GWR 3700 Class

3700 Class or City Class
Nº 3433, City of Bath
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer George Jackson Churchward Builder GWR Swindon Works Build date 1902–1909 Total produced 20
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-4-0  • UIC 2'B Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Leading dia. 3 ft 2 in (0.965 m) Driver dia. 6 ft 8+1⁄2 in (2.045 m) Loco weight 55 long tons 6 cwt (123,900 lb (56.2 t)) Total weight 92 long tons 1 cwt (206,200 lb (93.5 t)) Fuel type Coal Cylinders Two, inside Cylinder size 18 in × 26 in (457 mm × 660 mm) Loco brake Steam Train brakes Vacuum
Performance figures Tractive effort 17,800 lbf (79.2 kN)
Career Power class GWR: A Number in class 20 Official name City Class Axle load class GWR: Blue

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

Ten of the twenty locomotives were rebuilt from William Dean Atbara Class engines, the first (number 3405) being converted in September 1902 and the rest following in 1907–1909. The other ten were built new during 1903 at the GWR's Swindon locomotive works. The whole class was gradually replaced and all but one scrapped in the period 1927–1931.

Modifications

Superheating of the boiler was first applied to number 3702, Halifax in June 1910 whereas top feed was introduced in 1912 and new cast iron chimneys in 1921. All the engines were fitted with steam reversing gear but only a few, including 3716 City of London, had the gear replaced by the screw reverse.

City of Truro

The most famous locomotive in the class, 3440 City of Truro (later renumbered 3717), is reputedly the first steam locomotive to travel in excess of 100mph, in 1904. It was the 2000th locomotive to be built at Swindon, leaving the works in April 1903.

Preservation

Historically significant because of its famed 1904 run, "City of Truro" was a prime candidate for preservation, wheareas the rest of the class were scrapped. It is owned by the National Railway Museum, York. It was last restored to full working order in 2004 and, as of 2009, is frequently loaned for operation on UK main lines and heritage railways.

List of Locomotives

This class were subject to the 1912 renumbering of GWR 4-4-0 locomotives, which saw the Bulldog class gathered together in the series 3300-3455, and other types renumbered out of that series. The City Class took numbers 3700-3719, previously used by Bulldog locomotives.

Numbers		Name
First	Second (1912)	First	Second
3400	3700	Durban
3401	3701	Gibraltar
3402	3702	Halifax
3403	3703	Hobart
3404	3704	Lyttelton
3405	3705	Mauritius
3406	3706	Melbourne
3407	3707	Malta
3408	3708	Ophir	Killarney
3409	3709	Quebec
3433	3710	City of Bath
3434	3711	City of Birmingham
3435	3712	City of Bristol
3436	3713	City of Chester
3437	3714	City of Gloucester
3438	3715	City of Hereford
3439	3716	City of London
3440	3717	City of Truro
3441	3718	City of Winchester
3442	3719	City of Worcester	City of Exeter

"City of Truro" nameplate and worksplate recording the loco was the 2000th to be built at Swindon in April 1903. Plymouth North Road December 2004

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Casserley, H.C. (1966). Locomotives at the Grouping - No. 4 - Great Western Railway. Ian Allan Limited.
• Fox, Peter (1993). Preserved Locomotives of British Railways. Platform 5 Publishing Limited. ISBN 1-872524-54-0.