GWR 4073 Class 7029 Clun Castle
English steam locomotive
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
GWR 4073 Class No. 7029 Clun Castle is a 4-6-0 steam locomotive built at Swindon Works in May 1950 to a design by Charles Collett for operation on the Western Region of British Railways. It was named after Clun Castle in Shropshire.[1]
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British Railways
Its first shed allocation was Newton Abbot. It had a double chimney and a four-row superheater fitted in October 1959.[2] 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 60 years earlier by City of Truro. 7029 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 It hauled the last official steam train out of Paddington to Banbury on 11 June 1965.[2] It was officially withdrawn from service in December that year.[2]
| Location | Shed code | From |
|---|---|---|
| Newton Abbot | 83A | 31 May 1950 |
| Plymouth Laira | 83D | 29 December 1956 |
| Newton Abbot | 83A | 23 March 1957 |
| Old Oak Common | 81A | 2 July 1962 |
| Gloucester Horton Road | 85B | 5 October 1964 |
Preservation
Sold for scrap at £2,400 to Patrick Whitehouse in 1966, its ownership then passed to 7029 Clun Castle Ltd.[citation needed] In preservation, it has been based at Tyseley Locomotive Works, where it was integral in the founding and operation of Vintage Trains.[citation needed]
In 1967, carrying a Great Western livery, it hauled trains to mark the 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.
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.[3] Its loaded test run was to follow before working its first mainline train since October 1988.[4][5]
On 1 November 2025, 7029 hauled an anniversary railtour called "Farewell to Steam" from London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads and then returned from Bristol to Birmingham New Street. The section from Birmingham to Bristol was diesel hauled.[6] The tour marked the 60th anniversary since the original special took place on 27 November 1965 using the same locomotive and same route. The locomotive carried a copy of the 1965 headboard and like the 1965 tour had GWR style 7029 numbers on it's front buffer beam.[7] In a statement from Michael Whitehouse regarding the tour: "Same loco, same route, 60 years on. This was not 'Farewell' but a celebration of main line steam's continuing existance".[8]
Bibliography
- Cadge, Richard (general ed.) (1985). Portrait of a record-breaker: the story of GWR No. 7029 "Clun Castle". Birmingham Railway Museum.
