owever twenty examples remained in private use beyond 1966.  From this family of 863 Pannier Tanks, sixteen survive in preservation, half of which are class 8750s.