4930 ''Hagley Hall'' is a

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

4-6-0 A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the abse ...

Hall class locomotive, built in May 1929 at

Swindon Works Swindon railway works was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1843 in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It served as the principal west England maintenance centre until closed in 1986. History In 1835 Parliament approved the construction of the ...

to a design by

Charles Collett Charles Benjamin Collett (10 September 1871 – 5 April 1952) was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Great Western Railway from 1922 to 1941. He designed (amongst others) the GWR's Castle and King Class express passenger locomotives. Education ...

. It is one of eleven of this class that made it into preservation. The locomotive is named after

Hagley Hall Hagley Hall is a Grade I listed 18th-century house in Hagley, Worcestershire, the home of the Lyttelton family. It was the creation of George, 1st Lord Lyttelton (1709–1773), secretary to Frederick, Prince of Wales, poet and man of letters an ...

in Worcestershire.

Operation

Its first shed allocation was

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

Stafford Road. After moving around the midland and southern sections of the western region it was withdrawn in December 1963, having covered the impressive total of 1,295,236 miles, eventually being sold for scrap to

Woodham Brothers Woodham Brothers Ltd is a trading business, based mainly around activities and premises located within Barry Docks, in Barry, Wales, Barry, South Wales. It is noted globally for its 1960s activity as a scrapyard (hence its colloquial name of Bar ...

scrapyard A wrecking yard (Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian English), scrapyard (Irish, British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and ...

Barry, Vale of Glamorgan Barry ( cy, Y Barri; ) is a town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, on the north coast of the Bristol Channel approximately south-southwest of Cardiff. Barry is a seaside resort, with attractions including several beaches and the resurrected Bar ...

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

, arriving in June 1964.

Preservation

Sold to the

Severn Valley Railway The Severn Valley Railway is a heritage railway in Shropshire and Worcestershire, England. The heritage line runs along the Severn Valley from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster, following the course of the River Severn for much of its route, and c ...

in June 1972, it became the 29th departure from Barry arriving at

Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the 2011 Census was 12,079. History B ...

in January 1973. It was eventually restored to working condition in 1979, and ran back on the mainline reaching as far south as

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

and north to

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

. 4930 hauled the official re-opening train into Kidderminster Town station in 1984. 4930 was also one of the regular locomotives used on the mainline in 1985 during the 150th anniversary of the Great Western Railway alongside 3440 ''City of Truro'', 5051 ''Drysllwyn Castle'', 6000 ''King George V'', 7029 ''Clun Castle'', 7819 ''Hinton Manor'', 75069 & 92220 ''Evening Star''. During one occasion on 7 April 1985 it travelled overnight from the Severn Valley Railway to Plymouth where it replaced 6000 King George V after it was failed in

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

with a hotbox while working a railtour from Bristol to Plymouth while double heading with fellow SVR resident 7819 Hinton Manor (7819 while working the same trip was later failed in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

with a hotbox). The day later 8 April 4930 would then double head a trip back from Plymouth with a repaired 7819. 4930 Was a regular mainline performer from 1979 to 1986 when the engine was withdrawn from service & worked a total of 21 railtours either solo or double heading with other engines including fellow SVR residents 5000, 6960 Raveningham Hall, 7812 Erlestoke Manor & 7819 Hinton Manor. After its withdrawal in 1986 pending overhaul, it was loaned in 1999 to the Macarthur Glen shopping centre in

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

as a static exhibit. In June 2007 it was returned to the

intending to take its place in the new '

Engine House __NOTOC__ An engine house is a building or other structure that holds one or more engines. It is often practical to bring engines together for common maintenance, as when train locomotives are brought together. Types of engine houses include: * m ...

' outside

Highley railway station Highley railway station is a station on the Severn Valley Railway heritage line in Shropshire, near the west bank of the River Severn and just under a mile south-east of the village of Highley. Highley is the only staffed single-platform statio ...

. After a delay due to the floods that hit the railway in June 2007, the Engine House opened in March 2008 when Hagley Hall was placed on show.

Return to Steam

In October 2013, 4930 was moved from the Engine house to

so that the overhaul could begin. The overhaul is being supported by the SVR Charitable Trust and the Friends of Locomotive Hagley Hall Group. Some of the money for the overhaul was raised by members of the public who subscribed to the SVR's share offer scheme, which included the objectives of restoring 4930 and some matching Great Western coaches. 4930's departure from

Highley Highley is a large village in Shropshire, England, on the west bank of the River Severn and 7 miles south east of Bridgnorth. The closest cities being Wolverhampton and Birmingham. History Highley began as a rural farming community, including ...

allowed LMS Stanier Black 5 4-6-0 45110 to take its place. 4930 has swapped its Hawksworth tender for Witherslack Hall's Collett tender. Running in following the overhaul commenced on 23 June 2022. Following the export of classmate 4920 Dumbleton Hall to Tokyo, Japan in December 2021, on completion of its overhaul and return to service 4930 is presently the oldest Hall operating and oldest based in the UK.

Allocations

4930 HAGLEY HALL emerges from Dinmore Old Tunnel

Popular culture

The engine features in the 1986 documentary "

Steam Days ''Steam Days'' is a 1986 BBC Two television documentary series written and presented by Miles Kington. Each episode is themed around the history of British steam locomotives and railways, particularly highlighting preserved locomotives operating a ...

" with

Miles Kington Miles Beresford Kington (13 May 1941 – 30 January 2008) was a British journalist, musician (a double bass player for Instant Sunshine and other groups) and broadcaster. He is also credited with the invention of Franglais, a fictional language, ...

on a run out from Bristol to Plymouth with fellow GWR engine ''Drysllwyn Castle'' during the 150th Anniversary of the GWR in 1985. 4930 also featured running passenger trains on the SVR In the 1986 programme ''The Great Western Experience'' alongside other GWR locomotives, such as 5764, 5051 ''Drysllwyn Castle'', 6998 ''Burton Agnes Hall'' and 7029 ''Clun Castle''.

References

External links

Friends of 4930 Hagley Hall
{{GWR Hall Class 4930 Railway locomotives introduced in 1929 4930 Locomotives saved from Woodham Brothers scrapyard Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain 4-6-0 locomotives Severn Valley Railway