The Glyn Valley Tramway had been constructed to connect the quarries of Glyn Ceriog with the Shropshire Union canal at Chirk, opened by gravity and horse traction in 1873. In 1885 new parliamentary powers were obtained to make a connection to the Great Western Railway at Chirk station (opened 1848) instead of the canal and convert the line to operation by steam locomotives. The line had been built as a roadside tramway, so mostly-enclosed tram locomotive engines were required by the Board of trade, two being delivered from Beyer Peacock and company in 188, with a third delivered in 1892, allowing for one of the engines to be out of service for overhaul.
Like all British railways the first world war took a toll on the equipment, maintenance being neglected as men were needed for military service, and by 1918 the locomotives were in poor condition.
Meanwhile the government had for sale a large number of 2-feet locomotives ordered for military service and Baldwin 4-6-0T 45211 (1917) was purchased by the Glyn Valley Tramway company. The Baldwin was sent to Beyer Peacock for regauging to suit the GVT 2ft4in gauge track, at the same time receiving a fully-enclosed cab and lined black livery. The overhaul of 45211 was costly, comparable with the cost of a new locomotive, but she was finest and best finished WD Baldwin 4-6-0 in Britain.
The arrival of the Baldwin in turned allowed the tram locomotives to be sent to Beyer Peacock for overhauls.
In service the Baldwin seems to have had a reputation for not being so smooth riding as the tram locomotives, possibly due to having been designed for use on temporary trench tramways rather than permanent railways. However it may simply be that she was less powerful than the Beyer Peacock tram locos, so had to be worked harder and, with outside cylinders set well forward of the coupled wheels, probably swung from side to side when driven hard. Reported as mostly used in goods service the Baldwin survived until the end of the GVT in 1936. The Board of Trade never seems to have concerned itself with the Baldwins lack of side skirts, or the requirement from the GVT acts that locomotives run cab-forward, the Baldwin was too long for the turntables.
These engines were ordered from the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, a 4-6-0 design probably based on the Hunslet locomotive design selected by the War Department. Locomotives were ordered from the USA as British building capacity was insufficient to deliver enough locomotives fast enough under wartime conditions.
Following the armistice hundreds of new or barely used locomotives lay at military dumps and these were sold for further use by railway companies, construction contractors and on industrial sites. The Welsh Highland Railway, Ashover Light Railway, Glyn Valley Tramway and Snailbeach Railway all used these engines in the UK. Many more saw further use in France, Belgium, the middle-east and India.
The Bachamnn model has been carefully designed to incorporate a high level of detailing with very fine valve gear which has proven surprisingly resilient through testing. The chassis has been designed as a 2-2-6-0, the inner axle of the bogie being part of the fixed wheelbase, avoiding problems with the bogie fouling the cylinders and controlling the overhang offset of the front coupling on curves. Testing on exhibition layouts demonstrates the engine will still easily negotiate curves tighter than 9in. Weathering on sample models is also very well done and realistic in appearance.
Baldwin Class loco features:
- 8 wheel pickup
- coreless motor
- Next 18 DCC socket
- speaker chamber for DCC sound located in bunker
- runs on 9 inch radius curves
- NEM coupling pockets
- detailed cab interior
- prototypical daylight under the boiler
- 4 cab styles
- 3 chimney types
- 2 styles of vacuum exhaust pipe
- 2 styles of vacuum train pipe
- with or without water lifting apparatus and hose
- with or without Ashover style balance pipe