As I wrote in another post recently, there wasn't the "heavy" freight traffic in those times, because most freight vehicles were unbraked and train sizes needed to be able to be controlled by the guard from the van in the event of a breakaway. Now the GWR were actually pioneers of fast freights, which each had special names, mostly overnight, which ran on the main routes, with vacuum-braked wagons, at least at the front, but these did not need that heavy power, and a Hall was adequate for many. "Fast", incidentally, was a bit of a misnomer, it was more just "doesn't stop constantly". You might get 50mph on the downhill; wagons of the era couldn't stand any more.
The 47xx, a very late Churchward prototype with the rest being built by Collett, allowed heavier loads for these trains, but they weren't a real necessity, and after the nine were built there wasn't seen a need for any more, although the nine were valuable for the next 40 years. There was a lot of freight traffic around, but the existing loco fleet were more than adequate for it.
The 47xx, a very late Churchward prototype with the rest being built by Collett, allowed heavier loads for these trains, but they weren't a real necessity, and after the nine were built there wasn't seen a need for any more, although the nine were valuable for the next 40 years. There was a lot of freight traffic around, but the existing loco fleet were more than adequate for it.