GWR 4073 Class 4079 Pendennis Castle
Encyclopedia
Pendennis Castle is a GWR 4073 Class
steam locomotive, preserved at the Didcot Railway Centre
.
in February 1924. She was allocated to Old Oak Common
locomotive depot.
The locomotive became famous in 1925 when the GWR lent the locomotive to the LNER as part of trials against the LNER's then new A1 Pacific Class
, a famous example being LNER 4472 Flying Scotsman
. Running from King's Cross to Grantham
, and King's Cross to Doncaster
, she made the ascent from King's Cross to Finsbury Park
regularly in less than six minutes, a feat that the Pacifics were unable to match. The locomotive was also shown to be more economical in both coal and water on the test runs. Before return to the GWR, the locomotive attended the second Wembley Exhibition between May and October 1925, displayed next to Flying Scotsman, with a notice proclaiming it to be the most powerful passenger express locomotive in Britain.
Returned to Old Oak Common, after the GWR was nationalised as part of British Railways post-World War II
, she continued to run the routes to South Wales
and the West Country
. In August 1950 she was allocated to Gloucester shed, and in March 1959 to Bristol, Bath Road. Her last shed allocation was Bristol, Saint Philip's Marsh. She was withdrawn May 1964.
Purchased from BR in 1964 by Mike Higson, she was moved to Southall Railway Centre
and appeared at one of the Great Western Society's first open days in 1965. Purchased by a partnership of the Honourable John Gretton and Bill McAlpine
, the locomotive was moved in 1967 to the former GWR depot at Didcot
, taking up residence in the disused lifting shop. As the Great Western Society assembled and moved its collection there, the Castle made rare excursions at Didcot, and made her next public appearance in 1971.
In 1972 she moved to Market Overton
, Rutland
. After that project failed, she moved to Steamtown, Carnforth where McAlpine held part-owenership, after being welded to the track at Rutland by disillusioned project members. Being built to the larger GWR loading gauge
, she was unable to run on the former London Midland and Scottish Railway tracks, and with tension growing between the owners, it was agreed to sell her.
, one of the largest iron ore producers in Australia
, the intention was to run her on their 240 miles (386.2 km) ore-carrying railway in the Pilbara-region of Western Australia
n. The company backed Pilbara Historic railway Society wanted a steam locomotive, and chairman Sir Russell Madigan promised them one, possibly Flying Scotsman. After what was assumed to be a final UK rail tour, the locomotive left the UK for Australia on 29 May 1977.
Modified in 1980, she was used for various excursion trains on the company's ore-carrying railways. After more modifications, on 17 September 1989, she had a historic reunion with Flying Scotsman. During the 1990s, after various difficulties and with the expiration of the boiler certificate, she made her final run on 14 October 1994. Hamersley Iron being unprepared to pay a repair bill of 240,000 Australian Dollar
s, and repairs becoming uneconomical after HI installed fully electronic signalling - which would have required the locomotive to run behind a GE Transportation Systems
Dash 9 - resulted in the locomotive being stored for several years.
decided to find a secure home for the locomotive. After agreement with the Great Western Society to restore her to running order, the locomotive was shipped back to the UK and taken to her former home at the Didcot Railway Centre
.
Restoration was started in 2005, with the original intention that a return to main line service would take place in 2008. As at 2010, restoration is still ongoing.
GWR 4073 Class
The GWR 4073 Class or Castle class locomotives are a group of 4-6-0 steam locomotives of the Great Western Railway. They were originally designed by the railway's Chief Mechanical Engineer, Charles Collett, for working the company's express passenger trains.-History:A development of the earlier...
steam locomotive, preserved at the Didcot Railway Centre
Didcot Railway Centre
Didcot Railway Centre, located in the town of Didcot in the English county of Oxfordshire, is based around the site of a comprehensive "engine shed" which became redundant after the nationalisation of the UK railways, due to the gradual changeover from steam to diesel motive power.-Description:The...
.
Operations
The seventh of the first lot of 10 Castles built in 1923/4, No.4079 "Pendennis Castle" was completed at Swindon WorksSwindon Works
Swindon railway works were built by the Great Western Railway in 1841 in Swindon in the English county of Wiltshire.-History:In 1835 Parliament approved the construction of a railway between London and Bristol. Its Chief Engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel.From 1836, Brunel had been buying...
in February 1924. She was allocated to Old Oak Common
Old Oak Common TMD
Old Oak Common TMD is situated to the west of London, in Old Oak Common. The Traction Maintenance Depot is the main facility for the storage and servicing of locomotives and multiple-units which utilise Paddington Station. The depot codes are 'OC' for the diesel depot, and 'OO' for the carriage shed...
locomotive depot.
The locomotive became famous in 1925 when the GWR lent the locomotive to the LNER as part of trials against the LNER's then new A1 Pacific Class
LNER Class A1/A3
The London and North Eastern Railway LNER Gresley Classes A1 and A3 locomotives represented two distinct stages in the history of the British 4-6-2 "Pacific" steam locomotives designed by Nigel Gresley...
, a famous example being LNER 4472 Flying Scotsman
LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman
The LNER Class A3 Pacific locomotive No. 4472 Flying Scotsman was built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway at Doncaster Works to a design of H.N. Gresley...
