(Above-Below) In 1948, six new BR Regions were formed, their new boundaries corresponding closely to the lines of the former 'Big Four' railway companies. Britain's railway network was now made up of the Western Region, Southern Region, Scottish Region, Eastern Region, North Eastern Region and London Midland Region - the old LNER being divided amongst the two newly-formed Regions - Eastern and North Eastern, whilst the Scottish Region was composed partly of the former LMS and LNER. Over the years, the Regional boundaries diminished significantly as many locomotives (from an operational standpoint) worked beyond their arbitrary Regions, so in many ways it is meaningless to classify any particular class of locomotive as belonging to any one of the six Regions during the transition from steam. For example, it was not unusual to find LMS Ivatt Moguls working alongside more traditional ex-GWR engines at places like Barmouth (above) situated well outside the Region they were initially allocated. (Below) Ex-LMS Class 8F trundles a mixed freight through Birmingham Snow Hill station.

(Above-Below) A more conventional form of motive power at Birmingham Snow Hill is FW Hawksworth's 'County' class 4-6-0 No 1029 County of Worcester, the last of 30 members of the class, awaiting departure on 30th June 1953. (Below) By the end of 1948, many locomotives were carrying their new BR numbers with the exception of the Western Region engines which retained their brass and cast iron cabside number plates below 10,000. British Railways eventually chose a dark Brunswick Green (lined out in black and orange) for BR's fleet of express-passenger engines. Consequently, little had changed on the Western Region since GWR days. The photo above shows a clean-looking 'King' class No 6022 sporting a double chimney and carrying the second BR emblem consisting of the British lion rising from a crown holding a driving wheel in its front paws. (Below) 'Castle' class 4-6-0 No 5028 Llantilio Castle with the BR's first 'Lion and Wheel' totem (1948-1956) on the tender side. Photos © KL Cook, D Pritchard-D Hey collection 

(Above) Whilst the GWR's dark Brunswick Green survived for use on BR's express passenger engines, the choice of black livery with a red, cream and grey lining for locomotives designated mixed traffic, and an even duller unlined black livery for its freight and shunting classes can hardly be described as adventurous. When George Jackson Churchward was CME at Swindon (1902-1921) he equipped the Great Western Railway with nine locomotive classes ranging from 2-6-2Ts, through 2-6-0 and 4-6-0 mixed traffic and express passenger locomotives, to 2-8-0 heavy freight engines of both tank and tender varieties. This Class 28xx No 2803 was photographed at Swindon in June 1950.



(Above-inset right-Below) Every picture tells a story, they say, and this is definitely the case with this shot (above) of Exeter St Davids station. In my original caption I wrote - A busy scene at Exeter St Davids in 1960 with 'West Country' class No 34017 Ilfracombe, 'Castle' class 5069 Isambard Kingdom Brunel (what a nameplate!) at the head of the 'down' 'Cornishman' and the now-preserved 7029 Clun Castle, which is also carrying the 'Cornishman' headboard. Perhaps a WR enthusiast can throw some light on this anomaly?
     They certainly can!
   Regular contributor, Robert Green, writes - 'The caption to Jim Payne's picture of 'The Cornishman' at Exeter St David's is inaccurate. The train is not a 'down' Cornishman. It is an 'up' train - though more correctly the 'northbound' Cornishman as it is not heading for London.
   At Exeter, things work differently these days though the platform numbers are the same. In the 1960 picture, 5069 is at platform 5, the main up, or northbound platform for WR trains, though platform 6 on the opposite side of the island would also be used. The Bulleid Pacific is in platform 4 the main down, or westbound, platform for SR trains, and judging by the headcode is bound for Padstow (the WR and SR ran in opposite directions to the same destinations of London and Plymouth out of Exeter). 
   On the opposite side (left) of that island is platform 3, the main up platform for SR trains which climbed the 1 in 37 bank sharp left up to Exeter Central immediately south of the station. To complete the platforms not shewn (sic - the GWR always used this archaic form of the word) in the photo, platform 1 was the main down or westbound one for WR trains and 2 was a bay at the north end of 1 used by the Exe Valley branch trains. Platforms 1-3 are, of course, off to the left. The building in the background is the old goods shed and the MPD was behind that. Thus 'The Cornishman is going north...
   It is difficult to say why 7029 also has a headboard (not evident in the picture).  It may have suffered a failure, though the fact that both have headboards suggests not.  More likely, but just a guess, is that one loco is taking over from the other (which way round is dependent on when the photo was taken, since both were shedded in the West Country at the time) and the one coming off may well turn and take over the down train to Penzance later...'
  Well, Robert's email got me thinking...I was certain that I had a photo of both Castles (with headboards) in one shot, but this is not the case. However I did find these two (above right and below) and posted them to Robert, who replied - 'Now that I see the additional photos I lean more towards my theory that 'changing engines' is correct as we see 5069 drawing forward and 7029 apparently ready to take its place with what appear to be two more coaches to strengthen the train.
   However, there is a further alternative that, in 1960, the train was run in two portions due to high demand and the two trains have arrived at Exeter one after the other and 5069 is to be replaced by another (unknown) engine whilst 7029 may have already done the same at Newton Abbot - its home shed. In any event, you will need to amend your caption to correct the number and name of the Bulleid to 34057 Biggin Hill from 34017; this is immediately apparent in the enlargements you sent me. The additional photos also confirm the platform numbers and that the SR train is bound for Padstow.  I'll leave those thoughts with you for the caption...'
   Well, rather than alter the original caption I have included Robert's comments with my thanks. All help and corrections are much appreciated. 

