GWR 4900 Class 4965 Rood Ashton Hall

GWR 4900 Class 4965 Rood Ashton Hall is a 4-6-0 Hall Class steam locomotive built by the Great Western Railway at Swindon Works in 1930.
==History==
Rood Ashton Hall was completed in November 1930 and first allocated to Plymouth Laira. She was withdrawn from service in March 1962 and sold to Woodham Brothers Ltd. (Scrapyard) in Barry Island, South Wales.
4965 was rescued from Barry Scrapyard in October 1970 becoming the first member of the class to leave the scrapyard and enter preservation, the locomotive left Barry Scrapyard as the 10th departure. Previously identified as 4983 Albert Hall, having been rebuilt in 1962 using parts from both original engines Albert Hall and Rood Ashton Hall. Both locomotives had their numbers stamped onto their respective parts. The purchasing group of enthusiasts thought they were buying 4983 Albert Hall but after later restoration discovered some of the parts had been stamped 4965 and some 4983. The engine was restored to working order following 36 years out of traffic and now runs in the identity of 4965 Rood Ashton Hall.
In November 2008, Rood Ashton Hall was taken out of service for overhaul after hauling the Rood Ashton Hall Farewell train from Solihull to Didcot Parkway.
The engine's 10-year overhaul took just a few months due to an ongoing programme of maintenance work that had been previously carried out during periods of low main line activity. It returned to the mainline in October 2009 and completed its full ten-year operating certificate before being withdrawn again in September 2019 for a further overhaul, which it awaits. Right before being withdrawn in 2019, the engine was temporarily renamed Polar Star, and was used to pull the Polar Express Train Ride between Birmingham Moor Street and Tyseley, albeit having a headlamp mounted on the center of the smokebox door. 
As of 2024, the engine is still stored inside the shed at Tyseley Loco Works. In January 2024 it was announced that 4965 is to be the next Tyseley resident engine to be sent into the works for an overhaul which is expected to cost £100,000. 
The overhaul alongside a retube will include modifications to the engines cylinders for gauging reasons and conversion to oil burning using a GWR oil-firing system (eleven halls between 1946 and 1950 we're converted to oil burning becoming 3900's). It was confirmed in March 2024 that 4965 will be converted to oil-firing during the engines next overhaul which will commence in March 2024, upon returning to traffic she will see primary use on "Shakespeare Express" and "Polar Express" trains.
==Specifications==
Rood Ashton Hall weighs 75 tons, and its 2 cylinders are fed by a superheater. Its driving wheels are 72 inches in diameter, and its carrying wheels are 36 inches in diameter. The boiler has a maximum of 225 pounds per square inch, and the locomotive makes 27,275 pounds of tractive effort.
==Trivia==
*Unlike it's fellow preserved classmates 4965 is the only member of the class to not run with a 4,000 gallon Collett tender, it instead runs with an original 3,500 gallon Churchward tender.
==Gallery==
File:4965 in the Cavalcade with 7029 and 45596.jpg
== Videos ==
					
==See also==
*Wikipedia
==References==
Category:GWR 4900 "Hall" Class
Category:Built in 1930
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:Locomotives
Category:Tender locomotives
Category:Locomotives saved from the Woodham Brothers scrapyard
Category:4-6-0 locomotives
Category:4-6-0 steam locomotives
Category:Six-coupled locomotives
Category:Swindon Works locomotives
Category:Great Western Railway locomotives
Category:Standard gauge locomotives
Category:Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain