Rebuilt ‘WC’ No. 34039 BOSCASTLE

It’s been nearly 25 years since ‘WC’ No. 34039 Boscastle returned to steam at the Great Central Railway, and the locomotive is now undergoing its second major overhaul in preservation. Boscastle lays claim to a number of firsts for the class: the first Bulleid ‘Pacific’ to be painted BR green, the first rebuilt ‘WC/BB’ to work over the Somerset & Dorset, and the first ex-BR locomotive to be based at the preserved Great Central Railway. The ‘West Country’ also had the honour of hauling the ‘Golden Arrow’ and, in 1951, it was one of five ‘Light Pacifics’ despatched to the Eastern Region for trials, prior to the introduction of the ‘Britannias’. Due for a ‘heavy general’ in May 1965, the decision was taken to withdraw Boscastle and it ended up at Woodham’s scrapyard. James Tawse, a member of the Main Line Steam Trust Ltd, a company based at Loughborough Central and set up during the early days of the GCR, rescued Boscastle from Barry in 1973, although it would be another 20 years before the locomotive returned to steam in January 1993. No. 34039 operated almost exclusively at the GCR until its withdrawal eight years later. The overhaul is well under way, with the ‘bottom end’ almost complete and the boiler due for despatch to the South Devon Railway to have a new firebox fitted - one of a production batch to be built for several other ‘Light Pacific’ owning groups. The David Clarke Trust at the GCR has a dedicated fund for the overhaul. Details of how to donate, and how to become a shareholder in Boscastle, can be obtained from secretary@boscastleloco.co.uk