Controversy over proposed fate of Thornbury Castle
Partially restored ‘Castle’ set to yield components for new-build ‘Night Owl’ and ‘Star’ locomotive projects.
A ROW has broken out over the future of WR 4-6-0 No. 7027 Thornbury Castle after it was sold by its Great Central Railway (GCR)-based private owner to the Didcot Railway Centre-based ‘Night Owl’ new-build project.
One of seven ‘Castles’ to survive, 1949-built No. 7027, which has yet to run in preservation, was bought by a GCR supporter in January 2020. Prior to that, the ‘Castle’ was owned by Jonathan Jones-Pratt, Peter Waterman, and what was then known as Birmingham Railway Museum, Tyseley. The 4-6-0 has since been under restoration at Loughborough, the most recent progress including the return of the tender wheels in early July after retyring.
The 4709 Project group wants to use No. 7027’s GWR No. 8 boiler for its new ‘47XX’ 2-8-0. It now plans to mount the boiler from No. 2861 – which the project is using as a parts donor – on the chassis of Thornbury Castle to recreate a ‘Star’ 4-6-0. The sole-surviving ‘Star’ No. 4003 Lode Star is unlikely to steam again and was not included in the National Railway Museum’s list of locos which either can or potentially could operate.
In July, the 4709 Project said it “seized the opportunity” to buy the boiler from No. 7027 for a “very competitive” figure. A new ‘47XX’ standard No. 7 boiler could cost more than £800,000 to fabricate and take up to five years to complete. The deal also includes the chassis and tender from No. 7027 as the
4709 Project could not have one without the other.
The 4079 Project’s Richard Croucher said: “The acquisition of No. 7027’s boiler means the 4709 Project leaps forward to a point where we now have almost all of the major parts required for our ‘47XX’.
“We are planning the conversion in such a way that it can be easily reverted, while retaining and preserving as many original parts of Thornbury Castle as possible. We believe this is the most realistic chance of completing No. 4709 in a reasonable timescale and Thornbury Castle has of running again, while also adding a 1930s-era ‘Star’ to the GWR stable.” However, the plan has been criticised by Jonathan Jones-Pratt, who said he sold the loco to the GCR supporter thinking that it would be restored in its own right. He has now offered to buy No. 7027 back from the 4709
Project and set up a Thornbury Castle Society to oversee its restoration.
“I have no interest in a longterm ownership of the loco. My offer is to financially support and secure the loco in the short term,” said Mr Jones-Pratt. “We need to respect those who have the passion to see No. 7027 run again.”