to become part of British Railways. In August 1950, it was allocated to Gloucester shed, in March 1959 to Bristol Bath Road, and its last shed allocation was Bristol Saint Philip's Marsh. On 9 May 1964, No. 4079 took part in a high-speed railtour from London Paddington to Plymouth to commemorate the 60th anniversary of No. 3440 City of Truro unofficial 100 mph run. However, upon reaching reaching 97 mph, the firebars melted from the high heat of its fire. On arrival at Westbury the locomotive was immediately withdrawn, and "Hall" Class No. 6999 Capel Dewi Hall took over. While sitting at Westbury shed, bookshop owner Mike Higson, who was interested in purchasing a steam locomotive, was able to conclude a deal with British Railways to buy 4079 for £1,750. Arrangements were then made for it to be moved to Swindon for repairs to the damage caused and a repaint. 4079 retired with a recorded 1.758 million miles in a little over 40 years of service on the GWR. Preservation Early preserved years (1964–1977) Following completion of its overhaul in March 1965, Pendennis Castle was transferred to Southall Railway Centre and appeared at one of the Great Western Society's (GWS) first open days. In November of that year, it became the last Castle engine to arrive at London Paddington before the end of steam traction on British Railways. In 1967, as Higson was in the process of selling the locomotive to rail enthusiast Pat Whitehouse, the bid was retracted as William McAlpine and John Gretton had made a higher bid. Under its new ownership, 4079 moved to the former GWR depot at Didcot, taking up residence in the disused lifting shop. In 1971, Pendennis Castle was among 23 steam locomotives approved for mainline running after British Railways relaxed it's near-total ban. In the following year it relocated once more to Market Overton in Rutland. In April 1974, 4079 reunited with Flying Scotsman for two steam specials from Newport to Shrewsbury. Western Australia (1977–2000) By 1977, McAlpine had become the sole owner of 4079, where it sat waiting for repair at Steamtown in Carnforth. He then sold the engine to Hamersley Iron, one of the largest iron ore producers in Western Australia, which intended to run it on its ore-carrying Hamersley railway. Managing Director Russell Maddigan had offered to buy Flying Scotsman, but settled for 4079 and had it restored at