Difference between revisions of "GWR 4930 Hagley Hall"

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4930 hauled the official reopening train for Kidderminster Town Station on 30th July 1984. She made a number of other [[The Severn Valley Railway on the main line | mainline appearances]], notably a storming double-headed run with 7819 Hinton Manor over the South Devon banks during the GWR 150 celebrations in 1985.  A full list of those appearances is as follows:
 
4930 hauled the official reopening train for Kidderminster Town Station on 30th July 1984. She made a number of other [[The Severn Valley Railway on the main line | mainline appearances]], notably a storming double-headed run with 7819 Hinton Manor over the South Devon banks during the GWR 150 celebrations in 1985.  A full list of those appearances is as follows:
  
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!Date!!Tour name !! Route !! Notes !! Web !! SVR News
 
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Revision as of 11:43, 1 July 2016

4930 Hagley Hall prior to the 2013 tender exchange

4930 Hagley Hall is a GWRGreat Western Railway CollettCharles Benjamin Collett, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1922-1941 4900 Hall Class locomotive.

4930 Hagley Hall in Service

The Hall class was a mixed traffic locomotive, serving a similar role on the GWRGreat Western Railway to that carried out by the StanierWilliam Stanier, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway 1932-1944 ‘Black 5’ on the LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway. StanierWilliam Stanier, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway 1932-1944 worked for the GWRGreat Western Railway before moving to the LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway, and the Black 5 drew on many of the Hall’s design features.

Like the Black 5, the Hall was rated 5MTThe British Railways system of classifying steam locomotives by power using a number from 0, least powerful, to 9, most powerful, followed by either F for freight, P for Passenger or MT for Mixed Traffic. by BRBritish Rail or British Railways post-nationalisation; although its wide cylinders meant it was mainly restricted to ex-GWRGreat Western Railway routes.

4930 was built in May 1929 at the GWRGreat Western Railway’s Swindon Works and entered service at the Wolverhampton Stafford Road Depot. It was withdrawn from service by BRBritish Rail or British Railways at Swindon in December 1963 after a working life of 1,295,236 miles. The locomotive was acquired by Woodham Brothers scrap yard at BarryWoodham Brothers Scrapyard, Barry, South Wales. The source of many locomotives now in preservation. in May 1964.

4930 Hagley Hall in Preservation

Arrival at the SVRSevern Valley Railway

4930 was bought by SVRSevern Valley Railway(H) in June 1972 and was moved from BarryWoodham Brothers Scrapyard, Barry, South Wales. The source of many locomotives now in preservation. 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.

First boiler ticket

Restoration was completed in August 1979 when test running was undertaken. A month later 4930 fully entered service and on 22 September made her main line debut, working double-headed with fellow SVRSevern Valley Railway locomotive LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway 5000 from Hereford to Chester and return with the SVRASevern Valley Railway Association “The Inter-City” charter.

4930 hauled the official reopening train for Kidderminster Town Station on 30th July 1984. She made a number of other mainline appearances, notably a storming double-headed run with 7819 Hinton Manor over the South Devon banks during the GWRGreat Western Railway 150 celebrations in 1985. A full list of those appearances is as follows:

