GWR 3700 Class 3440 City of Truro
Encyclopedia
Number 3440 City Of Truro is a Great Western Railway
(GWR) 3700 (or 'City') Class
4-4-0
locomotive, designed by George Jackson Churchward
and built at the GWR Swindon Works
in 1903. (It was rebuilt to a limited extent in 1911 and 1915, and renumbered 3717 in 1912). It is one of the contenders for the first steam locomotive
to travel in excess of 100 miles per hour (160.9 km/h). Its maximum speed has been the subject of much debate over the years.
, and was delivered from Swindon Works in May 1903. All ten were named after cities on the GWR system; this batch was originally numbered 3433–42, City of Truro being 3440; like most GWR 4-4-0
s, they were renumbered in December 1912, this batch becoming 3710–9 of which City of Truro became 3717. The locomotives were fitted with superheaters in 1910–12, City of Truro being so treated in September 1911. This changed its appearance quite noticeably, as it gained a longer smokebox. Most were later given piston valves instead of their original slide valves, City of Truro in November 1915.
to London Paddington
on 9 May 1904. This timing was recorded from the train by Charles Rous-Marten, who wrote for The Railway Magazine
and other journals. If exact (Rous-Marten's stopwatch read in multiples of 1/5 second), this time would correspond to a speed of 102.3 mph (164.6 km/h), while 9 seconds would correspond to exactly 100 mph.
Initially, mindful of the need to preserve their reputation for safety, the railway company allowed only the overall timings for the run to be put into print; neither The Times
report of the following day nor Rous-Marten's article in The Railway Magazine
of June 1904 mentioned the maximum speed. However the morning after the run two local Plymouth newspapers did report that the train had reached a speed between 99 and 100 miles an hour whilst descending Wellington bank in Somerset
. This claim was based on the stopwatch timings of a postal worker, William Kennedy, who was also on the train.
Rous-Marten first published the maximum speed in 1905, though he did not name the locomotive or railway company:
Before his death in 1908 Rous-Marten did name the locomotive as City of Truro. Official confirmation from the Great Western Railway came in 1922 when they published a letter written in June 1905 by Rous-Marten to James Inglis, the General Manager, giving further details of the record.
This sequence of eight quarter-mile timings is thought to start at milepost 173, the first after the tunnel, with the maximum speed at milepost 171.
From 1922 onwards City of Truro featured prominently in the Great Western Railway's publicity material.
Doubts over the record centred on the power of the locomotive and some contradictions in Rous-Marten's passing times. However his milepost timings are consistent with a speed of 100 mph or just over. The latest research examines the evidence and uses computer simulation of the locomotive performance to show that a speed of 100 mph was possible and that the timings do indeed support such a speed.
This record was set before any car or aeroplane had attained such a speed. However in May 1904 City of Truro was not the fastest vehicle in the world, as 130 mph (209.2 km/h) had been reached the previous year on an experimental electric railway near Berlin. An earlier, unconfirmed run of over 100 mph is recorded from 1893 in the USA, by New York Central and Hudson River Railroad 4-4-0 locomotive No. 999
. This claim has little supporting evidence, for example unlike City of Truro there are no timings showing the acceleration up to 100 mph. Even some contemporary American technical journals doubted that such a high speed had been attained.
's Railway Museum at York when she was withdrawn in 1931, after the directors of the GWR had refused to preserve the engine at the company's expense. It was donated to the LNER
, being sent from Swindon on 20 March 1931, and was subsequently displayed at the new museum in York
. During World War 2 York was considered to be a likely bombing target so the locomotive was evacuated to the small engine shed at Sprouston station (near Kelso) on the Tweedmouth to St Boswells line in the Scottish Borders.
In 1957 City of Truro was returned to service by British Railways Western Region. The locomotive was based at Didcot
, and was used both for hauling special excursion trains and for normal revenue services, usually on the Newbury
and Southampton
branch line
, and was renumbered back to 3440, and repainted into the ornate livery it carried at the time of its speed record in 1904, despite this being inaccurate due to its minor rebuilding in 1911. She was withdrawn for a second time in 1961. She was taken to Swindon's GWR Museum in 1962 where, renumbered back to 3717 and in plain green livery with black frames, she stayed until 1984, when she was restored for the GWR's 150th anniversary celebrations the following year. After that she returned to the National Railway Museum from where she was occasionally used on main line outings. She made a guest appearance in an exhibition called National Railway Museum on Tour which visited Swindon in 1990.
Her latest restoration to full working order was undertaken in 2004, at a cost of £130,000, to mark the 100th anniversary of her record-breaking run, and the loco has subsequently hauled several trains on UK main lines, although due to the lack of certain safety features she no longer operates on the main line.
City of Truro is now based semi-permanently at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
, where she can often be seen hauling trains between Toddington and Cheltenham Racecourse. However she frequently leaves her Toddington base to visit other UK heritage railway
s.
In 2010 as part of the celebrations to mark the 175th anniversary of the founding of the GWR City of Truro was repainted and took up its 3717 guise once again. This is the first time it has carried an authentic livery for its current state whilst operating in preservation.
