THE view from Jonathan Jones-Pratt’s office window has to be one of the most unusual I’ve ever seen. The window sits a couple of storeys up within the Crosville bus depot in Weston-superMare, and from this elevated vantage point you get a grandstand view across the interior of what used to be the base of Westland helicopters.
Over in the distance you can see a selection of Jonathan’s vintage buses, and panning round are more modern members of the Crosville/ Southern National fleet that are the bread and butter of the business.
However, amid this sea of green bus roofs stands, quite incongruously, the unmistakable shape of a Great Western Railway copper capped chimney. Look closer and you see that the chimney is indeed attached to a smoke box, and that smoke box belongs to ‘Castle’ class No. 7027 Thornbury Castle.
Not an everyday sight in a bus garage, that’s for certain.
It was precisely 12 months ago The RM revealed the news that Pete Waterman had sold the former Barry Scrapyard wreck for an undisclosed sum to Jonathan, who at the time had still to turn 33 years of age.
The unrestored ‘Castle’ had spent all of its post-preservation life in store at Tyseley, Crewe and latterly Rowsley (Peak Rail), leaving enthusiasts wondering whether the 1949-built 4-6-0 would ever turn a wheel in anger again.
Suggestions were even put forward on various online mediums that No. 7027’s bottom end could form the basis of a new-build ‘Star’, but these were pure fantasy, and in the meantime the partially dismantled ‘Castle’ just sat and bided its time.
This story is from the August 2017 edition of The Railway Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 2017 edition of The Railway Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Ro-railers Ahead Of Their Time Or Overtaken By Events?
A new type of vehicle for use on both road and rail was trialled in the early 1930s, but never caught on. Alan Dale considers whether early road-rail vehicles were too advanced for their time.
From Upminster To Upcycled: Vivarail's D-train
Ben Jones visits Long Marston to find out how redundant District Line trains are being rebuilt to provide cheaper and greener alternatives to brand new multiple units – and how Vivarail is looking to the future with new methods of propulsion.
Fatal Fracture
In the fourth of our series looking back at major railway accidents, Fraser Pithie recalls what was a terrible accident in terms of loss of life – an event that took place 50 years ago, in 1967. Much was learnt from the tragic and profound events that arose from a fateful Bonfire Night at Hither Green, London on what was then British Rail’s Southern Region.
ECML Power Supply Upgrade Complete
THE first phase of Network Rail’s programme to upgrade 25kV AC power supplies on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) is on track for completion in time for the introduction of new train fleets in 2018.
Tyseley Launches £3million Share Offer For New TOC
FROM the moment Tyseley unveiled its newly overhauled flagship locomotive No. 7029 Clun Castle at the end of October, fans of the Collett 4-6-0 began to ask when the famous BR(W) ‘Castle’will double-head with sister No. 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe on the main line.
Bredgar's Little Gem
Gareth Evans visits the Bredgar & Wormshill Railway to discover the latest developments at the 2ft-gauge line in Kent, run by a group of friends, and open once a month to the public.
South Yorkshire Tram-Train Project 400% Over Budget
South Yorkshire Tram-Train Project 400% Over Budget
Rebirth Of The Corris Railway
In the latest instalment of our periodic Lazarus Lines features Cliff Thomas describes the resurrection the Corris Railway, previously owned by the GWR and Nationalised in 1948.
Tornado Hits Cornwall
In a P&P extra, Keith Farr rides behind ‘A1’ No. 60163 Tornado on an epic journey from London to Cornwall – the first visit of the class to the Duchy.
Steam & Heritage
Thousands at Mid-Hants for gala marking 50 years since Southern steam bowed out
