7027 Thornbury Castle

It's not going well for them on fb. I love the "well, we weren't going to reveal until September" line.

 

Someone not quite understanding how PR works there!

 

Or somebody very cynically knowing it's going to blow up, and letting the anger dissipate now when nothing happens.

 

And the bit yesterday...

“And, should a No.7 or No.8 boiler become available, it would then be relatively straightforward to steam as Thornbury Castle again, clearly demonstrating Swindon’s foresight in express locomotive design.”

 

The Magic Boiler Fairy cometh!

 

And of course, if everyone rummaged behind the sofa and found that boiler now, nobody would need to chop up the castle.

Has everyone checked their sheds and garages?
[Edited for spelling]

 

Except to extract the various undergubbins for the half-complete Star ....

 

Yeah, I dug out their page and they're being panned. One or two people trying to defend them but it's really not boding well.

 

Seems to be some funny stuff being smoked in all quarters at the moment!

 

One can only assume that since the Star based on the mortal remains of 7027 relies on blowing things up, perhaps it would the first of the "Supernova" class....

 

A supernova has certainly been started, however if they don't back out of this idea I think their group will resemble something of a white dwarf.

 

I've done enough drawing and sketching of GWR locomotives that I like to think I have a handle on the basics. The King boiler is a lengthened 47 boiler on the same pitch. There seems no reason I can see why a 47 cut down in the same manner as the mainline Kings should not clear everything above footplate height that the Kings can clear. I would be intrigued to learn what the issues are there.
Below the footplate is another matter. The 47s were significantly restricted on routes, and the obvious culprit is cylinder clearance and throwover. It does seem possible, though, that this could/has been worked around using redesigned cylinders with higher strength materials.
As I've said before, though, this is a moot point because I think mainline paths for the 47 would be very few and far between, and I think would be likely to be 50mph restricted.

All in all I think the whole thing is a completely avoidable PR disaster. It seems to me that if the 47 group are unsure of their ability to finance a Std7 boiler the best thing to do would be to weld a facsimile from mild steel plate with no ability to hold pressure and complete the rest of the locomotive. The result would still be fully able to fulfil the prime function of being a museum exhibit at Didcot and give us all the ability to see a 47 alongside the rest of the fleet. If the money ever comes available to build a boiler then it can be built and exchanged in the best GWR fashion.

 

Can't help but feel that if endless variations of green tender engines was what you wanted. Then converting a Castle to a Star was a far more realistic and useful prospect than building a whole new 47xx ever was. Perhaps they should have started there.

 

The guy who did all the design work for the revised cylinders, and apparently received zero credit for his work has a lot to say about the way the project has been managed and the parties involved in various posting on Facebook.

Or alternatively do the same for 5051 and use her boiler...

 

Sorry, I should have realised this was too much of a life or death subject to accommodate my feeble attempt at humour......

 

I am waiting for the new appeal in a couple of weeks.
The GWS launch their "Castle levelling up" plan after the previous 47XX and Star replica plans backfired.
They now intend to restore 7027 but will rename her "Thorn In My Side Castle".
Early donations to the appeal will have to be used to pay the Eurythmics for filming a fancy PR video for the appeal.

 

Others seem to have managed.

 

I have never been one of those genuflecting at the metaphorical Swindon Altar but the allure of steam,
specifically Railway locomotives, has held me since 1946/7. ( My father lifted me on to the footplate of a
stream lined Coronation at the end of Euston station. I remember it was all very dirty and only years
later I understood she was one of the last to carry the streamlined casing. The same day we went to
Victoria and on a totally deserted Continental departures stood, to a child, an amazing Green machine.
With hindsight I suspect it was an ex works West Country. This and the sight of a King Arthur in the
summer of 1947 rushing headlong towards Honiton as we stopped for a picnic, returning from the annual
Holiday trawl back from Mullion on the A30 probably were the reasons I became a Southern fan )

I mention this, as I suspect, as with many enthusiasts I view the World through somewhat clouded
spectacles. The current issue wrt what happens to 7027 and the outpouring inevitably involves
many clouded spectacles.

When all is done however it is the allure of operating steam locomotives that continues to excite me.
( I suppose in modern hyperbole ‘makes the adrenaline flow’.) So whilst I may emotionally prefer
some locos to others it is the actual steam ( smells, noise, sense of power, etc etc. ) that matters.

I do not know which will produce a ‘walking talking’ loco soonest i.e. restore 7027 or complete 4709.

Some thoughts however:

Most locos, even those built under BR auspices, are to some extent now ‘Trigger’s Brooms”

The GWS was one of the leaders of the initial steam Preservation movement. None of
the other members of the ‘Big Four’ have engendered so comprehensive a Society.

Whilst I find static exhibits exactly that i.e. static, I recognise that Museums that relate
history by displaying artefacts are vitally important and that specifically locomotives ( motive
power ) are a vital part of the History of Railways. I have always thought that Didcot
made a pretty good fist of combining a historical record with operating exhibits. I also
appreciate that as the years go by it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain an
operable fleet.

Regarding 4709 per se: Whilst I acknowledge the 47xx were a small class of locos, AFAIK after
they were given an appropriate boiler ( only Swindon could designate a build of 10, ‘standard’ )
they performed well, whether on fast freight or heavy Summer passenger services. The 47xx as
a design arguably emphasises, more than the 29xx and 40xx, how far Churchward and his team
were ahead of the rest of the UK.

If indeed 4709 can be brought to fruition in a relatively short time then I think the unfortunate
jettisoning of a 5089 4-6-0 is probably pragmatic.

I regard the utilisation of the ‘bottom’ for a Star and the possibility of then returning the
Star to Castle status ( 4037 etc ride again ) at a later stage if a boiler becomes available
as ‘ motherhood and apple pie’. But then our movement is full of crack pot ideas, such
as building a new A1 or parading six A4s together at York etc etc.

Michael Rowe

 

What events are these? Why is Defiant not safe? I've read in Tyseleys magazine that a new tender tank is currently being manufactured.

 

Since "Know Your Customer" rules were introduced, that gets rather harder. And there's less trust when the account is in the name of "joe bloggs esq" than was perhaps the case in the Barry days.