At the dawn of the 20th Century, the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the GWR was George Jackson Curchward. Whatever allegiance one may have, Churchward was undoubtedly THE most eminent CME of his day. His forward thinking designs revolutionised British locomotive development and arguably remained well ahead of his competitors for almost three decades. Churchward's 2800 class of 2-8-0 introduced in 1903 continued in production into World War II. No. 3850 built in 1942 was one of a post-1938 series, slightly modified by his successor, Charles Collett. There were 121 built in total of which no less than 16 survive in preservation!
