Photo:
Anon 6989 Group Collection - Wightwick Hall at Oxford 1st July 1961
Originally on 6989's former website

In 1944, F W Hawksworth of the Great Western Railway introduced an improved version of the popular Hall class 4-6-0s introduced by his predecessor, C B Collett. The locomotive was classified as 6959 Modified Hall 5MT 4-6-0. Changes to the 5900 Hall Class engines were; plate frame 'one piece' mainframes (the original Hall's were made in two sections joined together behind the cylinders), plate frame bogie, separately cast cylinders and a larger three-row super-heater and header regulator. New flush-sided tenders were paired with the engines, although these soon became swapped round as visits to the works for repair took place. 6989 ran with at least 10 different tenders and we have pictures of the loco in service with both Hawksworth flat sided and Collett flare sided types. Boilers were also routinely swapped between locos to keep them flowing through the workshops. 6989 ran with five different type 1 boilers. 6989's current boiler, serial number 9296, ran on 7902 Eaton Mascot Hall and 6979 Helperly Hall before being fitted to 6989 in March 1961, steaming 468,161 miles in total, 90,895 of them on 6989.

The Hall Class itself was a development of G J Churchward's 1907 Saint Class, so the original design was now on its third iteration. In all 71 Modified Halls were built between 1944 and 1950, of which six survived into preservation, British Railways having continued to build the Modified Halls after the 1948 nationalisation.

In all 71 Modified Halls were built between 1944 and 1950, of which six survived into preservation:

Photo:
RJ Blenkinsop - Wightwick Hall at Leamington Spa with a holiday special
Originally on 6989's former website

Wightwick Hall was built at Swindon under Works Lot Number 366, was completed on 25th March 1948 and entered service the same month with British Railways Western Region based at Hereford Shed, replacing one of the Saints that was withdrawn. 6989 was the second last steam locomotive to be ordered by the Great Western Railway Company before British Railways took over under nationalisation. 6989 cost £9,686 to build, including the tender.

The locomotive is named after Wightwick Hall, located on the outskirts of Wolverhampton. The hall was built in the 1890s for Sir Alfred Hickman, MP and industrialist. The Hall became a school in 1956 and remains so today. Wightwick Hall should not be confused with the National Trust's Wightwick Manor, located nearby. [References 1, 2]

6989 was out shopped in GWR lined green livery with the number on the front buffer beam and British Railways in capitalised GWR style letters on the tender. This is confirmed by Angus Brymer, who was a cleaner at Hereford where 6989 was assigned ex- Swindon and pictures we have of 6989 at Tyseley in 1949. The following account sheds some light as to perhaps why the loco was not in British Railways black, as might have been expected. Around February 1948, BR gave instructions to Swindon that by the end of that week no more green paint was to be made in the Swindon Paint Factory. Five hundred gallons of Brunswick green was hurriedly made to beat the deadline and stored in unlabelled five gallon drums. Hence, when BR (WR) engines needed repainting and the drums were opened, they were found to be green and not the expected Black. Having opened the drums they had to be used! We have a picture taken in September 1956 by Dick Blenkinsop at Leamington Spa, where he confirms 6989 was in BR black. According to observations recorded at Swindon Shed in September 1955, class 6959 engines were being turned out post overhaul in Brunswick green, whereas non-modified halls were being painted black. Most of the pictures we have of the loco show it sporting a smoke box number and shed plate, but we have one taken at Birmingham Snow Hill without these and showing the number painted on the buffer beam in Great Western style. Our conclusion is that 6989 left Swindon Works in green, was repainted black at the heavy general overhaul in October 1950 and back to green at the intermediate repair in September 1956. We have a photograph of 6989 on Swindon Shed in lined Brunswick Green that we believe was taken on 6th March 1961 after a heavy general repair. [References 3, 4]

Photo:
Reproduced with kind permission of Don Benn. Taken from Pen and Sword's Biography of British Train Travel by Don Benn
Wightwick Hall at Paddington after arrival with the 9.50am from Worcester on 29 October 1961
Originally on 6989's former website

Wightwick Hall covered 640,645 miles in 16 years of service, operating in an area mainly bounded by Cardiff, Paignton, Banbury and London, working in the fast freight and express passenger role. We know that 6989 did get as far afield as Crewe and Bournemouth. The loco spent ten years working out of Hereford (shed code 85C), four years out of Worcester (shed code 85A) and finally two out of Gloucester Horton Road (shed code 85B). We have sightings of 6989 in all of these areas. 6989's career was not without drama. When based at Hereford the loco was working a 11:55 Hereford to Paddington train on 4th June 1956 when the engineman passed over a 15mph speed restriction at 45mph with no apparent ill effects! The driver probably did not get off so lightly.

During November and December of 1959, when allocated to Worcester shed, 6989 alternated with sister engine 6984 Owsden Hall on the Cambrian Coast Express between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton [Reference 5]. We are informed by Geoff Peverill, who was a loco fitter at Worcester, that 6989 substituted on top runs for failed Castles on several occasions.

In May 1961, 6989 did a very fast run from Oxford to Paddington of 58 minutes, including a speed restriction running into Paddington [Reference 6].

6989 regularly worked the Cathedrals Express. We were able to borrow the original wooden pattern for the Cathedrals Express headboard and had a new one cast. This went missing for a number of years, but thanks to some detective work by Dusty Miller, it is now firmly back in our possession.

6989 often worked into Wembley on football or hockey specials. We have a picture of the loco at Neasden Junction on the occasion of the Schoolboy International held at Wembley on 30th March 1957. In the same month, 6989 was pressed into service on the Cornishman, filling in for a failed castle. During the dying days of steam in September 1962, 6989 was taken off a goods train to replace failed D1000 Western Enterprise, which was only nine months old at the time, on a Birmingham to Paddington express. We have a picture in our collection of 6989 at Bridgwater in 1963 rescuing a Warship Class diesel heading the noon Penzance to Paddington Travelling Post Office.

Eventually, the shed was unable to keep 6989 gainfully employed and the loco was condemned on 1st June 1964, sold to Woodham Brothers Scrap Yard in Barry South Wales on 17th July 1964. It made its last journey on BR metals as part of a special train from Gloucester to Barry on 6th August 1964 in company with 6960 Raveningham Hall, 7F No 53809 and Class 48xxx No 48431. 6989's total recorded mileage was 640,645 on 28 December 1963, six months before withdrawal.

Photo:
F G Steinle, reproduced by kind permission Peter Sedge - Wightwick Hall at Swindon Works 28th May 1961 alongside Caxton Hall
Originally on 6989's former website

Photo:
Anon 6989 Group Collection - - Wightwick Hall at Worcester Shrub Hill with London train 31 August 1961
Originally on 6989's former website

6989 Wightwick Hall Timeline

Photo:
Anon 6989 Group Collection - Wightwick Hall at an unknown location and date
Originally on 6989's former website

References:
1 - Around Tettenhall and Codsall in Old Photographs - Mary Mills - Sutton Publishing Ltd
2 - David Bennett - private correspondence
3 - Bill Peto Great Western Society Limited
4 - Trains Illustrated, Vol 8, No 11, page 483, November 1955
5 - B.R. Western Region 3 by Ed Chaplin
6 - Steam Days 1995