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Cove r: In th ef na lyea rb efor et he de mi se of sc he du le ds te am wo rk ingi nt oK ing’sC ros s in Ju ne 1963 ,Top Sh ed -a ll oc at ed Gr es leyA4 Pa ci fc No.6 0003 An dr ew KM cC os h pa ss es th e ju nc tion satR elly Mi ll ,a mi le so ut hofD ur ha m, with wh at is likel yt ob e1A21, th e9.4 0a m Newc as tl e- Ki ng ’s Cr os s. Al ongw it hs he dm at es No s. 60 014, 60 02 8, 60 030a nd 60 033, th es e we re th ef rs tf ve A4 st ob ew it hd rawn ,att he en dofD ecem be r1962.
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4Trains ofThought
5A fa vourite rail way–CountyDonegal
Probabl ythe fa vourite Irish narrow gauge system in the eyes of most British rail wayenthusiasts in the 1950s was that of the CountyDonegal Rail ways Joint Committee – Colin Boococ k describes his visits to this surprising rail way.
14
Subscriptions
17 TheGreat Wester nR ail way’sHall names
The near,the far, andthe whoknows where?
JimLindsa y re veals howthe inspiration forthe names of the Collett 4900 and Ha wkswor th 6959 class 4-6-0s,259 and71locomoti vesembraced farmore than statel yhomes in GWRter ritor y–and included manyoddities
31 The last fiveyears of the LNER Pacifics: 1962 to 1966
LeonardRogers tracks the latter-dayacti vities of the 4-6-2s of LNER lineage, the GresleyA3s and A4s,the Thompson and Peppercorn A2 variations,and the A1s that naturall yf ollowedin1948/49.
45 Onl yknown photog raphsofobscureengine sheds
Delving into the vaults, RogerGrifths takes us to some little-known and often shor t-li vedlocomoti ve ser vicingf acilities.
57 Varsityvariations
Completed in 1862, adirect rail waybetween the uni versity cities of Oxf ord and Cambridge ser veduntil thetur nof1968, its reinstatement todayatthe hear tofthe East West Rail scheme. With Bicester-Bletchleynow on the brink of passenger reopening, Chris Gordon Watf ord looks backto1954 at the central and wester nsectionsofthe ex-L&NWR route.
Cl as s6959N
Next month ...
TheCalne branch
London (Victoria) station
Resor tnamed Patriots
George Davidson CBE -the manbehindthe 1925 centenar ycelebrations
Varietyisthe spiceoflife, andthe magazine in your handshas plenty of that,authors Colin Boocock, JimLindsay,Leonard Rogers,Roger Grifthsand ChrisWatford taking us on abroad tour,not just of thenationbut also of subjectmatter: thereare travelsonthe 3f gaugeCountyDonegalsystemonthe Irishborder; adelve into themindofthe GreatWestern Railwaywhenitnamed theHalls,and afew surprising twists alongthatjourney ;anoverview of thefamilyofLNER Pacifcsoncethe work wasbeginning to dr yup; acollectionofrare photographsinspiring ‘visits’ to little knownenginesheds;and then thereisa chance to appreciate alonglostrailway that is returning, andseemingly, quitesoon.
It will notsurpriseyou to know that Iampro public transport, whetheritberailways, buses or trams, notleast as it createsopportunity,but also,equally,because thelackofitrestricts that Te linerisinginthe news is that betweenBicesterand Bletchley, andits return has been along andslowprocess, butwiththe latest news astepalong theroadtoreconnectingOxfordand CambridgeaspartofEastWestRail. Te last time that such arailjourney couldbeundertaken wasatthe very endof1967, andwhile thewestern Oxford to Bletchleysection of lineremained forfreight until 1993, andcentral part linking Bletchleyand Bedfordkeptits local passenger services andwas therefor freighttoo,Bedford to Cambridgewas notonlyclosed completelybut theold routehas foundplenty of newusesinthe interveningfve decades, so is unavailable.
It wasbackinNetwork SouthEastdaysthatthe westernmostsection of theso-called Varsity linewas reopened to passengers as farasBicester, in 1987, andsoonIslip regained astation.Much more recently, linking theex-GWRChilternlinewithits former L&NWR neighbourinBicester is good forthattown, andindeedBicesterVillage, an outlet shoppingcentre, andfor Oxford too, that scheme comingtofruitionasProjectEvergreen 3, aChilternRailwaysinitiative; andnow we have East West Rail.
In truth, thelatterisfar bigger than thereopening of theVarsity line, as Oxford-Bedford is nowconsidered to be theWestern Section, Bedfordand Cambridgeisthe CentralSection –wherea brand-new routeisproposedthatwillcross theEastCoast main line at Tempsford, serve Cambourneand then reachCambridge by joiningthe existinglinefromHitchin at apoint near Foxton –and then thereisanEastern Section, whichlooks to evolve existing railways linking Cambridge, Felixstowe,Ipswich andNor wich.
Connection StageOne is linking Oxford andMiltonKeynesfor passengers andgoods services, andthe rebuiltlinemade agreat leap forwardonJune16, 2025, when aFreightliner service inauguratedcommercialser vices when it ranfromDidcotthrough Winslowtothe West Coastmainlineand anew strategicinterchange in Northampton. Imention Winslowspecifcally becausethatiscurrently theonlyintermediatestation on therebuilt sectionofline, despite it beingvirtually 20 miles in length. Te passengerser vice is expectedtostart runningbeforethe endofthisyear, andBedford-Cambridgeisprovisionally to open in the‘early2030s.’Tenational networkgrows.
AndrewKennedy
or,m or elikel y, 1960 .The
on Ap ri l17, 1965 .Pull& pu sh op er at io nw as co mm on pl aceb et we en
un it so nt he Bl et ch ley- Ba nb ur ys er vice ca me with an en ha nced time ta bl et hati nc lu de dafew sh or t-wo rk ings ru nn ingo nl ya sf ar
ck ingh am , wh ic hwer ecover ed by moto r- tr ai nwor ki ng.The st ea md ut ye nd ed in 1960 wh en th elin eb eyon dB uc ki ng ha mw
ed an dt
swer ea bl
fu ll ycover th er ev is ed time ta bl e. Jo hn Sp en ce rG il ks /R NS mi th Co ll ec tion
Afavouriterailway –County Donegal
Probably the favour ite Ir ish narrow gaugesystem in theeyesofmost Br itish railway enthusiasts in the 1950s wasthat of theCounty Donegal Railways Joint Committee – Colin Boocock descr ibes his visits to this surprising railway.All photographs by the author,except wherecreditedotherwise.
