Re: Pendennis Castle

[uncle@globalnet.co.uk (Michael Johnson)]

On Fri, 15 Sep 2000 01:00:35 +0100, "Les Gilpin"
<l.gilpin@btinternet.com> wrote:

>>On Thu, 14 Sep 2000 09:36:00 GMT, lbrown2@bigpond.com (Brown Family)
>>wrote:

>>> Now that Pendennis Castle should have been in the U.K. for a month by
>>> now. Can someone please tell us where it is, the condition it's in
>>> and when can we expect to see this magnificent loco back in service
>>> hauling a load of Mk I's?

>>It's at Didcot Railway Centre in Oxfordshire, adjacent to the Great
>>Western main line from London Paddington to Swindon and Bristol.  I've
>>seen photos in rail magazines that showed it in apparently good cosmetic
>>condition but with a covering of (brown?) dust from the mining area it
>>came from.

>Looked pretty clean when I saw it in august - still no connecting rods then
>tho - good consition otherwise

If I recall the article in 'Heritage Railway' magazine correctly, the
plan is to keep the loco in 'Australian' condition for a while just to
show people how it looked while it was 'down under'. A full
restoration to UK-approved main-line condition is on the way, but this
will cost huge sums and take two/three years.

As an aside, I have feeling that Pendennis might have been the last
steam loco to work over the Cheltenham - Stratford line (before it
became the Glos-Warks Railway). The loco ran under its own power to
Avonmouth docks to be shipped out of the country & I recall the
Gloucester Echo had a photo (I remember this because as a young
railway fan I cut the photo out!) of the loco running through the
remains of Cheltenham Malvern Road station on this final journey.

Given this, if I was the GWR, I'd be inclined to approach the GWS at
Didcot and see about booking Pendennis for a 'homecoming' visit!


--
Michael Johnson
uncle@globalnet.co.uk