Thornbury Castle must be restored – but as itself
LIKE so many other steam railway enthusiasts, I am appalled at the imminent proposal to break up and cannibalise GWR Castle class No. 7027 Thornbury Castle, an outstanding member of an outstanding class.
Even non-Great Western Railway fans will agree that the Castle class is a British transport design classic, along with the likes of the E-Type Jaguar, QE2, and Concorde. Nobody else in the world does it better than us.
To blithely say, ‘Oh, there are enough Castles already’ to justify the destruction of this locomotive (the restoration of which was finally proceeding apace at the Great Central Railway) is a shallow and philistine response.
Nobody in their right mind would suggest chopping up paintings by Constable or Turner because we’ve already got plenty of examples and that the canvases would be handy for other artists to use. There would be global outrage.
There would be justifiable public uproar if it was suggested we destroy our real stone, brick and mortar castles although we have plenty in disrepair. All these historic items are a finite resource – including both the Thornbury Castle building and the locomotive itself.
Coincidentally, as executive producer of the proposed Inspector Vignoles railway detective television series, I recently discussed with its author Stephen Done what an asset on screen Thornbury Castle in working order would be as our ‘best supporting actor’. It would be an impressive express locomotive looking just the part on the main line GCR where we plan to film stories such as Stephen’s latest novel, The Signalman’s Daughter.
I realise Thornbury Castle’s restoration suffered numerous false starts over the decades, but surely the huge outcry over its sale for dismemberment to provide parts for the ‘Night Owl’ project and possibly a new-build Star (at 64, I won’t be around to see that come to fruition) is enough to create a viable new plan?
I, for one, would be delighted to lend my fundraising and media experience to help a revitalised project. I am sure there are hundreds of out there who would also volunteer their skills. Let’s just do it!
Peter Elson, St Helens, Merseyside