(Above-Below) One for modellers...rear view of Hawksworth's 'County' Class 6MT No 1028 County of Warwick at Bristol in 1960.  (Below) Sporting a Danygraig (87C) shedplate on the smokebox door, Class 3F 0-4-0T No 1105 was one of six engines (Nos 1101-6) built by Avonside Engine Co based on a design to GW requirements for dock shunting. Introduced in 1926 No 1105 is still going strong thirty-odd years later on 14th March 1957. Weighing just 38 tons 4 cwt, the engines had a tractive effort of 19,510lbs.

(Above-Below) Another Danygraig loco, 0-4-0ST No 1151 - one of 2 members in the class - was photographed on 14th March 1957 some fifty years after its introduction in 1907. Weighing just 33 tons 10cwt with a tractive effort of 14,010 lbs, this Class 0F Peckett design was built for the P & M. (Below) Upon nationalisation in 1948, the newly-formed Western Region inherited a total of 3,857 locomotives, 8,653 coaches, 88,918 goods vehicles and 3,743 route miles of track. The bulk of locomotives originated on the GWR, though a small number of surviving locomotives were taken into stock from absorbed lines, including several Hudswell-Clark 0-6-0Ts from the Swansea Harbour Railway.  This shot here of Danygraig Swansea Motive Power Depot on 7th July 1947 shows Nos 1103, 1945, 943, 968, 359 and 942. Photo copyright HC Casserley

(Above) Take a butchers at this shot! Is it any wonder that Western Region fans dubbed their beloved Great Western Railway (GWR) - 'God's Wonderful Railway'? Taken before nationalisation, Churchward's Class 0F 0-6-0ST No 1362 - built in 1910 specifically for dock shunting duties (where there were severe curves) rests at Newton Abbot shed. Photo copyright L Hanson

(Above) The interior of Newport (Ebbw Junction) 86A (Below) Two photos joined together shows a wide view of light and shade inside the roundhouse at Abadare 86J.

(Above-Below) CB Collett's 1400 Class 0-4-2T No 1468 on shed at Exeter (83C). (Below) Churchward's successor, CB Collett (1921-1941) was responsible for 17 new locomotive classes, including the Castles, Kings, Granges, Manors and Hall classes. Although his predecessor was a hard act to follow, Collett took the sensible step of improving on Churchward's successful formula, therefore many of his locomotives were of a modified designs as distinct from rebuilds. These included the modified Class 28xx 2-8-0 variants Nos 3800-66 introduced in 1938. Sporting a smokebox numberplate and a Newton Abbot (83A) shed plate, No 3834 is seen with Prairie tank No 5104 and Pannier tank No 8405 at Leamington shed in July 1955.Photo © P R Batty.

(Above-Below) The platform end at Bristol Temple Meads station gave spotters the chance to watch the acitivities of locos coming and going at Bristol Bath Road Shed 82A. Here 'Castle' class No 5049 Earl of Plymouth and No 5050 Earl of St Germans were photographed in 1960.

