GWR Route: Stratford on Avon to Honeybourne

Stratford-on-Avon Racecourse Platform: gwr_src1434

Ex-Great Western Railway 4-6-0 4073 Castle class No 5073 'Blenheim' passes Stratford Racecourse on 19th June 1959 with a Class D 'Marazion to Oxley Sidings' partially fitted freight. The class D headcode was applied to freight trains where all the vehicles in the train were fitted with oil (or roller bearing) axle boxes and a minimum of one third of the train was brake operative and coupled to the engine by means of the vacuum pipe. Class D trains were allowed to travel at 45 mph for a maximum of 160 miles without intermediate inspection. The first three wagons of this train are cattle wagons (GWR telephonic code Mex), which were normally fitted with vacuum brakes. Marshalling instructions required livestock wagons to be positioned so as to reduce shunting to a minimum and therefore it was normal to find these wagons at the front of freight trains. It should be noted however that livestock wagons were also used for other purposes where ventilation was deemed desirable, such as perishable traffic.

Locomotive No 5073 was built at Swindon in July 1938 as part of lot 310 and named ‘Cranbrook Castle’. The Castle class were powerful four cylinder express engines normally found hauling all but the very heaviest express trains. In January 1941, to commemorate wining the Battle of Britain during the Second World War, twelve Castle class locomotives were renamed with the names of famous military aeroplanes and No 5073 was chosen for the name ‘Blenheim’. At nationalisation in 1948 No 5073 was allocated to Shrewsbury shed (SLP), and was still allocated there (84G) at the time this photograph was taken in June 1959. In July 1959 No 5073 was modified with a double chimney to improve boiler draughting and the fuel economy of the locomotive. Although successful the end of the steam era was near and in February 1964, No. 5073 was withdrawn from Cardiff East Dock shed (88A) having travelled a total of 995,495 miles and the locomotive was scrapped in June 1964 by R Hayes at Bridgend.

Robert Ferris

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