Home

RAILSPOT RELOADED

  
 

    
  If you lived in Gloucestershire between 1990 and 1992 you might remember a weekly newspaper called The Gloucester Journal. In The Gloucester Journal was a feature called Railspot, which I wrote. Each week, Railspot would include a picture, 500 words describing it, and often some pub quiz type questions about railways.


People have often asked me what happened to Railspot, and the good news is that it is - slowly - coming back. Even better news is that as I am no longer restrained by the limitations of a newspaper on the Internet, I can revisit some favourite topics, update them and add new pictures and web links. I can even do my own proof reading!


Here is a reload of some of my articles on the 4-6-0 express passenger locomotives of the Great Western Railway

  
 

    
 

GWR 4-6-0 EXPRESS PASSENGER LOCOMOTIVES

 
 

    
Great Western "Star" class locomotive 4057 "Princess Elizabeth" shines at the head of a crack express. Delivered new to Paddington Depot in July 1914 and withdrawn by British Railways in 1942, 4067 was one of a 73 strong class designed by George Jackson Churchward.
 

  
  Great Western "Star" class locomotive 4057 "Princess Elizabeth" shines at the head of a crack express.  Delivered new to Old Oak Common Depot in July 1914 and withdrawn by British Railways from Swindon in February 1952, 4057 was one of a 73 strong class designed by George Jackson Churchward.

As Chief Mechanical Engineer from 1902, Churchward planned to rationalise Great Western motive power into six basic types. One of these was to be a 4-6-0 to to replace the 4-4-0 "Cities" which could run very fast but lacked the strength to haul heavy corridor expresses.  A 4-6-0 locomotive - numbered 100 and later named "William Dean" after Churchward's predecessor - had already been built at Swindon with inside frames and two outside cylinders.  This inversion of contemporary GWR practice led to the building of the 4-6-0 "Saints", but Churchward saw beyond such minor changes..

He realised that the smooth passage of steam from collection pipe to chimney was just as important as steam production from a high pressure boiler.  As a result his new 4-6-0 design was to have wide long-travel piston valves linked to long stroke pistons by Walschaerts valve gear. The latter not only gave precise, economical running but was compactly fitted between the frames and could run with only half its parts in working order.

Churchward also considered constructing his express 4-6-0 as a compound locomotive. Between 1903 and 1905 three de Glehn 4-4-2s from the French Nord railway were imported for trials against a GWR Atlantic built in 1906.  Although the home-grown simple expansion machine out-performed its European counterparts with more economy, their four cylindered layout gave a smoother ride.  Consequently Great Western 4-4-2 number 40 - which was named "North Star" in October 1906 - was rebuilt as a 4-6-0 in 1909 and renumbered 4000 in December 1912.  

4000 "North Star" was fitted with 14¼" bore x 26" stroke ( compared to the later Star standard 15" x 26" initially applied to 4041 and later retrofitted to all class members ) and an unusual scissors valve gear as well as the curved framing that was built on the second batch of production engines." North Star" also had a footplate that was 2½ inches higher than the other Walschaerts valve gear fitted taper-boilered Stars and kept this feature even rebuilt as a Castle class locomotive after November 1929.   As a Castle, 4000 "North Star" was first allocated to Newton Abbot, was at Wolverhampton Stafford Road in 1947 and was withdrawn from Landore in May 1957.

The "Stars" excelled on the gradients of South Wales and the West Country where load-pulling ability counted more than speed.  Fitted with superheat from 1908 they also laid the foundation for Charles Collett's " Castle " class of 1923.

Indeed, between 1925 and 1929, numbers 4000/ 9/ 16/ 32 and 37 were taken out of stock and rebuilt as 'Castle' class locomotives. Similarly, numbers 4063 to 4072, known as the 'Abbeys', were rebuilt as 'Castle' class engines between 1937 and 1940.

4000/ 1/ 8/ 10/ 13/ 17/ 18/ 21/ 22/ 24/ 28/ 35/ 38/ 44/ 47/ 51/ 54/ 55/ 57 /6 and 61-72 were fitted with cast iron chimneys for the period 1919 to 1924 as an austerity measure. The latter 12 engines had them fitted as standard.

Outside steam pipes were fitted to most of the class from 1929 although of two types, 'Elbow' and 'Castle'. The 'Elbow' type doubled back between the frames and was used when new inside cylinders or saddles were fitted with the old pattern outside cylinders. The 'Castle' type of steam pipe was used when new pattern outside cylinders were fitted.

From 1932, the upper lamp irons were transferred from the front of the chimney to the smokebox door while from 1939, some members of the class received the Grange type of shorter chimney, 1' 9" high compared to the previous 1' 11¾".

On leaving BR service in 1951, 4003 "Lode Star" became the only member of the class to be preserved ( See colour picture below ). Built in February 1907 it was fitted with Automatic Warning System ( AWS ) and a speedometer but lost its bogie brake gear from November 1923 in line with other GWR locomotives.  1962 saw 4003 enter Swindon Railway Museum where it lay dormant but highly polished until Sunday 1 March 1992 when it was removed by low loader for its journey to the National Railway Museum in York.

Its place in Swindon was taken by 6000 "King George V" which subsequently moved to the new "Steam" museum on the former Swindon Works site in the 21st Century.  Some of the "Star" names were also taken up by Britannia Pacifics introduced to British Railways Western Region in the 1950s and the name applied to 4002 "Evening Star" was used for the last time on British Railway's final steam locomotive - 9F 2-10-0 92220 outshopped from Swindon in March 1960.
 


First shed Newton Abbot. Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted October 1912. Fitted with half-cone boiler December 1914, but reverted to full-cone boiler November 1921. Rebuilt as 'Castle' class 4009 Shooting Star April 1925. First shed as Castle was Plymouth Laira. In January 1936 this locomotive became 100 "A1 Lloyds" and was eventually an oil burner. Last GWR and BR shed Old Oak Common. 4009 Shooting Star is pictured above on the stationary testing plant at Swindon.
 

 

    
 

In January 1936 this locomotive became 100 A1 Lloyds and is pictured above (courtesy of Michael A. Morant) in Swindon Works "A Shop with the "A1" plate on its cabside rather than the "100". However, the chalk markings show it was still being referred to as 4009.

  


 
FINAL
STAR NAME		 DATE WKS / LOT
 NOTES WDN
4000 North Star 1906 2168/161 4000 North Star and 4003 Lode Star were fitted with audible signalling equipment in 1908 in connection with the first installation of Automatic Train Control between Slough and Reading. Re-built as Castle 4000 North Star in November 1929. First shed Newton Abbot. Last shed Swansea. 2,110,396 miles
(850,000 miles as Star engine).
 1957
4001 Dog Star 1907 2229/168 First shed Old Oak Common. Swindon No. 3 superheater and half-cone boiler fitted January 1911. Reverted to full-cone boiler November 1918. Castle type outside steam pipes fitted October 1930. Last shed Bristol, Bath Road.
1934
4002 Evening Star 1907 2230/168 First shed Plymouth Laira. Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted August 1909. Half-cone boiler fitted February 1913, but reverted to full-cone boiler November 1915. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted December 1929.
 Last shed Old Oak Common.
1933
4003 Lode Star 1907 2231/168 First shed Old Oak Common. Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted May 1911. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted March 1949. Last shed Swansea Landore.  1951
4004 Morning Star 1907 2232/168 First shed Plymouth Laira. Swindon No. 3 superheater and half-cone boiler fitted January 1911. Reverted to full-cone boiler September 1912.  Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted March 1946. Last shed Oxford. 
 1948
4005 Polar Star 1907 2233/168 First shed Plymouth Laira. Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted February 1911. Last shed Old Oak Common.
1934
4006 Red Star 1907 2234/168 First shed Old Oak Common. Fitted with half-cone boiler October 1909. Reverted to full-cone boiler and Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted April 1911.
Last shed Swansea Laira.
1932
4007 Swallowfield Park 1907 2235/168 Built as 4007 "Rising Star". First and last shed Worcester. Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted May 1911. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted May 1947. 1951
4008 Royal Star 1907 2236/168 First and last shed allocation Old Oak Common. Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted December 1911. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted July 1933.  1935
4009 Shooting Star 1907 2237/168 First shed Newton Abbot. Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted October 1912. Fitted with half-cone boiler December 1914, but reverted to full-cone boiler November 1921. Rebuilt as 'Castle' class 4009 Shooting Star April 1925. First shed as Castle was Plymouth Laira.

4009 Shooting Star is pictured above on the stationary testing plant at Swindon.

In January 1936 this locomotive became 100 A1 Lloyds and is pictured above (courtesy of Mike Morant) in Swindon Works "A Shop with the "A1" plate on its cabside rather than the "100".  However, the chalk markings show it was still being referred to as 4009.

 100 "A1 Lloyds" was converted to oil burning in the late 1940s. Last GWR and BR shed Old Oak Common.

