About the calendar image

GWR 42xx No.4277 works a goods train passed Basford Curve at the Churnet Valley Railway during a 30742 photo charter. Taken on the 29th October 2017.

GWR 42xx No.4277 visited the Churnet Valley Railway as part of the railway’s 25th anniversary celebrations and can currently be found operating services on the North Norfolk Railway.

Locomotive history:

Built at Swindon Works in 1920, GWR 42xx Class No.4277 was designed by George Jackson Churchward as a powerful 2-8-0 tank locomotive for heavy freight and banking duties. The class was developed to handle steep gradients and demanding industrial traffic, with No.4277 entering service as part of the Great Western Railway’s successful family of heavy freight locomotives.
No.4277 spent much of its working life in South Wales, where its ability to tackle heavy mineral trains made it ideally suited to the region’s coal traffic. Withdrawn by British Railways in 1964, it was preserved and eventually restored to working order. Since returning to steam, the locomotive has been named ‘Hercules‘ and has become a popular performer on heritage railways, demonstrating the power and versatility of the GWR’s large tank locomotive designs.