GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Warwick Station: gwrw2960

Ex-LMS 4-6-0 Royal Scott class No 46123 ‘Royal Irish Fusilier’ at the end of the up platform after failing to stop in the up goods loop with a loose coupled coal train in June 1962. At Warwick, the Up Goods Refuge siding was converted into a loop during the Second World War (11th June 1944). The facing connection to the loop was too far to operate using conventional point rodding, so was electrically operated from Warwick Signal Box (lever 41), the circuit being charged by turning a hand generator. The Up loop Home signals were 758 yards from the Signal Box and were preceded by two distant signals at 1267 yards and 1862 yards to give adequate warning because of its location at the foot of Hatton bank. The Signalman had instructions to bring any train being turned on to the up refuge loop, to a complete halt before they entered the loop. Precautions were also taken to ensure this facing switch and the adjacent track was not fouled by any train taking refuge in the loop. A paragraph in the Appendix to the Service Time Table (1953) required the train’s guard to inform the Signalman, using the telephone provided at this location, that the last vehicle in the train complete with tail lamp was clear of the catch-points. This was reinforced by a length of track circuit indication (T41) at this point. Despite these precautions incidents continued to occur. Unfitted trains in wet conditions were at particular risk of running away. At the platform end of up refuge loop was a short spur to prevent runaway wagons reaching the main line. No 46123 has run over a raised pile of ashes and demolished the buffer end-stop at the end of this spur before coming to rest at the end of the platform ramp. See gwrw372a for a photograph of this location in better days.

Robert Ferris

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