GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line

Birmingham Snow Hill - Pre-grouping locomotives: gwrbsh1201

An unidentified GWR 2-6-2T 39xx class locomotive is seen passing Snow Hill's North Signal Box at the head of an up local passenger train. To the right of the locomotive was where the turntable was sited and the storage sidings for the coaching stock. Robert Ferris writes, 'information from the relevant (No.13) Service Time Table of 1939 indicates that there were three passenger shunting engines normally available on both week days and Saturdays at Snow Hill (with one available on Sundays from 6 00am for 8 hours). The normal arrangements were: Engine 1 - Starting time 4 30am authorised for 19.5 hours/day (except Monday when start time was 5 30am); Engine 2 - Starting time 4 15am authorised for 16.5 hours/day; Engine 3 - Starting time 8 30am authorised for 3.5 hours/day. Snow Hill Station was obviously a particularly difficult location operationally; because of the combination of the density of traffic, extended but compact station layout and gradients on either side, further complicated by the risks associated with the tunnel'.

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