7027 Thornbury Castle

Wasn't that more or less they thought they were doing, when the source of funding for restoring the loco was suddently cut off?

 

I suspect this is from the article in this months Trackside magazine about the A4 and the Terrier Waddon. Would seem that the Canadian museum was conducting a review of its exhibits to decide if any should be sold off etc. This was delayed by Covid, but with Covid now finished, the magazine had contacted the museum to see if there was any update to the situation, but had been told by the museum president, not at the moment.

Even if they do decide to dispose of anything in future doesn't necessarily mean the A4 or Terrier would be chosen, particularly now they have been repainted and made to look more presentable, but if any organisation in Britain was interested in either loco, wouldn't hurt to contact the museum and express that interest in case the situation changes. Check out the magazine for the full article.

 

Yeah, but the perception is all wrong, and PR is all about perception and emotion.
The reality was, I guess, that with the loss of funding the project had come to a crashing halt, the effort put in was sunk cost, and the locomotive and parts liable to go to a highest bidder that could well be the scrapman.
The perception was that the evil GWS were deliberately destroying a viable and progressing restoration.

 

I absolutely agree. If Thornbury castle is broken for spares the GWS will maybe loose a lot more support than what they think......

 

What on earth is wrong with the idea of building 4709 with 7027's boiler, with a commitment to replace it with a new boiler of the correct type and return 7027's to its frames if and when those are ready to receive it? In the meantime, reassemble the frames without the boiler and without expensive overhaul work, as an educational exhibit? After all. what lies between the frames of an inside cylinder engine is interesting to view and rarely possible to view. The GWS might even get a grant for such an educational exhibit! Problem solved and nothing needs to be scrapped!

 

Because once 4709 is built, there will be very high likelihood that 7027 will be forgotten, and it's remains will be dumped somewhere until the weeds cover whats left, The argument will be, why raise funds to build another boiler, we already have one that kind of looks right,

 

Nothing wrong with it - but sadly no such offer has been made.

 

I find your views very negative - surely the aim should be to find some form of compromise. If we accept that its going to be at least years before the boiler is required for 7027, then the priority should then be a way to save and conserve the bottom half of the loco. If grant money could be secured to reassemble the frames as an educational exhibit they would be an asset to the GWS. What I'm suggesting would mean the loco staying in the hands of the GWS, and they have space to display the reassembled frames if they want to - stand it on its side alongside a wall if need be!

 

An offer doesn't need to be made - the logical place for such an exhibit would be at Didcot, and the GWS/4709 group already own the loco, don't they?

 

Well, is it the GWS or the 4709 group? It’s not exactly certain is it?

 

It's going to be many years before 4709 needs a boiler as well! I dare say the frames of 7027 were closer to completion than 4709.

 

If there was the will to do it,7027 could be steaming in far less time than the 4709 group were even going to be ready, didn't the GC, think it was about 3 years from completion, with much of the chassis done, There is of course a compromise that could be done, and thats to build 4709 as 4700, with an 28xx boiler, as the original engine was outshopped from Swindon. Wasn't there even a boiler set aside for this engine, from the x barry ten 28?

 

That's my point. GWS/4709 group haven't offered or committed to doing anything like that. Their announced plan was to use the boiler on 4709; with a vague possibility of using other parts for a replica 'Star' (possibly; maybe; someday - no better than that). Following the backlash they then said they “will consider offers from properly funded groups for all or parts of 7027 Thornbury Castle, which could enable a rebuild of Thornbury Castle if viable”. If no viable offers have been received, in their judgement, I imagine they'll revert to Plan A.

 

There was and probably still is the will, but there's one little detail missing; a large wodge of cash.

 

Who / what entity was funding the overhaul of the loco when overhaul was underway at the GCR?

Tom

 

GWS/4709 group don't need to offer or commit to anything other than their previously announced plan. In the absence of a sufficient cash offer from anyone, they own all the extant components and they can do as they please with them.
However they would do themselves a great deal of good if they were to announce a plan along the lines of 61624's in post #2885, where nothing gets scrapped and full restoration of Thornbury Castle remains a future possibility, if and when someone comes up with the cash (for the restoration and for a spanking new no.7 boiler for 4709). Meanwhile they get an adequate, if not ideal, boiler for 4709 and a valuable educational exhibit for Didcot. If the cash never appears, no harm done: the remains of Thornbury Castle will be no worse off than they are now.

 

Nothing at all assuming one is happy with something with no historic precedent representing something that was never ever built. If would be more historically accurate and a damn sight cheaper to spend a few quid knocking up a fake no.7 boiler to sit in the frames to be dragged in and out at Didcot every weekend, a fate I fear will face 4709 if its ever completed at the end of its 1st ticket, and that's not me being negative merely reflecting the needs that the GWS has for motive power and looking at the 1x King, 2x Halls, 1x Castle, 1x Manor etc not near an overhaul queue even as it stands.

And have they actually bought it or just agreed to buy it, if its the former as noted earlier a) its entirely unclear where the monies came from to complete the purchase and b) it looks very odd that the GWS knew nothing about it when a group which is part of the wider GWS and whose monies sit as a protected fund within the accounts managed and presented by the GWS spent a bloody great big wedge of cash, origins unknown, on something apparently entirely without the knowledge of the board and Trustees of the charity within which they sit.

Be interesting to see how the funding and support to the 47xx project holds up after this whole debacle...

 

The question of Governance of the GWS has been , or should be brought into question over just who is in charge , the GWS, or a group, that on the face of it is part of the GWS, or not might be, it says a lot that someone, could if you believe the GWS, act above the organisational body, agree to buy an part restored engine, only to in effect dismantle most of it, to short cut an rebuild, that is nothing more than a set of frames at the moment, using an incorrect boiler at that, who has stumped up the money to buy it ? , and has it come from GWS funds, If that's the case, then clearly its being used as someone's personal bank, for a project that might not be in keeping with the GWS's aims.

 

Does it really matter?