| GWR 7027 Thornbury Castle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 7027 Thornbury Castle undergoing restoration at Weston-super-Mare, 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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7027 Thornbury Castle was built in August 1949. Its first shed allocation was Plymouth Laira. Its March 1959 shed allocation was Old Oak Common. Its last shed allocation was Reading. It was withdrawn in December 1963 and arrived at Woodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry, South Wales in May 1964. The locomotive was not scrapped and was being restored in 2022.
7027 was sold to the then Birmingham Railway Museum and left as the 23rd departure from Barry in August 1972. After being purchased by Pete Waterman's Transport Trust,[ when? ] she was stored outside the Crewe Heritage Centre in her Barry Scrapyard condition. Some parts of 7027 are currently in use on elder sibling 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe and one set of name and number plates for 7027 are mounted on a wall of the main hall of The Castle School in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire. Following the removal of Waterman's railway equipment from the former LNWR site in 2016, she was moved to Peak Rail in April 2016.
In July 2016, 7027 was purchased from the Waterman Trust for an undisclosed sum by Jon Jones-Pratt, owner of 4936 Kinlet Hall and the revived Crosville Motor Services, who plans to restore the engine to full mainline standards. [1] Restoration started at the Crosville depot in Weston-super-Mare. In February 2018, agreement was reached between the West Somerset Railway and Jon Jones-Pratt for 7027 Thornbury Castle to be moved to Williton, to be restored there over a six-year period. [2] In January 2020 no 7027 was once again sold on with plans to be restored to working order. 7027 was sold from Jon Jones-Pratt to a private individual who intended to restore the engine for use at the Great Central Railway. The engine was then planned not be mainline certified on completion. [3]
An April 2020 report stated that restoration had started; the project was headed up by the chief mechanical engineer of Great Central Railway, Craig Stinchcombe. [4] Reports and photographs posted in 2022 indicated that restoration was well underway. [5]
In August 2022, the future restoration of Thornbury Castle was called into question when the Great Western Society's 4709 Group bought the locomotive with the intention of donating the boiler to their project to re-create a GWR 4700 Class. [6] [7] [8] Thornbury Castle's chassis and other components were to be used to recreate a GWR Star class locomotive, and eventually rebuilding it back into Thornbury Castle when a No. 7 or No. 8 boiler would be available in the future. [9] [10] However, in September of 2022, those plans were cancelled. [11] [12] [13] The GWS also stated that Thornbury Castle could be rebuilt in its own right if someone buys the spare parts. [14]
In May 2023 The Railway Magazine reported that the use of the Castle's boiler for the Night Owl project had been confirmed in an announcement on 24 April by Richard Croucher of the 4709 Group. As a result the magazine reported savings of £500,000 would be made by the project and it would see a time saving of five years.
The Great Western Railway 4000 or Star were a class of 4-cylinder 4-6-0 passenger steam locomotives designed by George Jackson Churchward for the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1906 and introduced from early 1907. The prototype was built as a 4-4-2 Atlantic. They proved to be a successful design which handled the heaviest long-distance express trains, reaching top speeds of 90 mph (145 km/h), and established the design principles for GWR 4-cylinder classes over the next twenty-five years.
The 4073 or Castle Class are 4-6-0 steam locomotives of the Great Western Railway, built between 1923 and 1950. They were designed by the railway's Chief Mechanical Engineer, Charles Collett, for working the company's express passenger trains. They could reach speeds of up to 100 mph (160 km/h).
Thornbury Castle is a Tudor castle in the place of Thornbury, in Gloucestershire, England, situated next to the parish church of St Mary, founded in the Norman era. Construction was begun in 1511 as a further residence for Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham (1478-1521), of Stafford Castle in Staffordshire. It is not a true military fortress but rather an early example of a Tudor country house, with minimal defensive attributes. As at Richmond Palace in Surrey, the main ranges of Thornbury framed courts, of which the symmetrical entrance range, with central gatehouse and octagonal corner towers, survives, together with two less regular side ranges with many irregular projecting features and towers. It is now a grade I listed building that is operated as a hotel.
Didcot Railway Centre is a railway museum and preservation engineering site in Didcot, Oxfordshire, England. The site was formerly a Great Western Railway engine shed and locomotive stabling point.
