‘Thornbury Castle could be rebuilt’ – only if a group buys its spare parts

THE Great Western Society has offered to sell on parts of unrestored WR No.7027 Thornbury Castle to bona fide groups who may seek to rebuild it in its own right.

As highlighted in Heritage Railway issue 297, the locomotive’s private owner agreed to sell it to the society’s 4709 Project group, which was to use its No. 8 boiler in its scheme to build the 10th example of George Jackson Churchward’s heavy freight 47XX ‘Night Owl’ 2-8-0s.

The move has sparked controversy in the heritage sector (see Platform, 86/87), including heavy criticism from the previous owner, West Somerset Railway plc chairman Johnathan Jones-Pratt, who said he sold it on the understanding that No. 7027 would be restored in its own right at Loughborough on the Great Central Railway.

A subsequent statement from the Didcotbased society’s board said: “The GWR continues to be committed to buying the remaining components of No. 7027.

‘No plans’

“The board of GWS agrees to hold those parts in good condition for six months. During this time, GWS will consider offers from properly-funded groups for all or parts of No. 7027 to enable a rebuild of Thornbury Castle if viable.”

The statement added that the society has no plans to use the remaining parts of No. 7027, including the chassis, to build a new GWR Star, as previously speculated.

Using No. 7027’s boiler in the ‘Night Owl’ would save the project the £800,000 cost of building a new one, it has been said.