LMS Route: Rugby to Leamington Spa (Avenue)

LMS Route: Nuneaton to Leamington

LMS Route: Leamington to Weedon

Leamington (Avenue) Station: lnwrlave1353

Ex-LNWR 4-6-0 Prince of Wales class No 25673 'Lusitania' is being admired by a group of school children as it stands at the head of a four coach passenger train to Nuneaton via Coventry. C1936

Reg Kimber writes 'Lusitania was probably working a Stafford train (via Coventry and Nuneaton). This was the 4.40 from Coventry and we Bablake pupils used to wait at the Coundon Road gates to see it. Lusitania and Queen of the Belgians worked this train regularly in the years just after the war, both being Stafford locos. They would come down on a morning working from Stafford. Sometimes there would be a loco running in from Crewe Works, Patriot 5511 Isle of Man being an example'.

'Lusitania' was originally built at Crewe in March 1916 and numbered 1100 by the LNWR. After grouping, the locomotive acquired the number 5673 before being subsequently renumbered in November 1927 into the reserve category by the addition of 20,000 to her number. She was allocated the 58001 by BR but never wore the number as she was withdrawn from Stafford shed in January 1949 being scrapped the following month at Crewe.

back