GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Acocks Green & South Yardley Station: gwrag1859

Ex-Great Western Railway 43xx class 2-6-0 No 7307 in unlined green livery leaves Acocks Green Station on the main up line with the 6.05 pm Birmingham Snow Hill to Leamington Spa local passenger on 27th June 1961. After leaving Snow Hill this train ran non-stop past the inner city stations, with Acocks Green Station as the first stop. Locomotive No 7307 was assembled at Swindon Works as part of lot 222 and on completion allocated to Bristol Shed on 21st November 1921. At the time of construction there was limited capacity for construction at Swindon and with the exception of the injectors and cylinder lubricators, the parts required to build the fifteen locomotives in this lot were manufactured externally by Robert Stephenson & Company Ltd of Darlington. The average cost of each locomotive in this lot was £7,511, which was approximately 35% more than the same locomotives built entirely at Swindon at the same time.

The 43xx class locomotives were fitted with a Swindon Standard No 4 boiler operating at 200 lb producing a tractive effort at 85%, of 25,670lb, which placed the locomotives in power group D. Their maximum axle weight was 17 tons, 13 cwt, which restricted these locomotives to main lines and some branch lines (route colour – Blue). The blue disc with the power letter can be seen in the photograph above the number plate on the cab side. The usefulness and versatility of these locomotives resulted in 342 43xx class locomotives being built between 1911 and 1932. Most 43xx class locomotives were paired with Churchward 3,500 gallon tenders and it is one of these tenders in the photograph. In January 1934 this locomotive was paired with 3,500 gallon tender No 1878 of lot A86, which had been built in mid 1912. No 7307 had outside steam pipes fitted in December 1954.

In May 1922, Locomotive No 7307 was known to have been allocated at Goodwick shed (FGD) in Pembrokeshire. In January 1934, the locomotive was known to have been allocated to Salisbury shed, a sub shed of Westbury shed (WES) and in January 1938, at Bath Road shed (BRD) in Bristol. Prior to nationalisation in December 1947, No 7307 was known to have been allocated to Oxley shed (OXY) north of Wolverhampton. In August 1950, No 4307 was known to have been allocated to Hereford shed (85C), while in March 1959 at Llanelly shed (87F) in South Wales. No 7307 was withdrawn from Horton Road shed (85B) in Gloucester, week ending 1st June 1964. The locomotive's last recorded mileage was 1,382,212 (on 28th December 1963). British Rail stopped recording steam locomotive mileages after this date. In week ending 17th July 1964, No 7307 was sold to John Cashmore Ltd of Newport and is believed to have been cut up in the same month.

The maroon coach is a 59 foot, 3.5 inch long, non corridor composite coach built at Swindon Works in December 1953 under lot 1772, to Great Western Railway diagram E156. This coach diagram had first been introduced in 1937 and each coach had four first class and five third class compartments. The first class compartments were located in the centre to give the passengers a smoother ride. All the thirty five coaches of the December 1953 lot and another forty five, built earlier in the same year to the same diagram (lot 1749) were originally allocated numbers in the Great Western Railway coach series, but entered service with a LMS coach series number. This particular coach was originally allocated No 7230, but became No M16862. The suffix W indicates that the coach belonged the BR western region.

Robert Ferris

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