GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Acocks Green & South Yardley Station: gwrag2449

Ex-GWR 4-6-0 60xx Class No 6025 'King Henry III' passes through the station with the 11:10am Paddington to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli 'Cambrian Coast Express' on 31st March 1962. Built by Swindon works to Lot 267 in June 1930, No 6025 was to remain in service until December 1962 until it was withdrawn from 81A Old Oak Common shed to be scrapped by Swindon works. The Cambrian Coast Express was a named passenger train of the GWR, and later British Railways, running from London to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli via Shrewsbury the latter part over the former Cambrian Line. Prior to amalgamation with the GWR in 1923, the line beyond Buttington Junction near Welshpool was owned and operated by the Cambrian Railways and passengers from England normally changed to a Cambrian Railways train at Shrewsbury. However in July and August 1921, the GWR ran a daily through express service from Paddington to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli. The first official use of the name Cambrian Coast Express was in 1927 when the train ran only on summer Fridays and Saturdays. By 1939 the through train was running only on summer Saturdays leaving Paddington at 10:20am calling at Leamington Spa, Birmingham Snow Hill, and Wolverhampton Low Level which was reached at 12:44. Owing to weight restrictions over the Cambrian line, the GWR King or Castle Class 4-6-0 locomotives normally heading the service to Wolverhampton were changed for two GWR Duke Class 4-4-0 engines or for a GWR Manor Class 4-6-0 for the non-stop run to Welshpool using the Shrewsbury Abbey Foregate curve thereby avoiding a stop and reversal of direction at Shrewsbury.

Beyond Welshpool, calls were made at Machynlleth, Dovey Junction and Borth to reach Aberystwyth at 15:55pm, a total of 5 hours 35 minutes for the 235-mile journey from London. In the reverse direction the journey was 25 minutes longer, at six hours; departing Aberystwyth at 10:00am with an additional stop at Newtown, but with otherwise unchanged station stops, and a locomotive change at Wolverhampton. The train became the 14:00pm departure from Snow Hill to arrive at Paddington at 16:00pm. After the Second World War, the Cambrian Coast Express was re-introduced on Saturdays only and its seasonal operation continued under British Railways, usually with through coaches to both Aberystwyth and Pwllheli. By 1959 it was running every weekday, all year round. The last train under the name Cambrian Coast Express ran in 1991 by which time it had long since transferred its London terminus to Euston, operating as an extension to the regular-interval service over the West Coast Main Line between London and Wolverhampton. In the winter 1989-1990 timetable, it left London at 15:40pm, arriving Aberystwyth 21:00pm; the return working left Aberystwyth at 7:13am, arriving at Euston station at 12:24pm. There were no longer any through coaches to the northern part of the Cambrian Line: passengers for stations to Pwllheli having to change at Machynlleth.

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