ON Saturday, March 4, Didcot Railway Centre staged an event to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Collett’s Castle class locomotives (see issue 304). I decided that I would attend and also photograph the double-headed Castle special, run by Vintage Trains from Birmingham Snow Hill in conjunction with the event.
March 4 was also the exact 56th anniversary of two Castles working specials to Chester. No. 4079 Pendennis Castle worked 1X82 ‘The Birkenhead Flyer’ from Didcot, having started from Paddington diesel-hauled, and No. 7029 Clun Castle worked 1X83 ‘The Zulu’ from Banbury, also diesel-hauled from Paddington. By then, both engines had entered preservation, so the events of March 4 this year were appropriate in more ways than one as No. 7029 was on the special train and No. 4079 in the four Castle line-up at Didcot.
My chosen location to see the special was Oxford station as all being well, the special would have a clear road and be travelling at speed. I opted to travel there by
