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GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton
Bentley Heath: gwrbh2323
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An unidentified ex-Great Western Railway 2884 class 2-8-0
locomotive with a northbound class E express freight passes Bentley Heath
Crossing on the down relief line on a bleak Saturday 23rd January 1965. A class
E express freight could travel up to 45mph, but must have not less than four
braked vehicles next to the engine and connected by automatic brake pipe. In
this case after the vacuum braked high sided wooden open wagon, there are three
foreign railway pitched roof covered wagons. Behind these wagons are two signal
posts. The nearest signal post controls the high speed crossover from the up
relief line to the up main line and is indicating that the up relief line is
clear. Both the up and down crossovers were taken out of use on 17th September
1961, but the up crossover was reinstated a week later. The second signal post
controls the up main line and path to up goods loop, which commenced beyond the
level crossing. This was adjacent to the footbridge, which crosses the lines in
the background.
The powerful heavy freight 2884 class locomotives
introduced in 1938 were an improved version of the 28xx class, which Jackson
Churchward had designed in 1903 at the start of his career. The improvements
included outside steam pipes, modified motion plate, curved front drop ends,
larger cabs with side windows, a fire iron compartment, short safety valve,
whistle shields, smokebox door lamp-irons and automatic train control (ATC).
The boiler pressure was 225lb providing a tractive effort at 85% of 33,495lb
(power group - E) and the maximum axle weight was 18 tons, which restricted the
locomotives to main lines and a few branch lines (route classification
Red). Originally built for the heavy coal traffic from South Wales to London,
the 28xx and later 2884 class locomotives became the mainstay of the heavy
night express freights between the major conurbations and all past into British
Railways ownership. By the end of January 1965 all the eighty-four 28xx class
locomotives had been withdrawn and only thirty-two of the eighty-three 2884
class locomotives remained. None would be operational at the end of the year,
but happily several are now preserved.
Robert Ferris
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