Major theft of parts from Boscastle’s container at the GCR.

Update  November 2023

The Board of the Boscastle Locomotive Ltd. are pleased to be able to announce:

 “Following the major theft last year of parts and material from our storage container on the Great Central Railway, a claim for the loss has been pursued. It is with considerable relief that a down payment has been received from the insurers to enable us to start placing orders for replacement parts, particularly for the inside motion."

"Thanks are due to many people from the GCR, Boscastle Locomotive Ltd. and the Loss Adjusters who have worked very hard to quantify and process this complex claim.”

In the early hours of Saturday, 2^nd July 2022, a storage container belonging to Boscastle was broken into and a substantial quantity of components was stolen.  The locomotive is undergoing a major overhaul at the Great Central Railway’s Loughborough locomotive shed and the items stolen were stored awaiting re-fitting. The thieves cut through locks to gain access to the site and into the container. 

A large selection of items appears to have been stolen, in brass, bronze, copper and steel. Among them are the safety and clack valves and other boiler fittings, most of the parts from the inside valve gear, some of the tender brake gear, and copper pipework of various sizes.  In total, over 80 items are missing.  Many of the parts are precision machined from castings or forgings.  As such, they have little value as scrap metal, but will be expensive to replace because of the complex manufacturing work involved.  Assessing the cost is difficult, but it may be as much as £50,000.

The police have attended the site and have taken details.  Working in conjunction with the GCR management team, appeals have been made in the local media for any information about the thefts, and a press release has been put out to 120 different heritage and media contacts.  Local scrap yards have also been contacted; in case the parts turn up there.  The possibility of offering a reward for any information leading to the capture of the thieves and the recovery of the parts is being investigated.

The loss is a heavy blow to the team working on the overhaul.  They are hoping that the thieves will be caught and the parts retrieved, but are appealing for donations (how-you-can-help) in case they are unsuccessful in this, or that the recovered items are too damaged to be used.  As an incentive, any major donor will be rewarded with the opportunity of a ‘footplate experience’ on 34039 Boscastle when she returns to service.

If anyone has any information, please contact Michael Stokes of the GCR, Tel. No. 07710 934788 or contact us.

Some of the items that are missing:-