Astonished to find that someone thinks we should build a new ‘Great Bear’!   Churchward’s pacific was not a great success and aesthetically it left quite a lot to be desired (that puny little cab, for example).  For historical data on the ‘Bear’, click here

Nonetheless, the fact that Hawksworth did consider building a Pacific after 1945 has always tantalised GWR folk and if 2 groups of LNER fans are now doing the initial planning work on whether a new build P2 2-8-2 is viable, could not the GWR get in on the act?

Not, perhaps a replica ‘Bear’ exactly, (although the Didcot folk might feel differently) but the kick-ass pacific that the GWR might have had, an 80xx state of the art locomotive with real GWR heritage in it but modern features such as roller bearings, a decent sized cab, Kylchap blast pipe and other features that take the steam lineage of the GWR to the next level. I’m getting quite excited just fantasising about it!