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5952 Cogan Hall

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In February 2010, the 6880 Betton Grange Society Ltd purchased GWR Hall 5952 Cogan Hall from Ken Ryder and moved her to Llangollen, initially to aid the building of 6880 Betton Grange.

5952 Cogan Hall

5952 will undergo an initial assessment by the engineering team at Llangollen. The front bogie will be removed to assist in the construction of the 81st Grange, 6880 Betton Grange. The tender from Cogan will then be restored for use behind 6880. However this will not be the end for 5952. The 6880 Society have promised that she will be restored in her own right and their long-term aim is to have both 6880 and 5952 working together.

With the experience gained from refurbishing 5952’s current front bogie for 6880, a brand new one will be made for 5952. The Society already have a set of tender frames, which will be used to create a second tender for use with 5952. All this will be done through a separate funding scheme initially so that those who want to contribute to only 1 of 6880 or 5952 will be able to do so.

Read more about the history of the Hall class, and 5952, or about the building of 6880.

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5952 History

Completed at Swindon works in December 1935, she was out-shopped in GWR Lined Green with GWR Shirt Button, and allocated to Penzance Shed in Cornwall. In February 1939 she was moved to Cardiff Canton, and during this time she was repainted into GWR unlined Black. She was then again moved in 1945, this time to Old Oak Common and where in August 1950 she was fitted with a 3-row superheater, before moving to OOC’s outpost shed at Southall in the following October. She then returned to Penzance in 1954 but after six months she was moved to Plymouth Laira, where she was only resident for three months before she was reallocated to Worcester in September 1955. Four years later she was to again be reallocated, this time to Hereford shed, and then in November 1963 she moved to her final shed at Cardiff East Dock. She was withdrawn in May 1964 after covering over a 1,000,000 miles, and was subsequently sold to Woodham Brothers Scrapyard in Barry, South Wales for dismantling in June 1964. However, like many other locos that were sent to Woodhams, she was not scrapped and was eventually saved for preservation.

In September 1981, 5952 became the 136th locomotive to be bought from Woodham’s Scrapyard by preservationists. Her saviour was Ken Ryder, who first moved her to the Gloucester Warwickshire Railway to be part of the Great Western Steam Locomotive Group. In 198X she move to Swindon as part of a display of railway artefacts prior to moving to the Llangollen Railway in North Wales in 1989. She then made it to the Headquarters of the Cambrian Society at Oswestry before moving again in November 2003, this time to Llynclys where she ended up as part of the Cambrian Railways Trust, whose aim was to restore part of the former Cambrian Railway at Llynclys and run steam hauled tourist trains. However in early 2010, the locomotive was made available for purchase to any group that would be able to restore 5952 themselves. After some negotiations, the 6880 Betton Grange Society were able to offer her a positive future and completed her purchase on February 1st2010, and on March 1st she made her return to Llangollen.

Cogan Hall

5952’s name originates from an old Manor house in Penarth, Glamorgan South Wales, which was the focal point of a 16th Century farming area. Today it is still used for such a purpose, with the farming of livestock presently ongoing utilising traditional methods. The buildings are still there but the place is a shadow of its former self, and during the 19th Century they underwent some extensive remodelling.

Timeline

Below is summary of the above information. The shed codes are placed in brackets for the various sheds she was resident at.

  • Dec-35 Completed in GWR Green w. Shirt button and 3500 Gallon Tender
  • Dec-35 Allocated to Penzance Shed (PZ)
  • ???-39 Reallocated to Cardiff Canton (CDF)
  • ???-xx Painted in GWR Unlined Black
  • Feb-45 Reallocated to Old Oak Common (PDN)
  • Oct-50 Reallocated to Southall (SHL)
  • Dec-54 Reallocated to Penzance (PZ / 83G)
  • Jul-55 Reallocated to Laira (83D)
  • Sep-55 Reallocated to Worcester (85A)
  • Aug-59 Reallocated to Hereford (86C)
  • Nov-63 Reallocated to Cardiff East Dock (88L)
  • May-65 Withdrawn after covering x,xxx,xxx miles
  • Jun-65 Sold to Woodhams Scrapyard, Barry
  • Sep-81 Becomes 136th loco saved from Barry, bought by Great Western Steam Locomotive Group, and moves to Gloucester Warwickshire Railway
  • ???-8x Moved to Swindon as part of railway display
  • ???-89 Moved to Llangollen Railway
  • ???-xx Moved to Oswestry
  • Nov-03 Moved to Llynclys as part of Cambrian Trust
  • Feb-10 Purchased by the 6880 Society
  • Apr-10 Returned to Llangollen

Researched by Jon Kerr (6880 Society). If anyone is able to offer any further information then it would be appreciated.

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The Hall Class

The 4900 Class are a 4-6-0 mixed traffic steam locomotive designed by Charles Collett for the Great Western Railway. A total of 259 were to eventually be built, and all were named after Halls in the UK, hence they became known as the “Hall” Class.
The prototype Hall was a rebuild of Saint 2925 Saint Martin, where she received smaller driving wheels, had her cylinders realigned and the more modern ‘Castle’ cab fitted. After three years of trials and further modifications, Collett placed an order and the first Hall was completed in 1928. The first 14 were sent to Cornwall, but proved so successful that by the time the first batch had been completed, a second batch had already been ordered. Production of the Halls continued up until 1943.
The GWR classified the Halls as Power D with a Red Route Availability. They proved to be suitable for the lighter express services and on heavy fitted freights. With their sure-footedness they proved to be excellent hill climbers as well. Under BR they were given the power classification of 5MT.

Preservation

Out of the 259 Collett Halls built, 11 have survived into preservation:

  • 4920 Dumbleton Hall (South Devon Railway)
  • 4930 Hagley Hall (Friends of Hagley Hall at the Severn Valley Railway)
  • 4936 Kinlet Hall (Friends of Kinlet Hall, based at Tyseley)
  • 4942 Maindy Hall (Being converted into a Saint Class no. 2999 at Didcot)
  • 4953 Pitchford Hall (Private Owner, based at Tyseley)
  • 4965 Rood Ashton Hall (Vintage Trains, based at Tyseley)
  • 4979 Wootton Hall (Furness Trust)
  • 5900 Hinderton Hall (Didcot Railway Centre)
  • 5952 Cogan Hall (6880 Society)
  • 5967 Bickmarsh Hall (Private Owner, based at Northampton & Lamport Railway)
  • 5972 Olton Hall* (West Coast Railway Company, based at Carnforth)

*Currently running as Hogwarts Castle, as part of the Harry Potter films.

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Links/Appreciations

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