GWR 4073 Class 4079 Pendennis Castle

Pendennis Castle is a GWR 4073 Class steam locomotive, preserved at the Didcot Railway Centre.

The seventh of the first lot of 10 Castles built in 1923/4, No.4079 "Pendennis Castle" was completed at Swindon Works on 4 March 1924. It was allocated to Old Oak Common locomotive depot.

The locomotive became famous in 1925 when the GWR lent it to the LNER as part of trials against the LNER's then new A1 Pacific Class, a famous example being LNER 4472 Flying Scotsman. Running from King's Cross to Grantham, and King's Cross to Doncaster, it made the ascent from King's Cross to Finsbury Park regularly in less than six minutes, a feat that the Pacifics were unable to match. Pendennis Castle was also shown to be more economical in both coal and water on the test runs, its superiority in burning unfamiliar Yorkshire coal being measured at 3.7lb per mile.

Before returning to the GWR, the locomotive attended the second Wembley Exhibition between May and October 1925, displayed next to Flying Scotsman, with a notice proclaiming it to be the most powerful passenger express locomotive in Britain.

Back at Old Oak Common, it continued to run the routes to South Wales and the West Country until after the GWR was nationalised post-World War II to become part of British Railways. In August 1950 it was allocated to Gloucester shed, in March 1959 to Bristol (Bath Road), and its last shed allocation was Bristol (Saint Philip's Marsh). It was withdrawn in May 1964.

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