GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Harbury Cutting and Tunnel: gwrhc1468

Ex Great Western Railway 4-6-0 49XX 'Hall' class No 6937 'Conyngham Hall' with a north bound down excursion train, drifts down the 1 in 143 decline under Bull Ring Farm access bridge, approximately 600 yards to the west of Harbury Tunnel. No 6937 was built at Swindon works as part of Lot 340 and entered traffic in July 1942. At this time the country was at war and there was a shortage of mixed traffic engines. The 43 locomotives of this Lot 340 were the last of the Collett designed Hall class locomotives to be built and they brought the class total to 259 locomotives. As a wartime economy none of the locomotives in this Lot carried a name plate originally, but had the words ‘Hall Class’ painted on the wheel splashers.

Only some time after the war had ended in October 1946 was No 6937 named Conyngham Hall (after a location in North Yorkshire!). The Hall class were restricted to Red routes, but had a power class D and during the war those in good mechanical condition were additionally given a white X suffix on their running number to indicate that they were permitted to haul trains which exceeded their normal loading. No 6937 was known to have been allocated to Oxford shed (OXF) in December 1947 and remained in service until December 1965 when the locomotive was withdrawn from Oxford shed (81F) to be scrapped during April 1966 by J Cashmore of Newport.

Robert Ferris

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