LMS Route: Nuneaton to Leamington

Bedworth Station: lnwrb2091

Ex-LMS Class 5 2-6-0 No 42981 is seen approaching the station whilst at the head of a Permanent Way train made up of 'Catfish' wagons on 12th May 1964. Built as LMS No 2981 at Crewe works in February 1934 No 42981 remained in service until May 1966 when it was withdrawn from 9F Heaton Mersey shed on the former Cheshire Lines Committee lines before being scrapped in August 1966 by G Cohen of Ickles near Rotherham.

After building several designs of small ballast hoppers in its early years, BR settled on the 19-ton ‘Catfish’ and 24-ton ‘Dogfish’ from 1955 onwards. First on the scene was a batch of Catfish built by Metro-Cammell to Lot No 2682. These are sometimes quoted as being built in 1953 but this is probably the lot issue date, with actual construction taking place in 1955. Built to diagram 1/586, the Catfish had a shallow but fairly conventional looking hopper with a single chute discharging between the rails. At one end of the 14ft wheelbase wagon was a platform with a single door control wheel, the vacuum cylinder being mounted at the opposite end. A further 5 lots were built over the next 6 years, all by Metro-Cammell and all were built to the same diagram number. Despite this, it is believed that the specification was changed at some point, later deliveries having roller bearings instead of plain and Oleo buffers instead of the self-contained type. Wagons that were overhauled or repaired would also have been upgraded in the same way. Livery was initially black this later being changed to olive drab and finally grey with a yellow top band. Under the TOPS code these wagons were coded ZEV-A with design codes ZE500A-C being issued to cover minor differences.

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