GWR 6800 Class 6880 Betton Grange

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GWR 6800 Class 6880 Betton Grange
Betton Grange at Toddington in May 2024.
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer C.B. Collett (original designer) Builder 6800 Society Build date 1998–2024
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-0  • UIC 2'C h Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Leading dia. 3 ft 0 in (0.914 m) Driver dia. 5 ft 8 in (1.727 m) Minimum curve 8 chains (530 ft; 160 m) normal, 7 chains (460 ft; 140 m) slow Length 63 ft 0+1⁄4 in (19.21 m) Width 8 ft 11+1⁄4 in (2.72 m) Height 13 ft 0 in (3.96 m) Axle load 18 long tons 8 cwt (41,200 lb or 18.7 t) Adhesive weight 55 long tons 2 cwt (123,400 lb or 56 t) Loco weight 74 long tons 0 cwt (165,800 lb or 75.2 t) full Tender weight 40 long tons 0 cwt (89,600 lb or 40.6 t) full Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 7 long tons 0 cwt (15,700 lb or 7.1 t) Water cap. 3,500 imp gal (16,000 L; 4,200 US gal) Firebox: ​  • Grate area 27.07 sq ft (2.515 m2) Boiler pressure 225 psi (1.55 MPa) Heating surface: ​  • Firebox 154.78 sq ft (14.380 m2)  • Tubes and flues 1,686.60 sq ft (156.690 m2)  • Total surface 2,461.4 sq ft (228.67 m2) Superheater: ​  • Heating area 4-element: 191.8 sq ft (17.82 m2), 6-element: 253.38 sq ft (23.540 m2) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 18.5 in × 30 in (470 mm × 762 mm)
Performance figures Tractive effort 28,875 lbf (128.44 kN)
Career Operators   Power class GWR: D; BR: 5MT Numbers 6880 Official name Betton Grange Axle load class GWR: Red Disposition Operational, currently based at the Llangollen Railway

GWR 6800 Class No. 6880 Betton Grange is a steam locomotive built between 1998 and 2024 as a "new-build" project, originally based on the Llangollen Railway in Denbighshire, Wales, then subsequently at Tyseley Locomotive Works. Described^{[by whom?]} as "building the 81st Grange", the project started in 1998, and the locomotive was earlier expected to be operational by 2013, but subsequently by Autumn 2021, which was then pushed back to 2024. It was expected to be launched under steam in a private member event in January 2024 but was postponed a week before the event.^[1] On 11 April 2024, 6880 was steamed up for the first time after more than 25 years of work.^[2] All of the original GWR 6800 Class Grange locomotives were withdrawn for scrap by the end of 1965;^[3] this project is a creation, from an assemblage of original GWR and newly manufactured components, of a member of this class.