The Great Western Railway (GWR) Star Class of 2-2-2 broad gauge steam locomotives were used for passenger train work. Designed by Robert Stephenson, the class was introduced into service between November 1838 and November 1841, and withdrawn between April 1864 and September 1871. A total of twelve Star Class locomotives were manufactured. Notably, they were given the romantic or colloquial (rather than scientific) names of astronomical bodies. By the time the last had been delivered, GWR engineer Daniel Gooch had designed and taken delivery of several of his larger Firefly Class.

North Star and Morning Star

These two were built in 1836 by Robert Stephenson & Co. for the New Orleans Railway, which had a gauge of. That railway experienced financial difficulties, and was unable to accept them; Stephensons sold the locomotives to the GWR, altering the gauge to before delivery, and in the case of North Star, also fitting 7 ft driving wheels in place of the original 6 ft wheels.

Later locomotives

North Star and Morning Star having proved successful (in contrast to those from other makers delivered between 1837 and 1840), Gooch ordered ten more from Stephensons to basically the same design as the first two; they were built in 1839–41, although there were variations in design.

Replica

A non-working replica of North Star was constructed for the 1923 Cavalcade, and is now housed at Swindon Steam Railway Museum. It made use of some of the parts of the original North Star, scrapped as recently as 1906, but is not capable of being steamed. Although it was featured in the railway's centenary film in 1935, it was pushed by another locomotive.