GWR 9700 Class

The Great Western Railway (GWR) 9700 Class, or 97xx class, were 0-6-0PT pannier tank steam locomotives that were a direct development of the GWR 5700 Class. The prototype for the class, No. 8700 (later No. 9700), was a rebuilt 5700 Class locomotive that was originally built in 1931 by Beyer, Peacock and Company that was converted into a condensing engine to run on the Metropolitan line to the Smithfield Goods Depot. The pannier tanks of No. 8700 were cut back at the smokebox end to reduce the water capacity from 1,200 to 1,080 gallons. A vertical feed pump was fitted on the right hand side and the characteristic pipes from the smokebox to the tanks were added along with steam vents on the tanks. Test runs through the Metropolitan lines were run to check clearances.
Following the success of the prototype, ten more of these condensing locomotives were built in 1933 by Swindon Works that were numbered 9701 to 9710. They earned the nickname ‘tunnel motors’ by engine crews.
The Great Western Railway wanted to run heavier trains on the Hammersmith & City line between Paddington station and Smithfield Meat Market which resulted in these engines replacing the Metro and 633 class locomotives that were already working on the line at the time.
The eleven locomotives in the class had a condensing apparatus that fed the exhaust steam back into the water tanks. The tanks themselves were shortened to make room for the external exhaust pipes and were extended down to the footplate in front of the cab to increase their capacity. As condensing the steam heated the water, a reciprocating pump (Weir pump) was fitted as a boiler feedwater pump because standard injectors will not work with hot water. The pumps led to (unsuccessful) tests with these locomotives acting as fire engines during World War II. 
To work over the electrified underground lines, the 9700 Class locomotives had a special type of Automatic train control (ATC) equipment that lifted clear of the centre rail and had tripcock brake valves that matched the London Transport signalling system. 
After the 1955 Modernisation Plan, the United Kingdom embarked on a dieselisation program which slowly reduced the demand for the services of steam engines. Withdrawals of the class commenced in 1959 with the last member of the class, No. 9710, to be withdrawn in October 1964. 16 members of the original 5700 Class managed to survive into preservation but unfortunately no known examples of the 9700 Class were fortunate enough to have been preserved.
==Stock List==
=== 1923 Batch===
Loco No.	Image	Manufacturer 	Build date(s)	Status
9700 	 	Beyer, Peacock and Company	1931 	Scrapped
9701 	 	Swindon Works 	1933 	Scrapped
9702 	 	Swindon Works 	1933 	Scrapped
9703 	 	Swindon Works 	1933 	Scrapped
9704 	 	Swindon Works 	1933 	Scrapped
9705 	 	Swindon Works 	1933 	Scrapped
9706 	 	Swindon Works 	1933 	Scrapped
9707 	 	Swindon Works 	1933 	Scrapped
9708 	 	Swindon Works 	1933 	Scrapped
9709 	 	Swindon Works 	1933 	Scrapped
9710 	 	Swindon Works 	1933 	Scrapped
== Gallery ==
File:Old Oak Common East - a '9700' class 0-6-0PT sets off for Paddington, while a light engine returns to the Locomotive Depot. geograph-2575067-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg|9703 sets off for Paddington, while a light engine returns to the Locomotive Depot in 1961.
File:29067349 2130711423622401 6500461877561131008 n.jpg
File:2453708325 2310ff1ffb b.jpg|No. 9707 inside the roundhouse at Old Oak Common.
File:Images9700.jpeg
File:Imagesgwr9700.jpeg
File:9706low.webp
Category:Built in 1931
Category:Built in 1933
Category:Beyer locomotives
Category:Scrapped steam locomotives
Category:Swindon Works locomotives
Category:Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:Standard gauge locomotives
Category:Pannier tank locomotives
Category:Switcher locomotives
Category:Pusher engines
Category:Scrapped locomotives
Category:Rebuilds
Category:Locomotives involved in rebuilds
Category:0-6-0PT steam locomotives
Category:0-6-0PT locomotives
Category:0-6-0 locomotives
Category:0-6-0 steam locomotives
Category:Locomotives
Category:GWR 5700 Class
Category:Great Western Railway locomotives