The County DonegalRailwayssystem wassurprisinginmanyways: in themountainous terrain(to Irish standards) that itstrainshad to getthrough, in thelovelycherr yred colour with whichit blessedits locomotives, railcars andcarriages, andbecause it wasahead of otherIrish railways in itsalmosttotal useofdiesel railcars for passengerser vices, even though freight trains were,withone exception,alwayssteam-hauled. Whilethe CDRwas notthe frst Irishsystemto adopt diesels, it endedupwiththe largest feet of narrow gaugerailcarsinthe BritishIsles Ishouldhaveknown better,but Imissed thebig exception to therailcar rule.While my visitin1956 to travel on therailway included theAugust bank holiday,Idid notknow then that Icould have travelledina heavy steam-hauledexcursion trainto theseaside at Rossnowlaghthatusuallyonlyran on summer bank holidays. Nowadays, theinternetwould surely have providedsuchinformation,but in the1950s, unlesssomeone wroteabout it in amagazineornewspaper,suchinformation remained purely local.
On August 1, 1956,t he morningI frst went to theCount yDonegal Railways ,C DR JointCommittee 2- 6- 4T No.4 Meenglas st ands alongsideStrabanestation andisa bout to be turned in readinessto work atrain alongt he Letterkennybranch, so curvingsharply from asouth -south -eastalignment to head nort h-west .The narrow gaugeC DR operationoccupiedt he west side of this st ation, with the5ft 3ingauge GreatNor thernRailway (Ireland)track sonits east side.Completed in 1907 by Nasmyt h, Wilson &CoLtd (Works No.828)and originally County DonegalNo. 16 Donegal,t he pictured locomotive endureda 1937 number andnamechangetot hatseen, the2 -6 -4Teffectively adopting theidentit yofa4 -6 -0Tt hathad served therailway from 1893 until1935.
At theC DR pa rt of St ra ba ne st ation, Ga rdner-Wa lker Brot hers diesel railca rNo. 20,t he la st to be deliveredtot he CD R(1951), awaits depa rturefor St ra norlar on thever ywet morningof Wednesday, August 1, 1956 .No. 4 Meenglas is seen ma noeuvringint he background ,nea rtoa GN R(I) 4- 4- 0oft he broadergauge that headsat rain boundfor Londonderr y.
Freig ht trains on theCDR were main ly steam-hau le d, part ic ul arly thelonger, he av ier ones, butone go odst rain di ag ram alonganunusu al ly fl at (for theCDR)rai lway lineuse dastrange four-w he eled dies el
conver te df romw hatwas once des cr ib ed as a‘steamt rac tor’ –a ll theother freig htswere steam-hau le d. Theste am lo comotivest hat surv ived on theCDR into the1950s were of thre et yp es: twowereclass es of 2-6-4T,
AR ai lw ay Cl ea ri ng Ho us em ap of 1927 sh ow st he Co unty Do nega lR ai lw aysJ oi nt Co mm it te es ys te mi ng re en ,n ot es it s3ft ga ugea nd ow ne rs hi p by th eG NR (I) an dN CC ,a nd sh ow sits ex tr em it ie sa nd th en eigh bo ur ingconce rn s:
GN R( I) li ne th ro ug hB allysh an no nt hat ra nn or th -wes tf ro mD un da lk an dt hr ough En ni sk ille nt ot he we st coas tatB un do ra n; to th ee as ti st he sa me co mp any’sL on do nd er ry-S tr ab an eOm ag h- Po rt ad ow nlin e, an dw it ha nO magh -Finto na Ju nc tion -B un do ra nJ unct io nlin k; to th en or th -wes ti st he 3f tg auge L& LS R; an dn or th of St ra ba ne bu te as toft he GN R( I) to De rr yi st he as soci at ed NCC3ft ga ugelin kt oL on do nd er ry th at pa ss ed to th eU ls te rTra ns po rt Au th or it yi n 1948 ,s aw it sl as ts er vice so n De ce mb er 31,1954, an dw as of fc ia ll ya ba nd on ed on Se pt em be r2 3, 1955 RN Sm it hColle ct io n
thes eb eingint ro duce din1907 and1912; anda ls osur viving andindeed st il lact ive when Iv isited wasone of aclass of four 4-6-4Tst hatd ated from 1904. Notably, the CDRlocomot ives were theonlysup erhe ated narrow gaugeeng ines in Irel and.
Some
background
Histor ic allyspe ak ing, thef irst railwayt hat be came part of what we laterk ne wast he County Donega lR ai lwayswas a5ft 3in gaugerai lway from St rabane in County Ty rone to St ranorl ar in County Donega l; this wast he Finn Va lley Railway, andit op ened in 1863. Ninete en ye arsl ater,a 3f tgauge railwaywas op ened west wards from St ranorl ar over therat herforbidding (dep endingont he we at her) BarnesmoreGap throug ht he mountainss outh-westwards to Donega ltow n. Thestand ardgauge in Irel and is considered to be 5f t3in buttoavoid the ef fort of trans-shippinggoo ds between wagons of thes amerai lway comp anyand to enable throug hr unningofp assenger trains, thee arlier St rabane-Stranorlars ec tion was conver te dtonar rowgauge in 1894. Ot her se ct ions of linewereopene dint he next fe wyears,includingt wo branches outf rom Donega l, onewesttot he co astatKil ly begs andone sout htoB allyshannon.A ls o, along branch linestr uckwestf romStranorlarto Glenties, ne ar thecoast,and in 1909 thel ast addition wast he cross-border linenor thwest from St rabane to Letterkenny, where
Th is view of ra ilca rN o. 10 wa st aken on Augu st 1, 1956 ,a ft er it gave me an daf rien dar ough ri de al ongt he fo rm er Fi nn Va ll ey Ra il waylin et oS tr an or la r; a13¾ mi le tr ip.The se co nd ra ilca r No.10t og ra ce th es ys te m(th ef rs tw as de st roye dbyf re in Augu st 1939), it wa sb ui lt fo rt he Cl og he rValleyR ai lw ay,b ei ng newi n1932a sC VR No.1,a nd wa ss ol dt ot he CD RJ Ca ft er th e CV Rc lo se da s1941b ec am e1942. It is se en at St ra no rl ar wh il eawa it ingt ur ni ng fo rt he re tu rn tr ip to St ra ba ne .I nt he ba ck gr ou nd ,N as my th ,W il so n2 -6 -4TN o. 5 Dr um bo e is re ad yt ol eave St ra no rl ar with am or ni ng fr eightfor St ra ba ne
it terminated ne ar to theL ondonder ry & Loug hSwi llyR ai lway (L&LSR).
