Dean Walton, General Manager at the Epping Ongar Railway, has confirmed to RailAdvent that the decision has been taken to put GWR Hall No. 4953 Pitchford Hall up for sale.
No reason for the sale has been confirmed by Dean, but 4953 Pitchford Hall returned to steam in 2019 after successful trials at the Great Central Railway.
Normally based at the Epping Ongar Railway, the locomotive has visited the Severn Valley Railway in 2021, replacing 6233 Duchess of Sutherland.
The 4-6-0 Hall Class was built in August 1929 at Swindon Works and allocated to Bristol Bath Road Shed (82A) and worked in a variety of places on the Great Western. Being retired in May 1963, she moved to Barry scrapyard and was the 150th locomotive to leave. Leaving in 1984, she moved to Tyseley Locomotive Works where the overhaul took place.
She returned to traffic in 2004 and has just completed another overhaul.
Dean says that any interested parties should contact Tony Goulding in the first instance on tonygoulding@eorailway.co.uk
i like to see the Loco on the mainline after its next overhual
It’s no surprise really, the line is only suitable for tank engines
EOR has no turntable, so tender first running is not suitable for a large locomotive
Hope she ends up at the KWVR in there galas they always seem like they are always 1 Engine down. This would just boost the popularity of the railway a bit more and would give the railway a more diverse feel with different Engine company’s as they do not have a GWR Engine there.
I hope she won’t end up at a Harry Potter theme park!
i hope not Henry
Such a shame for the EOR but i think she be great on the mid hants railway she be an amazing addition
Let’s hope that it isn’t going into another Warner Bros Harry Potter theme park like its two classmates!
A bit concerned to read this so soon after 4920 Dumbleton Hall has gone to Tokyo, apparently sold to Warner Bros for display as a Harry Potter exhibit at their studio. The sale of 4953 would not normally ring any alarm bells, but……..?
Strange decision. She has been performing well.
A new need for money . . . ?