GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Leamington Spa - GWR Locomotives: gwrls204

A recently built GWR 5101 class 2-6-2T Large Prairie No 5192 on an up local passenger train circa middle 1930s. Locomotive No 5192 was built at Swindon in October 1934 for the Birmingham suburban passenger traffic. No 5192 was withdrawn from Stourbridge Shed (84F) in June 1963 and scrapped at Swindon in September 1963. The photograph shows No 5192 with a standard No 2 tapered boiler, low safety valve and copper capped chimney. The curved front drop ends supported by struts and one of the outside steam pipes leading to the 18” cylinders can be clearly seen. The engine's livery dates from the 1923 – 1934 period, for after then the words ‘Great Western’ were replaced by the 'shirt button' monogram’.

The coach is typical of the Collett flush sided corridor stock built in the late 1920s. The end window is the Lavatory and the steps on the coach end allowed access to fill the water tank above. The two passenger compartments visible are both third class (the Great Western discontinued marking THIRD on doors in 1934). The coach has a 7' single bolster bogie, which was introduced on 57ft coaching stock in 1925 following extensive coach riding trials. Despite this bogie being shorter than most of their predecessors, it reduced flange wear and gave a pleasant ride, producing an abrupt clicketty-click over the rail joints. By 1930 the distinctive commode grips seen here adjacent to the door handles, were no longer fitted as the recessed alternative reduced the external width without reducing internal measurements.

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