5051 Drysllwyn Castle is a Great Western Railway (GWR) Castle Class locomotive built at Swindon Works in May 1936 and named after Dryslwyn Castle. It is owned by the Didcot Railway Centre.
GWR 4073 "Castle" Class No. 4079 Pendennis Castle is a 4-6-0 steam locomotive built in 1924 for the Great Western Railway (GWR) at Swindon Works to a design of Charles Collett. It was employed on long-distance express passenger trains on the GWR and its successor, British Railways' Western Region.
The GWR 5700 Class is a class of 0-6-0 pannier tank steam locomotive built by the Great Western Railway (GWR) and British Railways (BR) between 1929 and 1950. With 863 built, they were the most prolific class of the GWR, and one of the most numerous classes of British steam locomotive.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 7800 Class or Manor Class is a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotive. They were designed as a lighter version of the Grange Class, giving them a wider Route Availability. Like the 'Granges', the 'Manors' used parts from the GWR 4300 Class Moguls but just on the first batch of twenty. Twenty were built between 1938 and 1939, with British Railways adding a further 10 in 1950. They were named after Manors in the area covered by the Great Western Railway. Nine are preserved.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 2884 Class is a class of 2-8-0 steam locomotive. They were Collett's development of Churchward's earlier 2800 Class and are sometimes regarded as belonging to that class.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 4300 Class is a class of 2-6-0 (mogul) steam locomotives, designed by G.J. Churchward for mixed traffic duties. 342 were built from 1911–1932.
Great Western Railway (GWR) 6000 Class 6023 King Edward II is a preserved steam locomotive.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 4700 Class was a class of nine 2-8-0 steam locomotives, designed by George Jackson Churchward. They were introduced in 1919 for heavy mixed-traffic work. Although primarily designed for fast freight, the class also sometimes hauled passenger trains, notably heavy holiday expresses in the summer months. They were unofficially nicknamed "Night Owls" because they were primarily designed to haul goods during the night and they could be seen simmering in the daylight, awaiting their nocturnal duties.
GWR 4073 Class 5029 Nunney Castle is a Great Western Railway Castle Class steam locomotive. It was built at the GWR's Swindon Works in 1934, being outshopped on 28 May and taking the name of Nunney Castle near Frome, Somerset. The locomotive was used in many publicity and "life on the railway" type of photographs. During the first day of the evacuation of civilians during World War II, the locomotive hauled trains carrying children being taken from London to the safety of the countryside. Nunney Castle was also used to haul the Royal Train in October 1957 from London Paddington station to Gloucester.
The GWR 4073 Class 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe is a steam locomotive of the GWR 'Castle' Class, built in March 1936. It was originally named Barbury Castle, and was renamed Earl of Mount Edgcumbe in September 1937. It had a double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted in October 1958.
GWR 4073 Class 5080 Defiant is a GWR 4073 Class steam locomotive built for the Great Western Railway at Swindon Works in May 1939. It was originally named Ogmore Castle.
Great Western Railway 7800 Class No. 7827 Lydham Manor is a preserved British steam locomotive. It is currently owned by and based on the Dartmouth Steam Railway.
Despite the advent of electric and diesel locomotives in the mid-20th century, steam locomotives continued to be used and constructed into the 21st century. The regular use of steam locomotives in non-tourist revenue service concluded in 2022.
No.1014 County of Glamorgan is a steam locomotive which is under construction as a "new-build" project, based at Didcot Railway Centre in Didcot, Oxfordshire. Unlike most other new-build projects which are underway and are building new members of lost classes like 2007 Prince of Wales and 2999 Lady of Legend it was decided to build a mock of one of the Great Western Railway 1000 or "County" Class engines, the chosen engine being 1014 The project was launched in 2005 with the creation of the 'Three Counties Agreement' between the Great Western Society (GWS) and the Vale of Glamorgan Council saw three members of the Barry 10, all of the being ex-GWR locomotives, and a 3,500-gallon tender being used to help resurrect extinct GWR locomotives. This meant that a GWR 1000 Class No. 1014 County of Glamorgan, GWR 3800 Class No. 3840 County of Montgomery, a GWR 2221 Class tank engine, and a GWR 4700 Class No. 4709 would be constructed from the parts of GWR 2800 Class No. 2861, GWR 5101 Class No. 4115, GWR 5205 Class No. 5227, GWR 6959 Class No. 7927 Willington Hall and LMS 8F No. 48518.