1950
4010 Western Star 1907 2238/168 First shed Old Oak Common. As-built Cole superheater replaced with Swindon No. 3 superheater and half-cone boiler, February 1911. Reverted to full-cone boiler December 1911. Fitted with half-cone boiler June 1914, reverted to full-cone boiler December 1915.
Last shed Bristol, Bath Road.
1934
4011 Knight of the Garter 1908 2300/173 First Star with French type bogie later fitted throughout class. First shed Old Oak Common. Swindon No. 1 superheater replaced with Swindon no. 3 superheater.
Last shed Worcester.  		1932
4012 Knight of the Thistle 1908 2301/173 First shed Plymouth Laira. Fitted with half-cone boiler August 1909. Reverted to full-cone boiler and Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted January 1911.
Last shed Newton Abbot.
1949
4013 Knight of St Patrick 1908 2302/173 First shed Old Oak Common. Half-cone boiler and Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted December 1910. Reverted to full-cone boiler September 1915.
Last shed Chester.
1950
4014 Knight of the Bath 1908 2303/173 Affectionately known as 'Friday Night'. First shed Plymouth Laira. Half-cone boiler and Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted October 1910. Reverted to full-cone boiler November 1915. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted September 1935.
Last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road.
 1946
4015 Knight of St John 1908 2304/173 First shed Old Oak Common. Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted September 1910. Fitted with half-cone boiler October 1913, reverted to full-cone boiler July 1915. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted December 1948.
Last shed Swindon. 
1951
4016 Knight of the Golden Fleece 1908 2305/173 First shed Old Oak Common. Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted November 1909. Fitted with half-cone boiler July 1918, reverted to full-cone boiler December 1920. Rebuilt as 'Castle' class 4016 Knight of the Golden Fleece October 1925.  First shed as a Castle was Wolverhampton Stafford Road, last GWR shed Newton Abbot and last BR shed Old Oak Common
 1951
4017 Knight of Liege 1908 2306/173 Built as 4017 Knight of the Black Eagle.First shed Old Oak Common. Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted November 1909. Last shed Swindon.  1949
4018 Knight of the Grand Cross 1908 2307/173 First shed Plymouth Laira. Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted September 1910. Fitted with half-cone boiler April 1912, reverted to full-cone boiler June 1913. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted May 1931.
Last shed Stafford Road.
1951
4019 Knight Templar 1908 2308/173 First shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted January 1910. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted May 1948. Last shed Bristol, Bath Road.
1949
4020 Knight Commander 1908 2309/173 First shed Exeter. Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted November 1909. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted March 1949. Last shed Bristol, Bath Road.
1951
4021 British Monarch 1909 2365/178 Built as 4021 King Edward. First shed Old Oak Common. Initially fitted with Swindon No. 3 superheater which became standard fitting from 4031. Previous Stars modified from 1913.Fitted with half-cone boiler June 1913,reverted to full-cone boiler July 1916. Renamed The British Monarch, June 1927. Altered to British Monarch October 1927.  Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted July 1948.  Last shed Oxford.
1952
4022 Belgian Monarch 1909 2366/178 Built as 4022 King William. First shed Plymouth Laira. Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted October 1910. Renamed The Belgian Monarch June 1927. Altered to Belgian Monarch October 1927. Name removed May 1940. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted June 1948.
Last shed Swindon.
1952
4023 Danish Monarch 1909 2367/178 Built as 4023 King George. First shed Old Oak Common. Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted September 1912. Fitted with half-cone boiler August 1915, reverted to full-cone boiler June 1920. Renamed The Danish Monarch July 1927. Altered to Danish Monarch October 1927. Name removed November 1940. Last shed Swansea Landore.
1952
4024 Dutch Monarch 1909 2368/178 Built as 4024 King James  First shed Old Oak Common. Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted February 1911. Fitted with half-cone boiler June 1912, reverted to full-cone boiler April 1914. Renamed The Dutch Monarch September 1927. Altered to Dutch Monarch November 1927. Castle type outside steam pipes fitted February 1929.
Last shed Taunton.
1935
4025 Italian Monarch 1909 2369/178 Built as 4025 King Charles First shed Plymouth Laira. Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted January 1911. Renamed Italian Monarch October 1927. Name removed June 1940. Last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road.
1950
4026 Japanese Monarch 1909 2370/178 Built as 4026 King Richard. First shed Old Oak Common. Half-cone boiler and Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted May 1913. Reverted to full-cone boiler May 1916. Renamed The Japanese Monarch July 1927. Altered to Japanese Monarch November 1927. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted October 1932. Name removed January 1941. Last shed Taunton.
1950
4027 Norwegian Monarch 1909 2371/178 Built as 4027 King Henry . First shed allocation Old Oak Common. Half-cone boiler and Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted June 1912. Reverted to full-cone boiler February 1921. Renamed The Norwegian Monarch July 1927. Altered to Norwegian Monarch November 1927.
Last shed Swansea.
1934
4028 Roumanian Monarch 1909 2372/178 Built as 4028 King John. First shed Newton Abbot. Half-cone boiler and Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted September 1911. Reverted to full-cone boiler June 1913. Renamed The Roumanian Monarch July 1927. Altered to Roumanian Monarch November 1927. Name removed November 1940. Last shed Westbury.
1951
4029 Spanish Monarch 1909 2373/178 Built as 4029 King Stephen. First shed Old Oak Common. Half-cone boiler and Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted April 1911. Reverted to full-cone boiler April 1913. Renamed The Spanish Monarch July 1927. Altered to Spanish Monarch November 1927.
Last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. 		 1934
4030 Swedish Monarch 1909 2374/178 Built as 4030 King Harold. First shed Old Oak Common. Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted January 1913. Renamed The Swedish Monarch July 1927. Altered to Swedish Monarch November 1927. Name removed November 1940. Last shed Bristol, Bath Road.
 1950
4031 Queen Mary 1910 2380/180 First shed Old Oak Common. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted August 1948.
Last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road.
1951
4032 Queen Alexandra 1910 2381/180 First shed Old Oak Common. Rebuilt as 'Castle' class 4032 Queen Alexandra April 1926.  First shed as a Castle and last GWR shed was Plymouth Laira and last BR shed was Taunton.
 1951
4033 Queen Victoria 1910 2382/180 First shed Old Oak Common. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted April 1940. Last shed  Bristol, Bath Road.
1951
4034 Queen Adelaide 1910 2383/180 First shed Newton Abbot. Fitted with half-cone boiler July 1916, reverted to full-cone boiler September 1918. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted June 1932.
Last shed Swindon.
1952
4035 Queen Charlotte 1910 2384/180 First shed Newton Abbot. Fitted with half-cone boiler July 1912, reverted to full-cone boiler December 1913. Castle type outside steam pipes fitted January 1931.
Last shed Bristol, Bath Road.
1951
4036 Queen Elizabeth 1910 2385/180 First shed Old Oak Common. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted July 1943. Last shed allocation Swindon.
1952
4037 Queen Phillppa 1910 2386/180 First shed Old Oak Common. Rebuilt as 'Castle' class 4037 Queen Philippa June 1926. First shed as a Castle was Wolverhampton Stafford Road, last GWR shed Old Oak Common and last BR shed Exeter
 1962
4038 Queen Berengaria 1911 2387/180 First shed Newton Abbot. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted August 1932. Last shed Westbury. 1,994,759 miles.
 1952
4039 Queen Matilda 1911 2388/180 First shed Newton Abbot. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted December 1948. Last shed Swansea Landore.
1950
4040 Queen Bodicea 1911 2389/180 First shed Exeter. Fitted with half-cone boiler December 1912, reverted to full-cone boiler March 1914. Castle type outside steam pipes fitted February 1930.
Last shed Shrewsbury.
1951
4041 Prince of Wales 1913 2536/195 First shed Old Oak Common. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted October 1947. Last shed Bristol, Bath Road.  1951
4042 Prince Albert 1913 2537/195 First shed Old Oak Common. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted May 1948. Last shed Bristol, Bath Road.
1951
4043 Prince Henry 1913 2538/195 First shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Castle type outside steam pipes fitted October 1931.
Last shed Bristol, Bath Road.
1952
4044 Prince George 1913 2539/195 First shed Plymouth Laira. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted October 1946. Last shed Shrewsbury.

1953
4045 Prince John 1913 2540/195 First shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Fitted with half-cone boiler July 1915, reverted to full-cone boiler June 1917. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted January 1946. Last shed Westbury.
 1950
4046 Princess Mary 1914 2572/199 First shed Newton Abbot. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted January 1949. Last shed Shrewsbury.
1951
4047 Princess Louise 1914 2573/199 First shed Plymouth Laira. Castle type outside steam pipes fitted October 1938. Last shed Bristol, Bath Road.
1951
4048 Princess Victoria 1914 2574/199 First shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Temporarily named Princess Mary for the Royal Wedding on the 28 February 1922- see note below. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted August 1932. Last shed Swansea Landore.
1953
4049 Princess Maud 1914 2575/199 First and last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Castle type outside steam pipes fitted February 1935.
1953
4050 Princess Alice 1914 2576/199 First shed Old Oak Common. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted June 1946. Last shed Swansea Landore.
1952
4051 Princess Helena 1914 2577/199 First shed Old Oak Common. Castle type outside steam pipes fitted December 1944. Last shed Worcester.
1950
4052 Princess Beatrice 1914 2578/199 First shed Plymouth Laira. Castle type outside steam pipes fitted April 1939. Last shed Shrewsbury.
1953
4053 Princess Alexandra 1914 2579/199 First shed Plymouth Laira. Castle type outside steam pipes fitted October 1933.
Last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road.
1954
4054 Princess Charlotte 1914 2580/199 First shed Old Oak Common. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted October 1945. Last shed Plymouth Laira.
1952
4055 Princess Sophia 1914 2581/199 First shed Old Oak Common. Castle type outside steam pipes fitted May 1945. Last shed Swindon.  1951
4056 Princess Margaret 1914 2582/199 First shed Old Oak Common. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted August 1949. Last shed Bristol, Bath Road.
1957
4057 Princess Elizabeth 1914 2583/199 First shed Old Oak Common. Castle type outside steam pipes fitted April 1930. Last shed Swindon.
1952
4058 Princess Augusta 1914 2584/199 First and last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted October 1944.
1951
4059 Princess Patricia 1914 2585/199 First shed Plymouth Laira. Castle type outside steam pipes fitted August 1944. Last shed Gloucester.
1952
4060 Princess Eugenie 1914 2586/199 First shed Newton Abbot.From 1920 to 1923, 4060 carried a boiler with an experimental smokebox with the chimney moved forward and an altered blastpipe. This arrangement was transferred to 4043 in 1925 and 4004 in 1927 but as no advantage was found, was discontinued.Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted December 1930.
Last shed Bristol, Bath Road.
1952
4061 Glastonbury Abbey 1922 2915/217 First shed Penzance. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted July 1949. Last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road.
1957
4062 Malmesbury Abbey 1922 2916/217 First shed Plymouth Laira. Elbow type outside steam pipes fitted March 1950. Last shed Swindon.
1956
4063 Bath Abbey 1922 2917/217 First shed Newton Abbot. Fitted with experimental smokebox with chimney in forward position 1923 to 1925. Rebuilt as Castle class 5083 Bath Abbey. First shed as 5083 was June 1937. Swansea Landore, last GWR shed Bristol Bath Road and last BR shed Worcester
 1959
4064 Reading Abbey 1922 2918/217 First shed Old Oak Common. Rebuilt as Castle class 5084 Reading Abbey April 1937. First shed as 5084 was Weymouth, last GWR shed Bristol Bath Road and last BR shed Old Oak Common
 1962
4065 Evesham Abbey 1922 2919/217 First shed Exeter. Rebuilt as Castle class 5085 Evesham Abbey July 1939. First shed and last GWR shed as 5085 was Old Oak Common and last BR shed Bristol St Phillips Marsh.
 1964
4066 Viscount Horne 1922 2920/217 Built as 4066 Malvern Abbey. First shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Renamed Sir Robert Horne May 1935. Altered to Viscount Horne August 1937. Rebuilt as Castle class 5086 Viscount Horne December 1937 First shed as 5086 was Wolverhampton Stafford Road, last GWR shed was Shrewsbury and ast BR shed Worcester..
 1958
4067 Tintern Abbey 1923 2921/217 First shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Rebuilt as Castle class 5087 Tintern Abbey November 1940. First shed as 5087 and last GWR shed was Old Oak Common and last BR shed Llanelly
 1963
4068 Llanthony Abbey 1923 2922/217 First shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Rebuilt as Castle class 5088 Llanthony Abbey First shed as 5088 February 1939. was Shrewsbury and last GWR and BR shed was Wolverhampton Stafford Road
 1962
4069 Westminster Abbey 1923 2923/217 Built as 4069 Margam Abbey First shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Renamed May 1923. Rebuilt as Castle class 5089 Westminster Abbey October 1939.  First shed as 5089 and last GWR shed was Swansea Landore and last BR shed Oxley. 1964
4070 Neath Abbey 1923 2924/217 First shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Rebuilt as Castle class 5090 Neath Abbey April 1939.  First shed and last GWR shed as 5090 was Plymouth Laira and last BR shed Old Oak Common
 1962
4071 Cleeve Abbey 1923 2925/217 First shed Old Oak Common. Rebuilt as Castle class 5091 Cleeve Abbey December 1938.  First shed and last GWR shed as 5091 was Bristol Bath Road and last BR shed Tyseley
 1964
4072 Tresco Abbey 1923 2926/217 First shed Old Oak Common. Rebuilt as Castle class 5092 Tresco Abbey April 1938.  First shed as 5092 was Gloucester Horton Road, last GWR shed Worcester and last BR shed Cardiff East Dock. 1963
 
 

    
On leaving BR service in 1951, 4003 "Lode Star" became the only member of the class to be preserved. Built in February 1907 it was fitted with Automatic Warning System ( AWS ) and a speedometer but lost its bogie brake gear from November 1923 in line with other GWR locomotives. 1962 saw 4003 enter Swindon Railway Museum where it lay dormant but highly polished until Sunday 1 March 1992 when it was removed by low loader for its journey to the National Railway Museum in York.


GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY - THE ROYAL ROAD


The British Royal Family always had a close relationship with the Great Western Railway which began when Queen Victoria made her first ever rail journey from Windsor.  As such it was not surprising that 4048 Princess Victoria was temporarily named Princess Mary in honour of the future, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood, born on 25 April 1897 in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year.

Queen Victoria called her "My dear little Jubilee baby" and her grandfather, the Prince of Wales suggested calling her Diamond. Instead she was christened Victoria Alexandra Alice Mary, however, she was always known as Mary, after her maternal grandmother Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck.

Princess Mary was born at York Cottage, on the Sandringham estate, the third child and only daughter of the Duke and Duchess of York, the future King George V and Queen Mary. Her siblings were Prince Edward (later Edward VIII and Duke of Windsor), Albert (later King George VI), Henry, Duke of Gloucester, Prince George, Duke of Kent and Prince John.

During the First World War Princess Mary was active in welfare organizations that provided comfort to troops and introduced the Princess Mary gift box which was sent out to troops in Christmas 1914. These boxes contained one ounce of pipe tobacco, twenty cigarettes, a pipe, a tinder lighter, a Christmas card from the King and Queen and a photograph of Princess Mary. Non-smokers received a box containing a packet of antacid tablets, a khaki writing case containing pencil, paper and envelopes together with the Christmas card and photograph. Princess Mary also took a nursing course and in 1918 went to work at the Great Ormond Street Hospital.

In 1922 she married Henry, Viscount Lascelles, a man 15 years her senior at Westminster Abbey. At first they lived at Goldsborough Hall, near Knaresborough but seven years after their wedding, Lord Lascelles succeeded his father as the sixth Earl of Harewood and they moved into Harewood House. Princess Mary loved Yorkshire and she was known as the 'Yorkshire Princess'. They had two sons, George, the present Earl of Harewood, born in 1922 and Gerald born in 1923.

Princess Mary was appointed Commandant in Chief of the British Red Cross Detachments in 1926 and she also became Colonel-in-chief' of a number of regiments. Following the death of her aunt, Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife, she was created Princess Royal by her father on January 1, 1932.

At the outbreak of World War II, the Princess Royal became chief controller and later controller commandant of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS, renamed the Women's Royal Army Corp in 1949). In that capacity she travelled Britain visiting its units, as well as wartime canteens and other welfare organizations.

After her husband's death in 1947, she continued to live at Harewood house with her son and his family. She became Chancellor of Leeds University in 1951, and continued to carry out many duties at home and abroad, representing the Queen at the independence celebrations of Trinidad in 1962 and Zambia in 1964. During a trip to Canada in 1962 she became the first woman to be installed as an honorary bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada. Upon receiving this honour she said 'I have not been a great lawyer, but I'm fast becoming one'. One of her last official engagements was to represent the Queen at the funeral of Queen Louise of Sweden in early March 1965.

The Princess Royal died suddenly of a heart attack on 28 March 1965 while walking in the garden with her eldest son and his family and she is buried on the Harewood estate.

Back in 1952 however, what was by then the Western Region of British Railways was called upon to make another locomotive name switch for the benefit of the Royal Family - although this time in the more sombre circumstances of the death of His Majesty King George VI.

4082 "Windsor Castle" had been viewed as the Great Western's Royal locomotive from 28 April 1924 when King George V accompanied by Queen Mary drove it from Swindon works to Swindon station - a feat emulated by his grand daughter Princess Elizabeth in November 1950. Plaques were mounted on the side of 4082 to commemorate King George V's turn at the regulator.

Unfortunately when King George VI died suddenly in February 1952 locomotive 4082 was in Swindon works for repairs, so the cabside number plate, curved nameplate and commemorative plaques were transferred to Post-War Castle 7013 "Bristol Castle".  The identity of 7013 was similarly moved to the 1924 vintage 4082 and the two 4-6-0s impersonated each other until both were scrapped in the mid 1960s.

To complicate matters further, the real 4082 ( now masquerading as 7013 ) received a double chimney in May 1958 and had its original fluted inside valve casing ( the real giveaway to its 1924 vintage ) replaced with a new design of straight casing with a square edge to the tread plate and centre portion raised to clear the exhaust passages.


  Castle class 4-6-0 7037 "Swindon", built in 1950 and named by the then Princess Elizabeth - now Her Majesty Quen Elizabeth II - as the last of 167 such locomotives, pauses with a train at its namesake station. Technically known as the 4073 Class by the Great Western Railway, the Castles led a service life of glamour and excitement which has carried over into preservation.  
 

    
  Castle class 4-6-0 7037 "Swindon", built in 1950 and named by the then Princess Elizabeth - now Her Majesty Quen Elizabeth II - as the last of 167 such locomotives, pauses with a train at its namesake station. Technically known as the 4073 Class by the Great Western Railway, the Castles led a service life of glamour and excitement which has carried over into preservation.

The original 4073 - named "Caerphilly Castle" - was outshopped from Swindon Works in August 1923, just eight months after the Grouping of British railways.  It had been designed by Charles Baker Collett, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Great Western Railway, as a replacement for the Star 4-6-0s which began series production in 1907.

The seven years before the outbreak of war in 1914 saw increases in the weights of main-line passenger trains made possible mostly by the introduction of the 'Stars'. However, by the time Collett took over from Churchward at Swindon in 1921, holiday traffic from London to Devon and Cornwall was demanding even heavier trains and the GWR management devoted proportionally more money and resources to West of England services from Paddington than to any other routes.

Like the Stars, the new Castles had 4 cylinders and inside Walschaerts valve gear ( with two outside cylinders driving the middle pair of coupled wheels whilst the inside drove the leading pair) and the distinctive curved steam pipes which were later to appear on the GWR Kings of 1927 and - retrospectively on some of the Stars.

The Castle's cylinder diameter was increased from the Star's 15 to 16 inches although the boiler pressure remained at 225 pounds per square inch. Initially the large number 7 boiler was planned for the Castle design, but after concerns by the Chief Civil Engineer regarding the maximum of 20 ton axle limit, a new slightly smaller number 8 was introduced.

The Castle's tractive effort was 31 625 pounds at 85 per cent boiler pressure compared to the Star's 27 800 pounds and the 29 835 pounds, also at 85 per cent boiler pressure, of the first Gresley Pacifics of the LNER. The grate area was increased to 29.4 square feet in the Castle from the 27.07 square feet in the Star. The Castle's average coal consumption was one of the lowest in the country : 2.83 pounds per drawbar horsepower per hour compared to 4 pounds common for the other railways in the 1920s.

The bar-frame bogie was of standard Swindon design and the superheater was the number 3 type as used in the Star design. The top-feed device for introducing water into the boiler through the steam so as not to lose heat was of GWR pattern, with a series of trays to cause descent into the boiler in a fine spray.  The Castles proved highly efficient in working heavy expresses on the red-disc classified main lines that would take their weight.

Much was made in GWR publicity of the Castle's roomy cab, with side windows and comfortable seats for the driver and fireman, and a canopy extending rearwards for shelter. The Great Western panache was provided by restoration for the first time after World War I of the copper-capped chimney and polished brass safety-valve cover.

The tender attached to the class as originally built was the standard low-sided six wheeler taking six tons of coal and 3 500 gallons of water but this was changed for a 4000 gallon design that emerged in 1926.

4073 "Caerphilly Castle was displayed at the British Empire Exhibition of 1924 and after spending many decades in the Science Museum, London, is now on display at Steam in Swindon - only a few yards from its birthplace.

Meanwhile, out on Britain's working standard gauge network, other Castles - including 15 Stars rebuilt as Castles - were beginning to shake the railway world.

1925 saw 4079 "Pendennis Castle" at work on the LNER alongside A1 Pacifics of a similar vintage.  This locomotive exchange proved the worth of the high pressure boiler, long travel valves and unobstructed steam circuit of the Collett '7P' 4-6-0 as did similar work done by 5000 "Launceston Castle" on the LMS in 1926.  As a result of the latter trial, Collett's deputy William Stanier was headhunted by the LMS to become their own Chief Mechanical Engineer and brought more than a touch of Swindon to his Princess Royal pacifics.

Interestingly enough, 4079 "Pendennis Castle" went on to work on foreign metals again sfter preservation: this time in Australia!  She journeyed Down Under in June 1977 to run on the Hamersley Iron Railway in Dampier, WA, and in 1989 the 1925 trials were vividly recalled when 4079 went east across the Outback to meet 4472 "Flying Scotsman" - the LNER pacific touring the nation to celebrate Australia's Bicentenary.  The meeting was even more ironic as one of the 4073s - named Viscount Churchill - was built from parts of "The Great Bear" - the first British Pacific and the only 4-6-2 the Great Western ever owned.  In July 2000 however 4079 "Pendennis Castle" was returned to theGreat Western Society at Didcot for further preservation.

Back in the late 1920s however, the GWR Castles were taking charge of the Cheltenham Spa Express - the fastest train in the World.  Indeed, on 6 June 1932 locomotive 5006 "Tregenna Castle" took a special test train from Swindon to Paddington in 56 minutes 47 seconds. An InterCity 125 today needs nearer 59 minutes to cover the 77.3 mile journey!

World War II put the brakes on high speed running after 1939 although 7032 "Denbeigh Castle" and 7018 "Drysllwyn Castle" both topped the 100 mph mark on "Bristolian" services in the 1950s. Despite 66 members of the class receiving double chimneys after 1956 however, the Castles were to succumb to Western Region dieselisation by the end of 1965.
  
 


 
  "Engine No 4073 "Caerphilly Castle" 4-6-0. The first of the latest series of 4-6-0 or ten-wheel four-cylinder simple expansion locomotives. having two outside cylinders driving the middle pair of coupled wheels, whilst the inside drive the leading pair. Is fitted with a large boiler, superheater, Belpaire firebox, and the usual GWR standard appliances. A new type of cab with side windows is provided. Built at Swindon, the total weight of the engine and tender in working order is 120 tons." 
  

"Engine No 4073 "Caerphilly Castle" 4-6-0. The first of the latest series of 4-6-0 or ten-wheel four-cylinder simple expansion locomotives. having two outside cylinders driving the middle pair of coupled wheels, whilst the inside drive the leading pair. Is fitted with a large boiler, superheater, Belpaire firebox, and the usual GWR standard appliances. A new type of cab with side windows is provided. Built at Swindon, the total weight of the engine and tender in working order is 120 tons."

