GWR 4073 Class 7029 Clun Castle

7029 ''Clun Castle'' is a Great Western Railway 4073 Class locomotive built shortly after Nationalisation by the Western Region of British Railways at Swindon Works in May 1950 and named after Clun Castle.

British Railways

Its first shed allocation was Newton Abbot. It had a double chimney and a four-row superheater fitted in October 1959. Its most famous moment came on 9 May 1964 on the Plymouth to Bristol leg of a special train marked Z48, which ran to mark the record set sixty years earlier by ''City of Truro''. Number 4073 managed to reach 96 mph on the descent of Wellington Bank in Somerset. Preserved classmate 4079 Pendennis Castle, which worked the Paddington to Westbury leg of the tour before melting its firebars, has also been preserved. Its last shed allocation was at Gloucester in May 1965. It hauled the last official steam train out of Paddington to Banbury on 11 June 1965. It was officially withdrawn in December that year.

Preservation

Sold for scrap at £2,400 to Patrick Whitehouse in 1966, its ownership then passed to 7029 Clun Castle Ltd. In preservation, it has been based at Tyseley TMD, now Tyseley Locomotive Works.

In 1967, carrying a Great Western livery, it hauled trains to mark closure of the GWR route to Birkenhead, from King's Cross to Newcastle and over the Settle-Carlisle Line. In 1972, it joined in the "Return to Steam" tours. After a major overhaul, it emerged in British Railways livery in 1985. In 1986, it hauled the last train from the old Birmingham Moor Street station. In the mid 1980s, some of the restoration work was undertaken by a government funded Community Programme scheme, managed by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council.

September 1987 saw Clun Castle paired with 6000 Class ''King George V'' for a series of South Wales weekend enthusiast specials between Swansea and Carmarthen using the turnaround triangles available at either end.

7029 returned to service in October 2017 at the Tyseley Open Weekend in BR Lined Green with the late crest on its tender, although fitted out with the necessary equipment the engine was not certified for mainline use. ''Clun Castle'' made its first moves on the mainline for 31 years in February 2019 when it went out on its light test runs, which included a trip to Stratford upon Avon. Its loaded test run was to follow before working its first mainline train since October 1988.7029's debut railtour
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Preservation Photos

File:7029 Clun Castle(8258078241).jpg, 7029 leaving Birmingham Snow Hill working "The Zulu" in Mar 1967.
File:GWR 4073 7029 Clun Castle at Chester General.jpg, 7029 at Chester General station, about to take the southbound "Zulu" special to Birmingham Snow Hill, 4 March 1967.
File:7029 Clun Castle Tyseley '82 (19686476996).jpg, ''Clun Castle'' at Tyseley in 1982.
File:GWR 7029 Clun Castle and 5051 Drysllwyn Castle on The Great Western Limited 150 (4).jpg, 7029 at Plymouth working "The Great Western Limited" in July 1985.
File:7029 Clun Castle Tyseley.jpg, On display at Tyseley Loco Works awaiting an overhaul in Jun 2008.

Bibliography

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References

External links

* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYGkV3SIXLk 7029 Public Recommissioning at Tyseley in Oct 2017
{{GWR Castle Class

7029
Railway locomotives introduced in 1950
7029
Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain