GWR 4900 Class 4979 Wootton Hall

Last updated

GWR 4900 Class 4979 Wootton Hall
Reading at Kennet Bridge Box geograph-2909247-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg
4979 Wootton Hall hauling a set of empty wagons down the ex-GW main line, approaching Reading at Kennet Bridge Box.
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Designer Charles Collett
Builder GWR Swindon Works
Build dateFebruary 1930
Specifications
Configuration:
   Whyte 4-6-0
Loco weight75 tons (68 t)
Career
Operators Great Western Railway, British Railways
Class GWR 4900 (Hall)
Numbers4979
Official nameWootton Hall
First runFebruary 1930
Last runDecember 1963
WithdrawnDecember 1963
Current ownerFurness Railway Trust
DispositionUndergoing restoration from scrapyard condition

GWR 4900 Class 4-6-0 No. 4979 Wootton Hall is a steam locomotive. It was built at Swindon, February 1930, and was one of 258 Hall class steam locomotives constructed.

Contents

Its first shed allocation was Plymouth Laira and after 32 years of service it ended up at Oxford. During this time it was allocated to sheds in Penzance, Tyseley, Severn Tunnel Junction, Cardiff Canton, and ended its days in the London Division of the Western Region of British Railways, based at Southall, Reading, Didcot and finally Oxford in July 1958. It was used for a variety of duties including fast passenger service and freight. [1]

It was withdrawn from service in December 1963 and acquired by Woodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry, South Wales, in June 1964. [2]

Allocations & History

The locations of 4979 on particular dates. (UNFINISHED)

February 1930 (First Shed) Plymouth Laira, LA then 83D
 ? Oxford, OXY[ dubious discuss ] then 81F
 ? Penzance, PZ then 83G
 ? Tyseley, TYS then 84E
 ? Severn Tunnel Junction, 86E
 ? Cardiff Canton, CTN then 86C
21 March 1953 Southall, 81C
8 October 1955 Didcot, 81E
5 October 1957 Reading, 81D
12 June 1958Oxford, 81F
31 December 1963Withdrawn
June 1964Acquired by Barry Scrapyard
October 1986Purchased for preservation

Preservation

Wootton Hall standing inside the FRT shed awaiting restoration. GWR 4979 Wootton Hall awaiting restoration.JPG
Wootton Hall standing inside the FRT shed awaiting restoration.

4979 is one of several Halls salvaged from Woodhams' Scrapyard. It was sold to Fleetwood Locomotive Centre in Lancashire, and left as the 179th departure from Barry in October 1986. [2]

In 1994 it was purchased by the Furness Railway Trust and moved to storage at the Lytham Motive Power Museum. In March 2007 it was again moved to a new storage site at Appleby where, during its time at the Heritage Centre there, preventative maintenance was carried out [1] to prevent further decay on the locomotive but the years of being by the sea air at Barry and Fleetwood had taken a toll.

With the completion of the FRT's new accommodation in Preston in October 2014, Wootton Hall was moved from Appleby to the Trust's workshop at Preston, where restoration began. The tender tank was removed and scrapped. An original Collett 3400-gallon tender tank was located, purchased, restored and has been fitted to the tender frames using as many of the reusable parts as possible from the original tank. Much progress has also been made and many parts have been trial fitted to the locomotive. A coupling rod has recently been purchased and delivered to Preston. The next major step is a boiler survey and lift to allow the restoration of the boiler to be undertaken.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodham Brothers</span> Welsh scrapping company

Woodham Brothers Ltd is a trading business, based mainly around activities and premises located within Barry Docks, in Barry, South Wales. It is noted globally for its 1960s activity as a scrapyard, where 297 withdrawn British Railways steam locomotives were sent, from which 213 were rescued for the developing railway preservation movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BR Standard Class 2 2-6-0</span>

The BR Standard Class 2 2-6-0 is a class of steam locomotive, one of the British Railways Standard classes of the 1950s. They were physically the smallest of the Standard classes; 65 were built.

GWR 4073 Class 5051 <i>Earl Bathurst</i>

5051 Drysllwyn Castle is a Great Western Railway (GWR) Castle Class locomotive built at Swindon Works in May 1936 and named after Dryslwyn Castle. It is owned by the Didcot Railway Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Tourist Railway</span>

The Barry Tourist Railway is a railway developed to attract visitors to Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. It is a key element of the Barry Rail Centre which also includes engineering and training facilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GWR 1000 Class</span>

The Great Western Railway 1000 Class or County Class was a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotive. Thirty examples were built between 1945 and 1947, but all were withdrawn and scrapped in the early 1960s. A replica locomotive is under construction.

GWR 4900 Class 5967 <i>Bickmarsh Hall</i>

The GWR 4900 Class locomotive No. 5967 Bickmarsh Hall was built at Swindon railway works, and was completed in March 1937. First allocated to Chester, in August 1950 it was allocated to Banbury, and then in March 1959 to Newton Abbot. Fitted with a boiler from a Modified Hall with 3 row superheater during its last overhaul at Swindon in 1961, it was then given its last allocation to Westbury.

GWR 4900 Class 5952 <i>Cogan Hall</i>

GWR Hall Class5952 Cogan Hall was built at Swindon in December 1935. As a mixed traffic engine, it handled both passenger duties and freight duties. Its first shed allocation was the Penzance depot in Cornwall. In August 1950 it moved to Old Oak Common. During this time it was fitted with a three row superheater. In March 1959 it moved again to the Worcester depot. Its last shed allocation was to Cardiff East Dock before it was withdrawn from duties in June 1964.

