Steam lovers of the Great Western Railway were treated to a show of steam and speed as Clun Castle returned to its place of birth.

It was one the last castle class steam locomotives to be constructed at Swindon in 1950 by British Railways following nationalisation.

It was the last steam engine to officially haul a train out of London Paddington on 11 June 1965. Withdrawal took place later in the year (December).

‘Clun Castle’ was then saved from the scrapyard by Pat Whitehouse who bought the engine for £2400 (£47,639) in today’s money.

On Tuesday, December 6, the steam engine was out hauling The Merchant Adventurer.

It was taking passengers from Solihull near Birmingham to Bath and Bristol for the Christmas markets before making its way back to the Midlands.

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald:

It passed through Swindon at 11.36 am and returned at approximately 5.39 pm.

Many rail enthusiasts were out and about in Swindon trying to get the perfect shot of the locomotive as it came through doing a maximum speed of 75 mph.

Clun Castle will return to Swindon in May 2023 when it is set to double-head with classmate 5043 Earl of Mount Edgecombe.