GWR Routes: Banbury to Wolverhampton

GWR Routes: North Warwickshire Line

Moor Street Station: gwrms1704a

Close-up of image 'gwr1704' showing Moor Street passenger terminus station, a steam rail-motor and trailer can be seen waiting at the platform. These are both in the Great Western Railway crimson lake livery, which was used on passenger stock between 1912 and 1922. The steam rail-motor has been previously identified as No 56 and the trailer as No 65, but although the diagrams appear correct, the actual numbers cannot be confirmed from the photograph. Steam rail-motor No 56 was built to diagram ‘O’ at Swindon Works in October 1905 as part of lot 1088. The diagram ‘O’ steam rail-motors were seventy feet long and represented the final standard ‘branch’ design on the Great Western Railway with a total of thirty five built between 1905 and 1908. Several were allocated to operate over the North Warwickshire Line and its associated branches. This design had a seating capacity of 61, distributed between; the front smoking compartment, which had eight pairs of double walk-over seats, a larger non smoking compartment, which had ten pairs of walk-over double seats and two long bench style seats in an open saloon. It also included nine emergency seats in the combined luggage / guard compartment. Between the two compartments in the centre of the vehicle was an entrance vestibule.

There was also a driving compartment at the front which housed a vertical boiler, a 400 gallon water tank and 15 cwt. coal bunker. At the rear was a second driving cab which was used when the steam rail-motor was operating independently in the reverse direction. Steam rail-motor No 56 spent most of its early operating life in South Wales, but is known to have been allocated to Stratford–on-Avon shed in July 1924. It was withdrawn on 15th July 1929 from Birkenhead shed and was converted into auto-trailer No 182 (diagram A26), entering service in March 1930. Auto-trailer No 65 was built to diagram ‘L’ at Swindon Works in February 1908 as part of lot 1143. The diagram ‘L’ auto-trailers were seventy feet long and are considered to be the standard Great Western Railway design with a total of thirty built between 1905 and 1908. The internal layout was similar to the steam rail-motor, but without the drivers and engine compartment, so with larger compartments the seating capacity was increased to 76. Auto-trailer No 65 retained the crimson lake livery until April 1932 when it was repainted in chocolate and cream. Auto-trailer No 65 was eventually condemned at Wolverhampton in November 1957.

Robert Ferris

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