Join us to celebrate 59 years to the day, since Pendennis Castle 4079 and Capel Dewi Hall 6999 had ‘one last hurrah’ with a celebration of City of Truro’s 1904 run where 3440 was reported to have hit 100mph heading down hill to Taunton.
Whilst we won’t be hitting 100mph and will be running another member of the ‘Hall family’ alongside Pendennis Castle 4079, with our ‘dressed’ Hall – there will be lots of opportunities to relive the memories of this great day in Steam history, travelling freely along our 14-mile line. This is a fantastic opportunity to travel behind Pendennis before she runs at our Cotswold Festival of Steam ‘Cheltenham & Gloucester Steam Days Remembered’- 12-14th May 2023, alongside a number of other engines.
Pendennis Castle 4079 entered traffic in 1924.
BR decided to run a special train from Paddington to Plymouth (via Berks and Hants) and back via Bristol. The run was to use 4 Castle locomotives and each one was carefully selected (there weren’t many left by 1964) to be in the best condition and it was hoped that 100mph would be attained on more than one occasion.
The train was run in conjunction with the Ian Allen publishing group. Pendennis Castle 4079 was selected to run the Paddington to Plymouth section.
Decked out in finery headboard and Z48 reporting number, all was going well with 95mph attained. Unfortunately, at Westbury the engine was failed with a melted fire grate (the coal burned too hot).
The only engine available at Westbury was a Hall exactly like our Foremarke Hall 7903 number 6999 Capel Dewi Hall. It ran like the wind and got the special train back on track. The other Castle did very well and one of them 7029 Clun Castle is preserved at Tyseley.
Pendennis Castle 4079 having failed never worked for BR again and was withdrawn on the 14th May. This is the last day of our CFOS in 2023.
Bought privately the engine ran in the UK until 1977 when it’s then owner Sir Bill Mcalpine sold it to an Australian iron ore company. Shipped to Australia it worked sporadically until the mid-1990’s.
This is where the second connection to The Flying Scotsman 4472 comes in. Flying Scotsman was shipped to Australia to celebrate the bicentennial in 1988. It ran 12,000 miles around Australia and met up with Pendennis Castle 4079 again.
Pendennis was gifted back to the Great Western Society in 2000 and they shipped it back to begin an 18 year rebuild.
Pendennis Castle's’ claim to fame dates from 1925 when the GWR lent the locomotive to the London & North Eastern Railway for trials against Sir Nigel Gresley's mighty new Pacific’s exemplified by No.4472 ‘Flying Scotsman’. Working 16-coach trains on the East Coast main line from Kings Cross, the stalwart Castle covered itself in Sootand glory, thoroughly out-performing its larger competitors. Her exploits were the talk of every school boy in Britain and the GWR rather cheekily sent ‘Pendennis Castle’ to stand alongside ‘Flying Scotsman’ at the 1925 British Empire Exhibition at Wembley with a notice proclaiming her to be the most powerful passenger express locomotive in Britain.
(NB - Please remember that the locomotives we operate are old and things can go wrong, and locomotives are replaced. Also it is sometimes necessary to reallocate locomotives for operational reasons at short notice.)
Prices
Adult
£25.00
Child
£10.00
Family
£60.00
Dog
£4.00
Prices
Adult
£25.00
Child
£10.00
Dog
£4.00
Family
£60.00
2 Adults and 3 Children
Extended Family
£100.00
4 Adults and 3 Children
Contact Information
01242 621405
Trains Running
21 "Mavis"
Diesel Locomotive
No 21 "Mavis" has been stored at Toddington for some while, awaiting refurbishment. It is privately owned.
TSO 4763
Preserved in 1987 by the Paignton & Dartmouth Railway, moved to the GWSR by March 2004.
BSK 34929
Preserved 1982 By Stratford area group of GWSR.
FO 3132 (Mary)
Named 'Mary' in honour of a long-serving volunteer on the railway.
DMBS
DMU / Railcar
Cars W51360 and W51372 are owned by Cotswold Diesel Railcar Limited . W51360 is currently the 'spare' for our 117 set and W51372 is awaiting restoration.
Class 122
DMU / Railcar
W55003 is a Class 122 'Bubblecar' owned by Cotswold Diesel Railcar Limited and is currently undergoing refurbishment plus the creation of wheelchair-friendly accommodation at Toddington.
Class 117
DMU / Railcar
Normally comprising cars W51405 (DMS), W59510 (TCL), W51363 (DMBS), this Class 117 unit was purchased in 2011 by Cotswold Diesel Railcar Limited and is now running regular services from Toddington.
