Graham Farish 372-010 49xx Class Loco BR Early Lined Green 4962 'Ragley Hall'

1:148 scale model produced by Graham Farish. This model is ready-to-run straight out of the box and would make a excellent addition to any model railway collection.

• Analogue DC Model
• This model mainly operates in British
• This model is decorated in BR company markings
• This model is best suited to 263.5mm radius curves
• Graham Farish N Scale
• Era 4
• Pristine BR Lined Green (Early Emblem) Livery
• Running No. 4962
• Named ‘Ragley Hall’
• Collett 4,000-gallon Tender
• BR Smokebox Door with Numberplate and Shedplate
• Equipped with a Next18 DCC Decoder Socket
• Length 141mm (over couplings)
• Coreless motor
• Electrical pickup from all driving and tender wheels
• Separate metal bearings fitted to each driving wheel axle
• Metal bearings fitted to each tender wheel axle
• Diecast metal chassis block
• Diecast metal gearbox, with gearing arranged for prototypical running speeds and haulage capabilities
• 9mm (N gauge) wheels to NEM310 standards with authentic profile and detailing
• Traction tyres fitted to the rear driving wheels for assured haulage capabilities
• Valve gear of metal construction
• Discreet fixed locomotive to tender drawbar with integral electrical connections
• Coupling pocket to NEM355 standards fitted to the front bogie
• Removable coupling pocket to NEM355 standards fitted to the tender chassis

Details

The GWR 49XX ‘Hall’ Class was the most numerous 4-6-0 locomotive type built by the Great Western Railway, designed by Chief Mechanical Engineer Charles B. Collett to meet the company’s need for a powerful mixed-traffic engine. First conceived in 1924, the ‘Hall’ was developed from the earlier Saint Class, just as Collett had used the Star Class as the basis for his celebrated ‘Castle’.

The class prototype was Saint No. 2925 Saint Martin, rebuilt at Swindon Works in 1924 with smaller driving wheels and a new Collett-style cab. After extensive trials and minor adjustments, the first production ‘Halls’ were ordered in 1927 and by 1930, 80 locomotives had entered service, numbered 4901–4980. Saint Martin itself was renumbered 4900 in 1928.

Between 1928 and 1943, a total of 258 new ‘Hall’ Class locomotives were built at Swindon, bringing the total including Saint Martin to 259. Each was named after an English or Welsh country house containing the word “Hall”. Designed primarily for versatility, the ‘Halls’ worked across the GWR network on duties ranging from express passenger trains to heavy freight and local services.

Over the 15 years of construction, the class saw only minimal variation, with three official diagrams relating mainly to tender type. Early locomotives were coupled to 3,500-gallon Churchward or Collett tenders, before the 4,000-gallon Collett tender became standard. Later, some received Hawksworth tenders originally built for the Modified Hall Class.

At Nationalisation in 1948, the entire fleet passed to British Railways, which classified them as 5MT. Withdrawals began slowly, with only 12 engines gone by 1961, but the arrival of diesel traction hastened their demise. By the end of 1965, the final year of Western Region standard gauge steam, all had been withdrawn.

In preservation, 11 Hall Class locomotives were rescued from Barry Scrapyard, though today only 10 remain after No. 4942 Maindy Hall was rebuilt as the recreated Saint Class No. 2999 Lady of Legend. Two examples, Nos. 4920 Dumbleton Hall and 5972 Olton Hall, are on display with Warner Brothers, with Olton Hall famously rebranded as ‘Hogwarts Castle’ for use in the Harry Potter films.

The Hall Class remains one of the GWR’s most iconic designs – a true workhorse locomotive that combined power, versatility, and longevity, leaving a legacy still celebrated on preserved railways today.