GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line

Birmingham Snow Hill - British Railways Period Locomotives: gwrbsh1264

An unknown ex-Great Western Railway 2-8-0 2884 class locomotive is seen passing Snow Hill station's North Signal Box and sidings whilst at the head of a down cattle train on 16th December 1961.The 2884 class were a modernised version of the original 28xx class heavy freight locomotive, which had been designed by Great Western Railway’s Chief Engineer - George Churchward in 1903. Eighty-four of the 28xx class locomotives were eventually built prior to 1919 and these operated both the long distance South Wales coal trains and the prestigious express night freight services between the major conurbations. After the First World War the availability of cheap ex-ROD (30xx class) locomotives meant production of 28xx locomotives ceased, but by 1938 more new heavy freight locomotives were required. The original design was modified to incorporate improvements, which had been introduced on other locomotives and this became the 2884 class. The most obvious of these improvements included outside steam pipes, short safety bonnets, whistle shields and a larger cab with side windows. The front-end framing and motion plate was also modified. Eighty-four 2884 class locomotives were constructed between 1938 and 1942. Those locomotives constructed during the Second World War (Nos 3814 to 3866) were built without side windows in the cab and with provision for Air Raid Precaution (ARP) screens to obscure the light from the fire hole. The side windows were retro-installed in 1946. Additionally the earlier 2884 class had their cab side window glass removed and steel plates inserted for the duration, but their glass was also reinstated in 1946. The 2884 class locomotives were slightly heavier than their predecessors with a max axle weight of 17 tons, but they retained their Blue route colour classification (see Engine Map).

The cattle wagon (telegraphic code Mex B) has Morton lever brakegear, RCH type axleboxes and RCH type buffers, which means it is probably an ex Great Western Railway diagram W11 or W12 cattle wagon. These were both eighteen foot, six inches over the headstocks with an eleven foot, three inch wheelbase with vacuum brakes. The W12 had the vertical planked door top with six inch diameter hole cut in it to allow the door to be opened from the inside (as seen in this photograph), but this feature was also retrofitted to older cattle wagons, including the diagram W11. The table below gives details of diagram W11 and W12 cattle wagons:

In addition, following nationalisation British Railways initially continued to build cattle wagons to the previous individual company’s designs, although the load capability was increased to twelve tons (which had been the capability of the numerous LMS designs). The BR built (GWR designed) fitted cattle wagons were eighteen foot six inches over the headstocks, but the wheelbase was reduced to eleven feet. In 1950 the Ideal Stocks Committee recommended that only eight ton cattle trucks should be built and the resulting standard (diagram 1/353) closely resembled the previous GWR W12 design with a flatter roof profile. The table below gives details of those BR cattle wagons built to these GWR standards:

Robert Ferris

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