John
Steam Locomotive
'John' has been on the Railway for over 30 years. The loco is presently undergoing restoration including the construction of a virtually new boiler.
20228
Diesel Locomotive
20228 (D8327) - Class 20 Diesel Electric Locomotive. 20228 is privately owned and is now a permanent resident on the GWR. 20228 moved to the GWR in 2020 and should become serviceable during the 2022 season.
Des 372
Diesel Locomotive
372 arrived at Toddington in October 1999 and since then has been used extensively as yard shunter.
D2280
Diesel Locomotive
D2280 arrived on the GWSR in 2018 and is now part of the shunting fleet at Toddington. It is owned by Shunty Mcshuntface Limited. There is a Bachman model of this locomotive available in BR green.
11230
Diesel Locomotive
11230 arrived on the GWSR in 2003 and is now working at Toddington with its restoration almost complete.
D2182
Diesel Locomotive
D2182 is usually to be seen shunting at the carriage works at Winchcombe
47376
Diesel Locomotive
47326 is owned by The Brush Type 4 Fund and is a permanent resident on the GWR. The Brush Type 4 Fund was formed in 1992 and, in November 2002, bought No 47376. The loco was transported to the GWR in 2003 after receiving a replacement engine at Ashchurch from sister loco No 47295.
47105
Diesel Locomotive
The Brush Type 4 Fund was formed in 1992 with the aim of preserving a Series Parallel Class 47, after 2 years of fund raising 47105 was bought from Crewe in January 1994.
45149
Diesel Locomotive
A class 45/1 Diesel Electric Locomotive. This locomotive is owned by The Cotswold Mainline Diesel Group and is a permanent resident on the GWR. It first ran in preservation during the 2013 Heritage Diesel Weekend.
37215
Diesel Locomotive
A class 37/0 Diesel Electric Locomotive, is owned by The Growler Group and is a permanent resident on the GWR. 37215 was preserved in 1994 and was returned to working order in 1998.
D6948
Diesel Locomotive
A class 37/0 Diesel Electric Locomotive, is owned by four individuals who are both Growler Group members and active working members of the GWR diesel department and is a permanent resident on the GWR. 37248 came to Toddington in 2010 and has undergone an extensive refurbishment including the provision of steam heating and a return to BR green.
D5343
Diesel Locomotive
A class 26 Diesel Electric Locomotive. This locomotive is owned by The Cotswold Mainline Diesel Group and is a permanent resident on the GWR. 26043 ran for the first time in preservation during the 2013 Heritage Diesel Weekend.
5081
Diesel Locomotive
A privately owned and is a permanent resident on the GWR. 24081 was preserved in 1981 and has remained operational throughout its life in preservation. Its bogie refurbishment is now complete and the loco is fit for service.
20137
Diesel Locomotive
A class 20 Diesel Electric Locomotive. 20137 is privately owned and is a permanent resident on the GWR. 20137 was purchased from British Rail at Wigan in 1994 and moved to the GWR. 20137 was returned to working order in 1995.
76077
Steam Locomotive
A BR Standard Class 4 mixed traffic locomotive, built 1956. Restoration started.
.JPG)
3850
Steam Locomotive
A '2884' class heavy freight locomotive, built 1942. Owned by Dinmore Manor Locomotive Limited, it is at Toddington for its 10-year overhaul.
2874
Steam Locomotive
A '28xx' class heavy freight locomotive, built 1918. This locomotive is owned by The 2874 Trust Limited and it is slowly being restored from 'Barry Scrapyard' condition.
2807
Steam Locomotive
A '28xx' class heavy freight locomotive, built in 1905. This locomotive is owned by Cotswold Steam Preservation Limited and, after a 29 year restoration, is one of the GWR's resident locomotives.
Peninsular & Oriental S. N. Co.
Steam Locomotive
35006 Peninsular & Oriental S. N. Co. is a Southern Railway rebuilt Merchant Navy Class 4-6-2 steam locomotive. It was built at Eastleigh locomotive works in December 1941 and given the Southern Railway number 21C6.
Foremarke Hall
Steam Locomotive
Although every inch a Great Western Railway thoroughbred, No. 7903 Foremarke Hall was one of the 79XX series, in the last batch of the Modified Hall class built at Swindon in 1949 under BR auspices.
Dinmore Manor
Steam Locomotive
7820 Dinmore Manor is a British Railways locomotive, part of the Manor Class. It is one of nine locomotives preserved from the class, which originally numbered 30.
