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GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton
Leamington Spa - GWR Locomotives: gwrls207
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GWR 4-6-0 29xx Saint class No 2905 'Lady Macbeth'
stands at the up platform with an up goods train. The Headcode lamps indicates
a class C train, which is either fully vacuum fitted stock (of parcels,
newspapers, fish, meat, milk, livestock or perishables) or a livestock,
perishable or ballast train part vacuum fitted with not less than one third of
the vacuum fitted vehicles connected to the locomotive by vacuum pipe. The
locomotive was one of the batch of ten Ladies built at Swindon in
May 1906 to Lot 164. The Ladies differed from the previous members
of the class by having two 18 1/8 inch cylinders, which
resulted in a tractive effort of 23,382lb. The cylinders were later
standardised at 18 ½ inch producing a tractive effort of 24,395lb. The
Ladies were the last batch of Saints to be built with
straight drop ends. The locomotive was initially built with a half cone tapered
Standard No 1 boiler and short smokebox the boiler being changed to the long
cone tapered type in September 1907. Later No 2905 was superheated in November
1909 with other modifications having been previously undertaken included the
fitting of whistle shields in 1925 and shorter safety valve bonnets in 1927.
New cylinders with outside steampipes were fitted in March 1931. The advent of
the Castle class gradually displaced the Saints from
front line duties, but these were useful engines and withdrawal was protracted,
governed by condition rather than age. In both 1921 and 1934 No 2905 was
allocated to Pontypool Road Shed in South Wales and was finally withdrawn from
Cardiff Canton Shed (CDF) in April 1948.
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