4953 ''Pitchford Hall'' is a 4-6-0 Hall class steam locomotive built by the Great Western Railway (GWR), currently preserved at the

Epping Ongar Railway The Epping Ongar Railway is a heritage railway in south-west Essex, England, run by a small number of paid staff and a team of volunteers. It was the final section of the Great Eastern Railway branch line, later the London Underground's Centr ...

Operation

Built 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 ...

in August 1929 for a cost of £4375, the locomotive worked from a wide variety of sheds all over the GWR network, until withdrawal by British Railways in May 1963. It covered 1,344,464 miles over that period. Acquired by

Woodham Brothers 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 (hence its colloquial name of Barry Scrapyard), ...

scrapyard A wrecking yard ( Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian English), scrapyard ( Irish, British and New Zealand English) or junkyard (American English) is the location of a business in dismantling where wrecked or decommissioned vehicles are bro ...

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 in October 1963, it was purchased by Dr John Kennedy in 1984.

Preservation

Moved to

Tyseley Locomotive Works Tyseley Locomotive Works, formerly the Birmingham Railway Museum, is the engineering arm of steam railtour promoter Vintage Trains based in Birmingham, England. It occupies part of the former Great Western Railway's Tyseley depot, built in 19 ...

, it was restored to full mainline standard, and moved under its own power once again in February 2004. It made its first public appearance in 42 years at the Crewe Great Gathering in September 2005. It obtained its mainline certification in December 2005, after making the required light and loaded test runs from

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

to and back. In February 2007 the locomotive attended the

Keighley and Worth Valley Railway The Keighley & Worth Valley Railway is a heritage railway line in the Worth Valley, West Yorkshire, England, which runs from Keighley to Oxenhope. It connects to the National Rail network at Keighley railway station. History Inception ...

's Winter Steam Gala, and on 19 May 2007 performed in tandem with 4965 ''Rood Ashton Hall'' on a trip to Bristol from their Tyseley base. The loco also took part in the 2007 season ''Harringworth Viaduct Shuttles'', and a journey from Birmingham to in conjunction with 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 ...

's Autumn Gala. During 2009, she operated two ''Shakespeare Express'' services between and . On 31 August 2009, 4953 operated a railtour to , via the Harringworth Viaduct. In October 2009 it ran as a light engine with 5029 ''Nunney Castle'' and support coach to the

West Somerset Railway The West Somerset Railway (WSR) is a heritage railway line in Somerset, England. The freehold of the line and stations is owned by Somerset County Council; the railway is leased to and operated by West Somerset Railway plc (WSR plc); which i ...

Gala, operating services between and . After the 2010

steam, the locomotive was moved to the

Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company was grouped into the ...

. It then visited the

Llangollen Railway The Llangollen Railway () is a volunteer-run heritage railway in Denbighshire, North Wales, which operates between Llangollen and Corwen. The standard gauge line, which is long, runs on part of the former Ruabon – Barmouth GWR route that c ...

, double heading with GWR 3717 ''City of Truro'', and operating at the West Somerset Railway before returning to . In 2011, after working the GCR Winter Steam Gala, it visited the Mid Hants Railway, before returning to the GCR. It was sold in late 2011 by Dr John Kennedy to the

, though it remained at the GCR until April 2012, when it was moved to the EOR in time for the line's opening in late May 2012. The loco remained in service there until summer 2013 when it was withdrawn for the routine 10-year overhaul which was completed in December 2019. The locomotive is currently wearing British Railways lined black livery.

References

{{GWR Hall Class 4953 Railway locomotives introduced in 1929 4953 Locomotives saved from Woodham Brothers scrapyard Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain 4-6-0 locomotives