4079 Pendennis Castle

From Railway Advent an update on 4079 Pendennis Castle. a gathering at Didcot railway centre for people who may have close connections with this iconic locomotive and for fundraising also to fit mainline signalling equipment within the coming months. Can anybody shed more light on this article.

 

https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2019/03/an-update-on-steam-locomotive-4079-pendennis-castle.html

 

That article is very poorly written, with lots of grammar mistakes.

In general I find that the railadvent site is nothing more than a rehash of odd rumours or general chit chat, i.e. it's not a reliable source for news/official statements.

I cannot find anything on the Didcot website relating to this 'update'. I don't think Didcot are likely to have released a statement/update to railadvent without putting it on their own website first.

Keith

 

It seems comparable with the various "County"shireLive website that sprung up a while ago, it does seem to scour the internet for anything, whether it's worth reporting or indeed factual or not.

 

Likewise spelling and punctuation.

 

The DRC post is on Facebook:

 

Thought this would be a good time to move this thread up because of the fundraising event Didcot are holding for 4079!

 

What is the fundraising for new T.P.W.S. A.W.S. signalling equipment or something else anyone know on nat pres? I had a look round the engine at Didcot on saturday when i did the cotswold explorer and visited Didcot railway centre 4079 looked complete at a 1st glance no parts missing from what i saw on her.

 

According to the most recent update (March, above) remaining work is principally steam pipes and much other pipework, but most especially main line equipment.

 

The new GWS Echo suggests that £50k will see Pendennis finished and as such she is the subject of the Winter/Christmas fundraising raffle.

As noted above (and this is off the top of my head as I don't have it to hand) the main issues remaining are pipework with much needing replacement, main steam pipes which are there but need machining sorting the cab out - I assume to re-profile for the mainline (using elements from Maindy's cab so 4079's 'original' can be retained). plus the boiler needs to come off again for hydraulic and out of frames steam tests before certification and refitting.

 

So according to steam railway magazine November 15th 2019 a out of frames steam test and examination for the boiler is due in winter 2020, replace the main steam pipes and other pipe work its also saying in steam mag that G.W.S. are considering wether 4079 will steam on the mainline on its next 10 year ticket could anyone shed more light on this?

 

Is there a realistic business case for putting 4079 on the main line, or for that matter, any GWS loco? In this day and age you need regular work for them, not just a few jaunts a year. In this respect, a conversation I had with someone the other week suggested that there is not even be a business case for overhauling 6023 when it comes out of ticket as they should have 2999 and 4079 in terms of big engines.

 

There was a little more detail in the most recent GWS Echo.

I had this same conversation with someone over the weekend. Full disclosure, my heart desperately wants to see 4079 on the mainline as she is probably the pride of the Castle fleet, however, the main problem with main line GWR locomotives is that due to the unofficial tightening of the NR envelope they really don't fit in many locations any more without serious buggering about with cabs, fittings etc. In terms of both King and Castle there are locomotives out there (5029 & 6024) in ownership where financial viability for operation seems to be of limited consideration, thus is there room in the market for 6023/4079. Plus who is going to operate them as of the main options both have comparable locomotives in their own fleet which potentially could mean competing for the same market (LSL 6024/5029 & VT 7029/5043/5080).

I would like to think that having come this far 4079 will have a run on the mainline, but I cannot see it going beyond a single ticket ,for the same reason I can never see 5051 (my real favourite) ever running again at Didcot).

The simple fact is that Didcot have no use for efficient operational tender locomotives within their core business, they are too big to efficiently run on site and a bit of a pain to get in and out. However, it was noted in the most recent Echo that hiring does provide a good source of income, which also grossly exceeds what they can make running loco's on site. For instance running say 4144 at Didcot for possibly 2 days a week might not cover the cost of fuel/maintenance etc from gate receipts, however send her elsewhere and you may get steaming fees for say 5 days each week same with 6023?

 

For an organisation such as the GWS, running on the mainline is a luxury. Considering that this same organisation has had to contract out - at very considerable cost - the overhaul of an 0-4-0 saddle tank, due to not having the capacity to do it in-house, and considering that it is perennially short of operating crews, having had to cancel operating days, and even give up running the popular bar, then can it really justify spending time, money and resources on something like this?

The answer, of course, is no. Unfortunately strategy has always been one of the GWS' weak points, and so you end up in a situation were a few rose-tinters, who want to run on the mainline, are able to say 'as long as it remains a viable option we should continue to do it,' and yet there is no system in place to determine what constitutes as being viable, and no structure to determine who decides if it is viable. So it just goes on, even though it obviously can't. Personally, after 20 years, I just want to see Pendennis running. I don't want to have to wait even longer while people faff about in an ultimately abortive attempt to get it on the mainline, especially as there are already other members of the class out there. Keep it as an authentic, heritage engine.

Obviously, preservation is founded on rose-tinterism, but you must be wary of not letting it cloud your judgment when it comes to real-world decisions. Unfortunately the GWS are not always good at that, and I fear that '6023 just needs a retube' will be the next episode of this.

That said, the new CEO is well aware of the issues around strategy, so it's not all doom and gloom!

 

Whilst I haven't set foot in Didcot for probably 10 yearsand only get my info via the Echo really, sadly I have to agree with you.

However, over the last 12 months or so, do I sense that times are a changing a little?

 

My involvement over the last couple of years has been pretty peripheral, so I can't speak with 100% authority, but yes things have improved somewhat, although what I will say, is that now the dust has settled, it's clear that not as much has changed as should have done, which is disappointing. But, they really have managed to bag a first class asset with Emma, the new CEO, who I feel is capable of making a major difference.

 

If this means that Didcot is facing up to reality and will be will be willing to hire out locos - like 4144 to the SVR this summer - then this is really good news