Most websites about individual engines are either because they were famous or are today preserved.
5028 was “Unsung” and is long gone, but she was well liked by the Great Western footplate men who drove and fired her. She worked mainly in the Newton Abbot & Laira Areas.
The following pages trace her story from “Birth” in 1934 to her untimely “Death” in 1960.
Coronation Special Train June 1953.
Queen Elizabeth II was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 2nd June 1953.
Passengers on the liner “Ile de France” (pictured left) who arrived at Plymouth in the early morning of 2nd June, two days late, must have thought their chances of seeing the procession were slim – but they reckoned without the GWR & 5028 Llantilio Castle.
The Castle hauled train took them at top speed to London where the Great Western Railway had laid on taxis to rush them to their
Passengers on the liner “Ile de France” (pictured left) who arrived at Plymouth in the early morning of 2nd June, two days late, must have thought their chances of seeing the procession were slim – but they reckoned without the GWR & 5028 Llantilio Castle.
The Castle hauled train took them at top speed to London where the Great Western Railway had laid on taxis to rush them to their
pre-arranged vantage points to see the procession.
Below and next page are some press clippings that detail this wonderful race against time.
A race won by 5028.
Below and next page are some press clippings that detail this wonderful race against time.
A race won by 5028.
