GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line

Danzey for Tanworth Station: gwrdt2839

Ex-Great Western Railway 2-6-2T 61xx class No 6139 leaves the dappled shade of Danzey station with the Moor Street (dep 5:15pm) to Henley-in-Arden local passenger service. This photograph was taken in the summer of 1957 from the Danzey Green Lane bridge, which crosses the lines at this point south of the station.

No 6139 was built in November 1932 at Swindon Works as part of lot 278. The 61xx class locomotives were similar to the 5101 class, but with a higher boiler pressure of 225 lbs. This was achieved by using boiler plates of the same dimensions, but manufactured from higher-tensile nickel steel. The increased pressure resulted in a tractive effort at 80% of 27,340 lb, placing the locomotive in power classification D. The maximum axle weight was 17 tons, 10 cwt restricting the locomotives to main lines and some branch lines (route colour Blue). For details of the GWR power classification and route availability system see 'Engine Map'. These were powerful locomotives with rapid acceleration and were predominately allocated to the London Division for use on the suburban commuter services. They replaced the 2-4-0T Metro tanks, which had operated over the capital's electrified lines and No 6139 was built with Automatic Train Control, which had an ATC contact shoe designed to clip up automatically on entering an electrified section of track.

Locomotive No 6139 was initially allocated to Old Oak Common shed (PDN), but was known to have been allocated to Southall Shed (SHL) in January 1934 and was also allocated there prior nationalisation in December 1947 and in August 1950. Reorganisation of the London suburban timetables in 1955 resulted in several 61xx class locomotives being transferred to other Divisions, but the introduction of DMUs in the 1960s resulted in their mass withdrawal. No 6139 was known to have been allocated to Tyseley Shed (84E) in March 1959, being finally returning to the London area and being withdrawn in November 1964 from Southall Shed (81C).

The four coach train seen here is a mixture of non-corridor stock painted in overall BR maroon livery; The first coach has ten compartments and appears to be a Hawksworth design, 63 foot long all third, diagram C83 coach, several lots of these were constructed at Swindon Works between 1947 and 1951. This is followed by an elderly toplight with nine compartments (possibly a 57 foot long composite, diagram E96 coach built circa 1913). The third coach has a brake / luggage compartment and six passenger compartments (probably a Hawksworth design, 63 foot long brake third, diagram D132, several lots of these were built between 1948 and 1953). The final coach is another ten compartment coach.

Robert Ferris

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