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Boiler back at Bridgnorth Dec 2020
|construc = GWR Swindon Works
|wheels = 4-6-0
|rating = GWR: D, BR: 5MT|axleload = GWR: Red
|status = Under overhaul
|locono = 4930
|length = 63ft 0¼"
|weight = 75t 0cwt
|power = 27,275 lb|pressure = 225 lb/sq in}}
4930 Hagley Hall is a GWR Collett 4900 Hall Class locomotive. The Hall was a mixed traffic locomotive, serving a similar role on the GWR to that carried out by the Stanier ‘Black 5’ on the LMS. Stanier worked for the GWR before moving to the LMS, and the Black 5 drew on many of the Hall’s design features. Like the Black 5, the Hall was rated 5MT by BR post-nationalisation, although its wide cylinders meant it was mainly restricted to ex-GWR routes.
==4930 Hagley Hall in Serviceservice==
4930 was built in May 1929 at the GWR’s Swindon Works and entered service at the [[Wolverhampton#Wolverhampton Railway Works | Wolverhampton Stafford Road Depot]]. As well as Wolverhampton’s Stafford Road and Oxley depots, other pre-War shed allocations included Chester, Tyseley and Leamington as well as brief periods in the south west.
In 1948, 4930 was shedded at Tyseley, but the remainder of her post-War service was mainly spent in the south west, with allocations to Bristol St Phillips Marsh, Weymouth (August 1950), Bristol Bath Road, Westbury, Taunton (March 1959) and Exeter. Final allocations were to London’s Old Oak Common and Swindon.
In Adrian Vaughan’s biography ‘Signalman’s Twilight’, he recounts that on 29 June 1963 4930 was the only spare locomotive available to replace a Western class diesel which failed near Swindon when working a Milford Haven to Paddington express. Supposedly restricted to working low class goods services due to her run-down condition, Hagley Hall was nevertheless timed at 82mph passing Didcot and covered the 53 miles from Didcot to Paddington in 45 minutes.<ref>Signalman’s Twilight, Adrian Vaughan, Chapter 12</ref> Following this swansong, 4930 was withdrawn from service by BR in December 1963 after a working life of 1,295,236 miles. <ref>[http://www.brdatabase.info/locoqry.php?action=locodata&type=S&id=4930&loco=4930 BR database. Stephenson Loco Society records have November 1963] (Retrieved 18 November 2019)</ref> The locomotive was acquired by [[Barry Scrapyard | Woodham Brothers scrap yard]] at Barry in May 1964. [[Viscount Cobham]] obtained one of the original 'Hagley Hall' nameplates from Lord Beeching, which he lent to the [[Richard Dunn]] to have copies cast in preparation for the locomotive's recovery from Barry and subsequent restoration.<ref>SVR News 43, "Viscount Cobham", Obituary by R.H. Dunn</ref>
==4930 Hagley Hall in Preservationpreservation==
===Arrival at the SVR===
4930 was bought by SVR(H) in June 1972 and was moved from Barry to Bewdley by rail, arriving on 6th January 1973. A six year restoration began, initially at Bewdley and completed at Bridgnorth. A portion of the restoration was led by the late Ray Tranter.
|22 Mar 1986||Tiddly Dyke Tour(s) || Andover - Ludgershall (5 x return) || || [http://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/80s/860322ty.htm SBJ] ||80-4
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|23 Mar 1986||Sunday Steam Specials || Andover - Ludgershall (6 x return) || 4930 last main line appearance . £600 of tickets at £4.60 were also sold for the Sunday night ECS working to Bristol (alight at Salisbury).<ref>Steam Railway Magazine No 74</ref> || ||80-4
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===Current status===
4930 has not steamed since 1986, the longest period any current locomotive has spent ‘out of ticket’ after working at the SVR. The intervening years were initially spent in store at Bridgnorth. Following a cosmetic restoration in 1999, 4936 4930 was placed on loan as a static exhibit at the Designer Shopping Complex (sited on the former GWR Swindon Works). On 7/8 June 2007, 4930 returned from Swindon with the intention of featuring in the new [[The Engine House | Engine House]] at [[Highley]]. En route 4930 spent a day at the real Hagley Hall courtesy of Lord and Lady Cobham, probably the only time a Hall class locomotive has visited the hall after which it was named.<ref>[http://www.4930hagleyhall.org.uk/pages/4930_returns_home.html Friends of 4930 Hagley Hall - The Journey Home]</ref> The move into the Engine House was then delayed until 2008 by the [[2007 Storm Damage | storm damage in 2007]]. 4930’s long-awaited overhaul began with a move from the Engine House to [[Bridgnorth Loco Works]] on 6 October 2013. In March 2017 the [[Friends of 4930 Hagley Hall | Friends of Hagley Hall]], in partnership with Severn Valley Engineering Services, formulated a detailed programme for completion of the overhaul. This "''2020 Vision''" envisaged a return to steam in 2020.<ref>[http://www.4930hagleyhall.org.uk/news/news.html Friends of Hagley Hall News update 7 March 2017 '4930 Our 2020 VISION']</ref> This was stymied by the [[2020 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic]] and {{As of|2020|10|lc=y}} the latest target date is 2022.<ref>[https://www.svrlive.com/bloct20 Branch Lines October 2020]</ref>*As part of the overhaul, 4930 will run with the correct Collett style tender rather than her previous Hawksworth style one, following an exchange with the custodians of [[6990 Witherslack Hall]] on 8 October 2013. In 2017 the new tender tank was delivered for work on restoring the tender to continue. By March 2019 the new tender tank was fitted to the refurbished and rewheeled tender chassis.*By August 2015 the boiler had been lifted from the frames. On 10 April 2018 it departed from Bridgnorth by road for the workshops of Northern Steam Engineering Ltd. at Stockton, where overhaul commenced. The overhaul completed and the boiler returned in December 2020. *The cylinder block was removed and examined. This revealed that the cylinders had been previously patched, and were therefore considered beyond repair. New cylinder blocks were produced: 3D Computer Aided Design work by Stafford Road Design Ltd., casting by Shakespeare Foundry in Preston, Lancashire and machining by Harco Engineering. Machined cylinders returned to Bridgnorth on 14 June 2019.<ref>Railway Magazine, July 2019, p.72</ref>*The driving wheels were removed from the frames on 14 July 2018, so they could be sent to the South Devon Railway for fitting new tyres.
==Local connection==
Following the GWR's policy of naming locomotives after locations near its lines, 4930 is named after the country house of Hagley Hall, located five miles from [[Kidderminster]]. Whilst being transported by road from the Designer Shopping Complex in Swindon back to the Engine House at Highley in June 2007, the locomotive briefly visited the estate. The country house is the home of Viscount Cobham, and in 2012 the 12th Viscount Cobham accepted an invitation to become patron of the Friends of Hagley Hall.<ref>[http://www.4930hagleyhall.org.uk/news/news.html Friends of 4930 Hagley Hall - News (November 2012)]</ref> In March 2013, one of the original nameplates of off the locomotive was permanently loaned for display in the Engine House by Viscount Cobham.<ref>[http://www.4930hagleyhall.org.uk/news/news.html Friends of 4930 Hagley Hall - News (March 2013)]</ref>
==See also==
[[Steam Locomotives]]<br>
[[List of preservation groups]]<br>
[[The Severn Valley Railway on the main line]]<br>[[Rolling stock currently under restoration]]
==References==
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GWR_4900_Class GWR 4900 Class on Wikipedia]
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[[Category:Locomotives at Bridgnorth]]
[[Category: Rolling stock owned by SVR(H)]]
[[Category:Lottery funding]]
