GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Rowington Junction & Troughs: gwrrj2156

Great Western Railway 36xx class 2-4-2T No 3627 with a class B headcode (single lamp in front of the chimney) denoting an ordinary stopping passenger train. The date is unknown. According to a pre-World War 1 Service Time Table (STT), those services operating under B headcodes at this point included eleven down local suburban services from Leamington Spa to Snow Hill station and on Thursdays a special weekly ‘early closing excursion’ which departed from Stratford-on-Avon at 14:00. This train ran via Hatton station where a second coach portion from Leamington Spa was attached. The combined train then proceeded to Snow Hill where it was timetabled to arrive at 15:05 and on route it would pass over Rowington troughs at about 14:35.

Birmingham suburban passenger stock underwent a modernisation in 1911 ('gwrms1730'), but excursion trains would frequently employ old coaching stock. The first section of the train in the photograph comprises two, six wheel, five compartment coaches, followed by a short bogie brake third (possibly to diagram D 15, forty of which were built in 1895-6). These brake third coaches had four compartments and a 15 foot 7inches luggage / brake compartment. The second section comprises at least three bogie clerestory coaches. All the coaches appear to be in either the all brown (introduced 1908) or crimson lake liveries (introduced 1912). The Great Western Railway reverted to their iconic chocolate and cream livery in 1922.

The 36xx class only comprised thirty-one locomotives, the prototype (No 11 later No 3600) being introduced in 1900. They were specifically designed for the heavier suburban passenger services and half of the class were employed in the Birmingham Division until after about twenty years, when they were superseded on these services by the larger and more powerful 2-6-2T prairie tank designs.

Locomotive No 3627 was built in December 1903 at Swindon Works as part of Lot 143. No 3627 was built with a short coned domeless standard No 3 boiler with belpaire firebox (type D 2). This was replaced in July 1908 with a more efficient long coned domeless standard No 3 boiler with belpaire firebox (type D 3). Not being priority locomotives, further boiler changes resulted in a type D 2 boiler being fitted in September 1918, a type D 3 boiler being fitted in September 1920, a type D 2 boiler being fitted in November 1926 and finally a type D 3 boiler being fitted in February 1929. From June 1923 all the boilers had superheater tubes fitted. Originally the boiler pressure was 180 lb, which produced a tractive effort at 85% of 17,116 lb, but the boiler pressure was later increased to 195 lb, which increased the tractive effort at 85% to 18,542 lb and classified the locomotive in power group B. The maximum axle weight was 17 tons, 10 cwt which limited the locomotive to main lines and some branch lines (Route colour – Blue).

Locomotive No 3627 had two side water tanks, which together could hold 1,900 gallons. The 36xx class locomotives were originally built with steam operated two way water pick-up gear. The large mushroom vent at the front of the tanks relieved the pressure during the operation. After 1905 the water pick-up gear was modified to hand operation but the gear was gradually removed altogether from 1921, when many of the locomotives were relocated to areas without water troughs. The locomotives were all fitted with Automatic Train Control (ATC) between 1928 and 1931.

Locomotive No 3627 was initially allocated to Stourbridge shed (STB) and was also known to be allocated there in January 1921. After being displaced by the new 51xx class 2-6-2T prairie tank locomotives, many of the 36xx class were moved further north to operate suburban services on the Wirral and No 3627 was finally withdrawn from Birkenhead shed (BHD) in January 1934.

Photographer - Henry L Salmon

Robert Ferris

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