''Caerphilly Castle'' is a member of the

GWR 4073 Class The 4073 or Castle Class are 4-6-0 steam locomotives of the Great Western Railway, built between 1923 and 1950. They were designed by the railway's Chief Mechanical Engineer, Charles Collett, for working the company's express passenger trains. ...

built in 1923.

In service

The lead locomotive of its class, after a brief period of running-in service, between April and October 1924, the locomotive was exhibited at the

British Empire Exhibition The British Empire Exhibition was a colonial exhibition held at Wembley Park, London England from 23 April to 1 November 1924 and from 9 May to 31 October 1925. Background In 1920 the British Government decided to site the British Empire Exhibi ...

, which was held at

Wembley Park Wembley Park is a district of the London Borough of Brent, England. It is roughly centred on Bridge Road, a mile northeast of Wembley town centre and northwest from Charing Cross. The name Wembley Park refers to the area that, at its broade ...

, Wembley, north-west London. Its first shed allocation was Old Oak Common. Its August 1950 shed allocation was Bath Road, Bristol. Its last shed allocation was Cardiff Canton in March 1959.

Preservation

Withdrawn in May 1960, it was made part of the National Collection. Refurbished for display purposes at

Swindon Works Swindon railway works was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1843 in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It served as the principal west England maintenance centre until closed in 1986. History In 1835 Parliament approved the construction of the ...

, on 2 June 1961 she was formally handed over by Dr Richard Beeching at

Paddington Station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great ...

to the director of the

Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in ...

Pickfords Pickfords is a moving company based in the United Kingdom, part of Pickfords Move Management Ltd. The business is believed to have been founded in the 17th century, making it one of the UK's oldest functioning companies, although the similar ...

hauled the engine to the museum in Kensington, using

Scammell Scammell Lorries Limited was a British manufacturer of trucks, particularly specialist and military off-highway vehicles, between 1921 and 1988. History Scammell started as a late- Victorian period wheelwright and coach-building business, G Sc ...

Constructor units on Sunday 4 June. She was then placed on display in the new land transport gallery. After the Science Museum decided to refurbish the gallery into the ''Making the Modern World'', it was decided to move the locomotive to

Swindon Steam Railway Museum STEAM – Museum of the Great Western Railway, also known as Swindon Steam Railway Museum, is housed in part of the former railway works in Swindon, England – Wiltshire's 'railway town'. The museum opened in 2000. The site The museum is ...

. After a period on display at

National Railway Museum The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, she moved to Swindon on the museum's opening.

References

Notes

External links

YouTube video of handover and transportation to the Science Museum, June 1961
{{GWR Castle Class 4073 Railway locomotives introduced in 1923 4073 Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain