4930 Hagley Hall is a GWR Collett 4900 Hall Class locomotive.
Contents
4930 Hagley Hall in Service
The Hall class 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 was built in May 1929 at the GWR’s Swindon Works and entered service at the Wolverhampton Stafford Road Depot. It was withdrawn from service by BR at Swindon in December 1963 after a working life of 1,295,236 miles. The locomotive was acquired by Woodham Brothers scrap yard at Barry in May 1964.
4930 Hagley Hall in Preservation
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.
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 SVR locomotive LMS 5000 from Hereford to Chester and return with the SVRA “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 GWR 150 celebrations in 1985. A full list of those appearances is as follows:
Date | Tour name | Route | Notes | Web | SVR 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 (SVR 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 SVR 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 SVR. 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 GWR 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 Hawksworth 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 SVR(H), but has its own support group, the Friends of Hagley Hall. 4930’s sister locomotive 4936 Kinlet Hall has visited the SVR on several occasions.
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.[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