Volume Six - Pre-Victorian to the Present Day - Select Aspects - The Penarth Harbour Dock and Railway - Railway World Article - 1964 . . .

There was also the Newcastle-Barry express, worked from Banbury to Barry via Penarth by a G.W.R. "Bulldog" 4-4-0. It consisted of Great Western and Great Central coaches on alternate days and stopped at Penarth Dock for assistance up the 1 in 40 by a Taff Vale 0-6-2T.

The first five years after grouping were most interesting as the G.W.R. introduced its own locomotives and coaches to 56XX 0-6-2T's built for the South Wales lines in 1925-28, together with new five-coach and two-coach sets of steel-panelled coaches in 1928-30. By that time all the Taff Vale and Barry four and six-wheel sets of coaches had "Not to run in through fast trains" painted on their under-frames. The first G.W.R. engines to appear on passenger trains were 36XX 2-4-2T's and 31XX 2-6-2T's. They hauled mainly Barry trains as they were reported troublesome on Penarth bank (as were Barry 2-4-2T's), but there has been no trouble with41XX 2-6-2T's in recent years. A batch of 39XX inside-cylinder 2-6-2T's were more successful with their 5ft 2in wheels and worked all over the Taff Vale lines. Some 27XX 0-6-0 pannier tanks were tried on T.V. passenger work for a while but they were under-powered. On the freight side the large G.W.R. 2-8-0 tanks were very successful, but their wheelbase prohibited them from colliery, and dock sidings. The new 56's were found to be a good all-round engine and eight were at Radyr shed in 1928, in addition to T.V. 0-6-2T's of Classes M1(1), N(3), O(1), 03(3) and 04(4) and one Rhymney 0-6-2T, with more following later to work freight on the Penarth line.

A few Dean 0-6-0 goods engines were also employed on the Penarth line from Canton (ex-G.W.R.) shed, where they were kept to work Bristol trains via Severn Bridge on Sundays in winter, when the Severn Tunnel is closed. One of the outside-frame variety sometimes headed Penarth passenger trains on Saturdays.

A most notable development was the rebuilding eventually of all the 58 Class A, 0-6-2T's with G.W.R. Type 10 taper boilers, as previously described in this journal. To the annoyance of South Wales enthusiasts no details appeared in railway journals, but full details appeared of the similar rebuilding of one of the two M.S.W.R. Junction Railway 4-4-4T's, which was scrapped after a very short life. Imagine the feelings of your writer when the first of the rebuilt as appeared at Grangetown to store its coaches after working football special to Ninian Park, but subsequent research in railway journals for years revealed no information whatever! They proved to be the most successful machines.