If you register, you can do a lot more. And become an active part of our growing community. You'll have access to hidden forums, and enjoy the ability of replying and starting conversations.

7027 Thornbury Castle

Discussion in 'Steam Traction' started by svrhunt, Jan 18, 2015.

  1. Bikermike

    Bikermike Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2020
    Messages:
    1,442
    Likes Received:
    1,595
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Thameslink territory
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    It's not going well for them on fb. I love the "well, we weren't going to reveal until September" line.
     
  2. Matt37401

    Matt37401 Nat Pres stalwart

    Joined:
    Jun 8, 2014
    Messages:
    15,328
    Likes Received:
    11,666
    Occupation:
    Nosy aren’t you?
    Location:
    Nowhere
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Someone not quite understanding how PR works there!
     
    Gareth, The Dainton Banker and 35B like this.
  3. Bikermike

    Bikermike Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2020
    Messages:
    1,442
    Likes Received:
    1,595
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Thameslink territory
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Or somebody very cynically knowing it's going to blow up, and letting the anger dissipate now when nothing happens.
     
  4. jma1009

    jma1009 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2013
    Messages:
    1,381
    Likes Received:
    1,637
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    ynysddu south wales
    And the bit yesterday...

    “And, should a No.7 or No.8 boiler become available, it would then be relatively straightforward to steam as Thornbury Castle again, clearly demonstrating Swindon’s foresight in express locomotive design.”
     
  5. GWRman

    GWRman New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2010
    Messages:
    168
    Likes Received:
    244
    The Magic Boiler Fairy cometh!
     
  6. Bikermike

    Bikermike Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2020
    Messages:
    1,442
    Likes Received:
    1,595
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Thameslink territory
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    And of course, if everyone rummaged behind the sofa and found that boiler now, nobody would need to chop up the castle.

    Has everyone checked their sheds and garages?
    [Edited for spelling]
     
    Gareth, Swan Age, green five and 3 others like this.
  7. 30854

    30854 Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2017
    Messages:
    12,172
    Likes Received:
    11,493
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Brighton&Hove
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Except to extract the various undergubbins for the half-complete Star .... :Meh:
     
  8. alexl102

    alexl102 Member

    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2019
    Messages:
    448
    Likes Received:
    309
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Leeds
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Yeah, I dug out their page and they're being panned. One or two people trying to defend them but it's really not boding well.
     
  9. Mike S

    Mike S New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 9, 2016
    Messages:
    187
    Likes Received:
    825
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    .
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Seems to be some funny stuff being smoked in all quarters at the moment!
     
  10. Tobbes

    Tobbes Member

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2010
    Messages:
    869
    Likes Received:
    2,354
    One can only assume that since the Star based on the mortal remains of 7027 relies on blowing things up, perhaps it would the first of the "Supernova" class....
     
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2022
  11. GWRman

    GWRman New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2010
    Messages:
    168
    Likes Received:
    244
    A supernova has certainly been started, however if they don't back out of this idea I think their group will resemble something of a white dwarf.
     
    Gareth, green five and Tobbes like this.
  12. Jimc

    Jimc Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2005
    Messages:
    4,052
    Likes Received:
    4,665
    Occupation:
    Once computers, now part time writer I suppose.
    Location:
    SE England
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    I've done enough drawing and sketching of GWR locomotives that I like to think I have a handle on the basics. The King boiler is a lengthened 47 boiler on the same pitch. There seems no reason I can see why a 47 cut down in the same manner as the mainline Kings should not clear everything above footplate height that the Kings can clear. I would be intrigued to learn what the issues are there.
    Below the footplate is another matter. The 47s were significantly restricted on routes, and the obvious culprit is cylinder clearance and throwover. It does seem possible, though, that this could/has been worked around using redesigned cylinders with higher strength materials.
    As I've said before, though, this is a moot point because I think mainline paths for the 47 would be very few and far between, and I think would be likely to be 50mph restricted.

    All in all I think the whole thing is a completely avoidable PR disaster. It seems to me that if the 47 group are unsure of their ability to finance a Std7 boiler the best thing to do would be to weld a facsimile from mild steel plate with no ability to hold pressure and complete the rest of the locomotive. The result would still be fully able to fulfil the prime function of being a museum exhibit at Didcot and give us all the ability to see a 47 alongside the rest of the fleet. If the money ever comes available to build a boiler then it can be built and exchanged in the best GWR fashion.
     
    Gareth, std tank, aron33 and 11 others like this.
  13. meeee

    meeee Member

    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2006
    Messages:
    864
    Likes Received:
    1,319
    Can't help but feel that if endless variations of green tender engines was what you wanted. Then converting a Castle to a Star was a far more realistic and useful prospect than building a whole new 47xx ever was. Perhaps they should have started there.
     
