GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line

Spring Road Platform: gwrsr1112

View of Spring Road Halt shortly after opening on 1st July 1908 with an unidentified GWR 0-4-2T at the head of a local auto-train passenger service at the down platform. Auto-trains had a remote vacuum brake valve and a mechanical linkage between the locomotive and trailer to allow the driver to control the locomotive’s regulator from a remote driving position in the trailer. This enabled the auto-train to operate in either direction, although the mechanical linkages did restrict the number of trailers to a maximum of two.

In this picture the 0-4-2T locomotive appears to be one of the Wolverhampton built ‘517’ class, but the characteristic bunker shape indicates Swindon modifications. The livery would be Brown or Lake. The first auto trailer has the same livery as the locomotive, while the rear one appears to be the chocolate and cream. In 1908 the Great Western Railway replaced its chocolate and cream livery for passenger stock with an all Brown livery and the distinctive colour scheme which is normally associated with the company was only reintroduced in 1922.

The auto trailers both appear to be Diagram L, 70ft trailers, with 9ft American bogies. The 30 trailers of this diagram were built in four lots between August 1905 and February 1908, but only the last eighteen were constructed with these bogies (nos. 53-70). Each trailer had a driver’s compartment at one end and a luggage compartment at the other (note the barred window directly behind the locomotive). They were single class coaches with 76 seats distributed in two open saloons separated by the entrance vestibule area. The smaller saloon at the rear of the trailer (i.e. closest to the locomotive) was the smoking saloon.

Notice the corrugated steel ‘Pagoda’ style shelter on the platform. This was removed soon after opening and the larger prefabricated building from Wootten Wawen, which had toilet facilities and a parcels room in addition to the waiting room was repositioned on the other platform at a cost of £710. A smaller similar gable roofed building was positioned on the down platform. Both platforms were light by oil lamps.

Robert Ferris

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