Castle 7027 Tender

Can anyone tell me if this engine has a tender or will they need to build or buy one as and when the loco is restored

 

I was up there 10 years ago on a contract with 1450 & there was what looked like a kit of parts for a Hawksworth tender, including a suspiciously new-looking tank, lurking outside along with Thornbury's frames & boiler.

 

Thanks for that. I had no idea that it was going to be a Hawksworth. Has anyone out there seen it since?

 

No 7027 Thornbury Castle now has the dubious honour of being the earliest locomotive to be purchased from Barry Scrapyard that has still yet to steam. (LMR 2-6-0 No 46447 was the holder until recently but that fine little loco has now steamed of course). Thornbury Castle was the 23rd loco to leave the Barry Yard, as long ago as August 1972, and was, of course, originally bought by Birmingham Railway Museum as a source of spares. Built at Swindon in August 1949, it therefore never carried GWR livery. It was based at Worcester Shed in 1960 and had a general overhaul at Swindon as late as 1963 before being withdrawn in December the same year.

Nothing seems to have been done to this potentially fine locomotive for some years since its purchase by a well known enthusiast. It would look just wonderful steaming into Broadway Station! If I won the Lottery, etc. Well today I did - but just £25! Dream on then.

 

Tender has been built for years the tank from what I recall was built at the same time as another one although can't remember which loco it was for. It's at the mill street end of the heritage centre site (or was) should be visible from the new tesco car park. If trying to access through the museum itself please be aware it's on a none public area so please ask permission.

 

When you've seen one castle you've seen em all.
Screwdriver will change their id's without a paint job.

7027 ain't needed, 5029 barely gets much work, and before it neither did 5051.
5043 does the business end of Tyseley and they have 7029 following ( and 5080 if they really wanted).

So unless someone wants a class 7 for GWR trundles (and doesn't care for the upcoming 4079), then my suggestion is a 111 Great Bear rebuild, or more likely put a GWR 28xx boiler on it and make a Star out of it... But if you really wanted the butchers knives... Isn't there a set of drawings in the NRM for a proposed GWR Castle "tank"....

 

Sir I believe you'll be needing this Tin hat.. I suggest you take cover!

 

7027 would need a huge amount of rebuilding to represent a Star. The later Castles were significantly different to the early ones. Oh, and you can't have too many Castles...

 

This is not totally daft. The original plan to use this one for spares was perfectly reasonable and the original plan for the Earl was the same. With enough parts found elsewhere or newly manufactured for complete restoration of the latter we thereby already have one more complete castle than originally envisaged. As with the Barry Six, some major components of 7027 could be used to (re)produce something that doesn't exist.

For a really daft idea, how about restoring it and re-gauging it to 5'3"? It would be a few tons lighter than Maedb, so maybe not too heavy for a few routes in Ireland. (Now I'll get my tin hat.)

Much more to the point, what are its present owner's plans? Maybe still to use it for spares for something else that he either has or intends to buy in future?

 

Now If I were a silly man with a real death wish, I'd have actually suggested that 7027 would make a good conversion into No 4 Henry as a Thomas the Tank Character.

At least then a GWR loco would have a decent excuse for running out of steam and sitting down in a tunnel.



Could end up being the first GWR loco to make a profit too


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Can think of one atleast that has done well for itself.

 

7027 is the only surviving three-row superheat Castle, a member of the "5098" class. It also still has the single chimney.

4073, 4079, 5029, 5051 and 5080 are original two-row superheat versions and 5043 and 7029 are the final four-row superheat, double chimney conversions.

As such, it is different from all the other surviving Castles and it would be great to see it running again.

 

Has memories for me as well as Reading was it's last shed, had a footplate on it in October 1963 in the station confines whilst on station pilot duty.
Before that I saw it many times on the Worcester/Hereford expresses.

 

Because he can't get anyone else to pay for them?

 

According to this it's last works visit was early 1962.
http://www.brdatabase.info/locoqry.php?action=locodata&type=S&id=7027&loco=7027

 

Wash your mouth out with soap!
We had better get rid of most of the Bulleid light pacifics then working on that basis.

 

Ha! can you ever have to many Castles? I don't think so. Two Castles next to each other double the beauty. Oh! pass my rose tinted glasses.

 

More than doubles....