GWR 4073 Class 7027 Thornbury Castle

GWR 7027 Thornbury Castle
7027 Thornbury Castle undergoing restoration at Weston-super-Mare, 2016
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Charles Collett Builder BR Swindon Works Build date August 1949
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-0 Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Leading dia. 3 ft 2 in (0.965 m) Driver dia. 6 ft 8+1⁄2 in (2.045 m) Length 65 ft 2 in (19.86 m) over buffers Width 8 ft 11 in (2.718 m) Height 13 ft 1 in (3.988 m) (Cut back from 13 ft 4+1⁄2 in (4.077 m)) Loco weight 79 long tons 17 cwt (178,900 lb or 81.1 t) 89.4 short tons full Tender weight 47 long tons 6 cwt (106,000 lb or 48.1 t) 53.0 short tons full Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 6 long tons 0 cwt (13,400 lb or 6.1 t) 6 long tons 0 hundredweight (6.10 t; 6.72 short tons) Water cap 4,000 imp gal (18,000 l; 4,800 US gal) Firebox:  • Firegrate area 29.36 sq ft (2.728 m2) Boiler GWR Standard Number 8 Boiler pressure 225 lbf/in2 (1.55 MPa) Heating surface:  • Tubes 1,857.7 sq ft (172.59 m2) (Collett) 1,799.5 sq ft (167.18 m2) (Hawksworth)  • Firebox 162.7 sq ft (15.12 m2) (Collett) 163.5 sq ft (15.19 m2) (Hawksworth) Cylinders Four (two inside, two outside) Cylinder size 16 in × 26 in (406 mm × 660 mm) Valve gear Inside cylinders: Walschaerts Outside cylinders: derived from inside cylinders via rocking bars. Valve type Piston valves Loco brake Vacuum
Performance figures Maximum speed 25mph - (heritage railways) 45mph - (mainline, tender first) 75mph - (mainline, chimney first) Tractive effort 31,625 lbf (140.68 kN)
Career Operators British Railways Power class GWR: D BR: 7P Axle load class GWR: Red Withdrawn December 1963 Current owner Private Owner Disposition Under restoration

7027 Thornbury Castle was built in August 1949. Its first shed allocation was Plymouth Laira. Its March 1959 shed allocation was Old Oak Common. Its last shed allocation was Reading. It was withdrawn in December 1963 and arrived at Woodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry, South Wales in May 1964.

Preservation[]

7027 was sold to the then Birmingham Railway Museum and left as the 23rd departure from Barry in August 1972. After being purchased by Pete Waterman's Transport Trust,^[when?] she was stored outside the Crewe Heritage Centre in her Barry Scrapyard condition. Some parts of 7027 are currently in use on elder sibling 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe and one set of name and number plates for 7027 are mounted on a wall of the main hall of The Castle School in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire. Following the removal of Waterman's railway equipment from the former LNWR site in 2016, she was moved to Peak Rail in April 2016.

In July 2016, 7027 was purchased from the Waterman Trust for an undisclosed sum by Jon Jones-Pratt, owner of 4936 Kinlet Hall and the revived Crosville Motor Services, who plans to restore the engine to full mainline standards.^[1] Restoration has started at the Crosville depot in Weston-super-Mare. In February 2018, agreement was reached between the West Somerset Railway and Jon Jones-Pratt for 7027 Thornbury Castle to be moved to Williton, to be restored there over a six-year period.^[2] In January 2020 no 7027 was once again sold on with plans to be restored to working order. 7027 was sold from Jon Jones-Pratt to a private individual who intends to restore the engine for use at the Great Central Railway. The engine will however now not be mainline certified on completion.^[3]

References[]

External links[]

• 'Castle' class details, 7000 - 7037 Great Western Archive