top of page

AVAILABLE ON DAB

ACROSS

 STOKE-ON-TRENT, NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME, STAFFORDSHIRE MOORLANDS, SOUTH CHESHIRE

Globetrotting steam locomotive to celebrate 100th anniversary in Staffordshire


The Churnet valley railway has announced a new visiting steam locomotive for May 2024.

The ๐—ฒ๐˜…-๐—š๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ช๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ป ๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐—–๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—–๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—Ÿ๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ก๐—ผ. ๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿณ๐Ÿต โ€œ๐—ฃ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—–๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜๐—น๐—ฒโ€ is ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฏ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜€ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฌ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฎ ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—–๐—ต๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ฉ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜†.


During its visit to the Churnet Valley Railway, they will be holding a special gala weekend to celebrate the locomotive's 100th birthday.


May 2024 will signal the arrival of ex-GWR Castle No. 4079, the legendary "Pendennis Castleโ€. No. 4079 which will be visiting the Churnet Valley Railway for the whole of May, courtesy of the Didcot Railway Centre.

During the month of May a special gala will take place to celebrate the centenary where the locomotive will take centre stage alongside other guest locomotives which are yet to be announced.


A spokesperson for the railway said


โ€œYou might wonder what makes the visit of Pendennis Castle so special, well, let's rewind the clock 46 years. No. 4079 embarked on a remarkable journey, bidding farewell to English shores for a new life down under, where it was acquired by the Australian Hamersley Iron Company. It traversed the rugged Chichester Ranges, even sharing the tracks with the iconic Flying Scotsman locomotiveโ€”an unforgettable spectacle reminiscent of their joint exhibition at the 1925 British Empire Exhibition.


But Pendennis Castle's globetrotting adventures began long before its Australian escapade. Fresh from the halls of the Great Western Railway Company's renowned Swindon Works, where it was meticulously crafted, this majestic locomotive embarked on a thrilling journey. In 1925, it was loaned to the London North Eastern Railway Company for groundbreaking trials, where it faced off against Sir Nigel Gresley's Mighty Pacific, including the legendary Flying Scotsman!


Pendennis Castle's international odyssey eventually came full circle in the year 2000 when it returned home, repatriated by the Didcot Railway Centre. A painstaking restoration journey ensued, with a few bumps along the way, including delays brought on by the pandemic. However, in April 2022, this magnificent locomotive was reborn, ready to reclaim its spot in railway history.โ€


  • Facebook
  • Twitter
avanti.PNG
1FEB5CEE-CFDB-4215-A99C-2765E01E1CF7.png
bottom of page