The Other Ramsbury Manor

RAMSBURY MANOR LOCOMOTIVE

 

“Ramsbury Manor” (No.7829) was the last of the GWR Manor Class steam locomotives to be built and (together with her sister No.7808 “Cookham Manor”) the last to be withdrawn from service.

“Ramsbury Manor” was built in December 1950 and condemned in December 1965.

Engines in the Manor class had a 4-6-0 wheel arrangement and, with an axle loading of just over 17 tons, were designed to be lighter versions of the GWR’s Grange class, thus offering a wider route availability. Their initial performance was not as strong as the Granges, but wartime constraints meant that improvements were delayed.  When the situation was finally investigated, it was discovered that only minimal corrective work was required to improve the draughting from the firebox.  After trials on ten of the class, the improvements became standard after July 1954.

All engines were named after various manor houses in the area served by the Great Western Railway.  Of the 30 examples built, 9 have been preserved either as operational locomotives or static displays (including No.7819 Hinton Manor which can be seen at Swindon Outlet Centre).

PHOTO GWR MANOR 4-6-0 LOCO 7829 RAMSBURY MANOR AT SWINDON 18 November 1956