Large Prairie no. 4160 from the West Somerset Railway captures a very British Railways-era image as it rests with a freight train at a rain-soaked Toddington during a previous visit to the Honeybourne Line (Photograph: Ian Crowder)
The GWR large Prairies provided the mainstay of the Great
Western's suburban services. Designed by G J Churchward, the
prototype was no. 99 built in 1903, and proved to be more than
capable of fulfilling their intended role. No. 99 was
renumbered 3100 when production started, thus creating the 3100
class and from that beginning, 289 'large Prairies' were completed,
with minor differences and modifications until the last emerged
from Swindon works in 1949. No 4160 was among the final
batch, being completed in 1948. These engines were
particularly associated with the Birmingham commuter trains and
were eventually surpassed by diesel multiple units. Perhaps
the most prestigious service worked by the class was the Cheltenham
Spa Express / Cheltenham Flyer with a 2-6-2T would work the service
between Cheltenham and Gloucester where the train reversed and a
'Castle' was attached to the opposite end to take the service on to
Paddington.
A dozen of the class survived until the end of WR steam in 1965,
among them no. 4160 which found its way to Barry scrapyard.
It was rescued by 4160 Limited and is normally resident on the West
Somerset Railway. It has been an occasional visitor to the
Honeybourne Line and no celebration of the history of the Great
Western would be complete without a representative of this very
attractive design.