Colliery Lines

Coventry Colliery: misc_cc011

British Railways built 0-6-0T No 1501 is seen standing in line ahead of classmate No 1509 at the front of Coventry Colliery shed. Coventry Colliery had three locomotives of this class which could have tailored made for the type of work and environment to be tackled - heavy loads, inclines, tight curves, etc. The 15xx Class steam locomotive was, despite being a GWR design, built by the Western Region of British Railways in 1949 and totalled ten in number - No 1500 to No 1509. As the design was initiated by a railway company with a well developed standardisation policy, their 15xx Class was a strange design finale. Unlike all their forebears, they had outside cylinders, Walschaerts valve gear, and a very short wheelbase of 12ft 10in to go round curves of 3.5 chains (230ft; 70m). Above footplate level they were very similar to the 9400 class. The surprises were below the footplate where they resembled the United States Army Transport Corp's S100 Class that the GWR and other railways had used during the Second World War. Although a sound design, they had limited usefulness as they were very heavy and thus route restricted. Because of the short wheelbase they were unsuitable for fast running. Their use was largely confined to empty stock workings at London Paddington station and their lives were short; for example 1509 lasted barely ten years in BR service. The onset of dieselisation and the decline in traffic on the railway network consigned the 15xx Class to scrap long before they were life expired although in this instance No 1501 was purchased by the Colliery and when retired from here was transferred to the Severn Valley Railway.

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