GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Acocks Green & South Yardley Station: gwrag2443

Ex-WD 2-8-0 'Austerity' No 90268 is seen heading an unfitted freight through the station on the down relief lines on 8th May 1961. Built for the War Department as No 7380 by the North British Locomotive Company of Glasgow in October 1943, No 90268 was renumbered by the War Department as No 77380 in January 1945 which it carried until British Railways renumbered it in December 1951. The locomotive remained in service until April 1965 when it was withdrawn from 10H Lower Darwin shed to be scrapped by Hayes of Bridgend. The War Department (WD) Austerity 2-8-0 is a type of heavy freight steam locomotive that was introduced in 1943 for war service. A total of 935 were built, making this one of the most-produced classes of British steam locomotive. The Austerity 2-8-0 was based on the London Midland Scottish Railway Company's 2-8-0 Class 8F design, which until that point had been adopted by the government as its standard heavy freight locomotive design. Various modifications were made by Robert Riddles to the 8F design including a boiler of simpler construction which was parallel rather than tapered and a round-topped firebox rather than a Belpaire firebox. The firebox was made of steel rather than copper which was more expensive and during the war was less available. The North British Locomotive Company of Glasgow built five hundred and forty-five whilst the Vulcan Foundry of Newton-le-Willows built three hundred and ninety locomotives. Most of these locomotives saw service with the British Army in mainland Europe after D-Day.

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