GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line

Birmingham Snow Hill - British Railways Period Locomotives: gwrbsh1822

Ex-GWR Hall Class 4-6-0 No 6930 'Aldersey Hall' runs through Snow Hill station on 23rd November 1963. According to British Railway's 1962 Train Reporting Codes, the single lamp on the right of the buffer beam was for 'Branch train or stopping freight train and Officers' Special train or ballast train requiring to stop in section. Maximum speed 35 mph. Where fitted vehicles are required to be placed next to the engine and coupled up, this will be shown in the appropriate regional train loading instructions'. Built by Swindon works to Lot 340 in November 1941, No 6930 remained in service until October 1965 when it was withdrawn from 2D Banbury shed. The Hall Class was designed by Charles Collett with 259 being built, numbered 4900 to 4999, 5900 to 5999 and 6900 to 6958. The prototype was rebuilt from GWR Saint Class number 2925 Saint Martin in 1924 with smaller driving wheels. Additionally the cylinders were realigned in relation to the driving axle and a more modern 'Castle'-type cab was fitted. The rebuilt Saint Martin emerged from Swindon in 1924 and, renumbered 4900, and embarked on three years of trials. During this period Collett introduced other modifications. The pitch of the taper boiler was altered and outside steam pipes were added.

Finally satisfied with No 4900's performance, Collett gave the order for more to be built with the first of the new two-cylinder Halls entering service in 1928. They differed little from the prototype; the bogie wheel diameter had been reduced by two inches from 3 feet 2 inches to 3 feet 0 inches and the valve setting amended to give an increased travel of 7½ inches. The overall weight of the locomotive had increased by 2 tons 10 cwt to 75 tons 0 cwt. Its tractive effort of 27,275 lbf compared favourably with the 24,935 lbf of the 'Saint'. In what amounted to a trial run the first fourteen were despatched to the arduous proving grounds of the Cornish main line where they were so successful (and elsewhere on the GWR system) that by the time the first production batch of eighty had been completed in 1930 a further one hundred and seventy-eight were on order. By 1935 one hundred and fifty were in service. The two hundred and fifty-ninth and last Hall, No 6958 'Oxburgh Hall' was delivered in 1943.

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