Tag: Great Western Railway

From the Archives – DUMBLETON HALL

I recently read that Great Western Railway (GWR) 4900 ‘Hall’ class 4-6-0 4920 DUMBLETON HALL had been bought by Warner Brothers and exported to Japan for display in the Harry Potter exhibit at Warner Bros Studios Tour in Tokyo.

GWR 4900 class 4-6-0 4920 DUMBLETON HALL-20130807GWR 4900 class 4-6-0 4920 DUMBLETON HALL
South Devon Railway, 7 August 2013

Built at the Great Western Railway’s Swindon Works in 1929, 4920 was withdrawn from Bristol Barrow Road shed by British Railways in December 1965 and sent for scrap. Preservation beckoned in June 1976 and 4920 became the 82nd departure from Barry scrapyard, finally returning to steam in 1992 on the Paignton & Dartmouth Steam Railway (now known as the Dartmouth Steam Railway).

The locomotive’s owners subsequently purchased the Dart Valley Railway (now known as the South Devon Railway) and 4920 was loaned to various heritage lines before returning to the Dartmouth Steam Railway where it was last steamed in October 1999 before moving to Buckfastleigh on the SDR for storage.

Above is the only pic I have (and now likely will ever have) of 4920, taken during a flying visit to the SDR in August 2013.

On This Day… Night Riviera

57604-2014080657604 PENDENNIS CASTLE
Exeter St David’s station, 6 August 2014

Six years ago today I was staying in Exeter and decided to have a bash at photographing the First Great Western ‘Night Riviera’ sleeper service as it paused at St David’s station at around 1am.

57604 ‘PENDENNIS CASTLE’ (looking splendid in Great Western Railway livery) had departed from Penzance bang on time at 21.45 and would eventually arrive at London Paddington at 05.01 with its seven coach train.

57604 is one of four class 57/6 locos converted from class 47s (47209 in this case) in 2004 for use on the sleeper service between London, Devon and Cornwall and still carries the special livery that was applied in 2010 to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the Great Western Railway (GWR) being incorporated.