In 1906, theD onega lR ai lway Comp any wasdissolved andt he railwayput under the jointmanagementoft he GreatNor ther n Railway(Irel and) andt he Nort hern Counties Committee that wast he Ir ish outp ostoft he Midl andR ai lway.The Donega lrai lway’s lively manager, Henr y
Forb es, pursue dact ivelyt he potent ia l forrai lc ars; thes eweredriveniniti al ly by petrol engines, andl ater by dies el,and by theend of the1930s ausefu lrai lc ar fleet wasoperating theg re ater prop or tion of pass engert rains. Thisreached itsconclusion so on af tert he Se cond WorldWar,t he last ne wrai lc ars, Nos. 19 and20, beingdelivered in 1950 and1951.
Dating from 1907, Drumboe (originallyNo. 17 Glenties) stands readyatStranorlarwithafreight forNor thernIreland,destination Strabane,a fewmiles across theborder– theborderstation andits customspoint wasCastlefn, 7¾ miles distantand 3½ milesshort of Strabane.In addition to thestrongcentrecoupling, linking thelocomotivetothe frst wagonare twosafet y chains,correctly coupled, andthe vacuum brake pipe.The locomotive also carriest wo screw jacks, oneoneithersideofthe smokebox,asan aidfor speedy re -railing in case of accident
Te CDRwas also contractedtooperate theNCC’s 3f gaugelinefromStrabane to Londonderry,whichitdid with steam locomotivesuntil that railwaywas closed and then abandonedcompletelyin1954/55.Tat putanend to regularCDR steam-hauled passengertrains, exceptonthe Letterkenny branch
Al lC DR lin es we re cl os ed to al lt raffi c by Fe br uary 1960, butt hi sw as note nt irel y it sown fault. Th eG NR(I) lin ef rom Enni sk il len to Bu nd or an th at it al mo st conn ec te dw it hatB all ys hann on (t he sout he rn ext re mity of th eC DR )h ad cl os ed in 195 7, an di ndue cour se th eG NR(I) lin e th roug hStr ab an et hatl in ke dD er ry to both Be lfa st an dD un da lk cl os ed in 1965, so th e CDR’sf uturew as cl earl yn ot vi ab le –v er y sa d, th at !
Te County Donegal’slocomotives
Te railwayhad twobatches of 2-6-4Ts, all producedbyNasmyth,Wilson& Company Ltdand having 4f diameter coupledwheels. Class5sNos.4,5,6and 8weredelivered in 1907 and1908 andeventuallynamed Meenglas, Drumboe, Columbkille and Foyle; No.8was thefrsttobewithdrawn,in1955.
Te second three, named Alice, Blanche and Lydia afer 1928, were deliveredin 1912 as Class5a. Te Class5swereslightly lesspowerfulthanthe 5as, having 14in by 21in cylinders, boiler pressure of 175psi andtractiveefort of 12,755lbf.Te5aclass hadbiggerc ylinders, of 15½in diameter, butjust160psi pressure,givingatractive
Anot herviewinsidet he work shopsat St ra norlar on August 1, 1956 ,Cla ss 4- 6- 4T No.11 Er ne is suppor tedont wo st acks of sleepers af tert he remova lofits coupled wheels .N asmy th ,WilsonWorks No.699 of 1904 ,52yea rs latert hiswas thelastsur vivor of ther ailway ’s four 4- 6- 4Ts; Owenea and Mour ne were withdr awnin1952, albeit the latter hadbeencanniba lisedsince theearly 1940 s, andt hen Es ke wa scondemned in 1954 .Post- overhaul , Er ne wa stobeseenin uset he followingsummeront he St ra ba ne to Letterkennybra nch. Loco withdr awalsof theorigina lNos .4 -11(six4 -6 -0Ts andt wo 4- 4- 4Ts) in 1931-37led to anumerical tiding up of thelocofeetlistt hrough asecondstage of renumberingin1937. This resulted in the quar tetof4 -6 -4Ts ,Nos .12-15,becoming Nos. 9-12 ,t he retention of therunning order of work snumbers meaningt hat, confusingly, thenumber12was spor tedby Es ke andt hen adoptedbysisterengine Mour ne at thecha nge; unlike the2 -6 -4Ts ,t he original na meswere kept
Shunting at St ra ba ne is theconverted stea m tr actor, nowdiesellocomotiveNo. 11 Ph œn ix TheC DR purcha seditfromt he ClogherValley Railway(locateda bout 35 milestot he sout h) when that line wa sclosed, thecostbeing £125, butt he boiler,atlea st ,was notint he sa le This smalllocomotiveisnumberedint he CD R railca rseries, whichisa ppropriate in oneway in that ,a srebuilt ,ithad asta ndardGardner railca renginea nd gear box. Thet rack behind thelocomotiveispar toft he GreatNor thern Railway’ssection of thestation.
efortof14,295lbf. Tese were theheaviest locomotives, weighing50tons8cwt.
Te four 4-6-4TswereNos. 9to12and named Eske, Owenea, Erne and Mourne
Allwerebuilt in 1904, againbyNasmyth, Wilson,but with only No.11 Erne surviving into thelate1950s. Tese locomotiveshad 3f 9incoupled wheels,15in by 21in cylinders,
boiler pressure of 160psi andtractive efort of 14,280lbf.All of thesur viving CDRsteam locomotiveshad been renumbered andsome renamedin1928 and1937 –see TableOne;I don’tknowwhy this wasundertaken.
