4150 Feature
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June 2026
Fund volunteers on June 8 at Bridgnorth L-R Tony Howard, Bob Leonard, Steve Tyler, Bob Link. Gary Essex
As GWR 4150 completed its first successful steaming last week, Gary Essex has been researching the history of this Barry yard survivor. In this feature-length article, he speaks to some of the people involved and uncovers some fascinating information about the journey it’s been on:
The last unrestored ex-Barry loco at the Railway, GWR Large Prairie No 4150 has just steamed for the first time since its withdrawal in 1965, and will undergo testing and running in over the next few months.
The GWR Large Prairie ‘5101’ 2‑6‑2 Tanks were designed by G J Churchward, and introduced in 1903 as a general- purpose loco, for a variety of passenger and goods traffic. They were so successful that until nationalisation, a total of 306 were built.
One of the last GWR Swindon-built locos, No 4150 was outshopped in May 1947 and allocated to Stourbridge Junction shed (BR shedcode 84F) on 5th June. It worked regularly on the Severn Valley whilst at Stourbridge and then transferred to Bristol Bath Road (82A) in May 1953, spending its remaining service life in the West Country, before being withdrawn in June 1965.
In 1972, a group from the Dean Forest Railway Society investigated purchasing a GWR 2‑6‑2T from Barry Scrapyard, and No 4150 was chosen as both the most complete and the best condition. An overhaul at Swindon in 1963 just two years before withdrawal included new tyres and a replacement boiler, compete with new inner firebox. Dai Woodham set the price at £2,750. and a fund was established in March 1973. Once purchased, the loco was prepared for removal, at a time when they could still be moved by rail.
Pete Maddicks, one of the original group members still working on the loco, recalls its condition at Barry. "Luckily all the valve gear was still in situ, just the connecting rods were missing, however we managed to get a set off another loco there - with Dai Woodham’s permission of course. For some reason, when the engine was withdrawn, they cut the rods at both ends and the middle bit's gone. They also pulled the pistons back as far as they would go, then cut the visible section out of the piston rods before pushing the crossheads forward. We didn't realise this until we pulled the crossheads back, expecting the piston rods to appear and they weren't there. Luckily we obtained a set of pistons out of a 28xx, which were turned down to fit."
Once prepared, No 4150 left Barry in May 1974 along with No 7812 Erlestoke Manor, both towed by a Class 25 diesel to the Dean Forest Railway at Parkend. However, the engine was sited on a siding that had no access for work parties as sections were still in use by British Rail. After three years with no progress, the 4150 Fund voted overwhelmingly to move to the SVR. Once again travelling on the mainline network, it headed for Bewdley, arriving there on 19 January 1978.
Dismantling took place at the back of Bewdley yard, with the wheels despatched to Bridgnorth MPD for tyre turning and journal skimming. Work under the frames was undertaken, including horn grinding, axlebox remetalling and brake gear overhaul.
By the 1980s, although much of the running gear work was complete, progress slowed considerably, as several working members had other commitments, and funding for the larger jobs including the boiler was limited.
Pete recalls the issues: "We were short of funding and skilled people. I'm an electrician by trade, not an engineer, and other members were a draughtsman, banker and coal merchant; we had some people but lacked some specialist skills. Getting married, having kids and starting my own business tied me up for quite a while. And, unfortunately, some of the original group are no longer with us.
“I had a phone call from Peter Willoughby, a volunteer in the Bewdley Carriage and Wagon shop to ask about ‘the loco sat behind the paint shop’: can we do anything with it? With Peter's enthusiasm, we got together a small committee of seven members and relaunched the fund in 2007."
The relaunch included getting a better working environment, as all the work had been carried out in the open air. A steel-framed semi-permanent marquee-type structure was obtained from Kidderminster and erected by volunteers from Bewdley Carriage and Wagon Department.
A share issue was also announced, and the newsletter relaunched, reporting in 2008 that the loco had progressed to having ‘a virtually complete rolling chassis.’ A huge show of support came in 2008, when the annual SVR Association raffle proceeds were allocated to 4150, with a record total of almost £16,000 being raised, ring-fenced for boiler repairs.
In 2008 boilershop foreman Graham Beddoes confirmed the boiler was in very good condition but needed the standard overhaul repairs of new flues and tubes, steel stays and crown stays, with some welding repairs to the front tube plate and boiler barrel.
