4900 1960s Swindon Works
Ex-Great Western Railway Collett 'Hall' class 4-6-0 No. 4900 'Saint Martin'. Built at Swindon in Dec. 1924 and withdrawn in Apr. 1959. Immaculate 'Hall' prototype 'Saint Martin', seen at Swindon Works, was Collett's rebuild of Churchward's 'Saint' class No. 2925. Over the next three years, 4900 underwent extensive trials before Collett authorised building another 257 examples over the next 15 years. Sad to state, but Swindon's 'Hall/Grange/Castle/Manor' naming policy was unimaginative in the extreme, having nothing of the flair of the LNER, LMS or SR named locomotives, but that's just my opinion!
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