Date Tour name Route Notes Web SVRSevern Valley Railway News
22 Sep 1979 Inter-City Hereford - Chester - Hereford D/H with 45000. 4930 first main line run SBJ 53-12
04 Oct 1980 Deeside Venturer Newport - Hereford - Newport SBJ 56-12
14 Feb 1981 Welsh Marches Express Hereford - Newport - Hereford SBJ 60-30
14 Mar 1981 Welsh Marches Express Hereford - Newport - Hereford SBJ 59-24
?? Oct 1981 Welsh Marches Pullman 4930 worked 2 tours in October 1981 (SVRSevern Valley Railway News) 63-10
17 Oct 1981 Welsh Marches Pullman Shrewsbury - Hereford Locoperf 63-10
20 Mar 1982 Welsh Marches Express Hereford - Newport - Hereford D/H with 45000 SBJ
17 Apr 1982 Welsh Marches Express Hereford - Newport - Hereford D/H with 7812 Erlestoke Manor 64-28
24 Apr 1982 Welsh Marches Pullman Shrewsbury - Hereford D/H with 7812 Erlestoke Manor SBJ 64-29
19 Feb 1983 Welsh Marches Pullman Hereford - Newport - Hereford SBJ 67-30
26 Feb 1983 Welsh Marches Pullman Shrewsbury - Hereford SBJ 68-31
22 Jan 1985 Post Office special B'ham Moor St-Stratford-Leamington Spa-B'ham Moor St PO charter celebrating 150th anniversary of post by rail 76-21
02 Feb 1985 Red Dragon Newport - Swindon - Gloucester SBJ 76-37
08 Apr 1985 Great Western Limited Plymouth - Bristol Temple Meads D/H with 7819 after working L/E from SVRSevern Valley Railway overnight SBJ 76-12
25 Jun 1985 GW150 Exhibition Train Highley-Hereford D/H with 6960 Raveningham Hall 77-26
06 Jul 1985 Western Stalwart Kidderminster - Cardiff Central - Hereford DH with 7029 Clun Castle SBJ 77-40
07 Jul 1985 Great Western Limited Bristol Temple Meads - Totnes (terminated) DH with 5051 Drysllwyn Castle SBJ 77-13
13 Aug 1985 GW150 Celebrations Excursions Swindon Gloucester - Swindon SBJ
30 Dec 1985 Santa Special Kidderminster - Hereford - Kidderminster D/H with 3440 City of Truro SBJ 79-12
22 Mar 1986 Tiddly Dyke Tour(s) Andover - Ludgershall (5 x return) SBJ 80-4
23 Mar 1986 Sunday Steam Specials Andover - Ludgershall (6 x return) 4930 last main line appearance 80-4

4930 was withdrawn from service in October 1986 following failure of several boiler stays. Mileage completed during her first (and so far only) boiler ticket was as follows:

Year Mileage
1979 645
1980 4,225
1981 4,746
1982 5,577
1983 3,445
1984 3,244
1985 6,367
1986 4,964
Total 33,213

Current status

4930 has not steamed since 1986, the longest period any current locomotive has spent ‘out of ticket’ after working at the SVRSevern Valley Railway. The intervening years were initially spent in store at Bridgnorth. Following a cosmetic restoration in 1999, 4936 was placed on loan as a static exhibit at the Designer Shopping Complex (sited on the former GWRGreat Western Railway Swindon Works).

On 7/8 June 2007, 4930 returned from Swindon with the intention of featuring in the new Engine House at Highley. En route 4936 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.[1] The move into the Engine House was then delayed until 2008 by the storm damage in 2007.

4930’s long-awaited overhaul began with a move from the Engine House to Bridgnorth on Sunday 6th October 2013.

  • As part of the overhaul, 4930 will in future be able to run with the correct Collet style tender rather than its HawksworthFrederick Hawksworth, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1941-1948 style one, following an exchange with the custodians of 6990 Witherslack Hall on October 8, 2013. Work on restoring the tender is under way
  • On 11 August 2015, 4930 moved to the boiler shop for the boiler to be lifted.
  • Updates on the overhaul can be found on the news section of the Friends of Hagley Hall web site.

4930 is still owned by SVRSevern Valley Railway(H), but has its own support group, the Friends of Hagley Hall. 4930’s sister locomotive 4936 Kinlet Hall has visited the SVRSevern Valley Railway on several occasions.

Local connection

Following the GWRGreat Western Railway'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.[2] In March 2013, one of the original nameplates of the locomotive was permanently loaned for display in the Engine House by Viscount Cobham.[3]

Sources

Friends of Hagley Hall Retrieved 23 January 2015

  1. Friends of 4930 Hagley Hall - The Journey Home
  2. Friends of 4930 Hagley Hall - News (November 2012)
  3. Friends of 4930 Hagley Hall - News (March 2013)

See also

Steam Locomotives
List of preservation groups
The Severn Valley Railway on the main line