A NEW set of stamps issued to mark the 200th anniversary of steam trains features a Swindon-built GWR locomotive.

The famous Bradley Manor 4-6-0 train, which rolled out of the former Swindon Works in January 1938, is one of six trains pictured in the Royal Mail collection.

The extra-width stamps, which are now on sale, show some of the finest feats of British engineering.

Five of the trains were owned by the Big Four rail companies, of which the Great Western Railway was one.

The London, Midland and Scottish (LMS), The London and North Eastern (LNER) and The Southern completed the group.

The other train, the Dolgoch, was used on the Tallylyn Railway to move slate from the quarries onto the main rail network.

In 1951 it became the world's first railway to be preserved and operated by volunteers.

Tim Bryan, acting general manager of Steam Museum in Kemble Drive, is delighted the Bradley Manor, which is still running today on the Severn Valley Railway, has been chosen to help mark the milestone.

He said: "It's great the railways are being remembered. This anniversary is a very significant one.

"Swindon played a vital role. Although Paddington was the administrative base of GWR, the mechanical headquarters were in this town."

Bradley Manor was mainly used along rural routes in the extreme South West and the Welsh border region, but it was still a familiar site in Swindon.

Mr Bryan said: "The locomotive would do a few journeys into Swindon now and again. And then every couple of years it returned to the town for maintenance and checks."

In its heyday during the 1920s and 1930s almost 12,500 people were employed in the Swindon GWR workshops, which opened in 1843.

This year's anniversary is in honour of Richard Trevithick's Pen y Darren, which was named after the South Wales town.

Royal Mail spokesman Gavin Macrae said: "The association with steam and stamps goes back to the 1840s, which not only saw the introduction of the Penny Black, but also the arrival of The Steam Age arguably the greatest achievement in transportation since the invention of the wheel."

He added: "Swindon was one of the most important centres of the development of the railways in the UK so I am sure that these classic stamps will be in big demand at local post office branches."

The stamps are available from the Steam Museum and post offices, priced £3.55 for a presentation pack.

They can also be bought separately. The Bradley Manor stamp costs 42p.

Kevin Shoesmith