GWR Grange Class 4-6-0 6880 Betton Grange Hueforge

This is a Hueforge 3D Art of GWR Grange Class 4-6-0 6880 Betton Grange.

The Model is 170x113mm in size

The GWR Grange Class 4-6-0 was a type of mixed-traffic steam locomotive designed by Charles Collett for the Great Western Railway of Britain. Conceived in the 1930s, the class was intended to fill the gap between the lighter 4300 Moguls and the more powerful Hall Class engines. The Grange combined the proven 4-6-0 wheel arrangement with components derived from existing locomotives, reflecting the GWR’s efficient practice of standardisation. Each engine used the chassis and motion from withdrawn 4300 Class Moguls, paired with the larger boiler of the Hall Class, producing a balanced machine capable of both passenger and freight duties.

 The Granges had 5-foot 8-inch driving wheels, providing a good balance of power and speed, and were rated as 5MT on the British Railways classification system. They could handle express goods trains, secondary passenger services, and even mainline work when required. Introduced in 1936, the class numbered eighty locomotives, each named after a country house or estate with the suffix “Grange,” consistent with the GWR tradition of naming locomotives by theme. The engines served reliably across the GWR network and later under British Railways, until the gradual withdrawal of steam in the 1960s led to their extinction. None of the original Granges survived into preservation.

However, the story of the Grange did not end there. Locomotive number 6880 “Betton Grange” is a modern recreation project launched in the 1990s to construct a new member of the class using authentic GWR components. Built largely from spare and donor parts from other scrapped GWR engines, such as a 4300 Mogul frame and a Hall boiler, Betton Grange aims to complete what would effectively be the eighty-first Grange. 

 The completion of No. 6880 “Betton Grange” is the culmination of 30 years’ work by a small and dedicated team to create what is the 81st Great Western ‘Grange’ Class locomotive.