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GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton
GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line
Birmingham Snow Hill Station: gwrbsh2618
Ex-Great Western Railway large prairie 5101 class 2-6-2T No
8109 in unlined black British Railways livery at Snow Hill Platform 12 with an
up local suburban passenger six coach train on 16th April 1963. The single
white lamp in front of the chimney indicated a class B train (ordinary
Passenger) - see 'headcodes ' for more
details. At the bottom of the smokebox door is the shed plate - '84E'
indicating that the locomotive was allocated to Tyseley shed.
Rebuilt at Swindon Works, No 8109 was one of ten locomotives
rebuilt from withdrawn 51xx locomotives, as part of lot 320. No 8109 was the
last of these rebuilds, being constructed in November 1939, using the frames
from No 5115. Fifty rebuilt locomotives had been ordered in lot 320, but the
Second World War intervened and the programme was suspended. The 81xx class had
a new standard boiler No 2 capable of higher pressure (225 lb) and two inch
smaller diameter coupled wheels (5 foot, 6 inch), which improved the
locomotive's acceleration. The tractive effort increased to 28,165lb at 85%,
giving the locomotive a power group D classification. For details about how the
GWR classification system worked see 'misc_equip195'. The load was well
distributed, with each of the three coupled wheels having an axle weight of 17
tons, 12 cwt, which allowed the locomotives to operate on Blue as well as Red
routes. British Rail power class was 4MT. No 8109 was originally allocated to
Leamington shed (LMTN) for use on suburban passenger duties, joining locomotive
No 8100 which had been allocated there the previous year. No 8109 was known to
have been there prior to nationalisation in December 1947, as well as under
British Railways ownership in August 1950 and March 1959. Displaced by the
introduction of DMU's No 8109 was finally withdrawn from Tyseley shed (2A) in
June 1965, with disposal in December 1965 to Birds at Long Marston.
Robert Ferris
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