GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Harbury Cutting and Tunnel: ggwrhc4033

Great Western Railway 2-6-0 26xx (Aberdare) class No 2618 with C Lamp Headcode (indicating an Express Vacuum freight) on the down line at Whitnash Cutting in 1928. For details of Lamp Headcodes see 'Headcodes'. The short train comprises six vacuum braked ventilated covered vans (telegraphic code - MINK A) and a Brake van (telegraphic code – TOAD). The use of vacuum braked stock improved the braking capability of the train, allowing it to be safely accelerated. The typical speed of a fully vacuum braked ‘Class C’ express freight train was 40mph, which can be compared with an average ordinary freight train speed of 7mph. The Great Western Railway had commenced running these accelerated services in January 1905 and by 1909 there were 26 regular vacuum braked express freight trains operating daily. By 1927 this total had risen to 69.

Locomotive No 2618 was built in August 1903 at Swindon Works as part of lot 123. The Aberdare class was a compact design with straight top double frames. The first of the class had appeared in 1900 fitted with a domeless standard No 2 parallel boiler with raised Belpaire firebox. These boilers operated at a pressure of 180lbs producing a tractive effort at 85% of 23,222lbs. From January 1903 the Aberdare class locomotives started to be modified with a larger domeless standard No 4 coned boiler with a flush Belpaire firebox. Operating at a pressure of 200lbs, these boilers produced a tractive effort at 85% of 25,800ibs (Power class- D) and all subsequent members of the Aberdare class (including No 2618) were built with this more powerful boiler. With this larger boiler the maximum axle weight was 17tons 10cwt, which limited the locomotive to main lines and some branch lines ('Route Colour – Blue'). In January 1907, No 2618 was fitted with a domeless standard No 4 parallel boiler, but in November 1908 reverted to the long coned version of this boiler again. In August 1910 a long coned standard No 4 boiler with two row 14 / 82 superheating equipment was fitted and top feed apparatus a few years later. All the Aberdare class locomotives were all fitted with Automatic Train Control (ATC) between June 1930 and October 1931. About the same time the 3,000 gallon Churchward tenders were replaced with tenders recovered from condemned 2-8-0 30XX (ROD) locomotives. These tenders had an increased water capacity of 4,000 gallon and were modified at Swindon to have vacuum brakegear fitted. In their final years the locomotives had short safety valves fitted.

Built to handle coal traffic emanating from South Wales, most of the Aberdare class were originally allocated to South Wales Sheds. In 1903 No 2618 was initially allocated to Aberdare Shed (ABDR). After WW1 as this coal traffic gradually became the preserve of the larger 2-8-0 locomotives, the Aberdare class locomotives gradually migrated to sheds in the Midlands to replace elderly 0-6-0 Goods locomotives on other freight duties. No 2618 moved to Tyseley Shed (TYS) in the mid 1920s, before returning to South Wales again at the start of the following decade. In December 1938, No 2618 was withdrawn from Newport (Ebbw) Shed (NPT).

Robert Ferris

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