GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Bentley Heath: gwrbh2325

British Railways 5098 (modified Castle) class No 7024 Powis Castle with a northbound express near Bentley Heath on the down main line on Saturday 22nd August 1964. The 1M34 train reporting number written on the smokebox door indicates:

1 (Train Classification) – Express Passenger Train
M (Destination Code) – London Midland Region
34 - Train Number

The 'Castle' class locomotives, designed by Charles Collett in 1923 as a compromise to keep within the 20 ton maximum axle load restrictions, proved to be the most power passenger locomotives of their day. With four x 16 inch cylinders and a new standard No 8 boiler operating at 225lb pressure, the locomotive developed a tractive effort at 85% of 31,625lb and was classified in Power Group D. Of the 171 castle class locomotives 30 were built by British Railways to a slightly modified design introduced by the Great Western Railway’s last Chief Mechanical Engineer (F Hawksworth) after the Second World War to cope with the inferior coal then available. This included three row superheater and mechanical lubricators for cylinders, valves and regulator.

Locomotive No 7024 was built in April 1949 at Swindon Works as part of lot 367 and was initially allocated to Old Oak Common shed where the locomotive was used on expresses over the Western Region routes. In March 1959 improvements were made with the fitting of a double chimney and four row superheater, but with the end of steam, No 7024 was withdrawn in February 1967 and sold for disposal by Cashmores at Great Bridge.

Robert Ferris

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