A Brief History

No. 7027 Thornbury Castle was built by British Railways Western Region at Swindon Works in August 1949 as part of Lot 367. As part of the first batch of Castles built under the auspices of Collett's successor F. W. Hawksworth, the loco featured an array of modifications to improve fuel economy and overall performance. This included a 3-row superheated boiler.

The locomotive was withdrawn from service in 1963, and after a brief period of storage was sent to Woodham's scrapyard in Barry, South Wales in 1964.

7027 was sold to what was then known as the Birmingham Railway Museum (now Tyseley Locomotive Works) and left as the 23rd departure from Barry in August 1972. The loco was used as a donor for spare parts for her sister locomotives, which were also based at Tyseley. After being purchased by Pete Waterman's Transport Trust, she was stored outside the Crewe Heritage Centre in her Barry Scrapyard condition where she would remain until 2016.

Following the removal of Waterman's railway equipment from the former LNWR site in 2016, she was moved to Peak Rail in April 2016. Later that year 7027 was purchased from the Waterman Trust for an undisclosed sum by a private individual, the owner of 4936 Kinlet Hall and the revived Crosville Motor Services, who initially had plans to restore the engine to full mainline standards. Restoration was started at the Crosville depot in Weston-super-Mare, however in February 2018, agreement was reached between the West Somerset Railway and its owner for 7027 to be moved to Williton, to be restored there over a six-year period.

In January 2020 the Castle was once again sold on with plans to be restored to working order for use on the Great Central Railway. A report made in April 2022 stated that restoration had started. The project was headed up by the chief mechanical engineer of Great Central Railway, with many photos on social media showing that great progress had been made. Many large components had been cleaned and repainted, new parts of varying size (including a new tender tank) had been manufactured or acquired and an examination of the boiler had taken place. It was looking like a good future for Thornbury Castle had come at last…

The Night Owl project - Frankenstein's Monster?

In August 2022 it became public knowledge that - yet again - 7027 had been sold on, this time to the 4709 “Night Owl” project. An article on the railway news website Rail Advent featured a statement by Richard Croucher:

“every one of 7027’s components will play a significant role in the current and future projects at the Great Western Society.*

The major component is 7027’s GWR No. 8 Boiler.”

“The no. 8 boiler offers a huge saving for the 4709 Project – not least in time and energy; current estimates suggest that a new 47XX-standard no.7 boiler would cost more than £800,000 to fabricate and take up to five years to complete.”

Truth be told, other than smaller fittings, there is doubt that any of 7027’s components are at all appropriate for the 47xx project without considerable modification, including the boiler. I am of the belief that the cost of this purchase, along with costs associated with the required boiler modifications will not save any money in the long run. 

Many enthusiasts have shared their disdain for this decision, with some expressing that they’ll no longer support the 4709 Group in its future endeavours. 

Once 7027’s boiler has been taken away and butchered, the remains of the Castle are more than likely going to end up at the end of a siding, once again collecting weeds as it did at Barry, Tyseley and Crewe. It will be seen as a “no hoper”. It has been suggested that the rest of the Castle will be used to make a GWR Star class; A class of locomotive that is already represented in the national collection and a project that would see hundreds of thousands of pounds in funds being spent unnecessarily, again requiring parts to be considerably altered - frames included! 

Either way, is this an appropriate ending to a member of what is arguably the GWR’s flagship and most loved class of locomotive? Would we see an A4 cut up this way, perhaps used to make one of the lost Thompson Pacifics? Indeed, would we see a Royal Scot or Jubilee cut up to make a Patriot, rather than one being made from the ground up? Wouldn't it be better to raise funds for a new boiler for the 4709 project so that others may enjoy 7027 in the future? If the interest is there, it will happen. 

Let it be known that before this loco’s demise, it was a restoration project and NOT a scrapyard hulk. Engineering staff and volunteers had put their heart and soul into getting this loco back in steam from the moment it arrived at the GCR. 

Conclusion

The message to the 4709 Night Owl project is clear: Please reconsider this course of action! 7027 Thornbury Castle should not be condemned in this way. Start a fundraiser to have a new, appropriate boiler made for the 47xx, and let 7027 have some sort of future. If you share this opinion, please consider signing this petition and make the 4709 project aware of your disappointment. Together we can make a difference! 

*The GWS have publicly announced that they were unaware of the sale of 7027

https://didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk/article.php/519/7027-thornbury-castle