Views From Hatherley Box

There is still frost on the sleepers and it is somewhat misty as 'Black Five' 44857 of 55A Leeds Holbeck steams past on the up relief at about 9.47am if on time with M304 8.40am Bristol - Sheffield.

M304 was closely followed by a double chimney 'Castle' with a class 'C' fitted freight, probably 4H54 4.10am Llandilo Junction - Kidderminster via Ashchurch and Worcester. 

The wintry scene is illuminated slightly as class 5 45040 of 21A Saltley works M308 8.30am Cardiff - Newcastle on the up main as booked in the working time table, due past about 10.15. 45040 would have hooked onto the train at Gloucester Central, taking over from a GW loco. 

M308 was followed by 2H73 10.15am Gloucester Eastgate - Worcester Shrub Hill, probably just two carriages, with 85A Worcester's 4124. The loco came down on 2T73 7.45am from Worcester, stopping at Wadborough, Defford, Eckington, Bredon, Ashchurch and Cheltenham, but on thie return trip it only called at Cheltenham and Ashchurch. It made another stop, at Elm Bridge Signal Box, to 'set down water' for the signalman - presumably the box did not have its own water supply. 

This might be 5M45, a daily class D freight. 1.20am Tavistock - Crewe, again routed via Ashchurch and Worcester. The loco is an inidentified 'Hall' 4-6-0, which may well work through to Crewe. It passed at around 10.40. 

The sun has cast some light but frost persists on the sleepers as a single chimney 'Castle'  from 84A Wolverhampton Stafford Road shed heads 1C33 'The Cornishman' 9am Wolverhampton - Penzance past the box on the down main. This came down the Honeybourne line and was due away from Malvern Road station at 11.2am. The Mark 1 carriages, complete with headboards, were in chocolate and cream livery on this service. 

It remains cold and frosty as 'Jubilee' 45597 'Barbados' steams past on a down express, possibly M239 7.32am Bradford - Bristol, due to leave Lansdown station at 12.22pm. 45597 is a 55A Leeds Holbeck engine. The front carriage is an ex-LNER one. 

The frost is starting to melt in the sun as 2-6-2T 8107 draws a class 'A' train from Cheltenham St James towards Gloucester Central, maybe the 11.45am Cheltenham to Paddington. This was scheduled to take the down main from Lansdown Junction. At Gloucester, a 'Castle' will take over for the onward journey to London. 

Gloucester Barnwood's 4F 0-6-0 44296 heads 8M48 11.50am Barnwood Sidings - Washwood Heath daily freight. 

Gloucester Horton Road's 5914 'Ripon Hall' steams light engine towards Cheltenham on the up main, probably going up the Honeybourne line for some unknown train which might be 1H04 as chalked on the smokebox, though that could be from a previous working. The letter 'H' denoted a Western Region train whose destination was in the Birmingham and Worcester Districts. 

A 'Modified Hall' from further afield, 81A Old Oak Common's 7904 'Fountains Hall' is  on the up main with special 1Z11, maybe for Cheltenham Racecourse station or going on to Stratford-Upon-Avon, another popular destination for specials. 

A  more mundane sight is the humble coal train, vital in the winter months to keep the home fires burning and everybody warm. 21A Saltley's 4F 0-6-0 44333 trundles along on the down main. There would be many extra coal train workings during the winter months. 

'Crab' 2-6-0 42784, a 17B Burton-on-Trent based loco, returns north with a mixed freight. The first vehicle is a cattle wagon, livestock vehicles were normally marshalled next to the engine so they could be detached easily from a train if required, for the welfare of the animals, to be fed and watered. 

B R 9F 2-10-0s worked numerous heavy freights through Gloucestershire, including oil trains. 92221 of 82E Bristol Barrow Road  is seen on the down main hauling  what is probably 4V50 10.42am Bromford Bridge to Avonmouth empties. There were also fuel trains between Fawley Refinery, Southampton, and Bromford Bridge, allocated to 9Fs shedded at 71A Eastleigh. 

85E Gloucester Barnwood's B R Standard 4-6-0 75009 heads home on a down freight. Three were at Barnwood  replacing 4-4-0s on local passenger trains and Gloucester Eastgate station pilot duties. 

The mist has cleared as Black Five 45186 of 21A Saltley works a northbound express with steam to spare. 

B R Standard Caprotti 4-6-0 73139 hauls a down express. The class were well represented in the area on various workings during their relatively brief lives, with some shedded at Gloucester, Bristol and Bath as well as sheds further north. 

Until September 1961, Bristol Barrow Road shed had an allocation of nine 'Jubilee' 4-6-0s. This one is 45651 'Shovell' with a down afternoon express comprising Mark 1 carriages, could be one of several regular daily services such as the Newcastle - Cardiff or Bradford - Paignton 'The Devonian' which passed by in mid-afternoon. 

Here is a special, likely a load of bananas from Avonmouth Docks. It carries a reporting number on the smokebox - in the working time table there was 4M36 due away from Avonmouth at 1pm for Water Orton, passing through Cheltenham around 2.30pm which ran as required. Unfortunately the loco is not identified, but could be a rare one for the line.

Another 9F, 92237, works on the up main probably bound for the Honeybourne line with a class 'H' freight. Iron ore trains between Banbury and South Wales were seen daily as were steel trains, hauled mostly by 9Fs, WD 2-8-0s, GW and LM 2-8-0s also GW 2-8-0T and 2-8-2T. 

92237 entered service in September 1958 and was withdraswn just seven years later, a very short life indeed. A similarly short service span applied to 92221 seen in a previous picture.