GWR Large Prairie 4150

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4150 in course of restoration at Bewdley

4150 in service

‘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 Large Prairies were allocated to Kidderminster and Shrewsbury sheds and were regularly used on the Severn Valley Railway in it declining years.

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GWR 9000 Class 4-4-0 engine, rebuilt using earlier 3300 Class 'Bulldog' frame and 3252 Class 'Duke' boiler. 9006 was withdrawn for scrap shortly before this incident, it seems likely that parts of the older locomotive were used in the repair of 4150.[1]

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 The locomotive was withdrawn from service by BRBritish Rail or British Railways in June 1965 after 18 years in service and sent to Barry Scrapyard.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

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.

Gallery

See also

Steam Locomotives

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
  1. The 4150 Fund Newsletter, 2016