 
   
FINAL
 CASTLE NAME		 DATE WKS / LOT
 NOTES WDN
100
 A1 Lloyds
 1907 2237/168 Originally built as 4009 Shooting Star. First shed Newton Abbot. Swindon No. 3 superheater fitted October 1912. Fitted with half-cone boiler December 1914, but reverted to full-cone boiler November 1921. Rebuilt as 'Castle' class April 1925. First shed as Castle was Plymouth Laira. In January 1936 this locomotive became 100 A1 Lloyds and was an oil burner in the late 1940s. Last GWR and BR shed Old Oak Common. 4009 Shooting Star is pictured above on the rolling road at Swindon. 1950
111
 Viscount Churchill
 1908
 2279/171
 Built using parts of 111 The Great Bear, September 1924. First shed Old Oak Common.
Last shed  Plymouth Laira.
1953
4000
 North Star
 1906
 2168/161 4000 North Star and 4003 Lode Star were fitted with audible signalling equipment in 1908 in connection with the first installation of Automatic Train Control between Slough and Reading. Re-built as Castle 4000 North Star in November 1929. First shed Newton Abbot. Last shed Swansea. 2,110,396 miles
(850,000 miles as Star engine).		 1957
4016 The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) 1908 2305/173 Re-built from Star 4016 Knight of the Golden Fleece October 1925. First shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Renamed January 1938.
Last shed  Old Oak Common.
1951
4032
 Queen Alexandra
 1910
 2381/180 First shed Old Oak Common. Rebuilt as 'Castle' class 4032 Queen Alexandra April 1926.  First shed as a Castle and last GWR shed was Plymouth Laira and last BR shed was Taunton. 1951
4037
 The South Wales Borderers
 1910
 2386/180 First shed Old Oak Common. Rebuilt as 'Castle' class 4037 Queen Philippa June 1926. First shed as a Castle was Wolverhampton Stafford Road. Renamed March 1937 Last GWR shed Old Oak Common and last BR shed Exeter.  Scrapped by Cashmore's, Newport, December 1962.
 1962
4073 Caerphilly Castle
 1923
 /224
 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed Bristol, Bath Road. March 1959 and last shed Cardiff Canton.
Preserved at Science Museum, then Steam, Swindon

After withdrawal from service,4073 was overhauled at Swindon Works and formally handed over to the Science Museum by BTC Chairman Dr Richard Beeching at Platform 4 of Paddington station on Friday 2 June 1961.  It was then hauled back to Old Oak Common Depot by D4004 ( later 08 836 ) and on Sunday 4 June 4073 and its tender travelled on separate Pickfords trailers to South Kensington.  The Scammell 6x4 Junior Constructor tractors moving the locomotive by road had 150 bhp Leyland 680 engines and six speed gearboxes.

 1960
4074
 Caldicot Castle
 1923
 /224
 First shed Old Oak Common. Took part in the GWR - LNER locomotive trials of 1925 against Gresley Class A1 Pacific number 4474 Victor Wild running between Paddington and Portsmouth. August 1950 and March 1959 sheds Swansea Landore. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted April 1959.
Last shed Old Oak Common.
1963
4075
 Cardiff Castle
 1924
 /224
 First and 1950 sheds Old Oak Common. March 1959 shed Bristol, Bath Road. Last shed Old Oak Common.
1961
4076 Carmarthen Castle 1924 /224 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed Chester. March 1959 shed Swansea Landore. Last shed Llanelly.
1963
4077 Chepstow Castle 1924 /224 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed Newton Abbot. March 1959 shed Plymouth Laira. Last shed Bristol, Saint Philip's Marsh.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
 1962
4078 Pembroke Castle 1924 /224 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed Swansea Landore. March 1959 shed Bristol, Bath Road.
Last shed  Llanelly.
1962
4079 Pendennis Castle 1924
 /224
 First shed Old Oak Common. Took part in the GWR - LNER locomotive trials in April and May 1925 against Gresley Class A1 Pacifics running between King's Cross and Doncaster. August 1950 shed Gloucester. March 1959 shed Bristol, Bath Road. Last shed Bristol, Saint Philip's Marsh.
Acquired for preservation but after working a number a special trains was sold in 1977 to the Hamersley Iron Railway,Western Australia.
Returned to the Didcot Railway Centre in July 2000
 1964
4080 Powderham Castle 1924 /224 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed Weymouth. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted August 1958. March 1959 shed Bristol, Bath Road. From Cardiff Canton to Cardiff East Dock shed September 1962. Last shed Southall.
1964
4081 Warwick Castle 1924 /224 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed Swindon. March 1959 shed Bristol, Bath Road.
Last shed  Carmarthen. 		 1963
4082 Windsor Castle 1924 /224 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed Worcester. Renamed and numbered 7013 Bristol Castle February 1952. March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Last shed allocation Tyseley. 
1964
4083 Abbotsbury Castle
 1925 /232 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed Cardiff Canton. March 1959 shed Newton Abbot.
Last shed Cardiff Canton.
 1961
4084 Aberystwyth Castle 1925 /232 First shed Plymouth Laira. August 1950 shed Bristol, Bath Road. March 1959 shed Newton Abbot.
Last shed Cardiff Canton.
1960
4085 Berkeley Castle 1925 /232 First shed Plymouth Laira. August 1950 shed Reading. March 1959 shed Gloucester. Last shed Old Oak Common. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
 1962
4086 Builth Castle 1925 /232 First shed Plymouth Laira. August 1950 shed  Worcester. March 1959 shed Swindon. Last shed Oxford.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
 1962
4087 Cardigan Castle 1925 /232 First and August 1950 sheds Plymouth Laira. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted February 1958. March 1959 shed Plymouth Laira. Last shed Bristol, Saint Philip's Marsh. Scrapped at Cooper Metals, Sharpness.
 1963
4088 Dartmouth Castle 1925 /232 First shed Plymouth Laira. Involved in the incident with 2975 Lord Palmer, 13 November 1942 at Appleford Crossing. August 1950 shed Plymouth Laira. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted May 1958. March 1959 shed Worcester.
Last shed Bristol, Saint Philip's Marsh.
1964
4089 Donnington Castle 1925 /232 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed Plymouth Laira. March 1959 shed Worcester. Last shed Reading.  1964
4090 Dorchester Castle 1925 /232 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed  Penzance. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted July 1957. March 1959 shed Old Oak Common.
Last shed Cardiff East Dock.
1963
4091 Dudley Castle 1925 /232 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed Bristol, Bath Road. Last shed Old Oak Common.
1959
4092 Dunraven Castle 1925 /232 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed  Worcester. March 1959 shed Reading. Last shed Oxford.
1961
4093 Dunster Castle 1926 /234 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed  Bristol, Bath Road. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted December 1957. March 1959 shed Swansea Landore. Last shed Gloucester.
1964
4094 Dynevor Castle 1926 /234 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed Cardiff Canton. March 1959 shed Swansea Landore.
Last shed Carmarthen.
1962
4095 Harlech Castle 1926 /234 First shed Plymouth Laira. August 1950 shed Swansea Landore. March 1959 shed Penzance. Last shed Reading.
1962
4096 Highclere Castle 1926 /234 First shed Plymouth Laira. August 1950 shed  Bristol, Bath Road. March 1959 shed Old Oak Common.
Last shed Llanelly
 1963
4097 Kenilworth Castle
 1926 /234 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed Plymouth Laira. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted June 1958. March 1959 and last shed Swansea Landore.
1960
4098 Kidwelly Castle 1926 /234 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 and March 1959 shed Newton Abbot. Last shed Old Oak Common. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
 1963
4099 Kilgerran Castle
 1926 /234 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed Newton Abbot. March 1959 shed Swansea Landore.
Last shed Llanelly. 		 1962


5017 "The Gloucestershire Regiment 28th 61st" at Cardiff Canton depot in 1960. By this late stage in the career of the former "St Donat's Castle"was a Gloucester Horton Road 85B engine.


5017 "The Gloucestershire Regiment 28th 61st" at Cardiff Canton depot in 1960.  By this late stage in the career of the former "St Donat's Castle" was a Gloucester Horton Road 85B engine.


5000 Launceston Castle 1926 /234 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed  Bristol, Bath Road. March 1959 shed Swindon. Last shed Wolverhampton Oxley.Scrapped at Bird's, Swansea.
 1964
5001 Llandovery Castle 1926 /234 First shed Old Oak Common. Fitted with 6' 6" driving wheels (instead of 6' 8½") in 1931 to find performance gain. Refitted with original wheels within weeks. August 1950 shed Cardiff Canton. March 1959 shed Shrewsbury. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted June 1961. Last shed Old Oak Common.Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
 1963
5002
 Ludlow Castle
 1926
 /234
 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed Swansea Landore. March 1959 shed Swindon. Last shed Southall.
1964
5003
 Lulworth Castle
 1927
 /234
 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed Taunton. March 1959 and last shed Newton Abbot.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
 1926
5004 Llanstephan Castle 1927 /234 First shed Plymouth Laira. August 1950 shed Old Oak Common. March 1959 shed Swansea Landore.
Last shed Neath.
 1962
5005 Manorbier Castle 1927 /234 First shed Old Oak Common. Carried streamlining - like that applied to 6014 "King Henry VII"- from March 1935 until 1940. August 1950 shed Cardiff Canton. March 1959 and last shed Swindon. 
1960
5006 Tregenna Castle 1927 /234 First shed Old Oak Common. On 6 June 1932 locomotive 5006 "Tregenna Castle" took a special test train from Swindon to Paddington in 56 minutes 47 seconds. An InterCity 125 today needs nearer 59 minutes to cover the 77.3 mile journey! August 1950 shed Cardiff Canton. March 1959 and last shed Carmarthen.
1962
5007
 Rougemont Castle
 1927
 /234
 First shed Plymouth Laira. August 1950 shed Cardiff Canton. March 1959 shed Swindon. Last shed Gloucester. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
 1962
5008
 Raglan Castle
 1927
 /234
 First shed Plymouth Laira. August 1950 shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted March 1961. Last shed Old Oak Common. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
 1962
5009
 Shrewsbury Castle
 1927
 /234 First shed Plymouth Laira. August 1950, March 1959 and last shed Swindon.
 1960
5010
 Restormel Castle
 1927
 /234
 First shed Plymouth Laira. August 1950 shed  Wolverhampton, Stafford Road.
March 1959 and last shed Reading. 
 1959
5011
 Tintagel Castle
 1927
 /234
 First shed Newton Abbot. August 1950 and March 1959 shed Newton Abbot. Last shed Old Oak Common. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
 1962
5012
 Berry Pomeroy Castle
 1927
 /234
 First shed Newton Abbot. August 1950 shed Plymouth Laira. March 1959 and last shed Oxford.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
 1962
5013
 Abergavenny Castle
 1932
 /280
 First shed Newton Abbot. August 1950 and March 1959 shed Swansea Landore. Last shed Neath.
1962
5014
 Goodrich Castle
 1932
 /280
 First shed Plymouth Laira. August 1950 and March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Last shed Tyseley.
1965
5015
 Kingswear Castle
 1932
 /280
 First shed Cardiff Canton. August 1950 shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. March 1959 shed Bristol, Bath Road. Last shed Cardiff  East Dock.
Scrapped at Central Wagon Co, Wigan.
 1963
5016
 Montgomery Castle
 1932
 /280
 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 and March 1959 shed Swansea Landore. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted February 1960.
Last shed Llanelly. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
1962
5017

 The Gloucestershire Regiment
28th, 61st
 1932

 /280

 Built as St Donat's Castle. First shed Taunton. August 1950 shed Worcester. Renamed April 1954.
March 1959 and last shed Gloucester.  1,598,851 miles.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
 1962
5018

 St Mawes Castle

 1932

 /280

 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed  Bristol, Bath Road. March 1959 and last shed Reading.
Scrapped at Cohen's, Kettering.
 1964
5019

 Treago Castle

 1932

 /280

 First shed Plymouth Laira. August 1950 shed Bristol, Bath Road. March 1959 shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted February 1961. Last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road.