GWR 4900 Class 4920 <i>Dumbleton Hall</i>

4920 Dumbleton Hall is a GWR 4900 Class 4-6-0 steam locomotive, built by the Great Western Railway's Swindon Works in March 1929. Named after Dumbleton Hall, its first shed allocation was at Old Oak Common. In August 1950, the next shed allocation was Reading, and in March 1959 it was allocated to Newton Abbot. The locomotive's last shed allocation was Bristol Barrow Road. It was withdrawn from British Railways service in December 1965 and sold to Woodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry, Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Plains Vintage Railway & Historical Museum</span>

The Plains Vintage Railway & Historical Museum is a heritage railway and recreated historic village in the Tinwald Domain, Tinwald, New Zealand. The railway runs on approximately three kilometres of rural railway line that was once part of the Mount Somers Branch. The village and railway are open regularly to the public. The railway utilises preserved and restored locomotives and rolling stock once used on New Zealand's national railway network, while the village shows visitors how life was lived in New Zealand's pioneering past.

GWR 4073 Class 5080 <i>Defiant</i> Preserved British 4-6-0 locomotive

GWR 4073 Class 5080 Defiant is a GWR 4073 Class steam locomotive built for the Great Western Railway at Swindon Works in May 1939. It was originally named Ogmore Castle.

GWR 4073 Class 7027 <i>Thornbury Castle</i> Preserved British 4-6-0 locomotive

7027 Thornbury Castle is a steam locomotive of the GWR 'Castle' Class, built in August 1949. Its first shed allocation was Plymouth Laira. Its March 1959 shed allocation was Old Oak Common. Its last shed allocation was Reading. It was withdrawn in December 1963 and arrived at Woodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry, South Wales in May 1964. Stored at various locations for 50+ years, the locomotive has now been broken up with the boiler to be used for a 47XX freight locomotive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SR Merchant Navy Class 35027 Port Line</span>

35027 Port Line was one of a batch of ten SR Merchant Navy class steam locomotives built by the Southern Region of British Railways between 1948 and 1949.

GWR 4900 Class 4965 <i>Rood Ashton Hall</i>

The Great Western Railway steam locomotive no. 4965 Rood Ashton Hall is a 4-6-0 Hall class locomotive. It is preserved at Tyseley Locomotive Works. The engine operates in its Great Western Railway green livery, and performs regularly on the Shakespeare Express, operated by Vintage Trains, between Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon, as well as various excursions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BR Standard Class 5 73129</span>

British Railways Standard Class 5 No. 73129 is a preserved British steam locomotive. It is the only surviving Standard Class 5 built by British Railways which was fitted with Caprotti valve gear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SR Merchant Navy Class 35009 Shaw Savill</span> Preserved British locomotive

SR Merchant Navy Class No. 35009 Shaw Savill is a 're-built' SR Merchant Navy class 'Pacific' (4-6-2) steam locomotive, named after the Shaw Savill Line, a British merchant shipping company. The locomotive was built at Eastleigh Works in June 1942 in its original air-smoothed form, and given the number 21C9. One of a batch of eight Merchant Navy class locomotives whose air-smoothed casing was made of asbestos board, 21C9 was from the start in wartime black livery. It was allocated to Salisbury shed.

GWR 6800 Class 6880 <i>Betton Grange</i> New-build British 4-6-0 locomotive

GWR 6800 Class No. 6880 Betton Grangeis a steam locomotive built between 1998 and 2024 as a "new-build" project, originally based on the Llangollen Railway in Denbighshire, Wales, then subsequently at Tyseley Locomotive Works. Described as "building the 81st Grange", the project started in 1998, and the locomotive was earlier expected to be operational by 2013, but subsequently by Autumn 2021, which was then pushed back to 2024. It was expected to be launched under steam in a private member event in January 2024 but was postponed a week before the event. On 11 April 2024, 6880 was steamed up for the first time after more than 25 years of work. All of the original GWR 6800 Class Grange locomotives were withdrawn for scrap by the end of 1965; this project is a creation, from an assemblage of original GWR and newly manufactured components, of a member of this class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BR Standard Class 5 73156</span>

British Railways Standard Class 5 No. 73156 is a preserved British steam locomotive. Its restoration at Loughborough on the Great Central Railway was completed in 2017, and it made its formal debut on 5 October 2017 in the guise of 73084 Tintagel. 73156 is the sole surviving BR Standard locomotive built at Doncaster Works. It had been allocated to two GCR sheds

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BR Standard Class 4 2-6-0 76084</span>

BR Standard Class 4 2-6-0 76084 is a BR Standard Class 4 2-6-0 locomotive built at Horwich in March 1957. Owned by The 76084 Locomotive Company Limited it is one of only four surviving members of its class in preservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SR Merchant Navy Class 35018 British India Line</span>

21C18 British India Line is a preserved SR Merchant Navy class steam locomotive built by the Southern Railway in 1945.

References

  1. 1 2 "Great Western Railway 4-6-0 4979 "Wootton Hall"". Furness Railway Trust. Archived from the original on 2 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
  2. 1 2 "'Hall' class details, 4950 - 4999". The Great Western Archive. Retrieved 2 May 2008.