Locos in Profile | GWR Castle Class – Final Flourish (No. 7007 Great Western, No. 7037 Swindon, No. 7018 Drysllwyn Castle)

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GWR CASTLE CLASS – FINAL FLOURISH

The Castle Class were an enlargement of G. J. Churchward’s Star Class and were designed by C. B. Collett, with the first appearing in 1923. The class was added to over the next 27 years, eventually totalling 171 (including the rebuilds), with many changes being made along the way.

Scale: 5 mm/ft

Paper Size: A3 420 mm x 297 mm (16.5 in x 11.75 in)

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No. 7007 Great Western – 1948

No. 7007 was initially named Ogmore Castle but when it was realised that it was the last express passenger locomotive built by the Great Western it was renamed, in January 1948.

It was one of the modified ‘5098’ class which were built under F. W. Hawksworth, who became Chief Mechanical Engineer in 1941. Changes included the introduction of a three-row superheater and, from No. 7000, a mechanical lubricator in place of the sight-feed system. Because of the larger size of the superheater header the chimney was moved forward 2 inches. The inside cylinder cover had a checker tread plate welded on the front edge making it ‘square’ for safety. The handrail below the cab window was also extended forwards and upwards.

It is in GWR Green with the company’s coat-of-arms under the nameplate and is attached to a Collett 4,000 gallon tender with BRITISH RAILWAYS in GWR style letters.

Built: (Swindon) July 1946. Withdrawn: February 1963.

No. 7037 Swindon – 1950

No. 7037 was the last Castle to be built and was named at Swindon Works by Princess Elizabeth on 15th November 1950 during a visit to commemorate the borough of Swindon’s Golden Jubilee.

One of the ‘5098’ class the mechanical lubricator was positioned behind the steam pipe and had the standard arrangement for the associated pipework. It is fitted with parallel buffers.

It is in BR Green with bright cylinder and valve covers, plus the Swindon’s coat-of-arms below the nameplate. It has a 4,000 gallon Hawksworth tender with early BR crest.

Built: (Swindon) August 1950. Withdrawn: March 1963.

No. 7018 Drysllwyn Castle – 1958

No. 7018 was the third Castle to carry this name. It was known for being an indifferent steamer and because of this was chosen in May 1956, by Sam Ell and his staff, to be fitted with an experimental twin blastpipe and a fabricated double chimney with straight sides. This transformed its performance and led to a total of 66 castles being fitted with double chimneys.

In April 1958 a four-row superheater boiler was fitted, plus a standard shaped double chimney and curved pattern steam pipes. The mechanical lubricator was moved alongside the smokebox, giving better access to the inside motion, with the settings changed to give 50% more oil. The central section of the inside cylinder casing was raised to clear the additional strengthening webs.

The fastest recorded run of the ‘Bristolian’ was hauled by Drysllwyn Castle in April 1958, taking 93 minutes 50 seconds to Paddington, with a top speed of 100 mph at Little Somerford.

It is in BR Green and has a 4,000 gallon Hawksworth tender with the early right-facing BR Totem.

Built: (Swindon) May 1949. Withdrawn: September 1963.

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