# GWR Small Prairie tank 4561

> GWR Small Prairie tank 4561 is a Great Western Railway 45XX class 2-6-2T built at Swindon in 1924, one of only three of the class preserved. Rescued from Barry scrapyard in 1975 and owned by the West Somerset Railway Association (registered charity 1041901), she ran on the West Somerset Railway from 1989 to 1998 and is now being restored to steam: the chassis at Williton, new side tanks at Minehead and the boiler at Riley and Son in Lancashire.

Key facts:
- Number and type: 4561, Great Western Railway 45XX class 2-6-2 tank (Small Prairie) with flat-topped side tanks, built at Swindon in 1924. One of only three 45XX engines preserved.
- Rescued from Woodham Brothers' scrapyard, Barry, in 1975. WSRA ownership from 1982. First steamed in preservation on 15 August 1989; ran about 43,000 miles before withdrawal in 1998.
- Restoration restarted in 2019 with new cylinders. Chassis work at Williton by the West Somerset Railway's team; brake gear refitted October 2026.
- New side tanks are being built at Minehead by a volunteer team to the original 1920 Swindon drawing; the first tank is complete.
- The boiler went to Riley and Son, Lancashire, on 18 April 2024 for overhaul.
- 4561 cannot be visited at present.
- Owner: West Somerset Railway Association (WSRA), registered charity 1041901. Donations go to a restricted fund spent only on 4561. Donate: https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/donate/
- Contact: info@wsra.org.uk, 01823 433856, The Railway Station, Bishops Lydeard, Taunton TA4 3BX.

## Pages

- [Home](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/): overview of 4561 and the appeal
- [Her story](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/her-story/): history from Swindon in 1924 to today
- [The restoration](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/restoration/): the work done so far, with photographs
- [Where is she?](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/where-is-she/): where each part of the locomotive is now
- [Restoration diary](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/diary/): dated progress reports from 2020 onwards
- [Donate](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/donate/): give to the 4561 restoration
- [Privacy policy](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/privacy-policy/)

