GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line

Henley in Arden - Original Station: gwrha669

GWR 0-4-4T 3521 class No 3556 is seen derailed after running through the buffers on the 7:00am through train from Birmingham Snow Hill on 4th September 1899. The last half mile approaching the terminus station had a 1 in 55 decent. The accident, is described in John Boynton's book entitled 'Shakespeare's Railways', as follows: 'The locomotive hit the buffers in a shower of ballast and splintered wood. It continued across the road and finally embedded itself in the next meadow. The first coach was damaged but empty. The four badly shocked passengers were in the other carriages which remained on the rails" 4th September 1899'.

Both Robin Howell and Graeme Wall kindly provided information on the coaching stock, but Richard Spratt has now confirmed the coaches involved as:

1. Brake Third coach to diagram T27. This coach is a conversion from a four compartment centre-brake third class coach originally built to diagram T38 between 1875 and 1883. The centre brake guard’s compartment had a lookout ducket on both sides, which was retained. These coaches were thirty-one feet long and when built had six wheels (two - nine foot, six inch wheelbases). One hundred and forty five of these coaches were built, with three converted to two compartment brake thirds (running numbers 80, 94 and 1486). The conversion involved altering a pair of third class compartments at one end into a luggage area with double doors on both sides. The three converted coaches were condemned between 1928 and 1931.
2. All Third coach to either diagram S3 or S4. These were both twenty-eight foot, eight inch long coaches with five third class compartments. These coaches were the most numerous of the Great Western Railway short coach designs with over six hundred built between 1872 and 1884. The diagram S3 coach had six wheels (two – nine foot, six inch wheelbases), while the diagram S4 had four wheels (nineteen foot wheelbase).
3. All First coach to diagram R2. These were twenty-nine foot, eight inch long coaches with four first class compartments. One hundred and ten were built between 1871 and 1874. The coach had six wheels with two – nine foot, six inch wheelbases. Most of these coaches ended up as stock in workman’s trains.

For more details on GWR Dean Era coaches, see Richard’s website at: Great Western Railway Dean Era Coaches.

Robert Ferris

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