To celebrate the centenary of the Great Western Railway’s Castle Class express steam locomotive design, next month Tyseley Locomotive Works is holding an Open Weekend.

Additionally, Vintage Trains is providing the opportunity to ride behind three Castle locomotives in one weekend.

The Castle Centenary Celebrations start with an Open Weekend at Tyseley Locomotive Works on Saturday, 17th and Sunday, 18th June.

Saturday, 17th June

On the morning of Saturday, 17th June, four Castle locomotives will line up around the turntable at Tyseley Works 4079 Pendennis Castle, 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, and 7029 Clun Castle will all be in steam, and these will be joined by 5080 Defiant, not in steam.

During the day, the operation of the turntable will be demonstrated there will be a cavalcade of three of the castles.

Passenger shuttle trains will run at the depot, and the Sutton Miniature Railway will be running.

The workshop gallery will also be open and there will be a number of society stalls

Father’s Day, Sunday, 18th June

The highlight of Sunday, 18th June will be two Sunday Shakespeare Express trains running between Stratford-upon-Avon and Birmingham Snow Hill, with 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe hauling the train in the morning and 7029 Clun Castle in the afternoon.

The two Castles will be exchanged at Snow Hill station between the first and second departure, the only occasion in 2023 when two Castle Class locomotives will be used on this service on the same day. The trains will not be double-headed.

One can ride behind both locomotives, one each way, by catching the midday departure from Stratford-upon-Avon.

Pullman restaurant cars will be available on the train for full English Breakfast, Sunday lunch and Afternoon tea, depending on the time of day, whilst Tourist Class will have a buffet counter.

For the convenience of those attending Tyseley’s open weekend, both trains will stop at Tyseley mainline station in each direction.

A depot shuttle will also be operated on Sunday, 18th June hauled by 4079 Pendennis Castle

Tickets for the weekend cost:

• Saturday £15 Adult, £5 children 5-15;
• Sunday £10 Adult, £3 children 5-15

Bookings can be made online at vintagetrains.co.uk, and will also be available on the day

Walk-on tickets will also be available in Tourist Class on the Shakespeare Express, subject to availability.

The last time that 4079 Pendennis Castle and 7029 Clun Castle were together in steam at Tyseley was in March 1967.

The previous appearance of Pendennis Castle at Tyseley was before the “Great Western Envoy” special train to Didcot on 29th May, 1977, immediately prior to its export to Australia.