Arealoddity in thefeetwas theformer steamtractorwhichthe CDRpurchased when theClogherValleyRailway closed.Tis was reportedlyaninefectivelocomotive. Te County DonegalRailway rebuiltitusinga railcardieselengineand gearbox, numbered it as 11 in therailcar series, andappropriately namedit Phœnix,correctly spelledwiththe merged o and e (unlikethe BritishPullman car, whichisspelled Phoenix). Having thus ‘risen from theashes,’the CDR Phœnix hadaregular duty haulinga short morninggoods trainfrom Stranorlar to Strabane,where it shuntedatthe stationand then returned laterinthe day. Isaw most of theselocomotives in my visits in 1956 and1957. Te sole remaining
thesunny Friday,July19, 1957,41- seat CD Rr ailcar No.15a pproachesBallyshannonwit habra nchlineworking from Donega l, atot al dist ance of 15½miles .InBallyshannon, theC DR st ationwas ,r at herinconveniently, abouthalfamiletot he ot hersideoft he town from that of theG NR(I).C DR railca ruse datesbackto190 6, allpet rolint he days up to 1930,whenNo. 7was deliverednew,a nd even af tert hatpoint thereweret wo ot herpet rol vehicles addedtot he feet ,No. 9a nd thefrstNo. 10,but thesewereex- GreatNor thernbuses andhad just 20 seatseach.
4-6-4T,No. 11 Erne,was workingthe Letterkennybranchmixed traininsummer 1957 when Iglimpsed it acrossthe platform butbeyondthe customsdesk; theyearbefore that,ithad been in thelif shopinStranorlar Works. Te accompanying photographsand their captions tell thestory of that visit.
Te County DonegalRailwaytoday Te CDRdid notdie completely, even though it no longerofcially exists. Rescue of some of itsassets went aheadactivelyin theearly 1960s, andacoupleofattemptsatreopening short stretchesofnarrowgauge railwayhavesince been made.Temostobvious centrenow is the museum in Donegaltowncentre, advertised as theDonegal RailwayHeritageCentre. Tis contains enough material to enable visitors to understandwhatthe railwaywas allabout and to feel what it wasliketotravelonit. Aneatand visually accurate modelrailway illustrateswhat Donegalstation looked like in itslastoperating
On Saturday,July20, 1957,atDonegal,Class 52-6 -4TNo. 6 Columbkille (previouslyNo. 18 Killybegs from 1907 to 1937 )ispreparedfor its next freightworking,toStrabane. Allofthe CDR2-6 -4Ts boasteda coupledwheelbase of 10ft ,withthe Class5smeasuring 26ft 3inacross thetotal wheelbase,exactly 1f tshorter than the 5a class. Theselocomotives were paintedina pleasant shadeofcherr yred,lined outinblack andyellow, andnotethe runningnumbercarried on aplate just aheadofthe cabentrance.
15 sits on Ba
bleafter beingturnedtofacenor th forits next duty. Builtin1936byWalkerBrother sofWigan andt he DundalkWorks of theG NR(I), this wa st he fr st CD Rr ailcar with afull-frontedcab,a ll previous ones having been ha lf -cab vehicles .According to themuseum’swebsite ,t he body sectionoft hisr ailcar is nowexhibited outsidet he Donega l RailwayHerit ageCentreinDonegal.
Railca rNo.
llysha nnon turnta
Above: Abusyscene at Donegalstation on July 20,1957. On theright ,railcar No.20awaits departurefor Killybegs, 19 milestothe west , whilecar Nos. 18 and12double-head atrain to Strabane,bothtrainshavinga vanattheir tail. Thelat terdut ywillnodoubt gain extra vehicles at Stranorlar.Meanwhile,inthe background, No.6 Columbk ille is engagedinshuntingbox vans near theexittothe goodsyard. Unusually, all railcars andthe locomotive in this photograph stillexist today, No.20withIsleofMan Railways, Nos. 18 and12are both preser vedlocal to their former haunts,for awhile together in Derr y, and 2- 6- 4T No.6 is with No.12inthe FoyleValley RailwayMuseuminLondonderr y.
No.20has reachedt he westernext remity of theC DR at thefshingpor tofK illybegs and is assembling itst rain fort he returnt rip, this time allt he waytoStr abane, 50¾miles .At Donega l, railca rNo. 14 will be cutinbehind No.20toadd powerfor theclimb up to Ba rnesmore andext ra coachesa nd va ns will also be added; andatStr anorla r, anot hercoach andt wo va ns will be addedtomakeupaninevehicleformation –t wo railca rs ,t hree bogie ca rriagesa nd four va ns –for therun alongt he Finn Va lley to St ra ba ne .
At Ca st lefn on theFinnValleysection ,2 -6 -4T No.6 Columbkille enters thestation with a west bound freight. In theforeground ,r ailcar No.20leads what is nowanine-vehiclet rain boundfor St ra ba ne andwaits in themain platformfor thefreight tr aintopass. Thestop here included customsins pections to allow continuation from theRepublicofIrela nd to Nort hern Ireland, or vice -ver sa ,bot hfor pa ssengera nd freightoperations, theformer beingunder ta kenatt ablesset up on the platform.
Theexteriorofthe DonegalRailway Heritage Centre,onMay 7, 1997,the site marked by the semaphoresignalinthe foreground.Morerolling stockitems have sincebeenadded to apermanent , covereddisplayinthisoutside area ,while inside,the
In summer 1963,fouryears af terthe CDR closed,2-6 -4Ts Nos. 4 Meenglas and5 Drumboe wait in theyardatStrabanefor export to theUSA ,havingbeenpurchased by aDrCox forpreservationthere.However,the cost of transpor ting thelocomotives,rolling stockand trackprovedunsupportable andthe project wasabandoned.Thank fully, salvationcame in adif ferent form in duecourse, theset wo 1907-built locomotivessur viving to this day, one on either side of theIrish border.