All the other major work needed was undertaken before the boiler overhaul, including new water tanks and bunker, pipework, boiler cladding and cab fittings. A new frame stretcher was also needed, as the old one had severe corrosion build up, distorting the frames by almost 5/8".
By 2011, the new bunker was under construction, bolted together temporarily until the loco could reach Bridgnorth. The Fund’s work area at Bewdley backs onto houses, so days of hot riveting weren't an option. By 2014, the bunker was complete and once again SVR volunteers sourced materials from around the Railway for a covered working area to fabricate the tanks. Much of the work was carried out by the fund on-site, in basic working conditions, and some complex parts had to be fabricated by contractors. The scale of the tank construction is illustrated by the 1,800 rivets holding them together, needing at least 3,600 holes to be drilled.
The boiler was removed in March 2017 and the team removed the firebox stays and trial-fitted the cladding before it moved to Bridgnorth. The cladding is held in place on 'crinolines', steel strips that hold it away from the boiler and insulation. It needed numerous apertures cut, for mudhole doors, washout plugs, handrails and other fittings, taking around six months to complete.
Pete remembers the preparation of the boiler: “We did an awful lot of the work ourselves, under the direction of Phil Davidson, the boiler shop foreman, we'd like to thank him because he put up with us amateurs in the boiler shop. But he taught us well, and I think we've done a reasonably good job."
In 2019 the Fund became a Charitable Community Benefit Society, allowing it to claim Gift Aid on donations, and the formal legal structure meant that there was no possibility of the loco falling into private hands in the future.
The arrival of Covid saw work halted for several months and the discovery of asbestos in the cylinder block also slowed progress, but the loco and Fruit D moved to Bridgnorth in May 2021.
Initially the loco was partially dismantled, and several months’ work was undertaken overhauling the wheelsets and running gear. This may seem like a backward step, but by this stage some of the initial restoration work had been completed over 30 years previously.
Long-standing volunteer Dave McFall remarked, "With the move into the works at Bridgnorth, the facilities available made a huge difference, not least of which was the overhead crane. When positioning and fixing the tanks, we took them on and off several times, which would have taken weeks in the old yard as it could only be accessed by the site JCB, when a driver was available."
Re-wheeling took place in January 2022, when the ashpan was mostly complete, which was of a somewhat different design to the original, as Pete Maddicks explains.
"We modified the ashpan design with experience gained here on the Railway. It's a much tighter assembly because a lot of our lineside fires aren't caused by sparks out of the chimney, but by hot ash and cinders falling out of the ashpan. So, it's designed as quite a sealed unit, and made out of much thicker steel than the original, so is less likely to warp, which opens up holes for hot ash to escape. We’re fitting a sprinkler system, so it can be kept damp."
The boiler underwent a trial fitting in December 2022, and the water tank riveting took place in the boilershop throughout 2023 and 2024. The rivets are mostly confined to visible areas, with many of the hidden areas being welded, a much cheaper and quicker process.
At this stage, progress may appear slow to the casual observer, but a myriad of pipework and fittings are involved, often with very tight clearances between components.
The highlight of 2025 for the Fund was the firebox being lit up on Saturday 9 August. The boiler successfully passed its hydraulic and steam tests and was refitted into the frames a month later. Progress during 2026 has been made with the smokebox and cab fittings and final pipework, and a successful steam test was held on Monday 1 June, followed by a successful commissioning steam test on the Tuesday.
Currently the Fund volunteers are working with MPD staff on snagging and rectifying some minor issues before the loco moves into a period of testing and running-in. After this it will move into Bridgnorth paint shop for a full repaint, entering service later this year.
Vice chair of the SVR Charitable Trust, Paul Fathers, spoke about the restoration and what it means for the Severn Valley;
"The return to steam of 4150 marks a significant milestone in the achievement of the 4150 Fund and in the history of the Severn Valley Railway. It will be the last of a long line of ex-Barry scrapyard wrecks to be restored and returned to traffic over many years. It has never been an easy task for the group having taken almost a lifetime for some of those taking up the challenge. The achievement and dedication of those restoring her is testament to their dedication and foresight. They and the locomotive department staff of the SVR should be applauded for having achieved a magnificent standard of restoration and we all look forward to seeing 4150 marching out of Bridgnorth very soon. A sight to behold and an appropriate asset to the SVR fleet of locomotives!"
There’s more information at http://www.4150.org.uk
Click on the gallery for larger images and descriptions.