GWR 4900 Class 4930 Hagley Hall
4930 Hagley Hall is a Great Western Railway, 4-6-0 Hall class locomotive, built in May 1929 at Swindon Works to a design by Charles Collett. It is one of eleven of this class that made it into preservation. The locomotive is named after Hagley Hall in Worcestershire.
| 4930 Hagley Hall | |||||||||
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 4930 Hagley Hall at Kidderminster Town Station 23/09/07. | |||||||||
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Operation
Its first shed allocation was Wolverhampton Stafford Road. After moving around the midland and southern sections of the western region it was withdrawn in December 1963, having covered the impressive total of 1,295,236 miles,[1] eventually being sold for scrap to Woodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales, arriving in June 1964.[2]
Preservation
Sold to the Severn Valley Railway in June 1972,[1] it became the 29th departure from Barry[2] arriving at Bridgnorth in January 1973. It was eventually restored to working condition in 1979,[1] and ran back on the mainline reaching as far south as Plymouth and north to Chester.[3] 4930 hauled the official re-opening train into Kidderminster Town station in 1984.[4]
4930 was also one of the regular locomotives used on the mainline in 1985 during the 150th anniversary of the Great Western Railway[5] alongside 3440 City of Truro, 5051 Drysllwyn Castle, 6000 King George V, 7029 Clun Castle, 7819 Hinton Manor, 75069 & 92220 Evening Star.
After its withdrawal in 1986 pending overhaul, it was loaned in 1999 to the Macarthur Glen shopping centre in Swindon as a static exhibit. In June 2007 it was returned to the Severn Valley Railway intending to take its place in the new 'Engine House' outside Highley railway station. After a delay due to the floods that hit the railway in June 2007, the Engine House opened in March 2008 when Hagley Hall was placed on show.[6]
Return to Steam
In October 2013, 4930 was moved from the Engine house to Bridgnorth so that the overhaul could begin. The overhaul is being supported by the SVR Charitable Trust and the Friends of Locomotive Hagley Hall Group. Some of the money for the overhaul was raised by members of the public who subscribed to the SVR's share offer scheme, which included the objectives of restoring 4930 and some matching Great Western coaches. 4930's departure from Highley allowed LMS Black 5 number 45110 to take its place. 4930 has swapped its Hawksworth tender for Witherslack Hall's Collett tender. As of 2017 the overhaul is in progress with the objective of re-entering service in 2020.[7]
Allocations
| First shed | Wolverhampton Stafford Road |
| August 1950 | Weymouth |
| March 1959 | Taunton |
| Last Shed | Swindon |
| Withdrawn | December 1963 |
| Sold to Woodham Brothers | May 1964 |
Popular culture
The engine features in the 1986 documentary "Steam Days" with Miles Kington on a run out from Bristol to Plymouth with fellow GWR engine Drysllwyn Castle during the 150th Anniversary of the GWR in 1985.
4930 also featured running passenger trains on the SVR In the 1986 programme The Great Western Experience alongside other GWR locomotives, such as 5764, 5051 Drysllwyn Castle, 6998 Burton Agnes Hall and 7029 Clun Castle.
References
- Williams,D.C.; McQuade,H.J (1998). Severn Valley Railway Stock Book (9th edition). p. 7.
- Beckett,Martin; Hardingham,Roger (2010). The Barry Story (includes The Barry List 10th edition). Settle: Kingfisher Productions. ISBN 978-0-946184-42-2.
- Severn Valley Railway News issues 53 and 76
- Severn Valley Railway News issue 73
- Severn Valley Railway News issue 77
- Severn Valley Railway News issue 161
- 'Our 2020 Vision' - Friends of Hagley Hall news update March 2017