File:Commemorative bell, GWR King Class 4-6-0 6000 'King George V' Swindon Railway Museum 1.12.1994 Scans092 (11009243595).jpg

GWR King Class 4-6-0 6000 ‘King George V’, designed by Charles B Collett, built Swindon Works, to service during June 1927. Withdrawn 4.12.1962. Part of NRM collection, currently [2013] at National Railway Museum, York.

The locomotive was the first of the King Class, and was built in June 1927. It was shipped to the United States in August 1927 to feature in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's centenary celebrations. During the celebrations it was presented with a bell and a plaque, and these are carried to this day. This led to it being affectionately known as ‘The Bell’. The bell carries the inscription:

Presented to Locomotive King George V by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company in commemoration of its centenary celebration September 24 - October 15, 1927

The locomotive was officially preserved, being restored to main line running order and based at Bulmer's Railway Centre in Hereford and in 1971 became the very first steam engine to break the mainline steam ban that had been in place since 1969. Its restoration to main line service and subsequent operation is often credited with opening the door for the return of steam to the main lines of the UK. After years of running a costly overhaul was declined since King Edward I had been restored for mainline operation. Subsequently King Edward II has been returned to working order after a lengthy restoration reducing any chance of no. 6000 been restored. These have had their original chimneys, cabs and safety valve bonnets cut down to allow running on the modern railway, with its much deeper ballast and consequently reduced clearance under bridges. No. 6000 is now displayed in its original condition with full-height fittings. In 2008 no. 6000 moved from the Swindon 'Steam' Railway Museum, where it had been displayed for several years, to the National Railway Museum in a swap with BR standard class 9F 92220 ‘Evening Star’.