  14. GWR4707

    GWR4707 Nat Pres stalwart

    Joined:
    May 12, 2006
    Messages:
    18,046
    Likes Received:
    15,735
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Cumbria
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    The guy who did all the design work for the revised cylinders, and apparently received zero credit for his work has a lot to say about the way the project has been managed and the parties involved in various posting on Facebook.

    Or alternatively do the same for 5051 and use her boiler...
     
    Gareth, Swan Age and 26D_M like this.
  15. 61624

    61624 Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2006
    Messages:
    5,294
    Likes Received:
    3,596
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Sorry, I should have realised this was too much of a life or death subject to accommodate my feeble attempt at humour......
     
  16. green five

    green five Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Apr 30, 2006
    Messages:
    6,596
    Likes Received:
    2,242
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Hampshire
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    I am waiting for the new appeal in a couple of weeks.
    The GWS launch their "Castle levelling up" plan after the previous 47XX and Star replica plans backfired.
    They now intend to restore 7027 but will rename her "Thorn In My Side Castle".
    Early donations to the appeal will have to be used to pay the Eurythmics for filming a fancy PR video for the appeal.
     
    joe_issitt, Gareth and paullad1984 like this.
  17. Scrat

    Scrat New Member

    Joined:
    May 10, 2015
    Messages:
    116
    Likes Received:
    82
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    railway worker
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Others seem to have managed.
     
  18. Maunsell907

    Maunsell907 Member

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2013
    Messages:
    881
    Likes Received:
    1,965
    Gender:
    Male
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    I have never been one of those genuflecting at the metaphorical Swindon Altar but the allure of steam,
    specifically Railway locomotives, has held me since 1946/7. ( My father lifted me on to the footplate of a
    stream lined Coronation at the end of Euston station. I remember it was all very dirty and only years
    later I understood she was one of the last to carry the streamlined casing. The same day we went to
    Victoria and on a totally deserted Continental departures stood, to a child, an amazing Green machine.
    With hindsight I suspect it was an ex works West Country. This and the sight of a King Arthur in the
    summer of 1947 rushing headlong towards Honiton as we stopped for a picnic, returning from the annual
    Holiday trawl back from Mullion on the A30 probably were the reasons I became a Southern fan )

    I mention this, as I suspect, as with many enthusiasts I view the World through somewhat clouded
    spectacles. The current issue wrt what happens to 7027 and the outpouring inevitably involves
    many clouded spectacles.

    When all is done however it is the allure of operating steam locomotives that continues to excite me.
    ( I suppose in modern hyperbole ‘makes the adrenaline flow’.) So whilst I may emotionally prefer
    some locos to others it is the actual steam ( smells, noise, sense of power, etc etc. ) that matters.

    I do not know which will produce a ‘walking talking’ loco soonest i.e. restore 7027 or complete 4709.

    Some thoughts however:

    Most locos, even those built under BR auspices, are to some extent now ‘Trigger’s Brooms”

    The GWS was one of the leaders of the initial steam Preservation movement. None of
    the other members of the ‘Big Four’ have engendered so comprehensive a Society.

    Whilst I find static exhibits exactly that i.e. static, I recognise that Museums that relate
    history by displaying artefacts are vitally important and that specifically locomotives ( motive
    power ) are a vital part of the History of Railways. I have always thought that Didcot
    made a pretty good fist of combining a historical record with operating exhibits. I also
    appreciate that as the years go by it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain an
    operable fleet.

    Regarding 4709 per se: Whilst I acknowledge the 47xx were a small class of locos, AFAIK after
    they were given an appropriate boiler ( only Swindon could designate a build of 10, ‘standard’ )
    they performed well, whether on fast freight or heavy Summer passenger services. The 47xx as
    a design arguably emphasises, more than the 29xx and 40xx, how far Churchward and his team
    were ahead of the rest of the UK.

    If indeed 4709 can be brought to fruition in a relatively short time then I think the unfortunate
    jettisoning of a 5089 4-6-0 is probably pragmatic.

    I regard the utilisation of the ‘bottom’ for a Star and the possibility of then returning the
    Star to Castle status ( 4037 etc ride again ) at a later stage if a boiler becomes available
    as ‘ motherhood and apple pie’. But then our movement is full of crack pot ideas, such
    as building a new A1 or parading six A4s together at York etc etc.

    Michael Rowe
     
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2022
    Miff, Major Midget, MellishR and 3 others like this.
  19. Scrat

    Scrat New Member

    Joined:
    May 10, 2015
    Messages:
    116
    Likes Received:
    82
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    railway worker
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    What events are these? Why is Defiant not safe? I've read in Tyseleys magazine that a new tender tank is currently being manufactured.
     
  20. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2011
    Messages:
    25,493
    Likes Received:
    23,725
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Grantham
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Since "Know Your Customer" rules were introduced, that gets rather harder. And there's less trust when the account is in the name of "joe bloggs esq" than was perhaps the case in the Barry days.
     

Share This Page