7027 Thornbury Castle

Even as someone that has no interest in seeing another Castle and a fancy for the 47xx class, that seems an entirely laudable and dignified proposal

 

Slightly strange piece in SR, which suggests that the new boiler would cost £800k and thus this has saved the project £800k which would only really be correct if they had been given 7027 and someone is going to restore the boiler FOC.

More smoke and mirrors....

 

Latest copy of Steam Railway has arrived. Plenty of news about 7027's sale and chequered history but next to no mention that it was being restored at the GCR. In the main article there was a brief comment about small parts being restored, but no mention that it was specifically being worked on at the GCR and intended to steam again. The editors opening words didn't mention it at all. Either ignorant or intentionally obtuse... Probably both.

I shouldn't be surprised that this comic would be so one-sided. I expect these vanity projects boost their sales.

 

They don’t call it the Steam Sun for nothing.

 

In their defence its possible that the editorial was written before this all kicked off last Friday.

However on the wider matters I really don't know, the one interesting thing is that they are suggesting a big piece on her preservation history next month, now from experience such big pieces are not normally prepared on a month by month basis and are planned some while in advance so could it be that the 4709 group have offered them some good access for that piece and expect their tummy tickled in return?

I continue to have the monthly musing as to whether to cancel my subscription as they seem to perpetually struggle for decent content, but its been arriving monthly for years and its a hard habit to quit.

 

I think I've subscribed to the thing for getting on for 20 years now, but the one that arrived today should be the last one as I cancelled the Direct Debit back in April. The mag has improved a bit in the last couple of months from the low-point of earler this year/late last year, but can manage to live without it now!
I thought it was interesting, given press timescales, that they had sufficient info to print something about 7027, given that it didn't seem to become "public knowledge" until last Friday....

 

True...but an open cheque could be very persuasive...so I believe.
But we need to move on and see what happens next in the exciting saga of 7027.

 

I would not call it exciting.

 

Who do you believe is doing that? No-one has proposed reducing a loco to scrap. At most the GWS may, at some future date, cut a bit off the frames at the back for the conversion to a Star.

 

Take a bloody big hacksaw to cut the back of those frames off.

 

Richard Croucher is in his late seventies according to companies house, while the lead engineer is mid to late sixities based on info obtained by web searches.

 

Well what a sad end to the saga of Thornbury Castle. It was first preserved in 1972, a full 50 years ago. Owners coming and going, no doubt with dreams a plenty, but little actual work done in those 50 years.

There is a photo of it in the current issue of steam railway when first preserved and it looked relatively complete then. Finally with renewed optimism it looked like it may just get done at the GCR and we would see it puffing through Quorn in the years ahead, but no.

The boiler will get removed for a project which will still take years and years to get done and the rest quietly discarded as 'bits' for a star that we all know will realistically never happen.

 

This 'autonomy' only really extends to those 'groups' who are associated with a certain ex-chairman. For this person, Didcot Railway Centre was almost an irritation, that got in the way of the 'real' purpose of the GWS, which was to build new engines. One of his legacies has been to cause a real split between 'Railway Centre people' and 'Society people', even though they should be one and the same. This partly explains the bizarre attempt at distancing from the 47xx project. Yes, it really is a mess. But hey-ho, the HRA gave him a 'lifetime achievement' award, so he must be good, right?

The question of controls and procedures for major expenditure have long been a cause for concern among the longstanding workers at Didcot. In the last couple of years a volunteer tried to raise this at an online AGM, but needless to say his query went unanswered. As a contractor for the GWS, my own personal experience of the Society's financial procedures was, shall we say, 'interesting'.

Likewise, the dysfunctional nature of the Board has been a cause for concern for a long, long time, a situation which sadly wasn't resolved following the departure of the HRA's golden boy. This discontent was not just restricted to the dirty overall brigade, but included management, and Board members past and present. There have been numerous independent reviews of the Board, instigated by certain Directors who recognised the need for reform. The most recent was in February this year. But as always, the recommendations were never acted upon. According to those at the very top, everything is fine and dandy!

Other railways please take note: don't stick your head in the sand. A large part of why Didcot is where it is, was because too many people were either too scared to stand up, too apathetic, or too unwilling to rock the boat, in case it compromised their ability to play trains.

 

To be fair regarding the then editorial team didn’t do a bad job of getting the likes of raising funds for the likes of 63601, 3440 and 70013 in partnership with the NRM (we all own a little piece of those)

I’ve never seen any figures but the last appeal to readers regarding 4942/2999 didn’t seem to do so well…
I haven’t seen any photos captioned with ‘Steam Railway GWS appeal loco 2999 etc’ since 2999 has been in action.
Just sayin…

 

It's possible the Editorial was written before the weekend, but Trackside Magazine seemed to be in the loop, as the loco's sale and the subsequent Star project were revealed in their latest issue, which I received on Saturday, the day after the sale was announced.

 

Hand on heart, do you think these changes are going to be irreversible?

 

I don't think i would use Steam Railway to wipe my backside with let alone read the trash they print!

 

The Star project has never been sanctioned by the GWS Board. With active fundraising on 1466, water tower (it's just about complete), Didcot development (ramp), small loco (1363, 1466, 1340) along with County 1014, 4709 and the recently announced Dreadnought fundraiser there is zero appetite to spin another plate.

 

There is clearly a big question mark (or several) about the plans. If the project to build a Star does go ahead and the Castle frames are cut down, that might be reversible in principle but I can't see anyone having both the will and the means to reverse the process, so it will be irreversible in practice.
My personal view is that the Star project (insofar as it exists) makes more sense than using the No.8 boiler for 4709. The only real difference from the project that gave us Lady of Legend is that work had started on restoration of Thornbury Castle in its own right. We have conflicing claims as to how far that work had progressed and whether and when it could be completed, after the disappearance of the latest source of funding; but anyway very little if any of that work will have been wasted if the frames are eventually used for a Star and the boiler is used for something, preferably a spare for another Castle.