King George V

1927 · GWR Class 6000 · Work 4 of 1,871

King George V, 1927, GWR Class 6000

A four-cylinder express locomotive carrying a brass nameplate reading "King George V", with three pairs of large driving wheels, a chimney capped in bright copper, a polished brass safety valve cover, and a small bell mounted on the front buffer beam, standing at rest in a country station.

What it was used for
Great Western expresses between London and Plymouth. In 1927 she went to the United States for the Baltimore & Ohio centenary.
What was new
She brought back from that journey the bell she carried ever after — a decoration, not a component. The only British locomotive to run about with a piece of American recognition bolted to its buffer beam.