7029 Clun Castle & 4150 | The Volunteer Railtour | Birmingham Snow Hill & SVR

🚂 7029 CLUN CASTLE & 4150 | THE VOLUNTEER RAILTOUR 🚂

Welcome back to another railway video! Today we follow the Heritage Railway Association’s “The Volunteer” railtour, featuring GWR Castle Class No. 7029 Clun Castle on the main line and GWR Large Prairie Tank No. 4150 on the Severn Valley Railway.

📍 BIRMINGHAM SNOW HILL

We start filming at Birmingham Snow Hill, capturing a variety of West Midlands Railway services before the arrival of the day’s star attraction.

🚂 5Z25 – 10:52 Tyseley Steam Trust to Birmingham Snow Hill

We watch 7029 Clun Castle arrive at Snow Hill with its empty coaching stock from Tyseley Steam Trust. Once in the station, the locomotive runs round its train ready for the first passenger leg of The Volunteer.

🚂 1Z25 – 11:30 Birmingham Snow Hill to Stratford-upon-Avon

We then film Clun Castle departing Birmingham Snow Hill, heading towards Stratford-upon-Avon via Tyseley, Shirley and Henley-in-Arden. A brilliant chance to enjoy the sight and sound of a GWR Castle Class locomotive working a mainline steam charter!

📍 KIDDERMINSTER

After filming at Snow Hill, we head to Kidderminster to catch the railtour on its return from Stratford-upon-Avon.

🚂 1Z26 – 12:56 Stratford-upon-Avon to Kidderminster S.V.R.

We capture 7029 arriving at Kidderminster after travelling via Claverdon, Hatton North Junction, Dorridge, Birmingham Snow Hill and Stourbridge Junction.

🚂 4150 ON THE SEVERN VALLEY RAILWAY

At Kidderminster, GWR Large Prairie Tank No. 4150 takes over the railtour for the heritage railway section to Highley. Two different Great Western locomotive classes in one day make this a particularly special outing!

📜 ABOUT THE VOLUNTEER

The Volunteer is a Heritage Railway Association charter linking the main line with the Severn Valley Railway.

Charter itinerary:

* 7029: Birmingham Snow Hill – Tyseley – Shirley – Henley-in-Arden – Stratford-upon-Avon
* 7029: Stratford-upon-Avon – Claverdon – Hatton North Junction – Dorridge – Birmingham Snow Hill – Stourbridge Junction – Kidderminster
* 4150: Kidderminster – Highley (Severn Valley Railway section)
* Listed return route: Highley – Kidderminster – Stourbridge Junction – Birmingham Snow Hill

🚂 LOCOMOTIVE HISTORY: 7029 CLUN CASTLE

7029 Clun Castle is a GWR 4073 Castle Class 4-6-0 express passenger steam locomotive, built at Swindon Works in May 1950 to a design by Charles Collett. Named after Clun Castle in Shropshire, it worked on the Western Region of British Railways before withdrawal in December 1965.

Clun Castle is preserved at Tyseley Locomotive Works and is certified for mainline operation, allowing enthusiasts to enjoy this impressive locomotive hauling special trains once again.

Key facts:

* Class: GWR 4073 Castle Class
* Wheel arrangement: 4-6-0
* Built: May 1950 at Swindon Works
* Designer: Charles Collett
* Four cylinders
* Boiler pressure: 225 psi
* Driving wheels: 6 ft 8½ in
* Tractive effort: 31,625 lbf
* Withdrawn: December 1965

🚂 LOCOMOTIVE HISTORY: GWR 4150

4150 is a GWR 5101 Class Large Prairie 2-6-2T tank engine, built at Swindon in 1947 and entering service that June. Its first allocation was Stourbridge depot, where Large Prairies worked local passenger services in the West Midlands.

The engine later moved between several West Country depots, including Newton Abbot, Exeter, Taunton and Weymouth. Duties ranged from local passenger trains to banking heavy trains on steep gradients. In its final years, 4150 worked Severn Tunnel banking duties before withdrawal in June 1965.

After being sent to Barry scrapyard, it was rescued by the 4150 Fund in 1973. The locomotive arrived on the Severn Valley Railway in January 1978 and underwent a lengthy restoration.

Key facts:

* Class: GWR 5101 Large Prairie
* Wheel arrangement: 2-6-2T
* Built: 1947 at Swindon Works
* Entered service: June 1947
* First depot: Stourbridge
* Weight: 78 tons 15 cwt
* Withdrawn: June 1965
* Preserved at the Severn Valley Railway

👍 THANKS FOR WATCHING!

I hope you enjoy the West Midlands Railway action at Birmingham Snow Hill, the arrival and run-round of Clun Castle, its departure for Stratford-upon-Avon, the arrival at Kidderminster and 4150 taking The Volunteer towards Highley.

If you enjoyed the video, please LIKE 👍, COMMENT 💬 and SUBSCRIBE 🔔 for more mainline steam, heritage railways, railtours and railway videos from around the UK!

Let me know in the comments which moment was your favourite: Clun Castle at Snow Hill, its arrival at Kidderminster or 4150 on the SVR.

Thanks for watching! 🚂💨

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