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GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton
Hatton Bank: gwrhb2964
Great Western Railway 4-6-0 60xx (King) class No 6017
King Edward IV in immaculate condition with a Northbound express
(class A headcode) ascends Hatton Bank in the early 1930s. For more
information on lamp headcode details, see 'Headcodes'.
Locomotive No 6017 was built in June 1928 at Swindon Works
as part of lot 243. The King class were the largest of the Great Western
Railway's locomotives weighting over 135 tons (loaded) and having a maximum
axle weight of 22.5 tons, they were limited to hatched or Double
Red main line routes. They had 6 foot 6 inch coupled wheels, four 16.25
inch cylinders and a boiler pressure of 250 lbs, which delivered a tractive
effort of 40,300 lbs. For details of the Great Western Railway classification
system see 'Engine Map'. As one of the
most powerful locomotives of their time, they were destined for the crack
passenger expresses between Paddington and the West Country, and also on the
Birmingham Main Line between Paddington and Wolverhampton. Initially No 6017
was allocated to Old Oak Common shed (PDN), but moved to Stafford Road shed
(SRD) at Wolverhampton two months later on 20th September 1928 and remained
there until November 1939. After spending the next twenty years service
on West Country expresses, the King class locomotives on this route were
displaced by new diesel-hydraulic locomotives and No 6017 returned to Stafford
Road shed in February 1959. No 6017 was eventually withdrawn from Stafford Road
shed in July 1962 after completing a total of 1,853,262 miles and was sold on
24th April 1963 to Cox & Danks at Langley Green for disposal.
The smart rake of chocolate and cream liveried carriages
with the (post November 1929) double waist lining and roof boards are seventy
foot long toplight ganged corridor coaches, with the first being a
brake third. This is the corridor side and the panel moulding, although not
emphasised is visible, allowing the coach to be identified as probably a
diagram D51. This diagram had; a toilet, four third class passenger
compartments, a guards compartment and large luggage area. Several
balanced coach sets were formed in 1912 from pairs of; Brake Third (D51 - lot
1207), All Third (C29 - lot 1208) and Composite (E93 lot 1210) coaches,
plus a Dining Car and Slip coach. The details of these and the other diagram
D51 coach lot were as follows:
Lot No |
Completion |
Diagram |
Quantity |
Running Numbers |
1207 |
August 1912 |
D51 |
10 |
3575 to 3584 |
1208 |
August 1912 |
C29 |
10 |
2939 to 2548 |
1210 |
August 1912 |
E93 |
10 |
7752 to 7761 |
1215 |
June 1913 |
D51 |
10 |
3585 to 3594 |
Robert Ferris
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