years. Te body sectionofrailcar No.15is preservedoutside themuseum building, andso is Class52-6-4T No.5 Drumboe
Furthernorth,atFintown in County Donegal, aboutamileof3fgauge linewas relaid on thetrackbed of theold Glenties branch to enable newgenerations to experience somethingofthe Irishnarrowgauge.Te Fintown Railwayrunsonspecifc datesin thesummer. Itstrain is advertised to be CDR railcarNo. 18 plus aSimplex diesel locomotive Becausethe railcarisunidirectional,the small locomotive haulsthe railcarfromFintown stationtothe endofthe line, andthe railcar then haulsthe locomotive back to thestation
In Londonderry,the FoyleValley Railway exhibits twoCDR steamlocomotives,alsoof Class5– theseare Nos. 6 Columbkille and4 Meenglas. Columbkille is inside themuseum, andIlastsaw Meenglas sittingoutside and visiblefromthe nearby road.Probablythe boldestventure to replicatesomethingofthe CDRwas this museum’s laying of 3f gauge trackheading southalong theformerGNR(I) linetowards theborder.WhenIvisited in 1997, theguysthere were keen to explain that their aimwas to extend thelineacrossthe border alittleway into theRepublic, hoping to become the‘only internationalheritage railwayinthe world.’Tat this didn’t happen is apity, butlocal forces conspiredagainst it Indeed,for many yearsthe wholemuseum site remained closed whileits future wasdebated locally. Happily, themuseumwebsite is now able,oncemore, to advertisethe museum’s public opening hours. In referencetothe hoped-for internationalstatus, actually theline wouldnot be theonlyinternational heritage railwaybecause the750mm gaugerailway from MokraGorainSerbiahas aroute into BosniaHerzegovinathatterminates at Visegrad
Rather closer to home,nationally, the CDRisalsorepresented at theUlsterFolk &Transport Museum at Cultra, just outside Belfast;thisisaccessedfroma halt on the Belfast to Bangor line. In themuseum stands CDRClass 5a 2-6-4T No.2 Blanche, as well as acoupleofrailcars– No.1isthe pioneerpetrol vehicle dating from 1906, andNo. 10, which
In theWhitehead workshopsusedbythe RailwayPreservationSociety of Ireland(RPSI) on May21, 20 07,CDR No.5 Drumboe (Nasmyth, Wilson WorksNo. 829of1907) undergoesthe frst phaseofits restoration. With theworknow complete,the locomotive hasreturnedtosemicoveredaccommodation at theDonegal Railway Heritage Centre.
museum displays afascinating selectionof original itemsfromthe railways of County Donegal.
At Fintownstation on May8,2011, CDRrailcar No.18sitscoupled to thesmall Simplexdiesel locomotive with whichitworks.Because the railcarisnot able to be turned,itishauledto thefar endofthe railwaybythe locomotive,and then therailcar haulsthe locomotive back to the station. Fintownwas on theCDR’s Glenties line of 1895,16miles from Stranorlar andeight from theterminus. TheCount yDonegal RailwayJoint Commit teeended itspassenger serviceonthis routeasofDecember13, 1947,and then closed theline completely from March10, 1952 .
Anotherviewfromthe same day, butatthe west endofthe building;the bridge on theright was my previous vantagepoint .CDR railcars Nos. 18 and12leave themuseumfor aprivate runalong therailway towardsthe border.Theywerepar t of thecollectionboughtbyDrCox andintended to go to theUSA ,the NorthWestofIreland RailwaySociety beingestablished in 1970 to save that collection.Early successincludedthe use of Victoria Road station, Derr y, andthisbrace of railcars wasinactionfromthere in May1975, albeit over ashort demonstrationline. Sadly, thestation site therewas sold in December 1978,and whileShane’s Castle Railwaywas thenext home,opening of thepicturedsite re -established theFoyle Valley RailwayinDerry Regret tably, thetrack laid thereafter only saw afew yearsofuse,which endedin200 0. As we have alreadyseen, No.18isnow on theFintown RailwayinCount yDonegal,while railcarNo. 12 is an exhibitatthe pictured museum
wasfrstlyNo. 1ofthe ClogherValleyRailway, wasbuilt in 1931. When theCVR closed, railcarNo. 1was sold to theCDR in 1942 and became itsNo. 10 –assuch, it wasthe frst second-handdiesel railcarinthe BritishIsles!
In addition,railcarsNos. 19 and20were sold to theIsleofMan Railwayin1961 andwere seen by me in thesummer of 1963, working back-to-backona service betweenDouglas and Peel.Since they were fnally withdrawnonMan, they have been subjectedtoaveryslowprocess of restoration, whichisongoing.
In theUlsterFolk& Transpor tMuseum, Cultra , CDRNo. 2 Blanche –Nasmyth,WilsonWorks No.956 of 1912 –isrecordedondisplayin 2016.The only Class5atoreach preser vation, this locomotive initiallysaw serviceasNo. 2A Strabane butits post-1928numberand name are carriedinpreservation. DavidPostle
As railwayenthusiasts we understand howtoget thebestout of ajourney,and that same thoughtgoe sintoeachmagazineaswetravelaroundBritain throughthe page sofevery is sueof SteamDays.Stops canbetoindulge in photographic nostalgia, reminisc ewith enthusiast sorget arailwayman’spoint of view,learn of ever yday operationsorofthe rise andfallofalong- lost railway, andmostofall to seek outsomefascinating elements of theUK railwayscene when steamloc omotives were in ever yday operation. Thesemaphore signal is ‘off,’ so make sure younever miss ac opyand join us as asub scriber.
AN
DR EW KE NN EDY, EDIT OR
The Great Western Railway’sHall names
The near,the far,and the who knows where?
Jim Lindsay reveals how the inspiration forthe namesofthe Collett4900 and Hawksworth6959 class4-6-0s ,259 and71locomotivesembracedfar more than statelyhomes in GWR territor y–and included many oddities
Asa youngspotter,thisauthoronce encounteredNo. 5926 Grotrian Hall at Staford Road shedinWolverhampton.It seemed like apleasantname, invoking an imageof a little ivy-coveredcountry housesomewhere deep in theMarches,anameprobablylightly Anglicised from theWelsh.Manyyears later, it came as a surprise to fndout that it actuallybelongedtoa concerthall in London whichcarried thename of aGermanpiano manufacturing company. Tisawoke thememoryofhavingbeenbooked into SaintEdmundHallinOxfordsomeyears agofor an academic conference –certainly,not a gentleman’s seat in thecountryside, itsnamewas worn by Collett4900 classNo. 5960. Tisraisedthe question –where didthe GreatWestern Railway actuallyget thenames of itsHalls?
