Pendennis Castle was built as part of the first lot of 10 Castles in 1923/4. From the 27th April to 2nd May 1925 she took part in the locomotive exchange between the LNER and the GWR, running from King's Cross to Grantham and King's Cross to Doncaster. She was compared with No. 2545 a Gresley A1, the Castle made smart work of the ascent from King's Cross to Finsbury Park and regularly ran this section in less than six minutes, a feat that the Pacific's were unable to reproduce. The locomotive was shown to be more economical in both coal and water on the test runs against the A1. The GWR then sent the locomotive to the second Wembley Exhibition in October 1925, she was displayed next to Flying Scotsman.
4079 then ran as part of the GWR fleet until she was purchased from BR in 1964 by a partnership of the Honourable John Gretton and Bill McAlpine. The locomotive was initially kept at Southall but BR soon required the new owners to remove it. In 1967 they found, with help from the then Divisional Manager David Pattisson, a home in the disused lifting shop at Didcot. The remainder of the shed was still in use by BR and Pendennis became a sitting tenant. Later in 1967 as the embryonic GWS started moving their locomotives and rolling stock to Didcot, Pendennis remained locked in her shed. She was steamed on-site during 1970 and took part in a GWS open day in 1971, which was her first public appearance since moving to Didcot.
The tensions between the GWS and the joint owners came to a head during 1972 and the locomotive left Didcot, this was to become the beginning of the end for the locomotive. She was for a time at the Market Overton project which meant that the locomotive was nearer the home of one of the owners and the volunteer gang the looked after her. This project had problems of its own and the loco was on the move again, this time to Steamtown, Carnforth. Before she left controversy struck again as she was welded to the rails at Market Overton to stop her leaving, but the move took place.
She was unable to run railtours from Steamtown due to the loading gauge, but by 1977 the wind of change was about yet again. A sale was required by the owners and made to the Hammersley Iron Propriety Ltd of Australia, they were looking for a diversion for their staff and decided that it should take to form of a steam locomotive to run on their own private railway. She ran a final railtour in the UK, the Great Western Envoy and departed for Australia.
Most enthusiasts thought that was that and the ocomotive would never grace the British permanent way again. This changed in 1999 when the a few people from the GWS started talking to Hammersley, who had expressed a wish to dispose of the loco. The railway Pendennis had been bought to run on had become over loaded with ore traffic, there was no longer any room to have a non-ore carrying train running on it and she was looking forward to a full blown retirement. This brings us to the present and the delightful news that she is home again, at Didcot. Now in the ownership of the GWS, having spent the last few months at sea. The plan is to have her running again on the main line.
Work is progressing: -
Click on any of the pictures on this page for a larger version.
| Wheel Arrangement | 4 - 6 - 0 |
| Cylinders | (4) 16 x 26 inches |
| Driving wheel diameter | 6 feet 8.5 inches |
| Tractive Effort | 31,625 pounds |
| Weight | 126 tons 11cwt. |
| Coal Capacity | 6 Tons |
| Water Capacity | 4,000 gallons |
| Route Availability | Red |
| Power Class | D |
| Boiler type | Standard No. 8 |
| Boiler pressure | 225 lbs/sq in |
| Barrel maximum dia. | 5 feet 9 inches |
| Barrel length | 14 feet 10 inches |
| Area of firegrate | 29.4 sq ft |
| Heating surfaces, firebox | 163 sq ft |
| Heating surfaces, tubes | 1858 sq ft |
| Superheater Area | 263 sq ft |