. Running from King's Cross to Grantham
Grantham
Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...
, and King's Cross to Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
, she made the ascent from King's Cross to Finsbury Park
Finsbury Park
Finsbury Park is a 46 hectare public park in the London Borough of Haringey. Officially part of the London area of Harringay, it is also adjacent to Stroud Green, the Finsbury Park district and Manor House. It was one of the first of the great London parks laid out in the Victorian...
regularly in less than six minutes, a feat that the Pacifics were unable to match. The locomotive was also shown to be more economical in both coal and water on the test runs. Before return to the GWR, the locomotive attended the second Wembley Exhibition between May and October 1925, displayed next to Flying Scotsman, with a notice proclaiming it to be the most powerful passenger express locomotive in Britain.
Returned to Old Oak Common, after the GWR was nationalised as part of British Railways post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, she continued to run the routes to South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
and the West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
. In August 1950 she was allocated to Gloucester shed, and in March 1959 to Bristol, Bath Road. Her last shed allocation was Bristol, Saint Philip's Marsh. She was withdrawn May 1964.
Preservation
Southall Railway Centre
Southall Railway Centre is a railway heritage centre at Southall in west London, near to Southall railway station and the Grand Union Canal. It is run by the GWR Preservation Group Limited .-History:...
and appeared at one of the Great Western Society's first open days in 1965. Purchased by a partnership of the Honourable John Gretton and Bill McAlpine
Sir William McAlpine, 6th Baronet
Sir William Hepburn McAlpine, 6th Baronet , is a British millionaire businessman, a former director of the construction company Sir Robert McAlpine.-Biography:...
, the locomotive was moved in 1967 to the former GWR depot at Didcot
Didcot Railway Centre
Didcot Railway Centre, located in the town of Didcot in the English county of Oxfordshire, is based around the site of a comprehensive "engine shed" which became redundant after the nationalisation of the UK railways, due to the gradual changeover from steam to diesel motive power.-Description:The...
, taking up residence in the disused lifting shop. As the Great Western Society assembled and moved its collection there, the Castle made rare excursions at Didcot, and made her next public appearance in 1971.
In 1972 she moved to Market Overton
Market Overton
Market Overton is a village on the northern edge of the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England.-Geography:Most of the civil parish lies to the north and the east, including part of RAF Cottesmore, but not the main runway. The boundary crosses Teigh Road at Netherfields where it borders...
, Rutland
Rutland
Rutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....
. After that project failed, she moved to Steamtown, Carnforth where McAlpine held part-owenership, after being welded to the track at Rutland by disillusioned project members. Being built to the larger GWR loading gauge
Loading gauge
A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...
, she was unable to run on the former London Midland and Scottish Railway tracks, and with tension growing between the owners, it was agreed to sell her.
Australia
Sold to Hamersley IronHamersley Iron
Pilbara Iron is a wholly owned subsidiary of the multinational Rio Tinto Group, that manages assets for Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto, and Robe River Iron Associates, an unincorporated joint venture between Rio and three Japanese steel companies Mitsui Iron Ore...
, one of the largest iron ore producers in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the intention was to run her on their 240 miles (386.2 km) ore-carrying railway in the Pilbara-region of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
n. The company backed Pilbara Historic railway Society wanted a steam locomotive, and chairman Sir Russell Madigan promised them one, possibly Flying Scotsman. After what was assumed to be a final UK rail tour, the locomotive left the UK for Australia on 29 May 1977.
Modified in 1980, she was used for various excursion trains on the company's ore-carrying railways. After more modifications, on 17 September 1989, she had a historic reunion with Flying Scotsman. During the 1990s, after various difficulties and with the expiration of the boiler certificate, she made her final run on 14 October 1994. Hamersley Iron being unprepared to pay a repair bill of 240,000 Australian Dollar
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
s, and repairs becoming uneconomical after HI installed fully electronic signalling - which would have required the locomotive to run behind a GE Transportation Systems
GE Transportation Systems
GE Transportation, formerly known as GE Rail, is a division of General Electric. The organization manufactures equipment for the railroad, marine, mining, drilling and energy generation industries. It is based in Erie, Pennsylvania. Locomotives are assembled at the Erie plant, while engine...
Dash 9 - resulted in the locomotive being stored for several years.
Return to the UK
In 1999, Hamersley Iron's parent Rio Tinto GroupRio Tinto Group
The Rio Tinto Group is a diversified, British-Australian, multinational mining and resources group with headquarters in London and Melbourne. The company was founded in 1873, when a multinational consortium of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto river, in Huelva, Spain from the...
decided to find a secure home for the locomotive. After agreement with the Great Western Society to restore her to running order, the locomotive was shipped back to the UK and taken to her former home at the Didcot Railway Centre
Didcot Railway Centre
Didcot Railway Centre, located in the town of Didcot in the English county of Oxfordshire, is based around the site of a comprehensive "engine shed" which became redundant after the nationalisation of the UK railways, due to the gradual changeover from steam to diesel motive power.-Description:The...
.
Restoration was started in 2005, with the original intention that a return to main line service would take place in 2008. As at 2010, restoration is still ongoing.