No. 4953 PITCHFORD HALL
Pitchford Hall became the first preserved Collett ‘Hall’ to be painted in BR lined black when it returned to steam in October 2019, following its latest overhaul.
Initially allocated to Bristol Bath Road, No. 4953 spent the early years of its BR career stabled at Cardiff Canton before transferring to Swindon in April 1956. In June 1960, it went to St Philips Marsh and, after a brief period in store in 1962, it returned to Cardiff – first to Canton then latterly East Dock, from where it with withdrawn. It arrived at Barry in November 1963 and stayed there until February 1984, when it became the 150th locomotive to be rescued from the scrapyard, following its purchase by Dr John Kennedy.
The locomotive was taken to Tyseley, where it returned to steam in February 2004, although it wasn’t until September 2005 before it made its first public appearance, at the Crewe Works ‘Great Gathering’. Painted in post‑war GWR green livery, it hauled a number of railtours and ‘Shakespeare Expresses’ as part of the Vintage Trains stable, and visited several preserved lines.
In 2010, it was based at the Great Central Railway, although it continued to visit other railways. It was sold to Epping Ongar Railway managing director Roger Wright in 2012, and moved to the Essex line in April that year, working there until summer 2013 when its boiler ticket expired.
Subsequently moved to Locomotive Maintenance Services of Loughborough for contract overhaul, after running‑in at the Great Central Railway, it returned to the EOR for its first revenue‑earning trains in December 2019. It has since been put up for sale, as it has been deemed “overpowered” for the EOR. A buyer had yet to be confirmed at the time of writing.
Status: Operational
Location: Epping Ongar Railway
Owner: Roger Wright
Built: Swindon, August 1929
Withdrawn: Cardiff East Dock (88L), April 1963