Te GWR hadagreat liking fornames that belongedwithin itsterritory.Accordingtothe paragraphonthe Hallsinthe 1946 editionofthe GWR’s ownbookfor enthusiasts, GWR Engines, or the‘Engine Book,’ ‘the namesare takenfromcountry houses in GreatWestern Railwayterritory,’ butthis
wasmanifestlynot true if an Oxford studenthall and aLondonconcert hall with aGermannamecould be included. It took only alittlefurther browsing to confrmthatagoodlynumberofHalls carried namesfromwelloutside anydefned GWR territory.
Tisis, of course,not arevelation, butIwas interested in thegeography.Where exactly didthe GWRget theHallnames from?And whydid it turn outthatso many,unliketheir contemporaries in otherGWR classes, were takenfromoutside the company’shomeland?
Te GWR andlocomotivenames
Earlyrailway engineswereusually builtasindividuals and carried names. Te need to manage growingand morestandardisedfeets meantthatastimewenton, locomotiveswereidentifed in amoreutilitarianway by numbers, butthe tradition of naming continued, particularly forthe express enginesthatwould catch the eyeofthe travelling public.
Namingcould be rather haphazard and sometimesrathercomical to modernears–Vulture, Pershore Plum and Flirt,for example –but
from thepioneer yearsthere wasalikingfor ‘themed’ names. Mythical,classical and historical fgures were favourites, alongwithcities andrivers, birds, beasts andfowers, sometimesgrouped but at othertimes mixed in aratherincongruous way. Some companies optedfor thenames of directors orplacesonthe company’ssystem, as in thecase of theLondon, Brighton &South CoastRailway with its Brighton, Whitechapel and Stoats Nest. Te NorthBritish Railwaytookthistoextremes by namingengines afer thebranchdestinationsit served,a policythatmeant occasionalrenamings if thelocomotives were allocatedelsewhere Te GWR namedits broadgauge engines, with a‘master name’ofenprovidinga themefor groups ofengines.For example,the Priamclass included agreat many characters from classical mythology, although therewerealsosets of ‘Star’ and‘Fire’ names, such as PolarStar and Fire King.From1855 onwards,numbering became thenormwiththe extensionofstandardgauge,but afer theend of broadgauge in 1892, standard gaugepassenger enginescarried namesaswellasnumbers.In
Newf ro mSwi nd on Wo rk si nJ un e1933, Co ll et t490 0c la ss 4- 6- 0N o. 5926 Gr ot rian Ha ll sp entm os tofits po st wa rlifeb as ed in th eWes tCou nt ry, wo rk ingf ro mS tB la zeya nd La ir as he ds ,b ut sawt ra ns fe rt oWol ve rh am pt on ,S ta ffor dR oa di nt he fo ur -wee kp er io dt oM ay 18 ,1957. St illo nt he bo ok sat8 4A , Gr ot rian Ha ll is se en at ho m eo nS at urd ay,J un e10, 1961;t he au th or ’s ow ns ig ht ingd es cr ib ed in th et ex tw as in Augu st .A mi dp il es of as ha nd clin ke ratt he pr ep ar at io na nd di sp os al pits ,N o. 5926 is alre ad ycoa le du pfor it sn ex td ut y, th es ce ne ju st twod aysb efor et he st ar toft he pe ak se as on time ta bl e–N o. 5926 wi ll do ub tl es ss te pi no ns um me r- date dp as se nger wo rk .I ts ne ig hb ou ri sColle tt 22 51 cl as s0 -6 -0 No.2201i nits la st days at St af fo rd Road ,at th ee nd of afou r- mo nt hs tay. DF or sy th /Col ourR ail .com /g15 803
Th ef rs tp ro du ct io nH all, No.4901 Ad de rl ey Ha ll ,a scom pl et ed late in 1928 ;o nce re pa inte d, it wa st ot ra ff ci nD ecem be r. In it ia ll ya ll oc at ed th enum be r490 0, th e de ci sion to re nu mb er co nver te dS ai nt / Ha ll pr ot ot yp eN o. 2925 St Ma rt in as 49 00 in st ea dm ea nt th at th enum be ri ng of th e new- bu il dH alls move do na st ep,w it h Ad de rl ey Ha ll be co mi ng No.4901, as se en . Th el ocoi si np hotogr ap hicg reyt os how li ve ry de ta il s, th eo ra nge- bl ac k- or ange li n ing on th eG WR gr ee nf ee tliver yu ns uite dt o th ep hotogr ap hice mu ls io ns of th ed ay.The pa inte d- ou tb ac kg ro und i s, likewi se ,s ta nd ar d pr ac tice fo ra noff ci al ‘f rs tofc la ss ’v iew. Note th at th ec ylin de rcover sa re notlin ed an dt hatG re at -c re st -Wes te rn ad or ns th e te nd er,of350 0- ga ll on ca pa city.A lt ho ug h st ar ti ng an al ph ab et ic al th em e, in time th eq ue st fo rH alln am es saw2 0m or e‘As ’ ch os en ,w it hN os .4981, 49 82 ,690 0a nd 6991 alla lp ha be tica ll ya he ad of Ad de rl ey Ha ll Kidd er mi ns te rR ailw ay Mu se um Co ll ec tion
particular classes, themajorityofnames echoed a theme–the Duke 4-4-0s of the1890s were intended for useinDevon andCornwall andmostoftheir nameshad south-western associations,although thereweresomethrowbackstoolder traditions,like Vulcan and Bulldog.
From theearly yearsofthe 20thcentury, it became thenormfor aset of namestohave a classifying element–‘City of ’or‘Court,’for example–witheachindividualenginehavinga unique identifer – CityofBristol, HighnamCourt andsoon. We cansee this frmingupinthe case ofthe 2900 class4-6-0s of 1902. Te frst group acquired amiscellanyofnames, most of which wereGWR directors or characters from Walter Scott’sbooks, butthese were followed by sequences of Ladies, Saints, andAbbeys. Te Ladies were rather haphazard, both in sequence andmoral standards, butthe Saints andAbbeyswerein risingalphabeticorder;confusingly, theScott and directorseries were renumbered to theend of the classin1912. Tisgeneralschemewas pursued, withthe more powerfulStars dividedintoseries ofsignifcantstars,knights, royalpersonagesand abbeys. Te Churchward County class4-4-0s (and thelater Hawksworth series of 4-6-0s) were unusualinthatthere were no deviations from a single theme. Tiswas thenamingtemplateused on theGWR systemthroughoutthe production of theCastle, King,Hall, Grange andManor 4-6-0s.