1962
5020

 Trematon Castle

 1932

 /280

 First shed Plymouth Laira. August 1950 shed Cardiff Canton. March 1959 shed Penzance. Last shed Llanelly.
 1962
5021

 Whittington Castle

 1932

 /280

 First shed Plymouth Laira. August 1950 and March 1959 shed Plymouth Laira. Last shed Cardiff Canton.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
 1962

5022
Wigmore Castle
 1932
 /280
 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed  Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted February 1959. March 1959 and last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
 1963
5023
 Brecon Castle
 1934
 /295 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed  Plymouth Laira. March 1959 and last shed Swindon.
1963
5024
 Carew Castle
 1934
 /295
 Built April 1934. First and last shed Newton Abbot.  Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
 1962
5025
 Chirk Castle
 1934
 /295
 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed Bristol, Bath Road. March 1959 shed Oxford. Last shed Hereford.  Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
 1963
5026
 Criccieth Castle
 1934
 /295
 First shed Newton Abbot. August 1950 shed  Plymouth Laira. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted October 1959. March 1959 shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Last shed  Wolverhampton Oxley.
1964
5027 Farleigh Castle 1934 /295 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 and March 1959  shed Old Oak Common. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted April 1961. Last shed Llanelly.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
 1962
5028 Llantilio Castle 1934 /295 First shed Plymouth Laira. August 1950 shed Newton Abbot. March 1959 and last shed Plymouth Laira. 
 1960
5029 Nunney Castle 1934 /295 First and August 1950 shed Old Oak Common. March 1959 shed Worcester. Last shed Cardiff East Dock. Withdrawn December 1963. Acquired by Woodham's, Barry May 1964. Sold to Great Western Society and left as the 81st departure from Barry, May 1976.  1963
5030 Shirburn Castle 1934 /295 First shed Exeter. August 1950 shed Cardiff Canton. March 1959 and last shed Carmarthen. 
 1962
5031 Totnes Castle 1934 /295 First shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. August 1950 and March 1959 shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted June 1959. Last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road.
1963
5032 Usk Castle 1934 /295 First and August 1950 Shrewsbury. March 1959 shed Newton Abbot. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted May 1959. Last shed Old Oak Common.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.		 1962
5033 Broughton Castle 1935 /296 First shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. August 1950 shed Chester. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted October 1960. March 1959 and last shed Oxford. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
 1962
5034 Corfe Castle 1935 /296 First and August 1950 shed Newton Abbot. March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted February 1960. Last shed Old Oak Common. 1,250,714 miles.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
 1962
5035 Coity Castle 1935 /296 Built May 1935. First shed allocation Cardiff Canton. August 1950 and March 1959 shed allocations Old Oak Common. Last shed allocation Swindon.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
 1962
5036 Lyonshall Castle 1935 /296 First shed Cardiff Canton. August 1950 and March 1959 shed Reading. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted December 1960. Last shed Old Oak Common.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.		 1962
5037 Monmouth Castle 1935 /296 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed  Bristol, Bath Road. March 1959 shed Worcester.
Last shed Bristol, Saint Philip's Marsh.
1964
5038 Morlais Castle 1935 /296 First and August 1950 shed Old Oak Common. March 1959 shed Shrewsbury. Last shed Reading.
1963
5039 Rhuddlan Castle 1935 /296 First and August 1950 shed Old Oak Common. Converted to oil burning in late 1940s. March 1959 shed Swansea Landore. Last shed Reading.
1964
5040 Stokesay Castle 1935 /296 First shed, August 1950 and March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Last shed Bristol, Saint Philip's Marsh.  Scrapped at Cooper Metals, Sharpness.
 1963
5041 Tiverton Castle 1935 /296 First shed Plymouth Laira. August 1950 shed Newton Abbot. March 1959 shed Swansea Landore. Last shed Old Oak Common. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
 1963
5042 Winchester Castle 1935 /296 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed  Gloucester. March 1959 shed Worcester. May 1965 and last shed Gloucester.  1,339,221 miles.
Scrapped at R. Hayes (Bird's), Bridgend.
 1965
5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe 1936 /303 Built as 5043 Barbury Castle. First, August 1950 and March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Renamed September 1937. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted October 1958. Transferred from Cardiff Canton to Cardiff East Dock (last shed) September 1962. Acquired  by Woodham's, Barry June 1964. Sold to Birmingham Railway Museum, Tyseley and left as the 43rd departure from Barry September 1973.
 1963
5044 Earl of Dunraven 1936 /303 Built as 5044 Beverston Castle.First of class to be fitted with new shorter chimney as new. First, August 1950 and March 1959 shed Old Oak Common.  Renamed September 1937. Fitted with heavy cadmium whistle chain August 1954. Last shed Cardiff Canton.
1962
5045 Earl of Dudley 1936 /303 Built as 5045 Bridgwater Castle. First and August 1950 shed Old Oak Common. Renamed September 1937.  March 1959 and last shed allocation Wolverhampton, Stafford Road.
1962
5046 Earl of Cawdor 1936 /303 Built as 5046 Clifford Castle. First and August 1950 shed Cardiff Canton. Renamed August 1937.March 1959 and last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road.
1962
5047 Earl of Dartmouth 1936 /303 Built as 5047 Compton Castle. First shed  Swansea Landore. Renamed August 1937. August 1950 shed Newton Abbot.Last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road
 1962
5048 Earl of Devon 1936 /303 Built as 5048 Cranbrook Castle. First ,August 1950 and March 1959 shed Bristol, Bath Road. Renamed August 1937. Last shed allocation Llanelly.
1962
5049 Earl of Plymouth 1936 /303 Built as 5049 Denbigh Castle. First shed  Worcester. Renamed August 1937.  August 1950 shed Cardiff Canton. March 1959 shed Newton Abbot. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted September 1959.
Last shed Bristol, Saint Philip's Marsh. 		 1963
5050 Earl of St Germans 1936 /303 Built as 5050 Devizes Castle. First shed Worcester. Renamed August 1937. August 1950 and March 1959 shed Shrewsbury. Last shed Bristol, St. Philip's Marsh. Scrapped at Cooper Metals, Sharpness.
 1963
5051 Earl Bathurst 1936 /303 Built as 5051 Drysllwyn Castle. First, August 1950 and March 1959 shed Swansea Landore. Renamed August 1937. Moved to Neath shed in April 1961 before its final move to Llanelli in February 1963. 1,300,000 miles. Acquired Woodham's, Barry October 1963. Sold to GWS, Didcot and left as the 4th departure from Barry March 1969. Restored 1979 and renamed as Drysllwyn Castle although it occasionally carries the name of Earl Bathurst.
1963
5052 Earl of Radnor 1936 /303 Built as 5052 Eastnor Castle. First and August 1950 shed Cardiff Canton. Renamed July 1937. March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Last shed Bristol, St. Philip's Marsh.
1962
5053 Earl Cairns 1936 /303 Built as 5053 Bishop's Castle. First shed Shrewsbury. Renamed August 1937. August 1950 shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. March 1959 shed Newton Abbot. Last shed Cardiff Canton. 1,293,786 miles. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
1962
5054 Earl of Ducie 1936 /303 Built as 5054 Lamphey Castle. First shed Old Oak Common. Renamed September 1937.  August 1950 shed Cardiff Canton. March 1959 shed Bristol, Bath Road.
Last shed Gloucester.
1964
5055 Earl of Eldon 1936 /303 Built as 5055 Lydford Castle. First shed and August 1950 Old Oak Common. Renamed August 1937. March 1959 shed Newton Abbot. Last shed Gloucester.
1964
5056 Earl of Powis 1936 /303 Built as 5056 Ogmore Castle. First, August 1950 and March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Renamed September 1937. . Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted October 1960. Last shed Wolverhampton Oxley.
1964
5057 Earl Waldegrave 1936 /303 Built as 5057 Penrice Castle. First shed Newton Abbot. Renamed October 1937. August 1950 shed Plymouth Laira. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted July 1958. March 1959 shed Bristol, Bath Road.
Last shed Old Oak Common.
1964
5058 Earl of Clancarty 1937 /303 Built as 5058 Newport Castle. First shed Newton Abbot. Renamed September 1937. August 1950 and March 1959 shed Plymouth Laira. Last shed Gloucester.
1963
5059 Earl St Aldwyn 1937 /303 Built as 5059 Powis Castle. First and August 1950 shed Exeter. Renamed October 1937. March 1959 shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Last shed Shrewsbury.
1962
5060 Earl of Berkeley 1937 /303 Built as 5060 Sarum Castle. First shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Renamed October 1937. August 1950 shed Plymouth Laira. March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted July 1961. Last shed Old Oak Common.
 1963
5061 Earl of Birkenhead 1937 /303 Built as 5061 Sudeley Castle. First and August 1950 shed Shrewsbury. Renamed October 1937. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted September 1958. March 1959 shed Reading. Last shed Cardiff Canton.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
 1962
5062 Earl of Shaftesbury 1937 /303 Built as 5062 Tenby Castle. First shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Renamed November 1937. August 1950 shed Exeter. March 1959 shed Bristol, Bath Road.
Last shed Llanelly.
1962
5063 Earl Baldwin 1937 /303 Built as 5063 Thornbury Castle, June 1937. First and August 1950 shed Worcester. Renamed July 1937. March 1959 shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road.
Last shed Wolverhampton Oxley.

The "Earl" names had been destined for the 4-4-0 32xx class being rebuilt from Bulldog frames and Duke type boilers but only 12 "Dukedogs" were named before the series was transferred to the Castles.

