GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Olton Station: gwro2305

Ex-Great Western Railway 4-6-0 4073 (Castle) class No 5026 'Criccieth Castle' on the up main line south of Olton with the Wolverhampton (Low Level) to Penzance (via Stratford-upon-Avon) 'Cornishman' express on Wednesday 29th August 1962. The route identification 'C35' on the smokebox door allowed signalmen to immediately recognise the train and its destination.

The 'Castles' designed by Charles Collett in 1923, as a compromise to keep within the 20 ton maximum axle load restrictions, proved to be the most power passenger locomotives of their day. With four x 16 inch cylinders and a new standard No 8 boiler operating at 225lb pressure, the locomotive developed a tractive effort at 85% of 31,625lb and was classified in Power Group D. No 5026 was built in April 1934 at Swindon Works as part of lot 295. This batch was the first to be built with the aid of Zeiss precision optical alignment equipment which greatly improved accuracy and this in turn gave smoother operation, reducing the wear and maintenance requirements. No 5026 was initially allocated to Newton Abbot shed (NA) and like the remainder of the class, No 5026 was used on the prestigious West of England expresses, but as numbers increased the locomotives could be found at the head of express trains on every principle route. Altogether 171 ‘Castle’ class locomotives were built and they proved to be a very successful design. All saw service with British Rail with No 5026 at Laira shed (LA) outside Plymouth, just prior to nationalisation in December 1947. In March 1959, No 5026 was known to have been allocated to Stafford Road shed, Wolverhampton and in October that year improvements were made with the fitting of a double chimney and 4 row superheater. No 5026 was finally withdrawn from Oxley shed (84B) north of Wolverhampton in November 1964 and sold to Cashmores at Great Bridge for disposal.

Robert Ferris

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