GWR 4965 'Rood Ashton Hall' at Birmingham Moor St.

See this locomotive in the video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH6pSDHoU4A

Seen arriving with the afternoon 'Shakespeare Express' from Stratford-on-Avon to Birmingham Snow Hill is GWR 4900 Class 4965 'Rood Ashton Hall', seen arriving at Birmingham Moor Street in perfect sunlight and making an equally spectacular sight!

The Hall Class were originally developed from a prototypical engine converted from an earlier Saint Class locomotive by the Great Western Railway. Locomotive 2925 'Saint Martin' was chosen in 1924 and fitted with smaller driving wheels, cylinder realignment and a more modern 'Castle'-type cab was fitted. The rebuilt Saint Martin emerged from Swindon in 1924 and, renumbered 4900, embarked on three years of trials. During this period Collett introduced other modifications. The pitch of the taper boiler was altered and outside steam pipes were added.

Satisfied with no.4900's performance Collett placed an order with Swindon works and the first of the new two-cylinder Halls entered service in 1928. They differed little from the prototype; the bogie wheel diameter had been reduced by two inches from 3ft 2in to 3ft 0in and the valve setting amended to give an increased travel of 7.5in. The overall weight of the locomotive had increased by 2.5 tons to 76.2 tons.

In what amounted to a trial run the first 14 were despatched to the arduous proving grounds of the Cornish main line. However they were so successful here and elsewhere on the GWR system that by the time the first production batch of 80 had been completed in 1930 a further 178 were on order. By 1935, 150 were in service and the 259th and last Hall, No. 6958 Oxburgh Hall, was delivered in 1943.

Collett had been replaced by F.W. Hawksworth in 1941 and Hawksworth created a modified version known as the Modified Hall Class which remained in production until 1950. One of Hawksworth's modifications in changing the design was to equip it better to cope with the low quality coal available during the war. If anything the situation worsened after the war, leading to serious consideration being given to oil firing. Beginning in 1946 with No. 5955 Garth Hall the GWR converted 11 of the class to burn oil. Within four years, however, they had all reverted to coal.

All but one of the original Collett Halls entered British Railways service in 1948, the exception being No. 4911 Bowden Hall, which sustained a direct hit during an air raid in 1941. The locomotive had stopped at a signal box because of an air raid, and the crew survived by sheltering under the steps of the signal box whilst in the Keyham area of Plymouth. 4911 was one of two GWR locomotives damaged beyond repair in Britain during World War II, the other being 1854 Class 1729. During their later years two other locomotives were involved in serious collision incidents, with the first being in 1961 where 6949 Haberfield Hall crashed into a freight train at Baschurch in Shropshire due to a signalman's error (resulting in 3 deaths), and another in 1962 at Torquay where 4932 Hatherton Hall overran signals and crashed into the back of a stationary passenger train (injuring 23).

Official withdrawals began in 1959 with the prototype Saint Martin, although since its original construction as a Saint Class in 1907, the locomotive had covered an incredible 2,092,500 miles. December 1965 saw the end of the Halls, with no examples being preserved for the National Collection. However, because many locomotives were sent to the Woodham's Brother's Scrapyard in South Wales, 11 engines were rescued, the last being in 1986.

One engine, 5972 Olton Hall, has become something of an international superstar by way of the Harry Potter movie franchise, being renamed Hogwarts Castle and being used in the films as the enchanted express to take the students from London King's Cross to Hogwarts Station. This engine has since been withdrawn from the mainline and now resides at the Warner Brother's Studio in North London for a 2 year period.

However, the first "Hall" to leave Barry was 4965 Rood Ashton Hall, which is one of two preserved locomotives to be registered for mainline use.

This locomotive was previously identified as 4983 Albert Hall, having been rebuilt in 1962 using parts from both original engines Albert Hall and Rood Ashton Hall. Both locomotives had their numbers stamped onto their respective parts. The purchasing group of enthusiasts thought they were buying 4983 Albert Hall but after later restoration discovered some of the parts had been stamped 4965 and some 4983. Rood Ashton Hall now has plates and numbers on one side that say 4983 Albert Hall for enthusiasts to see once again but still hauls Rood Ashton Hall's original tender. Albert Hall's original tender was a large Collett tender, so the only incarnation of 4983 Albert Hall and tender is Hornby's tri-ang model.

In November 2008, Rood Ashton Hall was taken out of service for overhaul after hauling the Rood Ashton Hall Farewell train from Solihull to Didcot Parkway. The engine's 10-year overhaul took just a few months due to an ongoing programme of maintenance work that had been previously carried out during periods of low main line activity. It returned to the mainline in October 2009. Today it primarily works the 'Shakespeare Express' from Birmingham Snow Hill to Stratford-on-Avon, a picturesque journey to the hometown of the famous playwright.