 1965
5064 Bishop's Castle 1937 /303 Built as 5064 Tretower Castle.  First shed Newton Abbot. Renamed September 1937. August 1950 shed  Shrewsbury. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted September 1958. March 1959 shed Swindon. Last shed  Gloucester. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
 1962
5065 Newport Castle 1937 /303 Built as 5065 Upton Castle. First shed Exeter. Renamed September 1937. August 1950, March 1959 and last shed Old Oak Common. Scrapped at A. King & Son, Norwich.
 1963
5066 Sir Felix Pole 1937 /303 Built as 5066 Wardour Castle. First, August 1950, March 1959 and last shed Old Oak Common. Renamed April 1956. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted April 1959.Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
 1962
5067 St Fagan's Castle 1937 /303 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed  Bristol, Bath Road. March 1959 shed Carmarthen.
Last shed Reading.
1962
5068 Beverston Castle 1938 /310 First shed Bristol, Bath Road. August 1950 and March 1959 shed Swindon. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted July 1959. Last shed Oxford.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
 1962
5069 Isambard Kingdom Brunel 1938 /310 First and August 1950 shed Old Oak Common. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted November 1958. March 1959 and last shed  Plymouth Laira.  1962
5070 Sir Daniel Gooch 1938 /310 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 and March 1959 shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Last shed Old Oak Common.
1964
5071 Spitfire 1938 /310 Built as 5071 Clifford Castle. First shed Newton Abbot. Renamed September 1940. August 1950 shed Newton Abbot. March 1959 shed Worcester. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted June 1959. Last shed Bristol, St. Philip's Marsh. Scrapped at Cooper Metals, Sharpness.
 1963
5072 Hurricane 1938 /310 Built as 5072 Compton Castle. First shed Newton Abbot. Renamed November 1940. August 1950 shed Swansea Landore. March 1959 and last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Scrapped at Bird's, Swansea.
 1962
5073 Blenheim 1938 /310 Built as 5073 Cranbrook Castle. First shed Plymouth Laira. Renamed January 1941. August 1950 shed Shrewsbury. March 1959 shed Bristol, Bath Road. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted July 1959. Transferred from Cardiff Canton to Cardiff East Dock shed September 1962.
1964
5074 Hampden 1938 /310 Built as 5074 Denbigh Castle. First shed Old Oak Common. Renamed January 1941. August 1950 shed Bristol, Bath Road. March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted September 1961. Last shed Bristol, St. Philip's Marsh.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
 1964
5075 Wellington 1938 /310 Built as 5075 Devizes Castle. First shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Renamed October 1940. August 1950 shed Chester. March 1959 shed Plymouth Laira. Last shed Bristol, St. Philip's Marsh.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
 1962
5076 Gladiator 1938 /310 Built as 5076 Drysllwyn Castle. First shed  Exeter. Renamed January 1941. August 1950 and March 1959 shed Bristol, Bath Road. Last shed Southall. 
 1964
5077 Fairey Battle 1938 /310 Built as 5077 Eastnor Castle. First shed Old Oak Common. Renamed October 1940. August 1950 shed Taunton. March 1959 shed Swansea Landore. Last shed Llanelly.
1962
5078 Beaufort 1939 /310 Built as 5078 Lamphey Castle. First shed Plymouth Laira. Renamed January 1941. August 1950 shed Newton Abbot. March 1959 shed Bristol, Bath Road. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted December 1961. Last shed Neath.
1962
5079 Lysander 1939 /310 Built as 5079 Lydford Castle. First shed Old Oak Common. Renamed November 1940 and converted to oil burning in the late 1940s. August 1950 and March 1959 shed Newton Abbot.
Last shed Old Oak Common.
1960
5080 Defiant 1939 /310 Built as 5080 Ogmore Castle. First shed Old Oak Common. Renamed January 1941. August 1950 shed  Cardiff Canton. March 1959 shed Carmarthen. Last shed allocation Llanelly.
Acquired by Woodham's, Barry October 1963. Sold to the Standard Steam Gauge Trust ( now Birmingham Railway Museum ) initially for spare parts for 7029 Clun Castle, and left as the 62nd departure from Barry in August 1974. Restoration completed in June 1988.
 1963
5081 Lockheed Hudson 1939 /310 Built as 5081 Penrice Castle. First shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Renamed January 1941. August 1950 shed  Old Oak Common. March 1959 shed Worcester. Transferred from Cardiff Canton to Cardiff East Dock shed September 1962.
1963
5082 Swordfish 1939 /310 Built as 5082 Powis Castle. First and August 1950 shed Bristol, Bath Road. Renamed January 1941. March 1959 and last shed Old Oak Common.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
 1962
5083 Bath Abbey 1922 2917/317 First shed Newton Abbot. Fitted with experimental smokebox with chimney in forward position 1923 to 1925. Rebuilt as Castle class 5083 Bath Abbey. First shed as 5083 was Swansea Landore June 1937. Converted to oil burning in late 1940s. Last GWR shed Bristol Bath Road August 1950 shed Swindon and 1959 BR shed Worcester 1959
5084 Reading Abbey 1922 2918/317 First shed Old Oak Common. Rebuilt as Castle class 5084 Reading Abbey April 1937. First shed as 5084 was Weymouth, last GWR shed Bristol Bath Road.  Converted to oil burning in the late 1940s. August 1950 shed Swindon. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted October 1958. March 1959 BR shed Old Oak Common. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
 1962
5065 Evesham Abbey 1922 2919/317 First shed Exeter. Rebuilt as Castle class 5085 Evesham Abbey July 1939. First shed and last GWR shed as 5085  Old Oak Common. March 1959 Bristol Bath Road and last shed Bristol St Phillips Marsh.
 1964
5086 Viscount Horne 1922 2920/317 Built as "Malvern Abbey". First shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Renamed Sir Robert Horne May 1935. Altered to Viscount Horne August 1937. Rebuilt as 'Castle' class 5086 Viscount Horne December 1937 First shed as 5086 was Wolverhampton Stafford Road, last GWR shed was Shrewsbury and last BR shed Worcester.
 1958
5087 Tintern Abbey 1923 2921/317 First shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Rebuilt as 'Castle' class 5087 Tintern Abbey November 1940. First shed as 5087 and last GWR shed was Old Oak Common and last BR shed Llanelly
 1963
5088 Llanthony Abbey 1923 2922/317 First shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Rebuilt as 'Castle' class 5088 Llanthony Abbey February 1939. First shed as 5088 was Shrewsbury and last GWR and BR shed was Wolverhampton Stafford Road. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted June 1958. 1962
5089 Westminster Abbey 1923 2923/317 Built as"Margam Abbey" First shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Renamed May 1923. Rebuilt as 'Castle' class 5089 Westminster Abbey October 1939.  First shed as 5089 and last GWR shed was Swansea Landore.
August 1950 shed Cardiff Canton.
March 1959 shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road.
Last shed Wolverhampton Oxley. 		1964
5090 Neath Abbey 1923 2924/317 First shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Rebuilt as 'Castle' class 5090 Neath Abbey April 1939.  First shed and last GWR shed as 5090 was Plymouth Laira. March 1959 shed Bristol, Bath Road. Last shed Old Oak Common. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
 1962
5091 Cleeve Abbey 1923 2925/317 First shed Old Oak Common. Rebuilt as 'Castle' class 5091 Cleeve Abbey December 1938.  First shed and last GWR shed as 5091 was Bristol Bath Road. Converted to oil burning in the late 1940s. August 1950 shed Swindon. March 1959 shed  Swansea Landore. Transferred from Cardiff Canton to Cardiff East Dock shed September 1962. Last shed Tyseley.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
 1964
5092 Tresco Abbey 1923 2926/317 First shed Old Oak Common. Rebuilt as 'Castle' class 5092 Tresco Abbey April 1938.  First shed as 5092 was Gloucester Horton Road, last GWR shed Worcester. August 1950 shed Worcester. March 1959 shed  Bristol, Bath Road. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted October 1961. Transferred from Cardiff Canton to Cardiff East Dock shed September 1962. 1963
5093 Upton Castle 1939 /324 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed Swansea Landore. Fitted with heavy cadmium whistle chain August 1954. March 1959 and last shed Old Oak Common.
 1963
5094 Tretower Castle 1939 /324 First shed Newton Abbot. August 1950 shed Bristol, Bath Road. March 1959 shed Gloucester. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted June 1960. Last shed Bristol, St. Philip's Marsh. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
 1962
5095 Barbury Castle 1939 /324 First and August 1950 shed Plymouth Laira. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted November 1958. March 1959 shed Cardiff Canton. Last shed Shrewsbury.
1962
5096 Bridgwater Castle 1939 /324 First, August 1950 and March 1959 shed Bristol, Bath Road. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted January 1959.Transferred from Cardiff Canton to Cardiff East Dock shed September 1962. Last shed Worcester.
1964
5097 Sarum Castle 1939 /324 First, August 1950 and March 1959 shed Shrewsbury. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted June 1961. Transferred from Cardiff Canton to
last shed Cardiff East Dock September 1962.
1963
5098 Clifford Castle 1946 /357 First shed Swansea Landore. August 1950 and March 1959 shed Plymouth Laira. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted January 1959.
Last shed Wolverhampton Oxley.
1964
5099 Compton Castle 1946 /357 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 and March 1959 shed Cardiff Canton. Last shed Gloucester.
Scrapped at A. King & Son, Norwich.		 1963


5077 "Fairey Battle" at Cardiff Canton depot in 1960. By this late stage in the career of the former "Eastnor Castle" was firmly based in Wales - first at Swansea Landore and finally at Llanelly


5077 "Fairey Battle" at Cardiff Canton depot in 1960.  By this late stage in the career of the former "Eastnor Castle" was firmly based in Wales - first at Swansea Landore and finally at Llanelly.


7000 Viscount Portal 1946 /357 First, August 1950 and March 1959 shed Newton Abbot. Last shed Worcester.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
 1963
7001 Sir James Milne 1946 /357 Built as 7001 Denbigh Castle. First shed Cardiff Canton. Renamed February 1948. August 1950 and March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted September 1960.
Last shed Wolverhampton Oxley. 
 1963
7002 Devizes Castle 1946 /357 First, August 1950 and March 1959 shed Swansea Landore. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted June 1961. Last shed allocation Worcester. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
 1964
7003 Elmley Castle 1946 /357 First and August 1950 shed Swansea Landore. March 1959 shed Bristol, Bath Road. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted June 1960.
Last shed allocation Gloucester.
1964
7004 Eastnor Castle 1946 /357 First shed Gloucester. August 1950 shed Old Oak Common. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted February 1958. March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Last shed Reading.
1964
7005 Sir Edward Elgar 1946 /357 Built as 7005 Lamphey Castle. First and last shed  Worcester. Renamed August 1957.
1964
7006 Lydford Castle 1946 /357 First shed Shrewsbury. August 1950 shed Gloucester. March 1959 Plymouth Laira. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted May 1960. Last shed Old Oak Common.
1963
7007 Great Western 1946 /357 Built as 7007 Ogmore Castle. First shed  Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Renamed January 1948 with the same name as the first locomotive built at Swindon as the last express passenger locomotive to be built by the Great Western Railway. August 1950, March 1959 and last shed Worcester. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted March 1961. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
 1963


7007 "Great Western" at London Paddington at the head of the Worcester bound "Cathedrals Express" in 1961. The former "Ogmore Castle" had just been fitted with a double chimney despite having less than 2 years to live.


7007 "Great Western" at London Paddington at the head of the Worcester bound "Cathedrals Express" in 1961. The former "Ogmore Castle" had just been fitted with a double chimney despite having less than 2 years to live.