3717 was withdrawn from traffic at the Bodmin & Wenford Railway in early September 2011 with serious tube leaks, and was moved to Shildon Locomotion Museum
and placed on static display.
by the Rev. W. Awdry. The loco has also appeared in the television spin-off Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
, and was released as a diecast model in the Ertl range.
City of Truro starred in the 1957-8 serial "Will o'the Whistle" in the D.C.Thomson comic The Wizard, in which it was used by resistance fighters after the Kushanti invasion of Britain.
In 2009, Bachmann produced in partnership with the National Railway Museum a highly-detailed ready to run model of the locomotive. This model is available exclusively through the NRM's shop, and is available in City of Truro's earlier 3440 and later 3717 guises.
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
(GWR) 3700 (or 'City') Class
GWR 3700 Class
The Great Western Railway 3700 Class, or City Class, locomotives were a series of twenty 4-4-0 steam locomotives, designed for hauling express passenger trains.-Construction:...
4-4-0
Whyte notation
The Whyte notation for classifying steam locomotives by wheel arrangement was devised by Frederick Methvan Whyte and came into use in the early twentieth century encouraged by an editorial in American Engineer and Railroad Journal...
locomotive, designed by George Jackson Churchward
George Jackson Churchward
George Jackson Churchward CBE was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Great Western Railway in the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1922.-Early career:...
and built at the GWR Swindon Works
Swindon Works
Swindon railway works were built by the Great Western Railway in 1841 in Swindon in the English county of Wiltshire.-History:In 1835 Parliament approved the construction of a railway between London and Bristol. Its Chief Engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel.From 1836, Brunel had been buying...
in 1903. (It was rebuilt to a limited extent in 1911 and 1915, and renumbered 3717 in 1912). It is one of the contenders for the first steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
to travel in excess of 100 miles per hour (160.9 km/h). Its maximum speed has been the subject of much debate over the years.
Construction and modifications
The locomotive was the eighth of a batch of ten locomotives forming part of the GWR 3700 (or 'City') ClassGWR 3700 Class
The Great Western Railway 3700 Class, or City Class, locomotives were a series of twenty 4-4-0 steam locomotives, designed for hauling express passenger trains.-Construction:...
, and was delivered from Swindon Works in May 1903. All ten were named after cities on the GWR system; this batch was originally numbered 3433–42, City of Truro being 3440; like most GWR 4-4-0
4-4-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels...
s, they were renumbered in December 1912, this batch becoming 3710–9 of which City of Truro became 3717. The locomotives were fitted with superheaters in 1910–12, City of Truro being so treated in September 1911. This changed its appearance quite noticeably, as it gained a longer smokebox. Most were later given piston valves instead of their original slide valves, City of Truro in November 1915.
Speed record
City of Truro was timed at 8.8 seconds between two quarter-mile posts whilst hauling the "Ocean Mails" special from PlymouthPlymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
to London Paddington
Paddington station
Paddington railway station, also known as London Paddington, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex.The site is a historic one, having served as the London terminus of the Great Western Railway and its successors since 1838. Much of the current mainline station dates...
on 9 May 1904. This timing was recorded from the train by Charles Rous-Marten, who wrote for The Railway Magazine
The Railway Magazine
The Railway Magazine is a monthly British railway magazine, aimed at the railway enthusiast market, that has been published in London since July 1897. it has been, for three years running, the railway magazine with the largest circulation in the U.K., having a monthly average sale during 2009 of...
and other journals. If exact (Rous-Marten's stopwatch read in multiples of 1/5 second), this time would correspond to a speed of 102.3 mph (164.6 km/h), while 9 seconds would correspond to exactly 100 mph.
Initially, mindful of the need to preserve their reputation for safety, the railway company allowed only the overall timings for the run to be put into print; neither The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
report of the following day nor Rous-Marten's article in The Railway Magazine
The Railway Magazine
The Railway Magazine is a monthly British railway magazine, aimed at the railway enthusiast market, that has been published in London since July 1897. it has been, for three years running, the railway magazine with the largest circulation in the U.K., having a monthly average sale during 2009 of...
of June 1904 mentioned the maximum speed. However the morning after the run two local Plymouth newspapers did report that the train had reached a speed between 99 and 100 miles an hour whilst descending Wellington bank in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
. This claim was based on the stopwatch timings of a postal worker, William Kennedy, who was also on the train.
Rous-Marten first published the maximum speed in 1905, though he did not name the locomotive or railway company:
Before his death in 1908 Rous-Marten did name the locomotive as City of Truro. Official confirmation from the Great Western Railway came in 1922 when they published a letter written in June 1905 by Rous-Marten to James Inglis, the General Manager, giving further details of the record.
This sequence of eight quarter-mile timings is thought to start at milepost 173, the first after the tunnel, with the maximum speed at milepost 171.
From 1922 onwards City of Truro featured prominently in the Great Western Railway's publicity material.
Doubts over the record centred on the power of the locomotive and some contradictions in Rous-Marten's passing times. However his milepost timings are consistent with a speed of 100 mph or just over. The latest research examines the evidence and uses computer simulation of the locomotive performance to show that a speed of 100 mph was possible and that the timings do indeed support such a speed.