(Above-Below) 'King' Class No 6024 King Edward 1 - with reversed titled train headboard above its smokebox door - receives attention at 82A in 1960. (Below) Hall class No 4936 Kinlet Hall departs with a parcels train on the same day. It should be pointed out that some of the photos on this page are reproduced courtesy of Jim Payne's CD from  'www.throughtheireyes2.co.uk'...I am not affiliated with the sale of CDs in any way, merely reproducing what I think are interesting images of Western Region steam. However, I mention it here because some of the the images, excellent though the originals are, have been digitally enhanced with sky tones for suitable reproduction on the web. The subject of Photoshopping can be found on the 'Rail Photo Workshop' Page 46 of this site

 

(Below) A lesson in 'panning' shots - 'King' Class 4-6-0 6009 King Charles II approaches Bentley Heath Crossing with the 4.30pm Wolverhampton-Paddington express on Sunday 5th July 1959. By the middle of the 1960s, the entire class of Kings, Duchesses, Princess Royals, and Schools became casualties of th e diesel era, leaving just 4,970 steam locomotives at the end of 1964. At the same time, The closure of steam motive power depots in the new inter-regional shed-code renumbering scheme was to radically change the scene. The revision of the six regional boundaries led to the closure of the former Great Central line from Sheffield to London after it was transferred from the ER to the LMR. The same fate befell the Somerset & Dorset line over the Mendips when it was transferred from the SR to the WR. Inevitably train services were deliberately run down to facilitate closure, and both routes were destined not to survive the Beeching era…Photo © M Mensing

(Above) A rather grimy 'Hall' class No 5971 Merevale Hall was photographed at Wolverhampton Oxley Road Shed (84B) on 31st March 1965. By this time, the diesel-hydraulics were well to the fore and in view of the deplorable working conditions, shed staff found it difficult to maintain a standard of cleanliness. In this evocative shot, the poor operating conditions are clearly evident, as the offside nameplate is missing, yet the nearside nameplate still remained in place. It begs the question whether No 5971 could have been the last WR steam loco to bear a name by this date. Indeed, with steam in rapid decline BR found it necessary to remove nameplates when their value as collectors items led to unlawful disappearances from steam depots. Doubtless this is the case here - all things considered, the WR would have removed both plates, surely? Photo © M Mensing 

(Below) Photographed from the entrance of the car park to Tudor Grange Park (No 6857 in the WR's 6800 class) the driver of 'Hall' class 4-6-0 No 4918 Dartington Hall  awaits the right away from Solihull station with a train of empty coaching stock on 3rd September 1960. This Mike Mensing shot brings back special memories for a regular site contributor, Robert Green, who used to play Par 3 golf in Tudor Grange Park and travelled by train to and from his home station of Olton, the next stop down the line from Solihull. Robert writes - 'There is something very unusual about the picture. The train is on the 'down' relief - platform 4-3 island in the background - and is thus at the rear of the train for normal direction. It may have been running wrong line due to engineering work or it may have run round after a shunting move; unusual things did happen at Solihull...' Of further interest are the two advertising hoardings beneath the bridge, which display a variety of interesting posters (from left to right) - a local Revue Bar advertising Folies Striptease three times daily; Swan Vesta matches; Ilford Film; The Regular Army (Guardians of the Peace); the WR's new Blue Pullman service between Birmingham and Paddington; Bottled Beer; Co-op Dividend Stamp and a 1960's advertising slogan I'm sure we'll all remember: the Milk Marketing Board's 'Drink-Pinta-Milka-Day' campaign. Photo © M Mensing

(Above Left-Right-Below) Introduced in 1931, Collett's 0-6-0PT No 5416 simmers in the shed yard at Newport (Ebbw Junction) 86A. (Above Right) Adding to the ex-GWR loco variety, CJ Churchward's '43XX' Class 4MT 2-6-0 No 6397 was photographed amid the rural environs of St Blazey shed 83E. (Below) Churchward's 2-6-2T No 4570 - one of a class of 4MT tank locos introduced in 1906 for light branch work on the GWR - heads a St Erth-St Ives train near Carbis Bay in July 1960. Photo © M Pope