7008 Swansea Castle 1948 /357 First and August 1950 Oxford. March 1959 and last shed Old Oak Common. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted June 1959. Scrapped at Bird's, Newport.
 1964
7009 Athelney Castle 1948 /357 First, August 1950 and March 1959 shed Swansea Landore. Last shed Gloucester.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
 1963
7010 Avondale Castle 1948 /357 First and August 1950 shed Oxford. March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted October 1960. Last shed Reading.
1964
7011 Banbury Castle 1948 /357 First, August 1950 and March 1959 shed Bristol, Bath Road. Last shed Wolverhampton Oxley.
1965
7012 Barry Castle 1948 /357 First,  August 1950 and March 1959 shed Swansea Landore. Last shed allocation Wolverhampton Oxley.
1964
7013 Bristol Castle 1948 /357 First, August 1950 and March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Renumbered 4082 Windsor Castle - see note above - February 1952. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted May 1958. Last shed Gloucester.
Scrapped at Cox & Danks, Park Royal.
 1965
7014 Caerhays Castle 1948 /357 First, August 1950 and March 1959 shed Bristol, Bath Road. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted February 1959. Last shed Tyseley.
1965
7015 Carn Brea Castle 1948 /357 First and August 1950 shed Swindon. March 1959 shed  Bristol, Bath Road. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted June 1959. Last shed Old Oak Common.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
 1963
7016 Chester Castle 1948 /357 First and August 1950 shed Cardiff Canton. March 1959 shed Swansea Landore. Transferred from Cardiff Canton to Cardiff East Dock shed September 1962.
Scrapped at Bird's, Bridgend.
 1962
7017 G.J. Churchward 1948 /357 First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed Cardiff Canton. Last shed Old Oak Common.
Scrapped at A. King & Son, Norwich.
 1963
7018 Drysllwyn Castle 1949 /357 First and August 1950 shed Swansea Landore. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted May 1956 and lubrication setting 50% higher than rest of class. March 1959 shed Bristol, Bath Road. Last shed Old Oak Common. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
 1963
7019 Fowey Castle 1949 /357 First, August 1950 and March 1959 shed Bristol, Bath Road. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted September 1958.  Last shed Wolverhampton Oxley.
1964
7020 Gloucester Castle 1949 /357 First and August 1950 shed Cardiff Canton. March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted February 1961. Last shed Southall.
1963
7021 Haverfordwest Castle 1949 /357 First shed Swansea Landore. August 1950 and March 1959 shed Carmarthen. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted November 1961. Last shed Old Oak Common. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
 1963
7022 Hereford Castle 1949 /357 First and August 1950 shed Cardiff Canton. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted January 1958. March 1959 shed Plymouth Laira. May 1965 and last shed Gloucester. Scrapped at R. Hayes (Bird's), Bridgend.
 1965
7023 Penrice Castle 1949 /357 First, August 1950 and March 1959 shed Cardiff Canton. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted May 1958. Last shed Wolverhampton Oxley.
1965
7024 Powis Castle 1949 /357 First,August 1950 and March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted March 1959. Last shed Wolverhampton Oxley. 
 1965
7025 Sudeley Castle 1949 /357 First, August 1950 and March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Last shed Worcester.
Scrapped at Bird's, Swansea.
 1964
7026 Tenby Castle 1949 /357 First, August 1950 and March 1959 shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Last shed  Tyseley.
1964
7027 Thornbury Castle 1949 /357 First and August 1950 shed Plymouth Laira. March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Last shed Reading.
Acquired by Woodham's, Barry in May 1964. Sold to Birmingham Railway Museum and left as the 23rd departure from Barry in August 1972.
 1963
7028 Cadbury Castle 1950 /357 First and March 1959 shed Swansea Landore. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted October 1961. Last shed Llanelly. 
Scrapped at Barborough Metals, Briton Ferry.
 1963
7029 Clun Castle 1950 /357 First and March 1959 shed Newton Abbot. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted October 1959. May 1965 and last shed Gloucester. Worked the last official steam train out of Paddington on 11 June 1965.
December 1965 bought by Mr Patrick Whitehouse before being passed to 7029 Clun Castle Ltd. Preserved at the Birmingham Railway Museum.
 1965
7030 Cranbrook Castle 1950 /357 First and last shed Old Oak Common. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted July 1959.
Scrapped at A. King & Son, Norwich.
 1963
7031 Cromwell's Castle 1950 /357 First and March 1959 shed Plymouth Laira. Last shed Worcester. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge. 1963
7032 Denbigh Castle 1950 /357 First and last shed Old Oak Common. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted September 1960.
1964
7033 Hartlebury Castle 1950 /357 First and last shed Old Oak Common. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted July 1959.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
 1963
7034 Ince Castle 1950 /357 First and March 1959 shed Bristol, Bath Road. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted December 1959. May 1965 and last shed  Gloucester.
Scrapped at R. Hayes (Bird's), Bridgend.
 1965
7035 Ogmore Castle 1950 /357 First shed Shrewsbury. March 1959 shed  Swansea Landore. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted January 1960. Last shed Old Oak Common.
1964
7036 Taunton Castle 1950 /357 First and last shed Old Oak Common. Double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted August 1959.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
 1963
7037 Swindon Built unnamed August 1950. First and last shed Swindon. Named November 1950.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.		 1963
 
 


 
   Preserved 7029 "Clun Castle" at Wolverhampton High Level station on 25 June 1967  
 

    
Preserved 7029 "Clun Castle" at Wolverhampton High Level station on 25 June 1967




 

THE KINGS OF THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY

  
 

    
Preserved Great Western Railway King 4-6-0 "King Edward I" rests at Hereford during Pathfinder's Citizen newspaper sponsored Severn Wye railtour during Easter 1993. When the Kings were first built in 1927, the Great Western Railway's publicity department made the most of the new 6000 Class having the highest tractive effort in Britain - 40 300 lb against the 33 500 lb of the Southern Railway's 1926 vintage Lord Nelson class - and the longest non-stop run from London to Plymouth.


  Preserved Great Western Railway King 4-6-0 6024 "King Edward I" rests at Hereford during Pathfinder's Citizen newspaper sponsored Severn Wye railtour during Easter 1993. When the Kings were first built in 1927, the Great Western Railway's publicity department made the most of the new 6000 Class having the highest tractive effort in Britain - 40 300 lb against the 33 500 lb of the Southern Railway's 1926 vintage Lord Nelson class - and the longest non-stop run from London to Plymouth.

The "King" names themselves - chosen ahead of Cathedrals - too were an inspired choice for such powerful, regal and dignified engines -  exceedingly photogenic with their clean, uncluttered, angular lines, and rivets which caught the light. Their taper boilers, copper-capped chimneys and brass bonnet safety valve covers also made the new machines the logical zenith of Great Western styling - just as Charles Collett had with them reached the final incarnation of big four-cylinder 4-6-0 design,  although 1950s modifications gave them a completely new lease of life and they staged a brilliant Indian summer with the end of steam on Western Region.

The original design of 1927 featured a boiler pressure of 250 pounds per square inch - an advance of 25 psi over conventional Swindon's practice at the time - and had a driving wheel diameter of 6' 6" : a reduction of 2½" from the 6' 8½" of the Stars and Castles.

The King valve gear was the standard Churchward adaptation of the Stephenson link motion set between the frames, with the outside cylinders worked by rocker arms. Despite this however, the Kings incorporated a host of new non-standard components including the first windscreen wipers fitted to a GWR locomotive - albeit a manual one on the driver's side only.

Careful attention was paid to free steam flow to and from the large 16¼ " by 28" cylinders and, like the Castles, they had very long-lap valve travel. The Kings however, despite the good balancing inherent in a four cylinder layout - were heavy engines with a 22½ ton axle loading and as a result their route availability, Double Red in GWR terms, was restricted.

They were not allowed west of Plymouth, or north of Shrewsbury (in theory), or on the Oxford to Worcester or Swindon to Gloucester route. On the other hand, their great attribute was their sure-footedness, vividly illustrated by the way 6018 "King Henry VI" stalked through the tunnels out of Kings Cross in the 1948 Locomotive Exchanges.  

The Kings were also readily identifiable from the Stars and Castles by their new plate frame bogie design with outside bearings for the leading axle and inside bearings for trailing to give adequate clearance on curves.  Each wheel was independently sprung, although coil springs to give longer vertical travel yet more positive control were added after a derailment of 6003 "King George IV" on 10 August 1927: some four decades ahead of the tare/load suspension issues later experienced by Gloucester RCW built Cemflo wagons.

The doyen of the class, 6000 "King George", was completed in June 1927, fitted with a Westinghouse air brake and quickly shipped across the Atlantic to participate in the Fair of the Iron Horse: the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad centenary celebrations from 24 September to 15 October 1927. The bell and plaques commemorating its appearance on behalf of all British railways are still carried by the locomotive today and in Great Western service locomotive 6000 was popularly known as "The Bell'.

As well as the Great Western London-Wolverhampton service, the Kings were mainly deployed on the West of England main line between Paddington and Plymouth where their great weight-pulling ability and good adhesion were put to good use on the ferocious South Devon banks west of Newton Abbot. Even here, a King often had to be piloted by an elderly 4-4-0 which, when coupled in front of a massive 60xx, gave the impression of a rabbit about to be caught by a very large dog!

The Kings proved very reliable in service and remarkably easy on coal despite Swindon's reluctance to explore the limits of superheating and an abundance of highly calorific Welsh solid fuel. When William Stanier moved to the LMS it did not take him long to find that inferior coal made advanced superheating essential no matter how good the boiler and front-end design might be.  6022 King Edward III  eventually received an experimental four-row high-degree superheater in 1947.

The Kings had an excellent record of safe running,  marred only by the involvement of 6007 "King William III"  in the January 1936 Shrivenham accident  - where the damage was so severe that a completely new replacement locomotive had to be built -  and the unhappy driver-error incident at Norton Fitzwarren in 1940 in which number 6028 "King George VI" was badly damaged.

In the aforementioned post Nationalisation Locomotive Exchanges the only 'foreign' line that could take the 'Kings' was the Great Northern route from Kings Cross to Leeds due to the King's limited route availability and loading gauge restrictions.   Placed in the same class as the LMS Duchess, the LNER 'A4' and the SR 'Merchant Navy', "King Henry VI" did not show up particularly well and at the time it was stressed that it was burning South Yorkshire coal. Despite this, 6018 repeatedly demonstrated that it could make clean fast starts from awkward places compared with the difficulties experienced by the Pacifics. The lesson of the 1948 Exchanges was not lost on Swindon, and the work on four-row superheaters was accelerated. In addition, modifications were also made to the draughting arrangement, initially using number 6001 "King Edward VII" as a test-bed.

 In July 1953 6001 worked a 796 ton train between Stoke Gifford and Reading at express speeds to evaluate the effectiveness of the new draughting arrangement and covered the 73½ miles between these points in just under 77 minutes, maintaining 67 - 70 miles per hour on easier than level track.

Yet more improvement came in September 1955 with the fitting of double blast-pipes and chimneys inspired by a visit of 71000 "Duke of Gloucester" to Swindon's stationary testing plant. First  6015 "King Richard III"  and then the whole class was modified with all the improvements thus developed. Had 6018 "King Henry VI" been improved in this way in 1948 the Locomotive Exchange results might well have been vastly different and in their last 10 years of use the 'Kings' went out in a blaze of glory.  In 1954, too, many members of the class were fitted with "Alfloc" water treatment equipment to mitigate the effects of boiler water sediment.

