GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Bentley Heath Crossing: gwrbh123

An unknown GWR 4-6-0 Star class locomotive is seen at the head of a rake of GWR brown lake liveried coaches. An unidentified GWR 4-6-0 Star class at the head of a London bound express with coaching stock carrying brown lake livery near Bentley Heath Crossing circa 1912. Introduced in April 1906 the Churchward GWR 'Star' design developed from No 4000 which was initially introduced as 4-4-2 No 40 in 1906. Earlier locomotives were subsequently fitted with new boilers and superheated whilst the rest of the class were built with the tapered boiler from new. The first of the class to be withdrawn was No 4016 'The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's)' from Old Oak Common shed in October 1925. A further 15 were withdrawn by the GWR, leaving 47 locos in the class at nationalisation in January 1948. The class survived until October 1957 when the final member, No 4056 'Princess Margaret', was withdrawn from Bristol Bath Road shed. Charles Lawton writes to correct an error in the caption 'No 4003 Lode Star was preserved a long time before it was fashionable to do so and sits in preserved splendour at York.'

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