 

In 1948, the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission (BTC) announced its preference for developing future steam power rather than dabbling with new, untried diesel traction. This led to the Locomotive Interchange Trials, supervised by RA Riddles, then member of the BTC's Railway Executive who was responsible for mechanical and electrical engineering. He was assisted by ES Cox, then executive member of the British Transport Commission for design - both ex-LMSR men, who doubtless had in mind their well intentioned plan for evaluating the relative performance of former companies engines in normal operating conditions. However it came as no great surprise that out of the twelve new BR standard classes (numbered in the 70-80,000s and 92,000s) many designs incorporated the latest features taken from LMSR practice.

(Above) BR Standard Class 4 No 76040 pauses at Machynlleth on 20th August 1966. The 'BR4' mixed traffic Moguls - numbered 76000-76114 - were derived from the ex-LMS Ivatt Mogul numbered 43000-43162, but the 'BR4' was nothing like as ugly as their progenitors. Perhaps by the time the 'BR4' appeared in traffic, those steam enthusiasts brought up on a diet of asthetically-pleasing locomotives (brass nameplates mounted on curved footplates upswept over driving wheels) had grown accustomed to the stark appearance of the new Cox/Riddles standard designs? The 'BR4s' low axle loading of under 17 tons gave them a wide route availability, but by the mid-1960s the volume of traffic on many secondary routes was rapidly decreasing and a more useful Standard Class 3 type would have sufficed. Indeed, had Churchward still been alive - or Collett, for that matter - both men would have turned in their grave at the very un-Great Western look of the new engines (Swindon Works designed and built the 'BR3' mixed traffic 2-6-0 engines Nos 77000-77019, using a slightly shortened version of the Swindon standard 'No2' boiler, as fitted to the large GWR 'Prairie' tanks (51XXs) and 0-6-2 tanks in the 56XX series). The boiler was modified to carry a dome and normal type of superheater.

(Right) Following nationalisation the allegiance by railmen to the former 'Big Four' companies was well known, particularly on the Western Region!

(Below) The 2-6-0 mentioned above was essentially a tender engine version of the Swindon-built 2-6-2T 82000s, having identical driving wheels, cylinders, boiler pressure and tractive effort. The BR Standard Class 2-6-2T class offered an engine in power and axle-load midway between the Class 4MT tender engines in the 76000 series and the Class 2MT tank engines Nos 84000-29. The boiler is virtually a modified version of the Swindon 'No 2' boiler (with dome and normal type of superheater) otherwise this class was for the most part a new design. No 82043 awaits its next turn of duty at Cardiff (Cathays) 88A. Photo © J Payne proprietor of 'through their eyes.org.uk'

THANK GOODNESS FOR THE PRESERVATION MOVEMENT!

The following photos show the sterling work that goes into preserving our national heritage. The fact that almost 400 ex-BR steam locomotives have survived the 1968 holocaust is a remarkable achievement. Here is a selection of ex-GWR locos that have found a new lease of life. The photos are kindly provided by Ken Mumford, Editor of the Abergavenny and District Steam Society's 'The Coal Tank' magazine, and Terry McCarthy, who has been a member of the Great Western Society for over forty years - my thanks to both Ken and Terry for sharing their photos. (Below left-right) 5521 departing from Lydney Junction on a train for Parkend on 3rd July  2010 in the course of the GWR 175 celebrations. 5322 in ROD livery on the 'main line' working a goods train at Didcot Railway Centre at the GWS GWR 175 celebrations 6th May 2010.

(Above-Below) Following a pathing stop at Swindon, 'King' Class No 6024 'King Edward I' accelerates past Cockleberry Sidings with London-bound 'Bristolian' on 28th August 2010. 'Castle' Class No 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe heads the non-stop 'Bristolian' near Stratton Park Halt on 17th April 2010.

 

(Above-Below) 'Hall' class No 4965 Rood Ashton Hall and 5029 Nunney Castle head through Compton Beauchamp about two miles east of Shrivenham station bound for the West Somerset Railway on 14th May 2010. (Below) Heading back to London with the 'Cornish Riviera Express' charter, 'Castle' class No 5029 Nunney Castle and 'King class No 6024 King Edward 1 pass the end of the loop at Greenbridge about a mile east of Swindon station.

