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
Vandals Wreck Moors' LNER Teak Carriages
Vandals Wreck Moors' LNER Teak Carriages
Electrics, Diesels And Electro-Diesels
The June issue of Practice & Performance covered a journey in the cab of a Class 92 from Euston to Glasgow. Thanks to the good offices of Serco Caledonian Sleeper and GB Railfreight. John Heaton FCILT resumes the story with a Class 73 cab ride from Aberdeen to Edinburgh.
Nottingham Victoria
Robin Stewart-Smith concludes the story of the demise of an East Midlands railway station, covering the period from the Second World War to closure on September 4, 1967.
Restoring Thornbury Castle No Busman's Holiday
It came as a great surprise to many when The Railway Magazine broke the news last August that unrestored GWR ‘Castle’ No. 7027 Thornbury Castle had been sold to a 32-year-old enthusiast from Weston-super-Mare. Twelve months on and Jonathan Jones-Pratt is about to embark on the loco’s restoration, so Gary Boyd-Hope went to find out what the project will entail, along with Jonathan’s plans for his other Collett 4-6-0 – No. 4936 Kinlet Hall.
Industrial Steam
Three-day gala spectacular marks five decades of Foxfield
Network
Derby Set For £200 million Revamp In Summer 2018
Five To Bid For £2.75bn Hs2 Train Contract
Five To Bid For £2.75bn Hs2 Train Contract
Early-2018 Return Assured For Australia's Iconic No. 3801
Early-2018 Return Assured For Australia's Iconic No. 3801
Siemens And Alstom Merger To Create 'European Champion'
SIEMENS and Alstom announced on September 26 they had agreed a merger of the two company’s rail engineering businesses.
Shap And Beattock Class 50s Take The High Road
The charity special fronted by The Railway Magazine took a pair of Class 50s from Crewe over Shap and Beattock to Glasgow for the first time in many years. JOHN HEATON FCILT analyses the performance of these veteran diesels that were back on a familiar route, along with a comparison of some historic runs.