Collettapparentlyinsistedthathis Castles shouldcarry thenames of buildings in Great Westernterritory,and this wasalmostalwaysthe case, although CorfeCastle, next to aSouthern Railway(ex-L&SWR) branch line, didnot properly qualify; perhapsitwas simply toopicturesque to ignore. In addition,someCastles came to carry non-castlenames –apart from asmall group celebratingwarplanes,these names(earls, abbeys, andGWR luminaries) also hadconnections with GWRterritory,althoughtheywerenot tidily alphabetical
Namingthe Halls
It wasagainst this background that theHallswere builtand named. When theperformance of the modifedNo. 2925 SaintMartin as apowerfulmixedtrafc4-6-0 wasdeemedtomeetrequirementsafer severalyears of evaluation,Collettgot authorisation
foranorder for80engines of what wasatthe time called the‘SaintMartin’ class. It wouldseemfrom aSwindon WorksmemoofMarch 1928 that alist of nameswas in hand forthese new4-6-0s before construction started. Puttingtogetherlists of this kind wasa task forwhatwas then knownasthe Publicity Ofce.Telistwas duly completed by February 1930, in asequencerunningalphabeticallyfrom Adderley (4901) to Wrottesley (4980), andthisset the patternuntil thelastModifedHallwas completed in November 1950, in aseries of smaller lots that were also alphabetically ordered
When thefrstHalls were built, it maynot have beenanticipated that 330 nameswould have to be found, butthiswould hardly have seemed aserious problem. Even if thecompany wastoretainits convention of usingnames from itsown territory, it hadaccesstomanymorehalls than that.Indeed, asystematictrawl throughOrdnanceSurveymaps of thedecades just before theGrouping showsthat Shropshirealone couldoferatleast 329 names. Duplicationwould have eliminated afew of these, but even so,Shropshirecould have providednames forvirtually thewhole of thetwo classes, andin anycasethe GWR wasquite elasticabout mixing name typeswithin aclass,soa shortfall in hall namescould have been handledbyventuring into adiferent groupofnames,asinthe case of the Castles. However, in this case, SaintMartin would remain theonlyexception
Te mysteryhas always been that afer thefrst fewyears,withonlyaminorityoflocal hall names exploited,the GWR happilystarted to extendits namingterritory to stretchasfar northas Howick Hall (5902), in Northumberland,and as fareastas RaveninghamHall (6960), in Norfolk. In fact, during thebuildingofthe Halls, more nameswerechosen from YorkshirethanfromSomerset, Devonand Cornwall combined.Terewerealsoexcursions into therange of universityhalls, administrative buildings andpublic entertainmenthalls. During the period when Hallswerebeingnamed,Castles (aside from theaircrafnames), Grangesand Manors were beingnamed accordingtoGWR territorialcustom – whywerethe Hallsdiferent? Afer all,morethan two-thirds had been builtoratleast allocatednames by thetimethatCharles Collettretired in July 1941, so despitehis knownconcernoverCastlenames,
he wasclearly notexercisingany veto over theHall namesthatwerechosen
Matchingbuildings to locomotive names
Before anythingelse, it is helpful to consider what ahallactuallywas.Teworditselfwas frst and foremost oneofseveralterms used to denotea countryhouse.Overthe years, theGWR used severalothers–Court,Grange, Abbeyand Manor–inits namingseries.Alsopopular with landowners,ifnot theGWR,wereHouse,Place and(if theestatemerited it)Park. Te GWR’sother favourite, Castle,usually meanta genuinecastle with amilitarypast, butthe titlewas sometimes attached to civilian greathouses, particularly if they were ornamented with battlementsand turrets. Hallswerewidespreadinmostparts of England butratherthinonthe ground in theCelticwest. Generallyspeaking, theproportionofHalls among country residences washigherinthe northand east andlowestinthe farsouth-west. In Wales, theword ‘plas’ tendstorefer to amansion houseorstately home,but it canalsobethe equivalent of ‘place,’ such nuance perhapsleadingtothe anglicised nameplatesfor No.4955 gainingthe addition of the word Hall,as PlaspowerHall.Terewereregional fashions too–Halls were abundant in most parts of Shropshire,but Courtwas much more common in thesouth of thecounty, andinHerefordshire andDevon,the kind of prosperous largefarms that elsewhere became HallstendedtobeBartons.Aside from thehomes of theprosperousand aspiring, therewere, of course,jocularly-named hallsaswell. NameslikeBog Hall or BleakHalldressed small houses with acheerfulpretenceofgrandeur,and the choice of Marble Hall to labelarow of little cottages on theoutskirts of MilfordHaven wascertainly ironic. No.5907 Marble Hall wasprobably named–incorrectly!– afer Marple Hall in Marple,Cheshire (now in GreaterManchester), afne housereputed to have been hauntedbyCharles I. It is unlikely that thelocomotivehad takenits name from arow of cottages, or forthatmatter, theMarbleHallthat wasawell-known butentirelyinternalfeature of HolkhamHall in Norfolk.
