Talk:GWR Star Class

Merge?

Merge with Star class locomotive? — Catherine\^talk 21:29, 16 August 2005 (UTC)

(This is an old suggestion, but) No, it's a different group of engines altogether. Moonraker12 12:07, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

Regarding the wikification of the list of individual locomotives

Linking the names in the list to articles that are not about locomotives at all , but which just happen to have the same name as the locomotives, is confusing and unhelpful. The list of names of locomotives should either be linked to articles about the locomotives, or not linked at all. I favour the first of those two options. I see no reason why we shouldn't aim to have a separate article for each locomotive. There are already articles about individual locomotives - see, for example, Evening Star (locomotive), (evidently a different, later Evening Star). GrahamN 23:26, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

I agree; I've come across this on other pages, and posed the same question.Moonraker12 12:14, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

I believe that there are times when people (such as myself) wonder where a name comes from, hence the explanation at the bottom of the locomotive's section. In wiki these things get linked to the page explaining the concept...

A locomotive should only have a page where it is notable in itself. North Star might qualify here but the vast majority of locomotives do not as they were just one of a class; they are only of interest when compared with similar locomotives, hence their being grouped by class. If you come across any where it is not clear that this link is not pointing to the locomotive then please re-word it so that the mistake cannot be made. Geof Sheppard 12:42, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

About the meanings of the Star loco names

I found this page with most descriptions of the stars associated with the locomotives' names more than a bit woolly. They included some errors, and they also read like "add-ons" just dropped in. So I corrected all descriptions, keeping them as short as possible. I'm sure a good argument can be made for dropping them out completely, but it seems to me that 1) they're useful, as some of the locos would have a blank space otherwise, and 2) they do have an extra use - the explanations of names throw interesting light on the "mindset" of the company at the time. It seems to me they not only wanted to get away from the "Planet type" locos of other companies by choosing stars, but also deliberately chose a romantic, poetic-sounding set of star names, soft sounding rather than hard. Kind of like an 1840 version of Saatchi-&-Saatchi marketing, maybe! Interesting. Pete Hobbs (talk) 17:43, 4 August 2011 (UTC)

The best source for the origin of GWR loco names is

• Davies, Ken (1993). The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway, part fourteen: Names and their Origins - Railmotor Services - War Service - The Complete Preservation Story. Lincoln: RCTS. ISBN 0 901115 75 4. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

I'll put some refs to this in when I have time. --Redrose64 (talk) 18:17, 4 August 2011 (UTC)

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Delivery of North Star

Regarding this edit: I find it highly unlikely that "''North Star'' arrived at [[Twyford railway station|Maidenhead Bridge station]] by barge, for three reasons:

1. Twyford is more than seven miles west of Maidenhead Bridge
2. Twyford is not on a navigable waterway: the river through Twyford is the Loddon, which is not deep enough; the closest approach of the Thames is at Sonning, more than two miles further west
3. the locomotive would surely have been delivered at a point where it could be unloaded from the boat and placed near to, if not actually on, the (uncompleted) railway.

According to

• MacDermot, E.T. (1927). History of the Great Western Railway, vol. I: 1833-1863. Paddington: Great Western Railway. pp. 53, 714.

North Star was delivered by barge on the Thames at Maidenhead at the end of November, but there she had to stay for lack of rails until May 1838

North Star was delivered at Maidenhead on the 28th November 1837, and had the honour of working the Directors' train on the 31st May 1838, preparatory to the opening of the lineit worked the first Great Western Railway passenger train—a "Directors' Special"

Similarly, according to

• Reed, P.J.T. (February 1953). White, D.E. (ed.). The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway, part two: Broad Gauge. Kenilworth: RCTS. p. B12. ISBN 0-901115-32-0. OCLC 650490992.

North Star ... [was] delivered by barge at Maidenhead on 28th November 1837, nearly six months elapsed before the railway reached it! Then, on 31st May 1838, it worked the first Great Western Railway passenger train—a "Directors' Special"

I see two possibilities:

1. it was unloaded at Maidenhead Bridge and carted eastward along the A4 road to the bridge where the railway crosses over the road;
2. it was unloaded at the eastern end of the uncompleted Maidenhead Railway Bridge and placed on the railway there.

Certainly, as the line between Maidenhead (Old) and Twyford was not opened until 1 July 1839, Twyford is highly unlikely. @Geof Sheppard and Minnie Bannister: FYI. --Redrose64 🌹 (talk) 19:34, 12 January 2018 (UTC)

Sorry, but Maidenhead Bridge station was near the Bath Road at Taplow rather than Twyford. Geof Sheppard (talk) 22:10, 13 January 2018 (UTC)

So why did you put Twyford? Are there any sources which conclusively show that the delivery by barge was not "at Maidenhead"? --Redrose64 🌹 (talk) 23:37, 13 January 2018 (UTC)