100 years ago today the Great Western Castle Class first entered service. Developed by Charles Collett, CME of the Great Western Railway, from GJ Churchward's 'Star' class design, this GWR 4-6-0 became the pride of the Great Western.
On the 23rd August 1923 the first one entered service by departing Paddington and they have since been regarded as extremely successful. A further development of these locomotives took place in later years, creating the mighty 'King' class 4-6-0, however these locomotives proved to last longer than them in BR service, be less hassle for crew and despite having a lower tractive effort, were also more coal efficient. In 1925 they were pitched against the LNER A1 Pacifics, and on a trial run up the ECML, 4079 'Pendennis Castle' thrashed any recorded performance of an A1. For a while in the late 20s the 'Cheltenham Flyer' train from Cheltenham to Paddington was hailed the world's fastest train after a record breaking run by 5006 'Tregenna Castle'. Even the LMS requested drawings of a Castle in the early 30s after witnessing some runs by 5000 'Launceston Castle' (a request which was quickly denied lol). It is believed the top speed of the class is 98mph, achieved at Little Somerford in 1958, however there is unofficial speculation of faster runs.
A handful of Castles survived into Preservation and have been equally successful even today, with 5043 'Earl of Mount Edgcumbe' smashing some previously held records over the Devon Banks and along Brunel's Billiard Table between Bristol and London in 2014.
This video features all 3 currently operational Castles, those being:
No. 5043 "Earl of Mount Edgcumbe"
No. 7029 "Clun Castle"
No. 4079 "Pendennis Castle"
The mainstay of the video is 7029, as 5043 only entered service recently and 4079 was only featured once as basically every other video I have of her is without coaching stock lol.
As a GWR fan, in my opinion these locomotives are my absolute favourites and the most successful express passenger locomotives ever conceived; their beautiful liveries, brass fittings and copper capped chimneys really does them justice, as well as the famed 'Castle bark' that they possess. I have aimed to showcase my favourite performances from these incredible machines to give you all a very good idea of how amazing they are, with the best sounds, scenery and speeds from all across the country. Obviously there is more material I would have loved to show but the video would be much too long if I did lol.
I am very thankful to live within 10 miles of where two of these locomotives are based, at Tyseley. A huge thank you to those who keep them going - you do a frankly amazing job! There is potential for 5080 'Defiant' and 5029 'Nunney Castle' to return to the mainline within the next 10 years and I look forward to seeing them both. If you should wish to travel behind one of these fantastic locomotives, feel free to check out https://vintagetrains.co.uk/explorer-... ! I hope that the next 100 years of Castles sees them being just as excellent and as always, showing those SR, LMS and LNER fans what steam really is all about.
I hope you enjoy as I do!
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:13 7029 & 5043, Lapworth
00:55 7029, Hatton North
01:41 7029, Dorridge
02:17 7029, Small Heath
03:09 7029, Smethwick Galton Bridge
03:58 5043, Dorridge
04:22 7029, Tyseley
05:19 7029, Atherstone
05:50 5043 & 7029, Warwick Parkway
06:42 7029, Penkridge
07:10 7029, Birmingham Moor Street
08:16 7029, Danzey Green
09:00 7029, Dorridge
09:53 7029, Kings Sutton
10:22 7029, Jewellery Quarter
11:12 7029, Lapworth
11:34 7029, Edge Hill
13:15 5043 & 7029, Oxford
14:00 7029, Tyseley
14:38 7029, Widney Manor
15:07 7029, Wilmcote
16:21 7029, Swindon
16:46 5043, Shrewley
17:31 4079, Chicken Curve, Winchcombe
18:36 5043, Rising Lane, Lapworth
19:19 7029, Dorridge
19:51 5043, Widney Manor
20:20 5043 & 7029, Shifnal
20:57 5043, Birmingham Moor Street
22:17 7029, Rising Lane, Lapworth
22:44 5043, Bearley Junction
24:02 7029, Highbridge & Burnham
24:49 7029, Bentley Heath Crossing
25:15 7029, Ribblehead Viaduct
28:02 7029, Abergele & Pensarn
29:05 5043, Widney Manor Car Park
29:37 The Grand Finale... 5043 & 7029, Vigo Bridge, Lickey Incline
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