One problem that affected the Kings at this time were fatigue cracks on the front bogie frames. Normally repairs were made simply by welding over the cracks but by January 1956 the cracks became sufficiently numerous that the whole class had to be temporarily withdrawn until stiffening strips were fitted to the bogie frames.

  
 

 

    
 

The Kings bowed out during 1962 but unlike the Castles never suffered the indignity of relegation to menial jobs: and as soon as 1971 locomotive 6000 "King George V" returned to steam on British Rail metals. Working out of Swindon on the final leg of a round tour with the Bulmer's Pullman train that 7 October, "King George V" - seen above passing North Pole Junction, West London and the lens of Michael A. Morant - rather grandly passed the ranks of condemned diesel-hydraulics on the Works 'dump' and it was strange to reflect that the Kings replacements had lasted less than a third of locomotive 6000's working life of 35 years. Two other 'Kings' were saved from the cutters torch, numbers 6023 King Edward II and 6024 King Edward I, and after a spell in the old Swindon Railway Museum 6000 "King George V" can today be seen at Steam in Swindon.

  
 

 

    
  The Kings bowed out during 1962 but unlike the Castles never suffered the indignity of relegation to menial jobs: and as soon as 1971 locomotive 6000 "King George V" returned to steam on British Rail metals.  Working out of Paddington on the final leg of a round tour with the Bulmer's Pullman train that 7 October, "King George V" - seen above passing North Pole Junction, West London and the lens of Michael A. Morant - rather grandly passed the ranks of condemned diesel-hydraulics on the Works 'dump' and it was strange to reflect that the Kings replacements had lasted less than a third of locomotive 6000's working life of 35 years. Two other 'Kings' were saved from the cutters torch, numbers 6023 King Edward II and 6024 King Edward I, and after  spells in both the old Swindon Railway Museum ( from 1989) and Steam ( 2000- 2008), 6000 "King George V" can today be seen at the National Railway Museum in York.  
 

    
The doyen of the class, 6000 "King George", was completed in June 1927 and quickly shipped across the Atlantic to participate in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad centenary celebrations. The bell and plaques commemorating its appearance on behalf of all British railways are still carried by the locomotive today and in Great Western service locomotive 6000 was popularly known as "The Bell'.
 		  
 

    
   
Great Western Railway Railwaymm      DATELOTNOTES
6000King George V1927243Shipped to Baltimore & Ohio Centenary celebrations and presented with bell and cabside medallions August 1927 . First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed Bristol, Bath Road. 'Alfloc' water treatment fitted 1954. Double chimney December 1956. March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Withdrawn December 1962. 1,910,424 miles.
Preserved by 6000 Locomotive Association, first based at Bulmer's Railway centre, Hereford, and now on show at Steam, Swindon
6001King Edward VII1927243First and August 1950 shed Old Oak Common. 'Alfloc'1954. Double chimney  February 1956. March 1959 and last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Withdrawn September 1962.
Scrapped at Cox & Danks, Oldbury.
6002King William IV1927243First shed Plymouth Laira. August 1950 and March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. 'Alfloc' 1954. Double chimney March 1956. Last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Withdrawn September 1962.
Scrapped at Cox & Danks, Oldbury.
6003King George IV1927243First shed Old Oak Common. Involved with incident at Midgham August 1927 when bogie derailed producing redesign of bogie springing on the whole of King class. August 1950 and March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Double chimney July 1958. Last shed Cardiff Canton. Withdrawn June 1962.
Scrapped by Swindon Works.
6004King George III1927243First shed Plymouth Laira. August 1950 shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Double chimney July 1958. March 1959 shed  Plymouth Laira. Last shed Old Oak Common. Withdrawn June 1962. Scrapped by Swindon Works.
6005King George II1927243First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. 'Alfloc' 1954. Double chimney July 1956. March 1959 shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Last shed Old Oak Common. Withdrawn November 1962. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Great Bridge.
6006King George I1928243First shed Plymouth Laira. August 1950 shed allocation Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. 'Alfloc' 1954. Double chimney fitted June 1956. March 1959 and last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Withdrawn February 1962. Scrapped by Swindon Works.
6007King William III1928243/309First shed Old Oak Common. Severely damaged in Shrivenham collision 15 January 1936 and condemned 5 March 1936. Replacement 6007 "King William III" built March 1936 using some parts of original engine. August 1950 shed Old Oak Common. 'Alfloc' 1954. Double chimney  September 1956. March 1959 shed  Plymouth Laira. Last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Withdrawn September 1962. Scrapped at Cox & Danks, Oldbury.
6008King James II1928243First shed Plymouth Laira. August 1950 shed allocation Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. 'Alfloc' 1954. Double chimney December 1958.March 1959 and last shed  Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Withdrawn June 1962.
Scrapped by Swindon Works.
6009King Charles II1928243First and last shed Old Oak Common. 'Alfloc' 1954.
Double chimney  May 1956. Withdrawn September 1962.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
6010King Charles I1928243First and August 1950 shed Plymouth Laira. Double chimney March 1956. March 1959 shed Plymouth Laira. Last shed Cardiff Canton. Withdrawn June 1962. Scrapped by Swindon Works.
6011King James I1928243First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. 'Alfloc' 1954. Double chimney March 1956. March 1959 shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Last shed Old Oak Common. Withdrawn December 1962. 1,718,295 miles.
Scrapped by Swindon Works.
6012King Edward VI1928243First shed Newton Abbot. August 1950 shed Plymouth Laira. 'Alfloc' 1954. Double chimney February 1958. March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Last shed  Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Withdrawn September 1962. Scrapped at Cox & Danks, Oldbury.
6013King Henry VIII1928243First, August 1950 and March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. 'Alfloc'1954. Double chimney fitted June 1956. Last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Withdrawn June 1962. 1,950,400 miles. Scrapped by Swindon Works.
6014King Henry VII1928243First shed Newton Abbot. Fitted with streamlining - like that applied to 5005 "Manorbier Castle" - see picture below - from March 1935 but all removed by January 1943 except for 'v'-shaped cab. August 1950 shed Old Oak Common. 'Alfloc'1954. Double chimney September 1957. March 1959 and last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Withdrawn September 1962. 1,830,386 miles. Scrapped at Cox & Danks, Oldbury.
6015King Richard III1928243First, August 1950 and March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. 'Alfloc'1954. Double chimney September 1955. Last shed  Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Withdrawn September 1962. Scrapped at Cox & Danks, Oldbury.
6016King Edward V1928243First and August 1950 shed Plymouth Laira. 'Alfloc' 1954. Double chimney January 1958. March 1959 shed  Plymouth Laira. Last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Withdrawn September 1962. Scrapped at Cox & Danks, Oldbury.
6017King Edward IV1928243First and August 1950 shed Old Oak Common. 'Alfloc' 1954. Double chimney December 1955. March 1959 and last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Withdrawn July 1962.
Scrapped at Cox & Danks, Oldbury.
6018King Henry VI1928243First shed Plymouth Laira. August 1950 and March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Double chimney March 1958. Last shed Cardiff Canton. Re-instated to work last King journey under BR from Birmingham via Southall to Swindon. Withdrawn December 1962. Scrapped by Swindon Works.
6019King Henry V1928243First shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. August 1950 and March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Double chimney  April 1957. Last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Withdrawn September 1962. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.
6020King Henry IV1930267First shed Plymouth Laira. August 1950 shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. 'Alfloc' 1954. Double chimney February 1956. March 1959 and last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Withdrawn July 1962. Scrapped at Cox & Danks, Oldbury.
6021King Richard II1930267First shed Old Oak Common. Double chimney March 1957. March 1959 shed Plymouth Laira. Last shed Old Oak Common. Withdrawn September 1962. Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport
6022King Edward III1930267First and August 1950 shed Plymouth Laira. 'Alfloc' 1954. Double chimney May 1956. March 1959 shed  Old Oak Common. Last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Withdrawn September 1962. Scrapped at Cox & Danks, Oldbury.
6023King Edward II1930267First shed Newton Abbot. August 1950 shed Plymouth Laira. Double chimney June 1957. March 1959 and last shed Old Oak Common.  Withdrawn June 1962.
Acquired by Woodham's, Barry in December 1962. Sold to Brunel Trust, Bristol and left as the 159th departure from Barry December 1984. 6023 since restored to main line running condition.
6024King Edward I1930267First and August 1950 shed Plymouth Laira. Double chimney  March 1957. March 1959 shed Old Oak Common.
Last shed Cardiff Canton. Withdrawn June 1962.
Acquired by Woodham's, Barry in December 1962. Left as the 36th departure from Barry March 1973. Now at Quainton Road
6025King Henry III1930267First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 and March 1959 shed Plymouth Laira. Double chimney March 1957. Last shed Old Oak Common. Withdrawn December 1962.
Scrapped by Swindon Works.
6026King John1930267First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed Plymouth Laira. Double chimney March 1958. March 1959 shed Plymouth Laira. Last shed Old Oak Common. Withdrawn September 1962. Scrapped by Swindon Works.
6027King Richard I1930267First shed Old Oak Common. August 1950 shed Plymouth Laira. Double chimney August 1956. March 1959 shed Plymouth Laira. Last shed Wolverhampton, Stafford Road. Withdrawn September 1962. Scrapped at Cox & Danks, Oldbury.
6028King George VI1930267Built as 6028 King Henry II. First shed Old Oak Common. Renamed January 1937.  August 1950 and March 1959 shed Old Oak Common. Double chimney January 1957. Last shed Cardiff Canton. Withdrawn November 1962. 1,663,271 miles.
Scrapped at Bird's, Newport.
6029King Edward VIII1930267Built as 6029 King Stephen. First shed Old Oak Common. Renamed May 1936.  August 1950 shed Plymouth Laira. Double chimney December 1957. March 1959 shed Plymouth Laira. Last shed Old Oak Common. Withdrawn July 1962.
Scrapped at Cashmore's, Newport.

  
 

    
 
  Legend has it that when the Board of the Great Western Railway asked Chief Mechanical Engineer Charles Baker Collett to design a streamlined locomotive to match the first A4 Pacifics of the LNER he sent his office boy into Swindon to buy some Plasticine, stuck some on his desktop model of a King and told the Works to build the result!  
 
 
 
 Legend has it that when the Board of the Great Western Railway asked Chief Mechanical Engineer Charles Baker Collett to design a streamlined locomotive to match the first A4 Pacifics of the LNER he sent his office boy into Swindon to buy some Plasticine, stuck some on his desktop model of a King and told the Works to build the result!  

 

OTHER RELOADED RAILSPOTS

  
   
  Avonside Standard Gauge Tank Locomotives 
British Standard six coupled steam
  Brush Class 60 Type 5 Co-Cos  
  Coal  
  English Electric Type 3 Co-Cos  
  Industrial Narrow Gauge Railways  
  LMS "Princess Royal" Class 4-6-2 6201 "Princess Elizabeth"  
  The Midland & South Western Junction Railway  
National Waterways Museum Wagons
  Southern Railway Class N15 "King Arthur" 4-6-0s  
  Warship Class Diesel Hydraulic Locomotives