GWR Large Prairie 4150

GWRGreat Western Railway Large PrairieLocomotive with a 2-6-2 wheel configuration 4150
4150 in course of restoration at Bewdley (Jul 2012)
Built By	GWRGreat Western Railway Swindon Works
Configuration	2-6-2T
Power class	4MTThe British Railways system of classifying steam locomotives by power using a number from 0, least powerful, to 9, most powerful, followed by either F for freight, P for Passenger or MT for Mixed Traffic.
Status	Under restoration
Loco Number	4150
History
Built	1947
Designed By	Charles CollettCharles Benjamin Collett, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1922-1941
Type	GWRGreat Western Railway 5101
1974	Purchased by The 4150 Fund
1978	Arrived on SVRSevern Valley Railway
Technical
Length	41ft
Weight	78t 15cwt
Tractive effort	24,300 lb
Pressure	200 lb/sq in
Steam Locomotives

4150 is a GWRGreat Western Railway 5101 class 2-6-2T locomotive, commonly referred to as a 'Large PrairieLocomotive with a 2-6-2 wheel configuration'. Large prairie tanks were a common sight on the GWRGreat Western Railway, with more than 300 built between 1903 and 1949 to the same basic design. The locomotives were designed to haul semi-fast and suburban passenger services to tight schedules, and were also used on medium distance freight services. A number of the class were allocated to Kidderminster and Shrewsbury sheds and were regularly used on the Severn Valley Railway in its declining years. Classmate 4175 was involved in the fatal accident at Northwood Lane level crossing in August 1964.

The 5101 Class was an updated version by CB CollettCharles Benjamin Collett, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1922-1941 of ChurchwardGeorge Jackson Churchward, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1902-1922's 1903 3100/5100 Class. Fellow class member GWR Large Prairie 5164 is an early 1930 example, while 4150 is a later post-War example. The 41xx number arose from the GWRGreat Western Railway practice, where more than 100 locomotives of one class were built, of maintaining the second number in the series and re-using older sequences of numbers where necessary. The prevalence of the Large PrairieLocomotive with a 2-6-2 wheel configuration also resulted in examples numbered 61xx, 31xx and 81xx.

4150 in service

4150 was built at Swindon and entered service in June 1947. The first allocation was to nearby Stourbridge Junction shed (84F) where the locomotive would have worked local services towards Birmingham.

In November 1948 it was involved in an accident at Lapworth station. While running round its train bunker first, it was struck by another train which had overrun a signal at danger in thick fog. 4150 returned to traffic 45 days later, after repair at Swindon. The front buffer plank of 4150 is stamped "9006" and, as DukedogA GWR 9000 Class 4-4-0 engine, rebuilt using earlier 3300 Class 'Bulldog' frame and 3252 Class 'Duke' boiler. 9006 was withdrawn for scrap shortly before this incident, it seems likely that parts of the older locomotive were used in the repair of 4150.

1953 to 1962 was spent in the West Country, mainly at Newton Abbot. The final allocation was to Severn Tunnel Junction where 4150, by then in run down condition, was used to bank heavy trains through the tunnel. The locomotive was withdrawn from service by BRBritish Rail or British Railways in June 1965 after 18 years in service and sent to Barry Scrapyard.

Gallery

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  4150 in Swindon works in 1962

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  Newton Abbot shed, June 1958

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  Exeter St Davids, June 1960

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  Date & location unknown

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  Newton Abbott, 1961. Photo: Geoff Rixon

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  4150 at Severn Tunnel Junction shed in March 1965

4150 in preservation

4150 was purchased at a cost of £2,750 from BarryWoodham Brothers Scrapyard, Barry, South Wales. The source of many locomotives now in preservation. in 1973 by The 4150 Fund. No 4150 left BarryWoodham Brothers Scrapyard, Barry, South Wales. The source of many locomotives now in preservation. in 1974 in company with No.7812 Erlestoke Manor, and was towed by a Class 25 diesel to Parkend on the DeanWilliam Dean, Chief Locomotive Engineer of the Great Western Railway 1877-1902 Forest Railway.

Restoration at Parkend proved impossible, and in 1977 the Fund’s shareholders voted to move 4150 to the SVRSevern Valley Railway, with the locomotive arriving at Bewdley on 19 January 1978. Restoration commenced following arrival in Bewdley Yard, but by the mid-80s fund raising and restoration progress had slowed considerably. In 2007 the Fund formed a new committee, and with renewed enthusiasm began a concerted effort to complete the restoration which had by then been in progress for more than 30 years. By 2014 a new bunker had been completed except for riveting and welding, and construction of new tanks was in progress.

By November 2016 the Fund received confirmation that 4150 had a slot in the Bridgnorth Boiler Shop in the last quarter of 2017. The following month riveting of the side tanks and bunker was complete, leaving the baffles and other hidden parts to be welded in place after the major assemblies had been lifted on to the frames, to minimise the risk of distortion. It was then intended that the locomotive would be moved to Bridgnorth Loco Works for continuation of the overhaul in early 2017. In late March 2017, however, the locomotive left the 'tent' so that the boiler could be lifted onto wagon 40554 for preparation work to begin. At the same time the newly fabricated tanks and bunker, plus the cab roof, were lifted onto the frames. 4150 was then moved back into the tent for work to continue. The entire operation took three days and entailed a major re-arrangement of the rolling stock in Bewdley yard.

The Fund intended the boiler due to go to Bridgnorth in November 2017 for overhaul. It is now expected that boilershop staff will in 2018 provide assistance to the owning group to accelerate the boiler overhaul at Bewdley.

Gallery

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  The bunker under construction (Nov 2015)

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  Riveting of the bunker (Nov 2015)

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  Boiler removed, bunker, tanks and cab roof test fitted (Apr 2017)

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  The boiler after removal (Apr 2017)

See also

• Steam Locomotives
• Rolling stock currently under restoration

References

SVRSevern Valley Railway News
Severn Valley Railway Stock Book, seventh edition.
4150 Fund web site

Links

• 4150 Fund web site Retrieved 26 February 2015
• GWR 5101 Class on Wikipedia