GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Hockley Station: gwrhd700

Ex Great Western Railway 43xx class 2-6-0 No 6342 in an unlined black livery passes through Hockley on the through down main line with an ordinary passenger service (indicated by the single white lamp carried above the smoke box number plate - a class B lamp code). The overhead gantry crane, originally hydraulic but later converted to electric, can be seen in the goods yard on the left.

Built in March 1923 at Swindon works, Locomotive No 6342 was one of twenty locomotives in Lot 216. The 43xx class Moguls had been introduced in 1911 and immediately proved to be very versatile mixed traffic engines. Usually they were seen on goods traffic, but could deputise on express passenger services when required. In total, 342 locomotives of this class were built, with the last batch being built in 1932. With a design tractive effort of 25,670 lbs at 200 lb boiler pressure in the standard No 4 boiler, they were allocated a class D power category, while their axle weight limited them to Red and Blue routes. No 6342 was initially allocated to Stafford Road Shed (SRD) in Wolverhampton, but in January 1934, No 6342 was known to have been allocated to Shrewsbury Shed (SLP). At this time the locomotive's tender was a Churchward standard 3500 gallon tender (diagram A80) built in 1911 (No 1797).

Four years later, in January 1938, No 6342 was known to be back in the Midlands, allocated to Oxley shed (OXY). The front end appearance changed when outside steam pipes were fitted in May 1947, but prior to nationalisation, in December 1948, No 6342 was still allocated to Oxley shed (OXY). Post nationalisation the 43xx class of locomotives were one of the few modern engines capable of operating on Blue routes and they were moved to sheds to replace older light locomotives which were being withdrawn. No 6342 moved between several sheds; in August 1950 allocated to Banbury Shed (84C) and in March 1959 allocated to Oswestry shed (89A). Locomotive No 6342 lasted in service for just over 40 years being withdrawn from Shrewsbury shed (where the shed code had changed from 84G to 89A in 1960) in September 1962.

Robert Ferris

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