GWR 4930 Hagley Hall

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GWRGreat Western Railway 4930 Hagley Hall
4930 20131006.jpg
4930 Hagley Hall prior to the 2013 tender exchange
Built By GWRGreat Western Railway Swindon Works
Configuration 4-6-0
Power class 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.
Status Under overhaul
Loco Number 4930
History
Built 1929
Designed By Charles CollettCharles Benjamin Collett, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1922-1941
Type GWRGreat Western Railway 4900
1972 Purchased by SVRSevern Valley Railway(H)
1973 Arrived on SVRSevern Valley Railway
1979 First steamed in preservation
1986 Withdrawn for overhaul
Technical
Length 63ft 0¼"
Weight 75t 0cwt
Tractive effort 27,275 lb
Pressure 225 lb/sq in

Steam Locomotives

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. The Hall 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 Hagley Hall in Service

4930 was built in May 1929 at the GWRGreat Western Railway’s Swindon Works and entered service at the 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.[1] Following this swansong, 4930 was withdrawn from service by BRBritish Rail or British Railways 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.[2] 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 Loco Works on 6 October 2013.

  • As part of the overhaul, 4930 will in future be able to run with the correct CollettCharles Benjamin Collett, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1922-1941 style tender rather than her previous 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 8 October 2013. As of 2017 the new tender tank has been delivered and work on restoring the tender continues.
  • By August 2015 the boiler had been lifted from the frames.
  • By September 2016 the cylinder block had been removed and examined. This revealed that the cylinders had been previously patched, and were therefore considered beyond repair. Replacement will be a costly additional expense.
  • As of March 2017 the Friends of Hagley Hall, in partnership with Severn Valley Engineering Services have formulated a more detailed programme for completion of the overhaul. This "2020 Vision" envisages a return to steam in 2020, with the next steps being as follows:[3]
    • 3D Computer Aided Design work for replacement cylinders is currently in progress.
    • The driving wheels will be sent to the South Devon Railway for fitting new tyres as soon as they can be removed from the frames.
    • Major work on the boiler at Bridgnorth Works is planned to start towards the end of June 2017
    • Work on the frames is planned to start at the end of September 2017.

Updates on the overhaul can be found on the news section of the Friends of Hagley Hall web site.

4930 is owned by SVRSevern Valley Railway(H), but has its own support group, the Friends of Hagley Hall. By September 2016 the Friends had raised over £110,000 towards the overhaul.[4] In addition, thanks to a Heritage Lottery Fund grant in February 2014 of £95,000 to the Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust Ltd, apprentices from the Heritage Skills Training Academy are playing an active part in this work.[5]

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.[6] In March 2013, one of the original nameplates of the locomotive was permanently loaned for display in the Engine House by Viscount Cobham.[7]

See also

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

References

  1. Signalman’s Twilight, Adrian Vaughan, Chapter 12
  2. Friends of 4930 Hagley Hall - The Journey Home
  3. Friends of Hagley Hall News update 7 March 2017 '4930 Our 2020 VISION'
  4. Friends of Hagley Hall web site
  5. Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust website (Retrieved 15 February 2017)
  6. Friends of 4930 Hagley Hall - News (November 2012)
  7. Friends of 4930 Hagley Hall - News (March 2013)

Links

Friends of Hagley Hall Retrieved 23 January 2015
GWR 4900 Class on Wikipedia