GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line

Tyseley Shed: gwrt3926

Great Western Railway 0-6-0 2301 (Dean Goods) class No 2413 in Tyseley Locomotive Yard on 18th August 1935. The building behind the locomotive is the double sided coaling stage, surmounted by two water tanks. These had a total capacity of 145,030 gallons and water was piped here from Hockley. The coaling stage was a standard design and similar ones were constructed in other large Locomotive Yards. The Tyseley coaling stage dates from 1908 and is part of the Tyseley Locomotive Works.

Locomotive No 2413 was built in November 1891 at Swindon Works (Works No 1283) as one of the twenty locomotives ordered under lot 87 and was initially allocated to Carmarthen Shed (CARM). The 2301 (Dean Goods) class comprised 260 locomotives, all built between May 1883 and January 1889. Fifty-four were still in service at nationalisation and the last was withdrawn in May 1957. The total weight of the locomotives built in lot 87 was 36 tons, 16 cwt, with a maximum axle-weight of 13 tons. This made them versatile, as they could traverse the lightest track construction. When the Great Western Railway introduced their Route Colour System (see Engine Map) these locomotives received an uncoloured classification.

When built, No 2413 was fitted with a 10’3” long by 4’5” diameter domed parallel round boiler (GWR Group 18). This operated at a pressure of 140lb, which gave the locomotive a tractive effort at 85% of 13,313lb. The boiler pressure was increased to 150lb resulting in a tractive effort at 85% of 14,263lb. This placed the locomotive in the ungrouped power classification. In February 1914 a similar domed boiler, but with the more efficient Belpaire firebox (GWR Group 20) was fitted. This boiler operated at a pressure of 180lb. The cylinder diameters had also been increased in size from 17” to 17½” and together these changes increased the tractive effort at 85% to 18,138lb (Power Group A). No 2413 received a superheated boiler (GWR Group 21) in September 1917.

In the 1930’s No 2413 was allocated to various West Midland sheds, including Stafford Road Shed (SRD) near Wolverhampton. Between June 1930 and August 1931, No 2413 was fitted with Automatic Train Control (ATC). Prior to January 1938, until being withdrawn from traffic, No 2413 was allocated to Stourbridge Shed (STB).

At the start of World War 2, the Government requisitioned (loaned) 100 Dean Goods locomotives from the Great Western Railway. These were reconditioned and modified by; removing the ATC equipment, adding Westinghouse brake gear and, fitting a direct-acting steam brake valve. Seventy-nine of these locomotives were shipped from Harwich to France between October 1939 and March 1940, to serve with the British Expeditionary Force. Following the Fall of France in May 1940, they were either destroyed or captured and pressed into service by the German army. With the loss of the locomotives the official loan was converted to a sale in October 1940. Before being shipped to France, No 2413 had been modified at Swindon Works, painted dull black and was renumbered in pale yellow ‘WD No 137’. In 1947, several years after the war had ended, the locomotive was located at Dol-de-Bretagne being stored in a derelict condition. The cab roof had been extended and it had been allocated SNCF No 030W038. The locomotive was returned to UK in March 1949 and was scrapped by TW Ward at Grays, Essex in April 1949.

No 2413 is seen in the photograph paired with 3,000 gallon, Dean pattern, tender No 993..This had been built as part of tender lot A15 between October 1891 and May 1892. The solid side fenders replaced earlier coal rails to increase the tender’s coal capacity, which was recorded as five tons.

Robert Ferris

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