GWR Route: Stratford on Avon to Honeybourne

Sancta Lane Station: gwrsamct3914

Ex-Great Western Railway 4-6-0 4073 (Castle) Class No 4086 ‘Builth Castle’, heading south from Stratford-on-Avon under Sanctus Road bridge, with a west country holiday express on Thursday 3rd July 1958. The locomotive is carrying a precariously positioned 'Cornishman' headboard, while chalked on the smokebox door is the train's destination 'KINGSWEAR' and beneath this the train identification number '826'. This train identification number indicates that this is the 9.10 SX relief from Wolverhampton to Kingswear. See 'Headcodes' for more details.

Built in June 1926 at Swindon works, No 4086 was part of a second batch of Castle class locomotives built (lot 232). When the first of the ‘Castle’ class locomotives was built in 1923, they were the most powerful express passenger locomotives in the country and even after the larger ‘King’ class locomotives were built in 1927, the Castle class locomotives still retained their place as the Great Western Railway's principle express locomotives. The company proudly named the majority of the class after fortifications found within the geographical area that the railway served - Builth Castle is outside Builth Wells in Powys, central Wales. The Castle class locomotive was a four cylinder locomotive with a tractive effort at 85% of 31,625 lbs (Power class D). It had a maximum axle load of 19 tons, 14 cwt which restricted the locomotives to main lines and a few branch lines (Route colour – Red). See 'Engine Map' for more details.

No 4086 was initially allocated to Laira shed (LA), at Plymouth. Then after a spell at Bath Road shed (BRD), in Bristol, No 4086 moved to Worcester shed (WOS) in June 1936 and remained there until the end of 1952. No 4086 returned again to Laira shed (83D) from February 1953 to September 1959. No 4086 remained in service until April 1962 when the locomotive was withdrawn from Reading shed (81D) having completed 1,791,633 miles and was sold for scrap to J Cashmore's of Newport.

No 4086 is seen here with flush sided 4,000 gallon Hawksworth pattern tender No 4090 (lot A189 of 1949), which was paired with the locomotive from April to November 1958.

Photographer TE Williams, Caption Robert Ferris

back