As notedearlier, thepattern seemstohavebeen that when thebuildingofmorenew locomotives wasanticipated, thepublicity team wasordered
l ab it cl um sy –iti sa co mb in at io noft he me rged two-wo rd na me an d, pr es um ab ly,t he wi sh to have ‘H all’ as as ep ar at ewor d. On Augu st 6, 1957,N o. 4955 Pla sp ower Ha ll ha sr eac he dB ri st ol (Tem pl eM ea ds)att he he ad of th e6 .55p mWes to n- su pe r- Ma re to Lo nd on (Pad di ng to n) se rv ice, th el ea di ng ve hicl e, aS ou th er n ut ilit yv an .N o. 4955 wa sn ew to tr af fc in Augu st 1929,its se rv iceyea rs incl ud ingt he lo ss of it sn am es ake, Pl as Powe rb ei ng de mo li sh ed in th el at e 1940 s. RJL eo nard /K id de rm in st er Rail wayM useu m
to provide theappropriate number of namesand, with only acoupleofchanges, thesenames were ultimatelycarried.Terewereevidentlycomplaints aboutthe misspellingofNo. 4985 AllersleyHall, and thenameplateswerecorrected to Allesley Hall soon afer it startedservice.Inafew casesnew nameplates were cast so that ‘St’ became ‘Saint’or apostropheswereadded, butotherwise thenames ofthe Hallswereremarkably stable andmostof therarechangesweremade before engineswent into service. Adderley Hall wasinitiallygoing to be No.4900but became No.4901 before completion, to accommodatethe renumbered SaintMartin For some reason,No. 5900 wasassigned Hinderton Hall, andthe planned Haddon Hall wasassignedto
Mo di fe dH allp ro du ct io ne xt en de di nt o th eB Re ra ,w it hN o. 79 00 Sa in tPet er ’s Ha ll so me th ingofaq ue ue -j um pe r. Th en am ew as in se rt ed in 1949 ou tofs eq ue nceb et we en Ca pe lD ew iH al l an d Do dd in gt on Ha ll,i np la ce of Co neyH al l. It se em st oh ave be en br ought fo rw ar dt ocel eb rate th eO xfor dH all’s 20 th an ni ve rs ar y–S tPet er ’s Co ll egew as fo un de dbyB is ho pFra nc is Ja me sC hava ss e an dh is so n, Ch ri st oph er Ma ud eC hava ss e, with th ea im of pr ov id ingal ow -cos tO xfor d ed uc at io nfor th el es swelloff ;t he re we re ju st 40 st ud ents at th eo ut se t, bu t120 in 1947.I n du ecou rs e, Co neyH al l na me plate seve nt ua ll y ap pe ar ed in 1950 on No.792 0. JTar ra nt / Kidd er mi ns te rR ailw ay Mu se um
No.5928. In asimilarway, ConeyHall wasdeferred from No.7900 to 7920 andreplacedat7900 by SaintPeter’s Hall.Saint Peter’sHallhad been given NewFoundationstatuswithin theuniversityin 1929 andthere mayhavebeenlobbyingtohaveits name includedduringits 20thanniversaryyear. In addition,there seemstohavebeena little more pre-productionname-changingin1939/40, withNos. 5994-96 beingbuilt carrying out-ofsequence names. Te only Hall name entirely jettisonedwas evidentlySalesburyHall, replaced by EdstoneHall at 7921 on thefnallist. Salesbury
Hall wasinLancashire, near Preston, andEdstone Hall,inWarwickshire, wasa newbuildingofthe late 1930s in apasticheTudor styleonthe site of an earlier namesake.
Findingthe hallsonthe map
Matchingthe givennames of Hallstobuildings identifedintext andmapsisfairlystraightforward andinmostcases we canbesatisfedthatthe name canbetreated as unique.Aferall,how many Beachamwell(6934), Burton Agnes(6998) or Grundisburgh (6977) Hallswerethere likely to be?
Re pr es enti ng No.6968 Wo od co ck Ha ll is th is su rp ri si ng su rv ivor –t he re we re fo ur Wo od cock Ha ll si nn or th er nE ng la nd an dM rs Wi ls on at th eh alli nD ol ph in ho lm e, La nc as hire ,got th is po st ca rd fr om wh at wa st he np ea ce fu li nt er wa rG er ma ny.H owever,byt he time No.6968w as de li ve re di nt os er vice ,i nS ep te mb er 1944 ,t he wa ri nE ur op ew as ap pr oa ch ingits en d, alth ough it wo ul db ea lm os tayea rb efor eitw as fn ally over. Au th or ’s Co llec tion
th er eh aveb ee natl ea st ni ne di ffer entA st on Ha ll si nr ecenth is to ry,b ut th em os tlikel yc an di date to
in Birm ingh am ,a dj acentt oV illa Pa rk fo ot ba ll gr ou nd . WPot ter/K id de rm in st er Rail wayM useu m
However, it is notalwayseasy. Te full titlewas not always used when people referred to thebuildings Local people might simply referto‘thehall’ but forothersusedtoa wider geographical range, it mightbethe sufx that wasdropped.For example, GatacreHall (4928), near Bridgnorth, tended to appear on themap simply as Gatacre, anditis likely that theownersofneighbouring country
houses wouldcallitGatacre in conversation or correspondence withouttroublingtoadd theHall. Toadd afurthercomplication, some country houses changedtheir sufx in linewithchanges in fashionorthe whim of thenew heir –the Hall sufx mightbe gained or lost. Fortunately, agreat many hallsobstinately kept their namesthrough a series of replacements or rebuildings. Forexample,
theGrosvenor family retained thenameEaton Hall (4921) fortheir houseinCheshirethrough three substantialremodellings.
Anotherproblem is that theuse of common place name elements meansthatthere canberather alot of hallswiththe same name –Shropshirealone has hadatleast six AstonHalls (in Oswestry Rural, Church Aston, Shifnal, Claverley, AstonMunslow,
NewinM ay 1929 as oneoft he fr st 80 production Ha lls, lot254 ,t he resplendentcondition of No.4926 Fair leighHall suggests recent outshopping from SwindonWorks in this mid-1930 sscene of it work ingt he 1.45pm Swindon- Bristolstoppingt rain at St apletonRoadint he Bristolsubur bs ,‘ Junction for Clif tona nd Avonmout h.’The exactdateisnot known, butt he st ylishGWR shir tbut tonmonogra mont he tender wa snew in 1934 andcontinued to be appliedintot he ea rlyyea rs of thewar.W hile itsins piration maybeentirelyfctiona l, onewonders if,onoccasion, theAugustine DavidCra ke book of 18 82 –Fairleigh Ha ll:a ta le of Ox fordshireduringt he GreatRebellion –actua llymadet hislocomotivemoreeye -catchingfor some pa ssengers ,r at her than just anot herfar-funghallt hatmight only be knownlocally. RH Whit wort hCollection/KidderminsterR ailw ay Museum