This record was set before any car or aeroplane had attained such a speed. However in May 1904 City of Truro was not the fastest vehicle in the world, as 130 mph (209.2 km/h) had been reached the previous year on an experimental electric railway near Berlin. An earlier, unconfirmed run of over 100 mph is recorded from 1893 in the USA, by New York Central and Hudson River Railroad 4-4-0 locomotive No. 999
Empire State Express
The Empire State Express was one of the named passenger trains and onetime flagship of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad...
. This claim has little supporting evidence, for example unlike City of Truro there are no timings showing the acceleration up to 100 mph. Even some contemporary American technical journals doubted that such a high speed had been attained.
Preservation
After the 1904 speed record, 3440 continued in everyday service until it was rendered obsolete in 1931, being withdrawn from service in March that year. The historical significance of City of Truro led to the locomotive's survival after withdrawal from service, with the GWR's Chief Mechanical Engineer Charles Collett asking that the engine be preserved at the London and North Eastern RailwayLondon and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
's Railway Museum at York when she was withdrawn in 1931, after the directors of the GWR had refused to preserve the engine at the company's expense. It was donated to the LNER
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
, being sent from Swindon on 20 March 1931, and was subsequently displayed at the new museum in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
. During World War 2 York was considered to be a likely bombing target so the locomotive was evacuated to the small engine shed at Sprouston station (near Kelso) on the Tweedmouth to St Boswells line in the Scottish Borders.
In 1957 City of Truro was returned to service by British Railways Western Region. The locomotive was based at Didcot
Didcot
Didcot is a town and civil parish in Oxfordshire about south of Oxford. Until 1974 it was in Berkshire, but was transferred to Oxfordshire in that year, and from Wallingford Rural District to the district of South Oxfordshire...
, and was used both for hauling special excursion trains and for normal revenue services, usually on the Newbury
Newbury, Berkshire
Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...
and Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
branch line
Branch line
A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...
, and was renumbered back to 3440, and repainted into the ornate livery it carried at the time of its speed record in 1904, despite this being inaccurate due to its minor rebuilding in 1911. She was withdrawn for a second time in 1961. She was taken to Swindon's GWR Museum in 1962 where, renumbered back to 3717 and in plain green livery with black frames, she stayed until 1984, when she was restored for the GWR's 150th anniversary celebrations the following year. After that she returned to the National Railway Museum from where she was occasionally used on main line outings. She made a guest appearance in an exhibition called National Railway Museum on Tour which visited Swindon in 1990.
Her latest restoration to full working order was undertaken in 2004, at a cost of £130,000, to mark the 100th anniversary of her record-breaking run, and the loco has subsequently hauled several trains on UK main lines, although due to the lack of certain safety features she no longer operates on the main line.
City of Truro is now based semi-permanently at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway is a volunteer-run heritage railway on the Gloucestershire/Worcestershire/Warwickshire Borders that has reopened the closed railway line between Laverton Halt and Cheltenham Racecourse railway stations in Gloucestershire/Worcestershire., it currently...
, where she can often be seen hauling trains between Toddington and Cheltenham Racecourse. However she frequently leaves her Toddington base to visit other UK heritage railway
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
s.
In 2010 as part of the celebrations to mark the 175th anniversary of the founding of the GWR City of Truro was repainted and took up its 3717 guise once again. This is the first time it has carried an authentic livery for its current state whilst operating in preservation.
3717 was withdrawn from traffic at the Bodmin & Wenford Railway in early September 2011 with serious tube leaks, and was moved to Shildon Locomotion Museum
Shildon Locomotion Museum
Shildon Locomotion Museum is a railway museum in Shildon, County Durham, England. The museum is a branch of the National Railway Museum , which is part of the National Museum of Science and Industry...
and placed on static display.
In literature
City of Truro featured as a character in the book Duck and the Diesel Engine, part of The Railway SeriesThe Railway Series
The Railway Series is a set of story books about a railway system located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first being published in 1945. Twenty-six were written by the Rev. W. Awdry, up to 1972. A further 16 were written by his son, Christopher Awdry; 14...
by the Rev. W. Awdry. The loco has also appeared in the television spin-off Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
Thomas and Friends is a British children's television series, first broadcast on the ITV network in September 1984. Until 2003, it was named Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. This series was shot on 35mm film...
, and was released as a diecast model in the Ertl range.
City of Truro starred in the 1957-8 serial "Will o'the Whistle" in the D.C.Thomson comic The Wizard, in which it was used by resistance fighters after the Kushanti invasion of Britain.
Models
The erstwhile Kitmaster company produced an unpowered polystyrene injection moulded model kit for 00 gauge. In late 1962, the Kitmaster brand was sold by its parent company (Rosebud Dolls) to Airfix, who transferred the moulding tools to their own factory; they re-introduced some of the former Kitmaster range, including City of Truro. In time, the moulding tools passed on to Dapol who have also produced the model kit.In 2009, Bachmann produced in partnership with the National Railway Museum a highly-detailed ready to run model of the locomotive. This model is available exclusively through the NRM's shop, and is available in City of Truro's earlier 3440 and later 3717 guises.