A ROW has broken out over the future of WR 4-6-0 No. 7027 Thornbury Castle after it was sold by its Great Central Railway (GCR)-based private owner to the Didcot Railway Centre-based ‘Night Owl’ new-build project.
One of seven ‘Castles’ to survive, 1949-built No. 7027, which has yet to run in preservation, was bought by a GCR supporter in January 2020. Prior to that, the ‘Castle’ was owned by Jonathan Jones-Pratt, Peter Waterman, and what was then known as Birmingham Railway Museum, Tyseley. The 4-6-0 has since been under restoration at Loughborough, the most recent progress including the return of the tender wheels in early July after retyring.