## Restoration diary (latest)

- [Brake gear refitted at Williton](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/brake-gear-refitted-at-williton/): 5 October 2026, Pictures by Matt Healey WSRA’s Small Prairie Tank 4561 has taken another step forward with the brake gear being refitted. The chassis is currently being worked on by…
- [Side tank riveting nears completion](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/side-tank-riveting-nears-completion/): 20 June 2026, Today the tank was lifted and turned onto its back so we could use the ‘squeezer’ with the hydraulic power pack to close up the 50 rivets that…
- [Eccentrics machined and fitted](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/eccentrics-machined-and-fitted/): 17 June 2026, Pictures by Matt Healey The pictures show.the machining and fitting of 4561’s eccentrics after white metaling. First published on the WSRA 4561 restoration blog.
- [Side tank top sheet in place](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/side-tank-top-sheet-in-place/): 16 April 2026, Before the top sheet was finally put in position the fixing bolts for the air vent, feed pipe bracket and top inspection cover were welded in place. These…
- [Chassis work at Williton: rod bearings](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/chassis-work-at-williton-rod-bearings/): 7 April 2026, Work is continuing on the chassis at Williton. Thanks to Ryan & Matt for their work on the rod bearing. First published on the WSRA 4561 restoration blog.
- [Side tanks: drilling the inside platework](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/side-tanks-drilling-the-inside-platework/): 5 April 2026, Further Progress is being made on 4561’s at Minehead All of the 10mm holes that were laser cut in the inside platework have now been drilled through and…
- [Side tank outer sheets fitted](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/side-tank-outer-sheets-fitted/): 20 November 2025, More Progress on the Side Tanks Paul Orrells reports more good progress at Minehead, all of the fixing holes for the outside sheets have been drilled. The sheets…
- [The right-hand side tank takes shape](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/the-right-hand-side-tank-takes-shape/): 16 October 2025, Work continues on the Side Tanks Work has proceeded extremely well on the right hand tank over the last few weeks as per the attached pictures. 7/10/2025 –…
- [Side tank sections shot blasted and painted](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/side-tank-sections-shot-blasted-and-painted/): 30 September 2025, More progress on the Side Tanks As we approach the end of September 2025 Paul Orrells writes: The two bottom floor sections and the two front sides of…
- [New side tanks started at Minehead](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/new-side-tanks-started-at-minehead/): 10 September 2025, Side Tanks A team of 4 volunteers in Minehead workshops who built the replacement water tank for tender T2061, presently running with Odney Manor, have made arrangements to…
- [Boiler assessment and the decision to build new side tanks](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/boiler-assessment-and-the-decision-to-build-new-side-tanks/): 19 February 2025, Boiler It’s been a while since we bid goodbye to 4561’s boiler and waved it off on its journey to Rileys. Riley’s then had to complete a full…
- [Boiler at Riley and Son: firebox removed](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/boiler-at-riley-and-son-firebox-removed/): 3 June 2024, It’s been almost 6 months since this blog was last updated and things have moved on quite a lot. There was a pause in proceedings whilst the Trustees…
- [4561’s boiler leaves for Lancashire](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/4561s-boiler-leaves-for-lancashire/): 18 April 2024, Today Small Prairie 4561’s boiler departed Williton for Lancashire where it is being entrusted to the care of Riley and sons who will dismantle, assess and then overhaul…
- [Plans to restore both 4561 and 80064](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/plans-to-restore-both-4561-and-80064/): 28 March 2024, We have confirmed that the WSRA plans to restore both 4561 and 80064 to steam on the WSR, with the work being done at Williton, as far as…
- [Pony trucks back on their wheels](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/pony-trucks-back-on-their-wheels/): 24 January 2024, Work on 4561 continues steadily at Williton and we can now bring you some of the first images of the pony trucks on their wheels Words and pictures…
- [Pony truck re-wheeled, and a tribute to Mike Johns](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/pony-truck-re-wheeled-and-a-tribute-to-mike-johns/): 8 December 2023, We are delighted to be able to bring you an update on progress on 4561. It’s been a long and very quiet year, whilst Trustees work through some…
- [Pony trucks painted and axleboxes test fitted](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/pony-trucks-painted-and-axleboxes-test-fitted/): 25 January 2023, Words and pictures by Josh Chivers Both pony trucks have now been top coated and axle boxes are started to be test fitted onto the axles. We’re looking…
- [Cylinder cladding finished and pony truck straightened](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/cylinder-cladding-finished-and-pony-truck-straightened/): 16 January 2023, The festive season was rather busy and the blog was a little sidelined, so here’s an update for the end of last year and the start of this…
- [Riveting the frames and straightening the pony truck](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/riveting-the-frames-and-straightening-the-pony-truck/): 29 November 2022, Another week and another update of work on the locomotive. Words and pictures by Harry Spencer The second axle box has now got its white metal. The first…
- [Running boards, axlebox white metal and a bent pony truck](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/running-boards-axlebox-white-metal-and-a-bent-pony-truck/): 21 November 2022, This blog entry gives a sample of the work that has been going on in the background in recent weeks, despite delays with suppliers and other issues beyond…
- [Wheelsets re-profiled at Tyseley](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/wheelsets-re-profiled-at-tyseley/): 15 August 2022, Progress has been limited over the past 3 months while waiting for the three coupled wheelsets to be machined and returned from Tyseley. Words by Mike Johns. Photos:…
- [Piston castings, delays and cylinder cladding](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/piston-castings-delays-and-cylinder-cladding/): 8 April 2022, It’s been a while since the last update. The delays have been for several reasons including longer than expected lead times for supplies, other work and the impact…
- [New piston rods and heads needed; slide bars fitted](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/new-piston-rods-and-heads-needed-slide-bars-fitted/): 29 November 2021, A problem was found when the second piston rod was set up for machining. In the picture it is shown with a square standing on the piston head.…
- [Axlebox liners, cylinder cocks and piston rods](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/axlebox-liners-cylinder-cocks-and-piston-rods/): 27 October 2021, A welding procedure was devised to satisfactorily repair the cracks previously found (see 9th August). Work continued on the horn faces of the 6 coupled wheel axleboxes ready…
- [Axlebox repairs reveal 4561’s history](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/axlebox-repairs-reveal-4561s-history/): 9 August 2021, The unwanted studs have been removed from the axlebox horn faces (see previous notes) and the holes filled with plugs screwed in and capped with weld to provide…
- [New axlebox bearings ordered and slide bars refurbished](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/new-axlebox-bearings-ordered-and-slide-bars-refurbished/): 18 June 2021, Having considered the options for the refurbishment of the coupled wheel axleboxes it was decided that the existing bearings and horn liner bronzes were beyond recovery and should…
- [Datum wires: checking axle and cylinder alignment](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/datum-wires-checking-axle-and-cylinder-alignment/): 27 May 2021, Mention was made earlier about the datum wires which have been set up at each cylinder bore centre line from the front of each cylinder to behind the…
- [Front frame riveted up](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/front-frame-riveted-up/): 30 April 2021, Efforts have been concentrated on completing the assembly of the front frame components which have been riveted in place with the exception of the curved section of the…
- [Footplate brackets, brake hangers and safety chains](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/footplate-brackets-brake-hangers-and-safety-chains/): 2 April 2021, Front footplate brackets and angles recovered from the old frames have been prepared ready to be fitted to the new behind the front buffer beam. Included are the…
- [Front buffer beam and buffers fitted](https://www.prairietank4561.co.uk/front-buffer-beam-and-buffers-fitted/): 12 March 2021, Steady progress is being maintained on the frames with the front buffer beam (now fully drilled) bolted into position and the buffers fitted having been overhauled. These mask…

## Related

- [West Somerset Railway Association](https://wsra.org.uk/)