GWR light Prairies at High Wycombe.

An excellent article in the current Great Western Railway journal by John Copsey on the use made of the Great Western light Prairies started my memories going.
I am old enough to remember the end of steam on the Western (just) and I recall spotting a number of these engines at High Wycombe in 1964. I noted 5508, 5531, 5545, 5564 and 5571. According to my records these were the last batch to be withdrawn all except 5564 (and with 5569) lasting until December 1964.
Now these loco's were not particularly accociated with the London area and I only once saw one of them working. This was when homeward bound in the family car we were stopped at Bourne End level crossing, in the late afternoon I think, and 5564 came through on a short (pick up?) goods. The rest of the time they were simply in light steam parked at High Wycombe yard throat by the South signal box.
So anyone know what their duties were? I assume they were based at Slough shed so I have also wondered if they were ever used on the Chinnor branch. This would normally have had a 16xx or 57xx Pannier or, in the last year or so, a tanner-one and I never saw one but they might have ventured out with the Cement works coal train.

 

in Kevin McCormack's book "the Western around London" there is a picture on page 25 of 5531 working a freight at West Drayton in December 1964. Also on page 57 there is a picture of 5503 & 5569 on shed at Southall. I think I have seen another picture somewhere of a small prairie on the Greenford branch.

 

Deleted duplicate

 

Like 6136 I am just old enough to remember spotting at High Wycombe and recall some of my earliest photographic attempts there with a cheap camera which we obtained in exchange for a number of cereal packet tokens and a small payment. At the time my much older brother had at least advanced to a box brownie and I have scanned some of his pictures from the period showing 5508 on 26/3/64 (the lighter picture) , 5570 on 30/11/63 (the dark ones) and 5571 on 14/7/64 (the rectangular picture possibly using a Halina 35x he bought about this time). Unfortunately he died in 2006 so I can't ask him about the use of the locos, however, other pictures in his collection show some of the ones already mentioned on Southall shed and I'll leave readers to speculate on the types of train being worked in these pictures. I mainly recall 61xx tanks shunting Wycombe and working local trip goods and there was usually one shunting the yards between a steady procession of steam hauled freights with grubby steam engines in sharp contrast to the new Westerns and Blue Pullman passenger services.

Sorry the pictures are of such poor quality but hopefully they will bring back memories.

 

Lovely pics, takes me right back. I also had a packet top camera. Mine was a 120 roll film job called a Diana. It wasn't bad but I didn't have it in ,64. Took some OK stuff at Waterloo a couple of years later.

 

Herald your shot 3rd is interesting as the signal indication and the fact that it's on the down main suggests that this may be a banker? I've never heard of a banker being required for Saunderton bank but the only other thing I can think of is that this train is either pushing a train to, or possibly top n tailing to Wycombe North yard.