TRIBUTE TO CARDIFF CANTON'S CLEANERS

AROUND THE REGION

(Above-Below) Terence Cuneo's well-known poster for the centenary of the Royal Albert Bridge. The loco is 5021 Whittingham Castle. Robert Green has written to say that he has one of the cabside numberplates which he purchased from Swindon in 1963 for the princely sum of £7 10s 0d (£7.50) to collect from Hockley Goods Depot in Birmingham. The reason for this choice was because No 5021 was the last Castle he copped as a spotter - happy days! Sadly, he couldn't afford to buy the nameplate - they wanted a mighty £15 which was too much for his budget. What a mistake that turned out to be! (Below) Visit the exellent wikipedia free encyclopedia website, encyclopedia website Cornwall Railway Viaducts  I am constantly on the look out for good sites to link with and improve the contents of this site, so my thanks to John T of Taunton for recommending the excellent 'mikes. railhistory.railfan.net' website. The page on the 'Cornish Riviera' is a gem! Click on photo (below) to visit the page.

 

 

(Above-Below) Surpus to requirements, this unidentified 'Castle' class awaits her fate at Woodham Brothers scrapyard on 13th August 1966. (Below) As for the changeover to WR dmu services? With the rank and file of steam classes in rapid decline, it became increasingly difficult for the operating department to find a suitable steam locomotive with a power classification relative to its train formation; either being too heavy or too light for the purpose. The diesel multiple units offered a practical solution to this problem as the engines of several railcars could be coupled together to meet varying traffic needs, therefore the power available became proportional to the length of the train. In the case of the Swindon-built Class 126s, however, pragmatism - rather than aesthetics - was the main item on the agenda, for the 70mph Inter-city units were not the best looking vehicles. Powered by two AEC 150hp engines, the 3-car sets had two front ends - a full-width cab and a half-cab incorporating a central gangway connection which allowed through access within a 6-car set. Prior to commencing service in Scotland, the first six 3-car sets were introduced on the WR's Birmingham-Cardiff-Swansea service in June 1957, the usual formation being comprised of six cars with the two gangwayed trailers coupled together in the centre of the train. Sporting a 'V' chevron on the front-end, a 3-car set arrives at Gloucester. Photo © EA Wood collection.

(Above) Despite the economies the new dmus brought, many branch line closures could not be prevented. This included the former LSW's Sidmouth branch on the Devon coast which was dieselised in November 1963, but succumbed to the Beeching axe in March 1967. Here a pair of Derby Class 108 dmus occupy the single platform - the one on the left retains its 2-character train description panel beneath the driving cab windows and a small destination panel in the cab roof, whilst the newer vehicle from 1960 onwards (right) has been modified with a 4-panel route indicator box moulded as an integral part of the roof canopy and the destination panel relocated aboye the central cab window. Here the 4-character train description blind displays 2C55, as a 2-car unit - sporting a white cab roof - awaits departure in May 1964. Photo © EA Wood collection.

(Above-Below) Although committed to replacing steam with diesel and electric power, the British Transport Commission continued to show a keen interest in developing any type of new motive power which showed promise of economies in rail operation, including the conversion of a number of steam locomotives to oil firing. Meanwhile, the GWR had begun experiments in conjunction with the Swiss firm of Brown Boveri to build a gas-turbine electric locomotive capable of producing the equivalent power of a 'King' class locomotive. In fact, the GWR gas turbine did demonstrate its ability to produce a power well beyond any steam locomotive then operating on the Western Region, but the BTC took the decision to abandon all forms of main line traction other than steam and the interesting gas-turbine experiment came to an end. The Brown Boveri A1A-A1A gas-turbine No 18000 is seen at Swindon. (Below) North British Type 3 B-Bs Nos D6321-18 have just backed onto the 'Cornishman' coaching stock at Plymouth...please note, to maximise webspace the WR Hydraulic Class diesels have been moved to another page. Click on Colour Photo-link at the bottom of the page. 

Some of the original steam loco photos featured on this page were provided by 'Through their eyes2.co.uk' and are available on a DVD containing 2,800 high resolution scans produced from original negatives, slides and photos. Click here for link to this interesting site. I am not affiliated in any way with the sale of DVD's. 

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